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Cairn Health
The following motion was passed at the Club meeting of 2 June following consultation with members.
The Committee wishes to make it perfectly clear that this is NOT intended in anyway to be mandatory. The Puppy Sales Officer will continue to recommend members’ puppies when she is advised of them but will tell the enquirer of the Club’s position. Those members who don’t test can then discuss the matter with the purchaser and if they decide to proceed with the purchase then that is a matter entirely for them.
“The Cairn Terrier Club of NSW recommends that all puppies be tested for liver function.
The Club further recommends that buyers only purchase puppies that have tested clear using an accepted testing method. Such advice should be given to any prospective buyer when they approach the Club as to puppy availability.”
The Cairn Terrier Club of Victoria Inc formed a Health Watch Committee in July 2005 as a result of a small number of The Cairn Terrier Club of NSW Inc gave the matter considerable thought but decided that it would encourage its members to lodge appropriate information with the Victorian Club’s Committee rather than set up one of its own. It was felt that it was more appropriate to have a central body collecting and collating information on the breed in Reports are accepted from all over The Committee produces an annual report which is freely available to those in the breed interested setting out the health issues reported to the Committee during the year and any outcomes known and to date two have been issued. A list of PSS tests including actual scores is included in the report. It is the Committee’s hope that, in time, the data base will build in to an important record which may assist in further research. We believe that it is too early to form any opinions at this stage, particularly when researchers here and overseas are still undecided as to the mode of inheritance and at present our sample of tested puppies remains small. Each year more breeders are sending in their litter reports and it is hoped this trend continues to grow to build up a more accurate picture of the nature of the problem in Please download the Health Reporting Form here
CTCV Health Watch Committee Report 30/1/2009
The Health Watch Committee is pleased to present the yearly report of all medical conditions and bile acid testing of litters received since last year’s report. Thank you to all breeders who have forwarded reports this year, from Victoria and interstate.
Confidentiality
The Health Watch Report Form contains a box which may be ticked to request confidentiality of all information provided, or to allow information to be shared. Some reports have been received with neither boxes being ticked. In these cases the information is treated confidentially.
Number of Reports Received
We have received 26 Reports this year, of which 4 were medical reports and 22 were Bile Acid Testing Reports.
The 4 medical reports related to:
Schirmer Test for Dry Eye – all puppies tested in the litter were clear
Renal Disease – kidney failure in male cairn
Diabetes – insulin injections twice daily
Eye developmental issue – unlikely to cause future problems
Litter Reports
This year 22 bile acid tests were reported to the Health Watch Committee. (Scores are included at the end of this Report). In total 107 cairn puppies were tested. Six of the tests were considered higher than the normal range for the particular Laboratory concerned and the puppies were retested. Five puppies retested with normal scores, but one pup was retested three times, before a normal score was recorded and then tested again to confirm all was well. Scintigraphy was also performed and produced a normal result. For your information the scores were:
At 8 weeks 2.5-54.2
At 10 weeks 1.3-54.9
At 12 weeks 3.4-14.4
At 16 weeks 2.0-4.7
Portal Shunt
No puppies have been officially reported as having been diagnosed with Liver Shunt this year. However, three unsubstantiated cases are known to the Committee and it is unfortunate that we are unable to report the scores of these puppies and the outcomes. It is believed that one puppy has had a successful surgical outcome.
Research Grant
The Cairn Terrier Bile Acid Testing Program has commenced at the Werribee Clinic of Melbourne University’s Veterinary Hospital. The Study requires 100 Cairn Terrier puppies to have their Bile Acids tested at 7-8 weeks of age, and a further 10 normal puppies to be re-tested at 9-10 weeks and 11-12 weeks. To date, almost 30 puppies have been tested by Dr Linda Abraham, BSc BVet Med PhD(Lond) MRCFS MACVSC using funds from the Research Grant allocated by the ANKC. So far only one puppy has been made available for the retesting at 9-10 and 11-12 weeks.
The aim of the Study is to investigate the minimum age that Cairn Terrier puppies may be tested in order to identify those with portosystemic shunts and those that are normal.
Breeders/owners may avail themselves of the opportunity to have their litters tested free of charge and entirely confidentially. It is hoped that more breeders will participate in this Study to enable a more diverse sampling of the Cairn Terrier population. It is important to note, that the results of these tests will be made available to the Cairn Terrier Club of Victoria, but no identifying information of dogs or their owners will be reported. This information is entirely confidential between the client and the University. It is hoped that the owners/breeders will report their scores to the Health Watch Committee, but this remains the choice of the owner/breeder.
A Consent Form is required to be completed and presented at the Clinic at the time of testing. The form maybe downloaded from the Cairn Terrier Club of Victoria’s website.
Another important aspect of this project is that Dr Abraham is collecting sufficient blood from all puppies tested to enable extraction of DNA for a future project that will examine the genetic basis for the disease. It is therefore requested that a copy of the puppies’ pedigree be provided to Dr Abraham. Once again, please be assured of the strictest confidentiality.
Summary
Much is heard “around the ring” of various medical ailments suffered by our Cairn Terriers. A lot of this information would be extremely interesting and relevant to other cairn owners, but it is never reported The Health Watch Committee would like to encourage everyone to report all conditions by either completing the Report Form (which may be downloaded on the CTCV website) or by emailing Lyn Barclay at lbarclay@harboursat.com.au (Please note this is a new email address). Or, post reports to: Lyn Barclay, 20 Outawood Rise, Gisborne, Vic 3437, phone (03) 5428 4739, fax to (03) 5428 4179 or mobile 0409 424 668.
Secretary:
Mr Robert Bartram
PO Box 429
Queanbeyan 2620
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