Table 3. Disease condition by organ systems for all breeds (N=36,0006 live dogs).
All conditions Prevalence
Disease condition N* %† %†† Most common specific conditions in descending order
1 Reproductive 3233 14.4 8.98 Pyometra, false pregnancy, dystochia, infertility, cryptorchid, irregular heats
2 Musculoskeletal 2910 12.9 8.08 Arthritis, cruciate ligament injury, hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, OCD
3 Dermatologic 2320 10.5 6.44 Dermatitis, mites, pyotraumatic dermatitis, alopecia, pyoderma, fading nose pigment
4 Ocular 2167 9.6 6.02 Cataract, entropion, corneal ulcer, epiphora, KCS, cherry eye, distichiasis
5 Gastrointestinal 1690 7.5 4.69 Colitis, GDV, diarrhoea, pancreatitis, foreign body obstruction, vomiting
6 Respiratory 1242 5.5 3.45 Kennel cough, noisy breathing, coughing, rhinitis, long soft palate
7 Cardiac 1159 5.2 3.22 Heart murmur unspecified, arrhythmia, MVD, CHF, DCMP
8 Urologic 1009 4.5 2.80 Cystitis, incontinence, cystouroliths, haematuria, kidney failure (chronic>acute)
9 Immune mediated 990 4.4 2.75 Food allergy, atopy, flea allergy, allergy unspecified, AIHA
10 Neurologic 937 4.2 2.60 Seizures, IVDD, deafness, meningitis, vestibular disease
11 Aural (ears) 825 3.4 2.29 Otitis externa, earmites, excessive ear wax, aural haematoma
12 Benign neoplasia 762 3.4 2.12 Lipoma, histiocytoma, unspecified
13 Cancer 646 2.9 1.79 Type unspecified, MCT, carcinoma, lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, SCC
14 Dental 613 2.7 1.70 Retained puppy teeth, dental disease, defect other than extra teeth
15 Endocrine 573 2.6 1.59 Hypothyroidism, Cushings disease, diabetes mellitus, Addisons disease
16 Unknown 457 2.0 1.27 Dermatologic, hepatic, musculoskeletal, ocular, neurologic, unspecified undiagnosed illness
17 Trauma 342 1.5 0.95 Musculoskeletal, ocular,dermatologic, neurologic
18 Other 213 1.0 0.59 Hernia (umbilical>inguinal), poisoning, fever of unknown origin, uncodeable conditions
19 Anal gland 127 0.6 0.35 Anal sacculitis (anal gland impaction or infection or removal)
20 Behaviour 87 0.4 0.24 Unspecified, aggression
21 Hepatic 78 0.4 0.22 Hepatitis, portosystemic shunt, liver disease/failure (chronic>acute)
22 Cerebrovascular 55 0.2 0.15 Stroke or cerebrovascular accident
23 Haematopoietic 53 0.2 0.15 Anaemia, bleeding disorder, platelet disorder
24 Cardiopulmonary 16 0.1 0.04 Coughing, pleural effusion, pulmonary oedema


if you tested every prdigree dog in this country for all these 'conditions' then they would All be taken out of the breed pool.
that would lead to the demise of ALL pedigrees.

so whats the answer?

We need to accept that health testing is not the solution. Inbreeding is the problem, unless breeders accept that, our pedigree dogs will continue to suffer on a downward spiral. The only viable option is controlled out crossing to other breeds, to open the gene pools and reverse inbreeding depression. And stop line breeding!!!

So what breed do yuo suggeast I put my heatlh tested clear ~Welshies too then, or you suggesting that a breed thats been in the welsh valleys for the last few hundred years be phased out. i dont think so somehow.

English Springer Spaniel maybe. What's the average COI in Welshies?

you have got to be joking its taken us years to breed out HC which the English have, they also have PRA we dont. Weklshies are a lovely deep red and as I've said have been in the Welsh Valleys for years known as starters.
Im leaving this conversation now as its getting nowhere, ill stick to what I know best breeding healthy pedigees thank you.
I hate the so called designer craze and I certainly wont be following suit with a "WENGLISH "
Apologies to Rips and all the other English owners but I expect they'd be as appauled as I am at crossing the two lovely breeds together,

Yes because a lovely deep red coat is so much more important than health

Dont you dare twist what I'm saying and take it out of context I notice you didnt mention the bit about PRA and HC.
My dogs are all health tested thank you, as all all the pups I sell.

The way the health issues have been grouped make it impossible to say either way.

For example, Kennel Cough, which I assume you would not try to say is hereditary, is included with the group for Respiratory problems which makes up 5% of the 'unhealthy' figures (so 2% of the total dogs surveyed). But it is lumped in with other problems which may be hereditary.

It should also be noted that they give a specific warning on the front of the survey expressing disappointment at the number of responses received (24% overall, with different breeds ranging from 4% to 64.7%).

Who knows whether this 24% is an accurate respresentation of the rest - it may be that more people with healthy dogs responded, it is arguable that on a health survey, more with health problems would respond.

What I'm trying to say Paddywack, is that whilst I agree that much needs to be done with respect to certain aspects (and in particular certain breeds) of pedigrees, when you support unsubstantiated sensationalism such as from the quote you posted earlier :-
"When you consider that the average age of the dogs in question (healthy and unhealthy dogs combined) was just 5 years old, what you are looking at here is an extraordinary level of disease, deformity, and misery in Kennel Club dogs.

you are not doing your side of the argument any favours.

A dog from health tested parents isn't necessarily healthy. What's the average COI of Welshies? What's the COI in your Welshies? A COI of less than 6.25% should be the MAXIMUM acceptable inbreeding Coefficient. Can you name me any current pedigree show dogs in the UK with a COI less than 14%

To be perfectly honest I couldnt tell you. I line breed and out cross every threee times. Its info the joint health groups dont hold as I've said were happy with the breed and we only breed tested dogs. AS far as I'm concerned I'm happy that I'm doing my best and I have no intention of cross breeding. The last mating i did was almost a complete outcross (if I takes) they only have ggggp in common.