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Greater and greater demands are being placed on responsible dog breeders in their selection of mating pairs to produce future litters. First and foremost they are trying to produce litters of puppies that will grow into adults that display the correct breed type, characteristics and, importantly, good, sound temperaments. However, they are also endeavouring to produce puppies that will live long, healthy lives, and this, depending on the breed, could involve putting all potential breeding stock through a number of health screening programmes for diseases that are known to affect that breed.
Many of these breed-specific conditions are inherited. We now recognise in excess of 400 conditions in the dog that are either known to be inherited, or where inheritance plays a part in the expression of the condition. About two-thirds of these result from a recessive defect in just one of the 30,000 or so genes that are required to specify a dog, so-called single-gene disorders. A dog that is affected by one of these recessive conditions will have two copies of the defective gene, one copy inherited from its dam and the other copy inherited from its sire; two copies of the defective gene means that the dog is both genetically and clinically affected. A dog that has one defective copy of this gene and one normal copy is classed as a carrier. Importantly, carriers of these recessive conditions are clinically normal, but they will pass the recessive gene copy onto approximately half of their offspring, if bred from. The final category will be a dog that has two normal copies of this gene; such a dog is both genetically and clinically clear of the condition in question.
The last decade has seen remarkable progress into our understanding of the structure of canine genes and consequently, it is becoming easier to identify the defective genes that are at the root of inherited disease in the dog. At the time of writing, the research community has identified around 50 different genes that are involved in inherited diseases affecting around 70 different breeds of dog; some breeds suffer from the same inherited disease. The nature of scientific progress is such that we will almost certainly understand the genetic cause of the vast majority of single-gene disorders during the next 5 or so years.
Knowing the genetic cause of a single-gene inherited disease usually means that a simple DNA test can be developed to assess the genetic make-up of an individual dog with respect to the disease for which the DNA test has been developed. All that is needed is a small amount of DNA from a dog, usually extracted from a simple mouth swab or blood sample, which can be tested by a specialist laboratory. The result will tell the owner whether the dog is normal (two normal copies of the gene), a carrier (one normal copy and one defective copy of the gene) or affected (two defective copies of the gene).
If breeders DNA test their breeding stock before they are mated then it will give them far greater confidence that their parental choices will not produce puppies affected by the inherited disease. Such information will be invaluable. If a dog comes back normal, then the breeder need not worry about using the dog in a breeding programme. Knowing that a dog is a carrier is also invaluable information. If a breeder knows that the dog is a carrier, then he/she will know not to mate it to either an untested dog or another carrier, because the chances of producing an affected puppy will be too high. For example, if two carriers of the same defective gene are mated, each of their puppies will have a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting two copies of the defective gene and being clinically affected. However, if the breeder mates a proven carrier to a DNA-tested normal dog, then none of the progeny will be clinically affected. The puppies will be either normal or carriers, and DNA testing each of the puppies can sort these out. Likewise, an affected dog can be mated to a DNA-tested normal dog with the knowledge that none of the puppies will be clinically affected; they will all be clinically normal carriers.
The Kennel Club's approach to such DNA testing technology is to establish an Official DNA Testing Scheme, usually in collaboration with a breed club or council and the testing laboratory. Under such schemes, the owner agrees at the time of application that the DNA result for the tested dog will be passed directly to the Kennel Club, where the result will be added to the dog's data on the Kennel Club's registration database. This addition triggers a number of different forms of publication:
| - | A single publication in the next available Breed Records Supplement (BRS) | |
| - | Addition to the information present on any new registration certificate issued for the dog | |
| - | Addition to the information given on the registration certificates of any of the dog's future progeny |
Lists of DNA-tested dogs and their DNA test result can also be maintained and regularly updated on the Kennel Club web site.
To maximise the positive impact of DNA testing on their breeding, breeders should:
Following the above protocol will eventually result in the eradication of many diseases which have affected dogs over the generations and result in normal happy puppies - the aim of both the Kennel Club and all responsible breeders.
The range and scope of Kennel Club interests and activities is ever-widening, and in recent years, the Kennel Club has become much more active in lobbying on issues that affect both dogs', and their owners' interests. The Kennel Club increasingly works alongside UK, Scottish and European Members of Parliament and officials, and has found that, with the assistance of canine enthusiasts throughout the country and other areas of the world, dog owners' opinions and input are valued when agreeing policy or drafting legislation. Detailed below are examples of issues that the Kennel Club lobbies on at local, national and European level as well as Kennel Club public affairs initiatives.
Animal Welfare Bill
Throughout the Bill's passage, the Kennel Club called on the Government to: exempt a ban on tail docking from legislation; ban the sale and use of electric shock collars; ban the sale of puppies in pet shops; introduce wider offences for people involved in dog fighting and introduce national minimum qualifications for animal welfare inspectors.
As a result of Kennel Club lobbying, it is likely that certain breeds of working dogs used to work in connection with: law enforcement; activities of Her Majesty's armed forces; emergency rescue, lawful pest control, or; the lawful shooting of animals will be exempt from a ban on tail docking. In addition to this the Government has introduced a wider range of offences relating to animal fighting and stated its intention to monitor the success of the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme that aims to provide good breeding practice. While national standards for animal welfare inspectors are unlikely to be written into primary legislation, the Kennel Club expects regulations to deal with this at a later date.
Since powers have been provided to ban the use of any equipment in relation to animals through secondary legislation once the Bill is passed, the Kennel Club will continue to lobby for the sale and use of electric shock collars to be banned. To find out how to support this campaign contact Holly Lee on 020 7518 1020 or hlee@the-kennel-club.org.uk
Dangerous Dogs
The Dog Legislation Advisory Group in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police has met throughout the year to discuss alternatives to the Dangerous Dogs Act. It aims to propose to the Government an alternative to breed specific legislation that could form the basis of a new parliamentary Bill.
Dogs as Shark Bait
The Kennel Club has been lobbying the French Government to take further steps to enforce its animal welfare legislation on the French controlled island of Réunion where shark fishermen use live dogs as bait. It encouraged many sympathetic members of the dog world to bring similar pressure to bear on the French Government as well as their local MPs.
Dog and Cat Fur
The Kennel Club has written to the European Commission to encourage it to ban the import, export, sale and production of dog and cat fur throughout Europe and plans to speak to the Kennel Clubs in China to gain their active support. While the UK has not found any evidence of such trade within its borders, the Kennel Club understands that trade is likely to grow in other European countries until there is a complete EU ban.
International Canine Forum Website
www.internationalcanineforum.com allows users to access all Kennel Club position papers; parliamentary updates; and policy related press releases. Users can communicate with those responsible for public policy at the Kennel Club via a direct link, and gain useful contact information for any other Kennel Club query.
KC Dog
Since the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act came into force in April 2006, local authorities have the power to issue dog control orders. This means that councils will be able to make orders for standard offences to apply to land within their area. To help dog owners protect themselves KC Dog (Kennel Club Dog Owners Group) will act as an intermediary between local authorities and their residents. It will rely on information from its participants in order to do this as effectively as possible. Contact Holly Lee on 020 7518 1020 or hlee@the-kennel-club.org.uk to join.
Following the last KC Dog Bulletin the Kennel Club has been given notice that the following local authorities are planning to introduce dog control orders:
§ Camden Borough Council
§ West Dorset District Council
§ Kerrier District Council
For further information please visit http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?ap=1&id=725
April, 2007 - Following the last KC Dog Bulletin the
Kennel Club has been given notice that the following local authorities are
planning to introduce dog control orders:
§ Northampton Borough Council
§ Vale Royal Borough Council
§ Southwark Borough Council
§ Islington Borough Council
For further information please visit http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?ap=1&id=725