INHERITED DISORDERS AND DISORDERS RELATED TO BREED STANDARDS IN FOUR POPULAR DUTCH DOG BREEDS

Various news articles and documentaries on television had drawn the attention of the public to the health and welfare problems of pedigree dogs. Due to the criticism of the public towards breeders and the Dutch Kennel Club, the Ministry of Economic Affairs started a project in co-operation with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Utrecht University to make an assessment of the incidence of inherited disorders and disorders related to breed standards in the most common dog breeds in the Netherlands. Parallel to this project, the LICG (‘Landelijk Informatie Centrum Gezelschapsdieren’) started a project called: ‘Rashondengids’. The aim of this project is to inform future dog owners and breeders about the various disorders important in popular dog breeds in the Netherlands. In this study a qualitative assessment is made of these disorders in four popular dog breeds in the Netherlands: the Frisian Stabyhoun, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Current study focuses on the following question: Which possible inherited disorders and disorders related to breedstandards of Frisian Stabyhoun, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds and Staffordshire Bull Terriers are described in the literature and to which degree are these disorders important in the Dutch population? In order to make such an assessment, a literature study has been conducted focussing on the described (inherited) disorders of the four breeds. A statistical analysis of the database of the UKG (Universiteitskliniek Gezelschapsdieren) was performed to get better insight in the disorders that could be important in the Dutch population. Combining these results has given an indication of the most important (inherited) disorders in these four breeds in the Netherlands. The most important diseases for the Frisian Stabyhoun are: patent ductus arteriosus, cerebral dysfunction and epilepsy. For the German Shepherd are the most important diseases: canine atopy, exocrine pancreas insufficiency, degenerative lumbosacral stenosis, degenerative myelopathy, elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia. Within the population of the Golden Retriever the following diseases are important: atopic dermatitis, mast cell tumours, melanomas, malignant lymphoma, soft tissue carcinoma, elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier seems to be a healthy breed. No highly frequent and severe disorders within its population have been found in this study. Only epilepsy is quite frequently described and was found in a few animals within the UKG database