UK News

The background to the Inquiry was a showing by the BBC on 19 August 2008 of a television documentary
called Pedigree Dogs Exposed. It was a hard-hitting piece of journalism written and directed by Jemima Harrison. It was aimed at those breeders of pedigree dogs who had ignored the adverse effects of inbreeding and particularly those who were breeding for extreme conformations. The United Kingdom’s premiere dog club, the Kennel Club, felt that it had been unfairly treated and complained to OfCom, the regulator of the UK Communications industry. At the time of writing, this dispute has not been settled.
Nevertheless, the BBC pulled out of its long-standing arrangement to televise Crufts dog show. Moreover, the public reaction was such that Dogs Trust, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals and the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals ended their support; and Pedigree Petfoods and Hills Pet Nutrition cancelled their sponsorship of the show. The Associate Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare (APGAW) announced that it would hold hearings on the breeding of pedigree dogs. At the same time the Kennel Club combined forces with a leading dog charity, Dogs Trust, and announced an independent Inquiry into the breeding of all dogs.
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A Healthy and Happy 2010 for dogs & owners

Brussels Griffon Health Database

Brussels Griffon Healt Page

New Health Page for our breed

For all those breeders who test their dogs and like to have their dogs be advertised on this page + Database!!
Check out those dogs who have been MRI'd already and those who have had more test than the MRI.
Interesting page for puppy buyers, they can see where those breeders are who test their breeding stock.
If their is a litter of puppies who's parents are both MRI'd you will find them on this page too.



Together we should let the world know that there are breeders who really care for the breed!!
http://www.griffonplaza.com/Health/index.html

Investigation of the presence of Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia in stillborn Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Foetuses

Chiari-like malformation (CLM) is described as an occipital bone hypoplasia and is a condition that is prevalent in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS).  It is thought to be an inherited condition that affects growth of the skull. The characteristics of the condition are a compression of the cerebellum which is pushed out of the foramen magnum. Many affected individuals also have syringomyelia (SM) which causes significant pain.

CLM is sometimes described as a condition that is due to altered development before birth, however no investigations have ever taken place to assess if changes in the skull are present at birth.  Equally, it is not known if SM is a condition that can be identified in the spinal cord at birth.  We have studied the development of the occipital bone and cerebellum in stillborn CKCS foetuses with the aim to discover if CLM/SM can be seen at birth and to begin to define what changes we see in the cells of these tissues. This work will also define the earliest stages at which CM and/or SM could be detected and diagnosed in CKCS.

Results

Anatomical investigations have shown that the occipital bone overlying the cerebellum has an abnormal bulge in the centre.  These investigations also show that the cerebellum is compressed in CKCS foetuses at birth.  However this compression is not yet sufficient to cause descent of the brain into the foramen magnum.  The region of the compression in the brain corresponds to the region where we see the bulge in the bone.  It suggests that the abnormal skull is compressing the brain.  When we looked at the occipital bone in more detail, using sectioning, we saw that there was a region where there were more cells than normal – this was the region of the bulge. These cells were also immature – they had not formed proper bone.  We looked at the part of the spinal cord nearest the brain but did not see SM. We will continue to examine the remainder of the spinal cord.

When we looked at the cerebellum, we also found that there were more cells in parts of the cerebellum.  When we counted the numbers of cells that were dividing, they were statistically significantly increased.  Usually if there are too many cells being produced, we see lots of cells dying.  However we found there were fewer cells dying.  Both the increased cell division and reduced cell death make the cerebellum bigger.  We also saw that some cells in the cerebellum that control co-ordination of movement were also not properly formed.  This all tells us that both the brain and the bone are growing too much and that as a result, some of the cells are more immature at birth than they should be. 

This all points to this condition being caused by abnormal cell division.  Importantly, it tells us that the brain and bone are not able to communicate with each other.  In the normal situation, if the brain was growing too much, the bone should keep up with it. In the CKCS this relationship is lost.

Dr Imelda McGonnell 

dated May 2009:  (feel free to cross-post):
 

Results Ecvo Eye Test 12 October 2008

Ecvo Eye Test for the following presumed hereditary diseases

Membrana Pupillaris Persistens (MPP)
Persisterende Hyperpl.Tunica Vasculosa
Lentis/Primair Vitreum(PHTVL/PHPV
Cataract (congenitaal)
Retina Dysplasie (RD)
Hypoplasie-/Micropapilla
Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA)
Others
L.Pectinatum abn.
Entropion/Trichiasis
Ectropion/Macroblepharon
Distichiasis/Ectopische cilie
Cornea dystrophie
Cataract (niet-congenitaal)
Lensluxatie (primair)
Retina degeneratie (PRA)
Others

Results our dogs

Beannachtai Woman in Red = Clear
Beannachtai Simply the Best = Clear
Beannachtai Your My Best Friend - Clear
Beannachtai Rubens Barrichello = Clear
Anastasia = Clear
Yvette von den Body-Guards = clear
Beannachtai Sky Masterson = Clear
Beannachtai Unique Wonder = Clear