Mini Wire Lafora Screening - new date announced
The next Lafora Blood Testing Session (full spectrum – Affected, Carrier, Clear) will be on Wednesday 20th November 2013 in Lichfield, Staffs. Costs remain the same; £150 which includes a £75 subsidy on the actual cost of the test. Everyone who has asked about testing, or previously had a test done, has been e-mailed with details of the new testing day. Full details can be found on the
WHDC website. You can obtain a Form from
Sue Holt and payment will taken by cheque or cash on the day.
Those owners who have already paid £80 for testing via Centogene, whether they have received an Affected/Unaffected result, or are still waiting for results will pay £70 if they now require a full test. The £70 fee will only apply to the actual dogs already tested via Centogene, i.e. no substitute dogs will be allowed.
Dr Minassian has sent Certificates for tests carried out by his lab and these have been e-mailed to the owners of the tested dogs. The Lafora Screening programme was discussed at the recent WHDC AGM and you can read the report presented by Sue Holt
here. Of the 149 dogs that have now had the full spectrum test, the results of these are: Affected: 14 (9.3%); Carrier: 54 (36.2%); Clear 81 (54%). The fact that
every batch of tests carried out since 2010 has shown there to be around 1 in 10 Affected dogs confirms how important it is for breeders to screen their dogs prior to breeding.
The Lafora Sub-committee will be tracking the uptake of the test by monitoring litters reported in the KC's Breed Records Supplement and their first summary is presented
here. This shows that, over the past 9 months, 43% of litters have been produced with "safe" matings that will not result in Affected puppies being born.
A new children's book: The adventures of Huk and Raz
“
Richie’s new dog” is about a young boy who asks his parents if he could have a dog. When they say “yes” he starts to dream about all the types of dogs he could ask to have but in the excitement of the day, he forgets to tell his parents what type he wants. When he wakes up, he finds a box with his new puppy but when he opens it, the puppy is nothing like he expected. Richie learns that the puppy has its own specialness and that size has nothing to do with the amount of fun, love and joy a puppy can bring. This is Rosie Pickles' first book of many adventures taken by two Dachshunds. The stories are based on true events.
It's available now - just in time for Christmas!
Available from Amazon (£6.41)
New DNA testing lab approved by the KC
Animal DNA Diagnositcs, based in Cambridge, has recently been recognised by the Kennel Club and is able to provide testing for KC DNA screening schemes. They also offer a DNA profiling and parentage verification service. By providing DNA samples via cheek swabs, they can quickly confirm that the sire and dam assigned to each dog on a pedigree is correct. The lab is managed by Dr. June Swinburne, an experienced molecular geneticist, who previously worked at the Animal Health Trust.
Jeffrey the Mini Wire stars on BBC's "The Wonder of Dogs"
Jenna Chesham writes: After answering a post on Facebook looking for Dachshunds that 'do' agility I sent a few photos and videos of Jeffrey performing his agility skills, and we were asked to attend some filming for BBC2's 'The Wonder of Dogs' programme. We were really pleased to be asked to represent the Dachshund community and were even more thrilled that they particularly wanted a wire haired!
We arrived at the filming location in Brightwell on a sunny Sunday morning and were greeted by numerous dogs, all shapes and sizes, and some very noisy! Whilst waiting for Jeffrey's turn to show off his skills, we were able to watch some of the filming which was very interesting. It made a change from being the avid viewer at home as we were able to see the presenters at work and all the organisation behind the scenes.
We observed some amazing flyball dogs in action and also other small dogs that did agility. Finally it was Jeffrey's turn. The director wanted to film him run through a clear perspex tube so they could see the movement of a Dachshund and see what they were originally bred to do in tunnels. They filmed from different angles, even using a slow-motion camera to take a low shot through the tunnel. Jeffrey loved every minute as he really enjoys agility and of course the sausage treats that come as part of the package!
Jeffrey has his own blog at
sausagetails.com.
Popular Sires
In a recent Dog World on-line poll (6/9/13) nearly 80% of respondents said they thought the number of litters sired by any one stud dog should be limited, depending on the numerical strength of the breed. Of course, the two follow-on questions from this are:
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What should the limit be?
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What is the numeric strength of the breed?
The answer to the first question will always be up for debate and it may be difficult to reach a consensus within a breed. However, for owners of stud dogs it's now easy to find out what will be the impact on the breed's genetic diversity of allowing your dog to be used. The KC's Mate Select allows you to
predict the Coefficient of Inbreeding of puppies from a proposed mating. If the predicted Coefficient of Inbreeding is lower than the current Breed Average COI, the mating will contribute to reducing the breed's average, which is a good thing to aim for. If the result is higher than the Breed Average COI, it will increase the breed average and make it more difficult to retain genetic diversity in the breed. Mate Select also tells us what the current Breed Average COI values are, so it's easy to compare a proposed mating with the breed average.
The second question isn't so easy to answer as the KC has not yet published the Effective Population Size data for each variety of Dachshund. The Health Sub-committee has been given access to the analyses carried out so far, which show EPS for the standard varieties in the range 30-45 and 65-75 for the Miniatures. Effective population size is the number of individuals in a population who contribute offspring to the next generation. Generally, the more inbred a population is, the lower its EPS will be as there are fewer unique individuals contributing to the next generation. These results are pretty much in line with data from other breeds that have been published previously, where small numbers of registrations typically have low EPS values. Generally, geneticists like to see an effective population size greater than 100, and judge those at less than 50 to be at risk of the effects of rapidly declining genetic diversity.
On this evidence, it would seem the people who voted in the Dog World poll have got it right and have recognised the potential risks to a breed where a few stud dogs are bred from frequently.
There are articles on the
Genetics and Diversity page of the Breed Council's Health website about the so-called "
Popular Sire Syndrome" and there is plenty of evidence to make it clear that high-levels of inbreeding and reductions in genetic diversity are a risky path for any pedigree breed.
Sportsmanship (or lack of!)
It is always disappointing to hear reports of unsporting behaviour from the dog show community, but maybe it's just the end of a long, hot Summer that seems to have caused a recent spate. Why would people think any of the following behaviours are acceptable?
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E-mailing or telephoning judges before a show to tell them about your winning dogs, or after a show to berate them for their decisions or their critiques
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Anonymous letters to judges casting aspersions on their integrity and "predicting" their CC winners, or anonymous letters to exhibitors making libelous comments about others who win regularly
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Not collecting Reserve Challenge Certificates from the judge, or "getting the hump" about "only winning the RCC"
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Disagreeing with a judge's decisions at the end of a class, or overtly refusing to congratulate the winner
This type of activity is very disappointing and does nothing to enhance the promotion of dog showing as an enjoyable pastime. If you don't want a judge's opinion, don't enter the show. If you don't agree with a judge's opinion, don't make a public display of it, either at the ringside, or on social networking sites.
Surely, at a time when show entries are falling and the costs of showing are increasing, we should be doing everything we can to make our community one that welcomes new people and encourages everyone, whatever their aspirations. Remember, it's a hobby folks, so let's keep it in proportion!
The truth about dog shows
With some people, you just don’t have a chance…
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If you talk about dogs, you’re a know-it-all; if you don’t, you’re a snob…
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If you don’t stop to chat at a show, success has gone to your head; if you do, you’re a showoff…
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If your dogs are at all the shows, you’re not letting others have a chance; if your dogs aren’t at all the shows, you’re afraid of the competition…
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If your dog wins, you know the judges; if they don’t win, you know nothing about breeding…
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If you win and thank the judge, you’re playing politics; if you win and don’t thank the judge, you’re rude…
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If you lose and congratulate the winner, you’re a hypocrite; if you lose and don’t thank the winner you’re a poor sport…
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If you’ve been breeding for less than 20 years, you’re a novice; if you’ve been breeding for more than 20 years, you should step down and let the newcomers have a chance…
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If you use your own stud, you’re kennel blind; if you go outside for stud services, you don’t think much of your own breeding…
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If you sell most of your puppies, they aren’t good enough to keep; if you keep them, you can’t find buyers…
— Anonymous
Dachshunds can do agility!
On the 1st September 2013, 23 Dachshunds took part in the first ever Dachshund Agility Competition, held in Hertfordshire. A massive thank you to Yulia Titovets who has worked tirelessly to organise a number of Dachshund Agility training classes over the summer and the competition itself.
Little Revel End has become home to the Dachshund Agility as it is a purpose-built dog activity agility flooring which is perfect for Dachshunds as it offers support as they cover the jumps and with purpose-built small equipment. Competitors and supporters arrived early morning to home-baked cakes made by Kate Webbe and Alex Gonszor. Alex was also time keeper for the day, keeping a close eye on all the faults and rounds.
Read the full report written by Joy Gonszor here. (Photos courtesy of Yulia Titovets)
Further training dates are planned for Oct 20th/27th 2013 and the next competition will be held in the Spring of 2014. Contact Joy for information.
On the internet
Dachshund-opoly - the famous board game, but with Dachshunds. Increase your rent by buying toys for your dogs and upgrading them to Big Bones. Available from Mad About Dachshunds.
Bad Bites - article on the genetics of over and under-shot mouths
Dobo - a new kind of Dachshund activity (article and video)
Sleepwalking into a dog welfare and consumer crisis - article by Stuart Baillie
Survey of exhibitors' attitudes to pedigree dog health - research by a Vet School student
Does a dog's breed dictate its behaviour? - the Dognition research project
