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The Dachshund Breed Council's e-Newsletter provides regular updates of our work and items of interest to Dachshund owners.
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Fabulous Frimley Fundraisers

Over £700 raised for IVDD & Lafora

We are delighted to announce that members of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey Dachshund Owners’ Facebook Group raised a total of £718.50 at their Summer Fun Day!!!! This has been split and sent to the Dachshund Breed Council Health Fund for IVDD Research and Laforadogs.com. They each get £359.25. So, thank you so much to everyone who made the effort to come on the day and supported the event and to all the kind raffle donors. Special thanks also to The Artful Dog Studio for the silent auction and raffle prizes, RSA Photography and Emma Newman for taking photos during the event, held at Frimley Park on 28th June.


Rob Ryan is a dog photographer who likes to get natural outdoor shots and we are grateful to him for allowing us to share some of his photos here (Copyright:RSA Photography).

Finally, huge thanks to the event organisers Nikki Harris and Claire Fedder. Look here for a full list of sponsors and prize donors.

Double Trouble!

Can you spot the Dapple Dachshund puppy?
















We are grateful to Beverley Campbell for writing an interesting article about how difficult it can be to identify some Dapple puppies and for allowing us to share her photographs.

Whilst the standard advice is never to breed two dapples together, the danger comes from how easy it is to miss the dapple marking in one of the proposed breeding pair, thus unwittingly breeding a double dapple mating. The Kennel Club will not register puppies bred from two Dapple parents because of the associated health risks.

Bev described a perfect example of how difficult it can be to spot a dapple; "Last year, I bred my girl Lolo, a dapple, to Lewis, a black/cream brindle sire. She produced three perfectly healthy and strong bitch puppies. One, Fleur, was an obvious dapple. Of the other two, Tink had a large white flash on her chest and Belle a much smaller and less well defined one. Were they dapples or not?"

Read Bev's article to find out how she was surprised to learn that Tink, pictured here, was also a dapple.

Read more about Dachshund colour and health.

Dachshund Researchers win Health Awards

Dr. Cathryn Mellersh & Prof. Sheila Crispin win ICH Awards

At the International Canine Health Awards ceremony held in Cambridge on June 25th, joint winner of the International Prize was Dr. Cathryn Mellersh who is well-known to Dachshund owners for her ground-breaking work on cord1 PRA. Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Prof. Sheila Crispin who has been working with the Dachshund Breed Council to investigate Distichiasis in Mini Longs.  Each of them received cheques for £10,000 to support their continuing research. They are pictured here with Sponsor, Vernon Hill of Metro Bank. Read more about all the winners.

Why are Dachshunds one of the longer-lived breeds?

DNA swabs needed from Mini Longs

Dr. Cathryn Mellersh, Head of Genetics at the Animal Health Trust, has been collaborating with a team of scientists at Queen Mary University on an exciting epigenetics project.  The collaborators are comparing non-inherited changes to the DNA between a short-lived breed (the Flatcoated Retriever) and a long-lived breed (the Dachshund).

Cathryn has recently heard from Vardhman Rakyan, who is her collaborator in London carrying out the epigenetic investigations of the MLHD samples, that his initial investigations have gone very well. Early results suggest it will be possible to tell the age of a dog from its DNA and future research is directed at identifying and predicting potential health risks.

This is a further request for DNA from any Mini Longs of any age. If you can help, would you prepared to provide a cheek swab to support this research?

Please contact Cathryn Mellersh directly if you would like to help with this project. E-mail: cathryn.mellersh@aht.org.uk

New date for Mini Wire Lafora Screening

15th September 2015 - Lichfield

The WHDC and Lafora Sub-committee are pleased to announce that the next testing session for a full spectrum blood test (Clear / Carrier / Affected) will be held on Tuesday 15th September 2015 (10 a.m. - 1 p.m.) at the Poole House Veterinary Hospital, Lichfield, Staffs. WS13 8JY.

Subsidised Costs of Testing:

For all NEW animals tested, owners will only have to pay £150. 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.

The current cost for each full spectrum blood test is 300 Canadian Dollars (approximately £190). In addition there are vet fees for taking the blood samples, sample kits and courier fees for shipping the bloods to Canada, bringing the full, unsubsidised price to approximately £225 per test.

The test cost for new animals of £150 means that the Breed Clubs and Kennel Club Charitable Trust are subsidising the actual cost of testing, including vet fees and shipping, by £75.

Requests for forms should be made to: Sue Holt (Susan.Holt@talktalk.net) 0161 308 4403. It will be first come first served and tests must be pre-booked - you cannot just "turn up" on the day.  Payment to be made by cash or cheque on the day of testing.

Wherever possible, it would make administration easier if forms can be e-mailed out, completed and e-mailed back. Postal copies are fine for those that do not have access to e-mail and the address is:

Sue Holt
25 Glenmore Grove
Dukinfield
Cheshire SK16 4BH
 
All results will be recorded by the Kennel Club against the dog's registration details and can be viewed online via the KC Health Test Results Finder.

Heart Murmurs in Dachshunds

An article from Finland

We are grateful to Minna Hagan, ECDA Secretary, for translating this article from a Finnish Dachshund magazine.

Endocardiosis i.e. Valvular Heart Disease, is the most common disease in middle aged and older dachshunds and it is approx. twice as common in dogs as in bitches.

Normally you will start hearing heart murmurs between 7-10 years of age. Approximately a third of over 10 year old dogs will show symptoms of Valvular Heart Disease. Endocardiosis is also diagnosed occasionally in younger dogs.

Sometimes it is thought that due to the fact that Dachshunds are a Chondrodystrophic breed, that the degenerative heart disease is more common at an earlier age. More commonly the disease manifests itself in the mitral valves of the left side of the heart. Due to the degeneration, the mitral valve thickens and as it is not working correctly it causes “leakage” also knows as “backflow” which in the long run will cause congestive heart failure. The “backflow" will cause the left ventricle to expand, the venous pressure in the lungs will increase which will cause fluid build-up in the lungs.  The enlarged heart can put pressure on the windpipe as well as on the bronchi.

Normally Endocardiosis is found during the annual vaccination visit to the vet. The murmur can be heard years before any symptoms appear. Some of the symptoms are: dry cough, especially at night; restlessness, especially at night time; excessive panting and reduced stress tolerance, and later on breathing difficulties. Later symptoms if not treated can include bloating, arrhythmia and fainting.

Heart murmurs can be classed either based only on the volume of the murmur or both the volume and symptoms. Endocardiosis and its progress can be diagnosed by ultrasound, where e.g. the thickness of mitral valves is measured, the blood flow out of the heart as well as the thickness of the walls of the heart. By x-raying the chest you get a picture of the size of the heart as well as to find out if there is fluid build-up in the lungs. Sometimes an ECG is used to find out what changes have happened.

In its early stages Endocardiosis is symptomless and normally it is only treated when the first symptoms appear. The medication will only slow down the disease and with the correct treatment it is possible to extend the dog’s life by years.

In order to control the progress of Endocardiosis the key is diet: low sodium diet, which helps reduce blood pressure, as well as Omega 3 based products which help to protect the heart muscle. Moderate exercise, according to how the dog is feeling and avoid excessive exercise during warm weather. Being overweight does not help and dental hygiene is very important as keeping teeth clean will stop any additional bacteria being carried into the heart by the blood flow.  At its early stages mild sedation e.g. in order to clean teeth is fine.

Early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up are the key . For example, during hot weather more medication might be required than when it is cooler.

Very rarely does Endocardiosis cause a “cardiac arrest” in dogs, normally the condition worsens slowly over time.

Heart Murmur data from DachsLife 2015

We specifically asked people to report on Heart Murmurs as a separate condition as this was the most common heart condition reported in 2012. Overall, 3.6% of dogs were reported as having some form of Heart Murmurs and their average age was 8.3.

Once again, Wires are reported with the highest prevalence (7.8% vs. 5.2% in 2012), but this time significantly more Smooths have been reported (6.3% vs. 2.9% in 2012).  The average age of Wires with Murmurs was 9.4 and Smooths was 9.5.

Read our DachsLife 2015 Report

Breed Seminar & A2 Assessment 15/8/15
SDA will be running a seminar/assessment day on 15th August near Newbury. Download a Booking Form here.

July 2015

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On the Internet


Jurassic Weiner (Video)

Dog Breeders - living in a bubble (Mike Tempest in Dog World)

Medical Insurance for Dogs (Prof. Dick White in Dog World)

A 5-point plan for improving canine health & welfare

Remedial Housetraining

Fading Puppy Syndrome

DachsLife 2015 Breed Health Survey summary

 
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Our mailing addresses: chairman@dachshundbreedcouncil.org.uk or secretary@dachshundbreedcouncil.org.uk
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