Hello,
Late last night I returned from St. Louis, MO., where I
attended the AKC 2007 National Parent Club, Canine Health Foundation
Conference. Check-in and poster submission for the poster
contest was Thursday, October 18. The first session started at
8:30 Friday morning. I was selected as the one delegate to
represent the UKC United White Shepherd Club. It was a
fully-paid event sponsored by AKC. Since AKC did not cover
travel expenses, the United
White Shepherd Club subsidized my
travel expenses. And, since I've been unable to drive
distances much over an hour and not at night, Pam Koons and her
sister, Pat, agreed to drive me there. The UWSC also paid for
their expenses and I couldn't have asked for better travel
companions.
Diana Updike was the driving force to make sure
that the work of the WSGP was showcased in all four categories in the
poster contest. We had the ideas of what we wanted the posters
to say but we didn't really have a good idea about how to create them
and have them look professional. This is where Pam and Michelle
Koons offered their expertise. Michelle did all the fancy printing we
needed while Pam actually decorated the posters. Pam's sister,
Pat, made us a beautiful shiny red carrying case (I love that red in
honor of Crystal's Lady in Red "Kyra") to protect them.
We will add the three posters we already use for Genetics Exhibits
that were made for two of our special ambassadors: Luger and
Kyra. The next time these posters will be exhibited to
represent our breed will be at the November Pet Care show in Novi,
Michigan. A breed booth will back up to the Rock N' Roll K-9s
so that whenever Pam and Michelle are not actually running their dogs
in the show, Kimber and Lazer can spend some time at the booth.
Our
poster exhibit was a big hit. They are going to be on the
United White Shepherd Club website and on the genetics website as
soon as we can get them up. When people I met at the Conference
realized I was with the White Shepherd club, they were highly
complimentary of our posters. Many people told me they voted
for our posters. I'm proud to tell you that we took two
Honorable Mentions in the Fundraising and Special Programs categories
which means that $300 is being deposited our newly established Donors
Fund on the OFA CHIC site. This money can be withdrawn for a variety
of things such as research projects or possibly to cover the initial
$25 charge for including PennHIP and other non-OFA clearances in
their database.
Maybe,
next time around we can get a $500 first place or a $300 second place
in one or more categories. In any case, It
was SUCH a proud moment when it was announced that the White
Shepherd received Honorable Mention not once, but twice.
The other breeds to win were the Havanese, the Irish Setter, the
Mastiff, the Saluki, and the Boston Terrier.
Since
most YAHOO groups don't allow attachments and pictures, I'm asking
our List Moderators
to post the reports to the Files Section and I will also copy and
paste them into some of the E-mails.
--
CANINE HEALTH FOUNDATION
2007 CONFERENCE
MARK ADAMS HOTEL, ST. LOUIS, MO.
OCTOBER 18-21, 2007
HIGHLIGHTS
Conference held at a Five Star hotel.
Each person in attendance will receive a DVD of the entire weekend of presentations. These can be shared at dog shows, at the National Specialty, or other breeder get-togethers. (This will take two to four months to arrive though.)
Each person received a notebook with background information, abstracts of the presentations, information about all the relevant AKC programs, and the names and addresses of speakers, media, vet students in attendance, and participants from the National Breed Clubs.
Each person will also receive over 50 pages of written information presented during the conference.
Mara Bovsun, Features Editor, AKC Magazines, gave me her card and asked me to contact her for a possible interview. She was impressed with the White Shepherd Genetics Posters.
There were four categories in which posters could be submittedâ€"we submitted posters in all four. We received Honorable Mention in two of the categories (Fundraising and Other Special Programs) and this earned us recognition at the Saturday night banquet and awards dinner and $300 donated in our name to the AKC Donors Fund. This money will be available for us to draw on for a variety of purposes in the future like research or possibly to pay the fees required to use non-OFA clearances, like PennHIP.
CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) I learned enough about this program to want to investigate it thoroughly to see which of the needs of the White Shepherd it meets and how best to take advantage of it.
DNA Repository where all breeds with CHIC numbers can have their DNA deposited in this repository. This has huge implications for any breed. This would be the place where the DNA needed for research would be kept in one place. It means that researchers will share the DNA and not hoard it just for their own use. It means that many research projects could be going on simultaneously for a breed without individual collection being done.
OFA on-line Health Surveys. OFA will work with the Parent Club, in this case, the United White Shepherd Club, and put the survey on line. According to Dr. Padgett's schedule for surveys, we are due to launch a second one in 2008.
POSSIBLE RESEARCH OR FURTHER STUDY:
Dr. Mark Oyama spoke about Dilated Cardiomyopathy. I had a short discussion with him during the break during which time I told him that 1) we had diagnosed cases of Dilated Cardiomyopathy which we found in dogs on which necropsy was performed for a non-related reason. I told him that none of these dogs had been symptomatic for heart problems. I also told him that we had a short list of dogs that dropped dead suddenly. This can be a result of Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
This is an area where we need to investigate further to see if this may be an issue in our breed. Dr. Oyama told me the test we needed to have performed to get a definitive answer.
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP). A veterinary pathologist I spoke with suggested that we send our necropsy reports to the AFIP. I told him about creating the Geneticist's Pedigree with Dr. Padgett to determine whether we have Degenerative Myelopathy in our breed or whether those symptoms are, in all cases, indicative of Lumbosacral Stenosis or Intervertebral Disc Disease, and/or Spondylosis. I also told him about our problem in getting a really good understanding and definition of "old dog Myelopathy." He said that the AFIP would be a great resource and would probably do a lot of work for us, for free. He stated that he wrote a paper himself on "old dog Myelopathy" and that, clearly this is not the same as GSD DM.
More about Degenerative Myelopathy. I learned that the University of Missouri and Texas A&M are both doing studies on Degenerative Myelopathy. At dinner on Saturday night, the vet students, a geneticist, and OFA rep, Eddie Dziuk encouraged me to contact Texas A&M about the possibility of using the White Shepherd to help find the gene for DM in the GSD.
More about necropsies. As luck would have it, I happened to sit next to the third-year vet student from MSU who was one of the two students assisting with Polo's necropsy in April. They were very grateful for the checklist of diseases provided to them as they went through the process. I'm making arrangements to meet her for lunch and to find out from her actual experience whether there is anything about our process that needs improvement and will listen carefully to any suggestions she has for us.
Dr. Jerold Bell gave a particularly relevant presentation on Genetic Testing and Counseling and how Relative Risk Pedigree Analysis is an effective tool to reduce the frequency of both affected and carrier individuals. He asserts that one of the biggest contributors to disease is over-use of a popular sire or matador while other quality males get side-lined.
Probiotics. All animals need healthy micro flora in their guts. Without them, there is more susceptibility to infection, more immune problems, more gastrointestinal upset, poor reproduction, and a shorter life. Lack of balance can cause clinical diarrhea, poor skin and coat, inconsistent fecal quality, etc. A 30 day supply of SF68, FortiFlora, a probiotic, was given to all participants along with a handout which I will post to the genetics list.
Cancer samples. Repositories are being established where samples of three types of cancers can be sent to help researchers help us eradicate some of these diseases. One of the centers will be Michigan State University. Right now there are three that are operational. There will be 12 around the country. The cancers they are studying right now are Osteosarcoma, lymphoma, and melanoma.
Breed relationships. Research has placed similar dogs in cluster groups based on genetic classification of dog breeds. “…Breeds within a cluster have more genetic similarities to each other than to breeds in other clusters….” The GSD is grouped with Bernese Mountain Dogs, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and the Poodle as well as a fewothers. “…Traits shared by these breeds are more likely to be caused by the same mutation than those found in unrelated breeds….” Quotes from Heidi Parker, PhD; National Human Genome Research Institute.
Vaccinations. A two-hour presentation was given on Sunday. I have the abstract and the 27 questions with answers included in our handouts that I will also post to the genetics list.
Attention needs to be given to linked genes. A case was discussed where researchers working with the Dalmatian finally found the marker for a certain disease in their breed. Dalmatian breeders were able to eliminate this disorder, however, they discovered that this gene was linked to the spotting gene in Dalmatians and all of a sudden they were getting Dals that did not meet the breed standard. In this breed, the decision was made to "allow" the disease so they could bring back the look the Dalmatian was supposed to have. When people responded with horror, the speaker cautioned everyone to look at their own breeds and see what they would be unwilling to give up and whether it is possible they could have made the same decision.
Designer breeds and fraud. Dr. Jerold Bell spoke of this and said that the fraud is that people who buy these breeds do so under the impression that they will somehow be healthier and they will not be. They have the possibility of the diseases in each of the breeds used for the designer dog.
Spay and Neuter. There are benefits and detriments and once you are aware of what they are, each case needs to be decided on an individual basis. I will post about this to the genetics list.
Canine Health Foundation needs to know the problems in our breed. They need to see a priority list. Every year they pick diseases that will be funded. They spend from $20,000 to $250,000 in one and two year cycles. They even do little grants they call "acorns" where $12,000 is granted and there is a 30-day approval time. We qualify for consideration. They prioritize their spending into prevention (70% of funds), treatment (13% of funds), and cure (the remaining 17%).
Stem cells and cancer research. Most of Saturday was devoted to this topic so there is much information to be shared.
These are other general points of interest that I will post more about in the relevant summaries.
Dog that isn't tested for something like HD or ED? This is the crap-shoot. You have to consider that any dog not reported as having a test has the disease. In other words, assume a dog is dysplastic if there is no information reported.
Apparently "ears" are single simple traits and passed along by one parent.
Breeders are custodians of their breeds and their gene pools and need to "do no harm."
Breeders need to use available genetic tests for the good of the breed.
Must not remove quality dogs even if they are carriers; must use them and then use their genetically normal offspring.
No one wants to breed unhealthy dogs.
Choosing breeding mates based on longevity is not predictive of longevity in the offspring. One third of the result is based on environment.
Keeping our dogs lean and fit increases their life spans by 2-2-1/2 years.
Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage 3 xs per week is suggested; as is fish oil.
Dogs that don't want to go out at night or that have problems in bright sunlight probably have one of the eye diseases and need to be examined.
Thanks
to Diana and Scott for not only taking care of Kole while I was at
the conference, but to Diana for taking him for his herding lesson.
Dick had his hands full with just Zeus and Callie.
Judy