Pedigree dogs exposed 2 - the right to reply by Bridgette Evans (svena cavaliers -uk)

PEDIGREE DOGS EXPOSED 2 - THE RIGHT TO REPLY by BRIDGETTE EVANS (SVENA CAVALIERS -UK)

As the individual who originally proposed at the CKCS Club AGM 10 years ago that the “Club liaise with Dr Rusbridge in order to discover the extent to which the condition (now) known as SM affected our breed” A task which fell to the then Health Liaison officer Mrs Margaret Carter. I feel responsible for the situation which has developed and would therefore like the “right to reply”

The program cited that 70% of all Cavaliers over 6 years of age will have asymptomatic SM based on a study of 555 Cavaliers. This study does not clarify how many of the representative sample were of this age. With an estimated population of 100,000 dogs , 555 dogs are a mere drop in the ocean. My own personal experience disputes this claim. I have had five dogs scanned over 5 years of age only, one (20%) has central canal dilation of 2mm (a syrinx) she is asymptomatic.

We have been told that this condition is progressive and degenerative based on a sample of just 12 dogs. Again my own experience disputes this statement.
Of my five dogs scanned over 5 years of age, four of which have been rescanned - one (25%) has been progressive and degenerative, one (25%) has remained static and two (50%) have improved, central canal dilation, present on their original scans was absent on their later ones.

When this matter was raised at a meeting in October 2010 the explanation given was a “difference in interpretation.” Acceptable in the case of one dog whose scans were reviewed by different individuals but, illogical in the case where it was reviewed by the same person.

We are told that of 564 dogs scanned, only 6 would be graded as CM grade 1. Yet dogs in the UK, Canada and the USA with this mild form of CM and graded clear of all forms of SM no oedema, no presyrinx, no central canal dilation, present with symptoms associated with SM a condition they don’t have. The explanation given for these symptoms is that CM alone can cause pain. So if mild CM causes symptoms why are the 558 remaining dogs not all scratching as well? Again illogical. As one of the owners of these dogs explains, to not know why she is suffering is unbearable.

We are told this breed is stoic yet another statement I dispute - if you had heard the fuss my young dog made when he recently broke a nail most would described this breed as “whimpy” almost bordering on pathetic. Yet we are suppose to believe they are suffering in silence!

As recently as August 2011 there was a study to establish the correct head position for scanning they have found the degree of cerebellar herniation was significantly worse in dogs with a flexed compared to an extended head position. As someone who has spent hundreds if not thousands of £’s scanning my dog. I ask do we now definitively have the correct scanning position?

It will be assumed that breeding the equivalent A to A dogs will eradicate this condition from the breed explain that to the breeder who has done this for several generation yet her young dog has just been scanned with 3.5 mm of CCD or the breeders who get completely clear dogs from two D parents. Health schemes are suppose to prevent “affected” dogs from being produced. If following the breeding protocols can’t achieve this, many ask if the science is correct?

Less than ten males over 6 have scanned clear of SM. Far too small a sample for a healthy gene pool. Publication of results will encourage the use of these animals. Many ask what if the science is wrong and this animals although scanned clear become or are symptomatic ? We are being told that genetic diversity needs to be maintained why would we support a scheme that would encourage the exact opposite and support the popular sire syndrome (by scan results rather than show ring success)

At the time of the airing of PDE2 Cavalier breeders are being expected to embrace a scheme whole-heartedly which still has no published explanation notes, no adequate appeals procedure and fails to give a logical scientific answer to the points I have raised. Many ask why we are expected to adopt a scheme in black and white for a condition which has obvious shades of grey ?
I am not saying that we should not scan, as a diagnostic tool, the scheme does have merit, it can not be right that dogs have fluid filled cavities within their spinal column. However, it is the dogs which are symptomatic, in distress and upsetting for their owners which need to be removed from this breed IRRESPECTIVE of how well they scan

As much as PDE has for some people given relief to those whose dogs present with symptoms and they finally feel they have an answer to their condition. It has caused the premature deaths of many others, For example the young bitch who 8 days after been diagnosed with SM died in agony from a undiagnosed diaphragmatic hernia or 10 month puppy who at my instantaneous had a full body scan and was finally and too late treated for the meningitis which was the cause of his pain.

To date less than 15% of the Cavaliers bred by me have not reached beyond double figures through accident or ill health, of the 80 + Cavaliers I have bred over 20 years I have lost contact with five. Most I have seen at various intervals throughout their lifetime. Therefore in common with many breeders who have never seen any dog bred by them show the symptoms being described as CM/SM. I find it impossible to comprehend that our breed is “riddled” with this condition. Bridgette Evans
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Norma Inglis Whoever is reading the above can you please share, tag or copy (whatever is possible!) this logical, clearly written, objective and to the point post with as many Cavalier lovers as possible. Thank you

nothing will ever change.

??? ???

The lady who wrote the reply has been fully health testing her Cavaliers for years-she obviously heart tests & eye tests, but also hip scores & MRI scanned. She doesn't breed excessively & isn't fixated on the showring either

Are you by your cryptic reply suggesting that she is denying that there is a problem in the breed, she like me doubts that 70% of all Cavaliers have SM, because the research was done on a very small selective sample of the breed

I feel trial by television is a poor way to address a complex situation. This programme and the previous one asked some interesting questions and I`m sure had (at the start) very good intentions. But the sensationalising of health issues, the lack of balance, the refusal to comprehend that most breeders actually want to breed healthy dogs (a fairly logical aim, I`d have thought) has turned this whole issue into a muck-raking contest.
JMO.

Good post, my thoughts exactly.

as i said nothing will change.

It would be good if we could educate the younger generation and make the majority of them aware of the problems.

It seems most of the die hard older breeders are unable to comprehend them.

As you said, nothing changes.

rune

This is such odd thinking. 555 dogs are scanned, and the writer explains that away as being too small a number to gather information from, yet she uses her experience with her own small crew, probably many of which are related, and a mere 5 older scanned dogs to base her own conclusions on?

Give me a break.

Anybody with knowledge and experience with MRIs (my mom had 6 prior to death and my brother has had 4 due to their shared neuro condition) KNOWS that interpretations can vary. They also know that different angles can show slight differences as it is soft tissue and fluids that are being shown.

Regarding CM only dogs with pain and others without, there are LOTS of conditions where the difference in pain suffered by one to another is inexplicable. Anyone with experience with neuro conditions ALSO knows that pain predictability from person to person with the same condition is absolutely impossible. Why is anyone believing it should be that way for this condition in dogs?

In dogs hip dysplasia works exactly the same way, with some that have severe x-rays not having pain, while others that are mildly dysplastic feeling crippled.

A x A pairings over generations have proven to diminish the incidence of this problem. (Paper is linked below). Sometime nature throws up a curve. This is EXACTLY the same as how hip dysplasia works, with the occasional pup, even from long tested lines, coming up with hip dysplasia.

Does this mean then that we should all walk away from hip testing as well? Do we have owners of mildly dysplastic dogs that suffer pain demanding that the research has to be wrong cuz the answer of mild HD isn't good enough for them?

Animal Health Trust and Sarah Blott have been working to produce Estimated Breeding Values (EVBs) for CM/SM and MVD risk for cavaliers for years now, which would take into account diversity as that seems to be another concern raised here. The largest difficulty has been getting breeders to give information.

http://www.cavalierhealth.org/estima...ing_values.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21672954

The prevalence of syringomyelia was investigated in a sample population of 555 Cavalier King Charles spaniels. All dogs, which were declared by their owners to be showing no clinical signs of syringomyelia, underwent MRI to determine the presence or absence of the condition. Data were analysed by logistic regression to determine the effects of sex and age on the prevalence of syringomyelia. Only increased age was found to have a significant effect. The prevalence of syringomyelia was 25 per cent in dogs aged 12 months, increasing to a peak of 70 per cent in dogs aged 72 months or more.

Can breeding strategies modify or eliminate the syringomyelia phenotype? - http://clarerusbridge-news.blogspot....1_archive.html

Effectiveness of the breeding guidelines for reducing the prevalence of syringomyelia - http://www.veterinary-neurologist.co.../b-g-paper.pdf

Small selective sample of the breed, my ****.

Ruby

In fairness. 555 is a small sample - that's not to say irrelevant, but nonetheless, small. Also selection would be relevant, ie were the 555 test subject randomly selected out of the entire population.

For example, were all the dogs tested from in-bred lines? Did they all have common relatives? etc.

All relevant.

However, what is pretty clear is that syringomyelia is prevalent in the breed (along with the other conditions) so action desperately needs to be taken and taken now if there is any hope at all for saving it and save it, I truly hope they do because this is a wonderful breed of dog

Excellent post, Ruby. I've been formulating my reply to the OP, but you have put it more succinctly than I ever could.

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