sandgrubber

This is one of those topics where findings are all over the place. see, eg., http://skeptvet.com/...based-approach/ (gives 13 references to peer reviewed articles . . . all of which draw somewhat different conclusions). The consensus is no longer desex-them-all, and there aren't a lot of people sticking up with early desexing. But there is no scientific consensus. I'd say the authors of the article cited in the OP formed an opinion and then cited the references that back that opinion. My foundation bitch died of reproductive system complications that would have been prevented by spaying. I personally think it's good to spay bitches that are post-reproductive. Hard to find any studies on older-age desexing.

Agree . . . it's just the easiest problem to quantify. And I would not say a dog with D grade hips is healthy. Given the grief Labs, GSDs, Rotti's etc. get about hip testing, it says something about bulldogs that their rotten hip scores are not treated as a major concern . . . ie., suggests that there are a lot of problems that are worse . . . . However, the hip problems may be part of a whole complex of problems affecting BB's and other brachy breeds. From the textbook of small animal orthopoedics CHAPTER 57 CONSTITUTIONAL DISORDERS OF THE SKELETON IN DOGS AND CATS PETER F. JEZYK http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_57/57mast.htm#a "Several breeds of dogs have characteristic features similar to those outlined for human achondroplasts that would place them in this category. These include the bulldogs, the Boston terrier, the pug, the Pekinese, the Japanese spaniel, and the Shih Tzu. The bony abnormalities observed in these include rhizomelic limb shortening and flared metaphyses, a depressed nasal bridge, and a shortened maxilla (resulting in their characteristic relative mandibular prognathism). They also have a small foramen magnum, and, especially in the bulldogs, there are often wedge- or hemivertebrae. These dogs tend to have upper airway problems associated with the facial conformation, including stenotic nares and overlong soft palates. The latter represents a normal soft tissue mass that has been translocated to an abnormal position by the bony anomalies. Elbow luxations and medial patella luxations occur and are probably associated with increased joint laxity, as in humans. Achondroplasia is an autosomal dominant disorder in humans (although exceptions have been reported) and appears to be an incompletely dominant autosomal trait in the dog.(74)"

I don't have a vested interest here but I just point out that if you have reported those stats correctly, out of a group of over 1,000 only 32 were hip scored. That is something like 3% and I would have to suspect the selection factor - I would guess that the only reason that they were xrayed and scored was a visible limp or impairment, I.e. the xrays were for diagnosis, not scoring for breed factors. Common sense tells us that if you at only going to look at scores of dogs visibly lame you are going to skew the data. On the flip side, if I am wrong and there were 1116 bulldogs hip scored and only 32 did not have A grade hips then this breed obviously does not have a problem with hip dysplasia. I have no problem with the mortality data, only 16% living to healthy breed expectancy is very sad indeed. Longevity and health should be on every breeder's list of aims. I didn't do a great job reporting the Finnish KC stats on HD. I accepted the default (year of birth 2011-2016). No dogs born in 2015 or 2016 have had Xray results recorded. ...the numbers will probably rise in a few years. However, if you extend the period to 1990 you still find only 3% of dogs born have been scored. The distribution of scores doesn't much change though. For A,B,C,D, and E grades, respectively: 1%, 1% 17% 38% and 43%. I think there's something funny going on here. OFA stats also show more dysplasic than not . . . and very low numbers scored. The stats clearly show that hip scoring is not popular with BB owners. You find the same in many other breeds, eg., all the sight hounds. But the sight hounds generally show very low incidence of HD.. Bias is likely . . . but how much bias affects the stats is hard to judge.

Depends on why she digs. If she's after critters, she's going to dig where the critters are. If she's after a cool place to lie down, she'll go for a damp shady spot . . . like under a bush that you water. If she's digging just for fun, you have a chance of training her by praise, hiding treats, etc.

But what fraction of British bulldogs are healthy? I'd guess it's much less than half. OFA stats show that 73% of BB's are dysplasic in the hips and more than a third are dysplasic in the elbows. http://www.offa.org/stats_hip.html The Finnish data show 32 of 1116 tested. Of 32, none had A grade hips, 1 had B, 5 had C, 12 had D, and 14 had F grade hips. Of 335 mortalities recorded, only 53 (16%) died of old age (average lifespan 9yr 8 mo). For the 335 in total, the average lifespan was 5 yr 11 mo.

Wouldn't say it squashes PDE. Jemima Harrison has an axe to grind, and misses a lot. In this case, she and others have missed the detail that the development of an unsound breed occurred long ago. She regularly forgets to observe that pugs, despite brachy problems, have relatively long lifespans (average around 12 yrs). Also seems more concerned about wrinkles than hips and elbows, and fails to consider ageing in her choice of photographic examples ... eg compare a 'times past' 2 yr old to a modern 8 yr old. These foibles don't negate the main point . . . many pedigree breeders have bred for extremes and let health go out the window. In some breeds, this is the norm, and you have no chance showing if you don't breed for extremes

Hasn't changed much, then. Life expectancy 5 yr 11 mo according to: http://jalostus.kenn...x?R=149&Lang=en The video seems to show that bulldogs are great at one thing: eating. I am a little surprised that the narrator was so blase about the short lifespan.

I've also been told (by an Australian vet) that, even for the strains it does cover, it does not confer a full year's immunity. She recommended vaccinating a few weeks or a month before going to a place/event where exposure was likely, and skipping the jab entirely if exposure was not likely.

There is "proof" of a lot of things that aren't strictly true (if you were in the US and had to listen to the Republican Convention garbage, you'd find lots to support that assertion). In most of the assertions above, I'd expect the devil is in the details . . . where double blind studies were done with adequate sample sizes and no obvious sampling bias, my guess is results are not strong...unless some treatment is obviously excessive (eg., vaccinating much more frequently than once a year). I think the stats are pretty clear that Cavaliers are genetically inclined to heart problems. I don't support mandatory desexing or over-vacciating. But no point to denying and working to correct genetic problems. Some breeders are doing this . . . it's good if they make it clear, and provide information along with the KC pedigree that show the soundness of their lines through testing, test results, and longevity records. One thing you can say about purebreds . . . they have a pedigree that can be followed. BYB, petshop, and designer dogs seldom do. Use that pedigree to breed for health . . . and to demonstrate you are doing so.

Not to mention a lot of families where no one is home most of the time, and a lot of kids who would rather be in front of a screen than behind a leash.

Below, I've posted the cause of death data from the Finnish Kennel club (unfortunately, the only club that keeps tabs on health for all registered dogs). Should note that this source shows most breeds to have shorter lifespans than advertised in most breed descriptions. The average lifespan listed is at the bottom . . . 9 yr 1 mo. That's on the low side for a small bred. Heart disease is common, but the dogs dying of heart disease live, on average, for 9 yr 3 mo., so I'd say it isn't a horrid problem. Syringomyelia has gotten a lot of attention and is a truly horrible disease that affects quite a few CKCS's get it. This has gotten much attention due to Pedigree Dogs Exposed. A pretty good list of ailments affecting the breed can be found at http://www.dogbreedhealth.com/cavalier-king-charles-spaniel/ Cause of death Average life spanTotal Accident4 years 2 months61 Age (natural or euthanasia)11 years 10 months272 Congenital defect or malformation of a puppy0 years 3 months3 Damage done by large carnivores7 years 4 months2 Dead without diagnosis of illness8 years 0 months42 Endocrine disease8 years 7 months16 Euthanasia due to behavioral problems6 years 2 months5 Euthanasia, non-diagnosed9 years 0 months54 Heart disease9 years 3 months355 Immunological disease3 years 0 months8 Jecur or digestive disease8 years 1 months34 Labor difficulties4 years 11 months2 Lost5 years 2 months5 Neurological disorder6 years 5 months68 Other unspecified disease7 years 2 months67 Respiratory disease8 years 8 months9 Skeletal or articular disease7 years 7 months18 Skin or ear disease6 years 1 months5 Spinal disease9 years 2 months13 Tumor, cancer9 years 6 months99 Urinary disorder8 years 2 months42 Cause of death not specified9 years 4 months388 Altogether 9 years 1 months1568 /br crap . . . that was a neat table when I posted it. You can find the data at http://jalostus.kennelliitto.fi/frmTerveystilastot.aspx?R=136&Lang=en and going to companion dogs, choosing CKCS, selecting health stats and selecting cause of death statistics.

Some dogs, from puppyhood on, will eat almost anything and digest it with no problems. (I have Labradors . . . most of them are that way). Some dogs are sensitive. Given that BARF can mean a whole lot of different diets, as can raw food, seems to me that you'll have to learn as you go along. My guess is you'll find no problems, unless your pup is of the sensitive type, in which case you'll probably have problems no matter what you do ;)

Long ago I had a neighbor who had a sweater made from yarn spun from his Newfie's hair. STINKY!!!! He never wore it.

Our kennel was in WA . . . no paralysis ticks. But we did have some dogs that would have been almost impossible to check every day. I'm reminded of a huge Newfie, whose owner left his coat to mat and stink. We bathed him and got some of the stink down, but it would have taken a skilled groomer to get his coat to a state where you could check for ticks. Then there were a few very skittish dogs who wouldn't stand still and were not comfortable with being handled, at least not by strangers. I'd say that in human labor terms, the cost of doing tick check would add at least a couple bucks a day per dog to the kennel's labor costs. NIghtmare at Christmas when fully booked. Writing into the contract that the dog MUST be on an effective treatment to prevent ticks . . . and keeping a few tick products at the counter for sale . . . might be a more sensible approach. If owners aren't willing to take the expense of tick prevention, seems wrong that the kennel should be held responsible for the much less effective (at least for thick coated breeds) measure of daily checking.

I have trouble sleeping without dog snores. My guys have great bed manners . It's summer here and hot. I fold my donna in half and sleep under sheets only on the outside half. The dogs sleep on the inside half on the folded doona. My only complaint, and it's not really a complaint, is that Jarrah, my old girl, woofs at me when she wants to come up on the bed. She's pushing 12 years and her night vision isn't up to navigating the dog body landscape in the dark. Often she goes up and down a couple times a night. Sigh.

The kennel cough part of this makes sense to me. No kennel can ensure dogs won't get KC, cause even vaccinated dogs can get it. There was a kennel association in the Perth area for awhile. They pooled revenues for yellow pages ads (remember the Yellow Pages), and paid a lawyer to write up a uniform boarding contract. It contained clauses that basically said the kennel wasn't responsible for anything. We scratched those clauses from our contract; we did end out paying occasional vet bills.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-13/kelpie-world-record-high-jump-bailey-casterton-muster/7505330

also rule out SM. ... it is widespread in the breed and often late onset. http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/08/cavaliers-agony-and-agony.html

I was surprised by this study. IMO multiple origin is more likely than single origin. If you travel in Amazonia, you find people adopting and semi-domesticating parrots all over the place. I'm sure the same is true for other domestications (Cormorants in China, hawks all over Europe, . . . .) plus that Belyaev's fox domestication showed that many individual foxes were predisposed to being friendly to humans. Dual origin seems as unlikely as single origin. The genetic work shows a bifurcation between European and Asian breeds. But I don't think anyone can exclude multiple origins in both Europe and Asia.

Jarrah can jump on the bed, but she won't do it in the dark; instead she barks; I turn on the light; she jumps up. Her night vision is failing. Lately she has been barking at the front door rather than using the doggie door in back. I'm tempted to just let her bark, but it's very hot here and I'm afraid she'll get heat stress.

Interesting that the Frenchie portion of the OP has gotten much comment and the Daschund portion has gotten almost none. Is there a Daschund explosion going on in Oz?

Some parts of California have mandatory spey/neuter laws. These mean you must have a license to keep a mature dog or bitch that isn't speutered. The biggest outcome of this seems to be that fewer and fewer people are registering their pets with the local county (ie,,council), and some people are turning their dogs over to shelters because they aren't willing to pay desexing costs. The restrictions make sense in theory . . . licenses for breeding dogs are automatic if you don't have a record of violating dog laws; they require annual veterinary health checks, and of course, payment of licensing fees. Shelter populations have been reduced, but that probably owes more to widespread subsidized speutering and social pressure to speuter than it does to mandatory speutering. See, eg., http://www.scanimalshelter.org/planned_pethood_fees

I can't believe there's no heartworm in the NT or QLD and only two cases in WA (both in the North)! Or that there's been only one case of Parvo in WA (also North). I'd say the maps give a false sense of security. Great concept, though. I hope more vets will record and the maps will become credible.

Just skimmed the DOL Frenchie puppy ads. A few patterns: * prices are high. The lowest price listed is $4k, apart from one $3.5k in NZ. * lots of new-ish breeders, relatively few advertize 10yr or more of experience with the breed. * more males than females being sold, most selling on limited register, significant fraction selling speyed/neutered pups only. * health testing far from uniform. Many ads mention only that pups are vet-checked. No mention of BOAS or steniotic nares. * lots of imports Btw., today there are 243 listed Frenchie breeders on DOL,50 ads for pups. I'd say this looks like a lot of people cashing in on a newly popular breed and trying to protect their position as sellers in a situation where demand is high, supply low, and prices high. Presumably many of these are keeping pick female pup to enable more puppy sales in the future. There are also quite a few people who have been with the breed for a long while and are breeding to a high standard.

Ok, I can go for no breeding for profit, but if you take on a full time job you deserve to earn a living wage. People start wagging their fingers when someone has more than a couple bitches. But someone who works full time caring for their dogs can generally give more care to each of ten or so dogs than someone who has a full time job and keeps a couple bitches, especially if they have invested in facilities for excellent dog care. Some breeds are sociable, and are happier in a setting that allows them to have a sense of belonging to a pack. Heavy investment in a given breed results in greater understanding of breed traits, pedigrees, health problems, and the whole lot. It also facilitates importation of new bloodlines, which is critical for health of breeds that aren't well represented. Should add that Frenchies and Bostons are not cheap to breed because they have smallish litters and more-often-than-not require C-sections, and stud fees are relatively high. This is not to say that there aren't puppy farms, and expensive breeds are attractive material for puppy farms. But blanket condemnation of breeders because they have more than a certain number of dogs shows a sort of blindness.