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14/8/08
Pleased to report that Tony's hip score
has returned as 8 : 7 and Poppy (Black Dove)
also has a good score of 8 : 6.
8/7/08
I'm pleased to report that the Kennel Club has
issued a
press release about it's new Health
Strategy. It's self-explanatory, and I think most
cocker spaniel breed enthusiasts who have taken the
trouble to test will greet this news with some
relief that the KC are recognising their commitment.
19/06/08 I have received this link from Addi Pittman, the English Cocker Spaniel Club of America's Health Co-Ordinator .It has video of a quite disturbing condition that has been seen in English Cocker Spaniels in the USA, and I wonder if anyone over here has seen it in any of their dogs.? It's possible that research might be done if it is found to be anything like prevalent in certain lines,so please DO get in touch with me if you would like to know more.... 4/6/08 As part of our ongoing commitment to health testing our dogs, we have re-tested CHARBONNEL WAR HERO for FN at Antagene, as he was previously tested as one of a litter of 8 Warlord pups at the GTG lab in Australia, as the FN test hadn't been made available in France when those pups were 8 months old. Yes, I kept the WHOLE litter until there was a test available, as Texas A & M were no longer having to 'prove' the efficiency of the test.(GTG are the official lab for PRA and FN testing in Australia, under agreement with Optigen). I was concerned that if the UK Kennel Club DO approve of the move to have a breed health register that they would not accept a GTG result, and so I made this decision.
I am pleased to say that both Jack and his 2
pups...CHARBONNEL SWEDISH DESIGN and CHARBONNEL DREAM
DESIGN have been tested normal homozygous (clear ). All
3 are micro-chipped, contrary to the requirements now.
13/4/08 4/3/08 As I've always said, the place to read about MY DOGS (both bred AND owned by me) is on MY site, so I have great pleasure in being able to say that we have had the good news from Angela Francini in Italy that CHAMPION CHARBONNEL STORM'N'NORMAN has tested CLEAR of FN at Antagene. You may have read on a Swedish site that he is behind a youngster who has unfortunately and regrettably died of FN, so to be sure that he was not one of the carriers concerned he has been tested with the favourable result of CLEAR . ( I doubt very much if the Swedish breeder who finds it necessary to castigate my dogs will annotate the pedigree she so proudly illustrates on her site, so please keep the above information in mind when you should read any more information.)
Obviously Angela and I are relieved and happy that Norman
can still be used with confidence. Thank you Angela for your
unstinting faith in me and my breeding !!!
13/12/07 Interesting research into anal sac tumours in the UK. Please read the following link and help if you can..... 8/11/07 Wonderful news from Sweden !! Tony's mother, Malena, is FN normal /clear, which means that Tony himself is clear by parentage! Well done Monica, and thank you !! 21/10/07 Good news for Jessica Kelly - her lovely young bitch, Jack's litter sister, CHARBONNEL LANDGIRL TO MOLLNME has been hip-scored with a result of 5:3. So pleased that your foundation bitch is just what you wanted and all that you hoped for Jessica!! 29/09/07 STATEMENT FROM OPTIGEN RE EUROPEAN prcdPRA TESTING ALERT REGARDING prcd-PRA TESTING BY OTHER COMPANIES -September 24, 2007 Please read this notice so that you can protect yourself, your dog, and your breed. It is not enough to simply “have your dog tested” for PRA. You must be absolutely sure of the quality, meaning, and legality of all test results. Which company knows the science behind the test? Where will you be assured of continuous testing and record-keeping for many years to come? Did the researchers who developed the test grant a license or endorse any other company to sell the test? The single answer to these important questions is - OptiGen is the only company that can give you the highest quality of PRA test results, answers to your questions and support of the researchers who developed the test and that will continue to do so for years to come. OptiGen is the only genetic testing company that specializes in canine eye diseases. OptiGen currently has the U.S. patent and has patents pending for prcd-PRA testing in Europe. We expect issuance of these European patents within a few months. During this brief time before the final patents are granted, some companies are profiting by claiming that they are doing the “OptiGen” test. Let us be clear: NO OTHER COMPANIES HAVE OUR PERMISSION TO SELL THE OPTIGEN TEST in Europe. Many of you endured the difficult years of dog breeding when genetic testing was not available. You remember the stress that came from producing puppies that might be blinded by PRA when you had no way to prevent the heartache that would follow. Those days are not so long passed but they are now history, thanks to many years of research by OptiGen and our research associates. We have spent and continue to spend much time, money and effort to give our clients all the benefit of our depth of expertise in veterinary ophthalmology and genetics research. OptiGen places the highest priority on accurate, scientific and meaningful information. We care deeply about this subject because we want you to be able to breed the healthiest dogs. We are greatly disappointed by any other company’s presumption to take our intellectual property and use it during the period prior to our patent being issued. They will not have the legal right to continue when the patent is issued. We greatly appreciate the loyalty and concern for quality that most of our European customers have shown in remaining with OptiGen during this period. Thank you for alerting us to your concerns and for asking advice on how, as conscientious breeders, you should proceed during this interim period. In appreciation, OptiGen would like to announce a new option that will be available to our loyal customers starting January 2008. Because many of you have taken PRA testing seriously from the start, you now have Normal dogs being mated to Normal dogs. And you would still like to have these offspring OptiGen certified as Normal. To give a cost-effective option, OptiGen will reduce by half the test price for all offspring from OptiGen-Normal x OptiGen-Normal matings. We now are making the necessary changes to our procedures so we can verify OptiGen tested “Normal” results on sires and dams and give you a discount on testing their offspring of any age. The exact starting date will be posted on our website as soon as possible. On behalf of all the staff at OptiGen, we extend a sincere “Thank you!” to our loyal customers. We look forward to serving you for many, many years to come. - Sue Pearce-Kelling, Manager OptiGen®, LLC • Cornell Business & Technology Park • 767 Warren Road,
Suite 300 • Ithaca, New York 14850 6/9/07 Today my vet phoned to say that CHARBONNEL WAR HERO's hip score had been returned from the BVA/KC as 7 : 6 ,so really pleased about that, especially as his first litter is due next week from CHARBONNEL FAIR ROUGE. 03/08/07
Please follow this
link to read details of the latest news in Sweden on
Renal Dysplasia in the English Cocker Spaniel, and the
progress being made by the Swedish Cocker Club in their
pursuit of knowledge on this disease.
It is worrying that this is yet another disease that
breeders have to fight, and I DO wonder if we have had
instances in the UK in the past which have been wrongly
diagnosed as Familial Nephropathy. I know in years gone
by FN was also called ' Shrunken Kidney' over
here ....the SCSK details say :
Renal Dysplasia (renal = kidney, dysplasia = unnatural
cell growth) is defined as an unnatural development of
the kidney tissue. The kidney tissue (glomeruli and
tubuli) might be underdeveloped (foetal) and/or
miss-developed, which causes inflammation and formation
of fibrous tissue. In most cases, the dog will become
sick and die from renal failure between the age of 4
months and 2 years of age.
While on the subject of health, there is another problem which needs addressing, one which has been around for many years and yet seems now to be rearing its ugly head quite often, and that is hermaphroditism in cockers. This is when a male or female of the species has reproductive organs of the opposite sex, either instead of, or as well as, it's own. I have not heard of it in solids at all, only in parti-colours, but that doesn't mean it isn't in all colours, and I haven't actually seen it in canines, although I have seen it in pigs many times. As the condition presents itself in so many different ways in each sex, I think it is better to put some links here, rather than me try to explain. Suffice to say that in the majority of cases females are rendered as non-breeders, while of course all carriers appear perfectly normal, and so prolific stud dogs when mated to carriers are once again perpetuating the problem.. My friend Lea Bogers- Dam in Holland is very interested in this condition and she has contacted researchers in the USA about it along with the Netherlands Cocker Club, and I think that if anyone can help in any way with DNA or pedigrees this could be another condition that we could rid ourselves of in the future using a test, with careful breeding strategies. Anyone with any information can email me in the strictest confidence, and I will forward your mails onto Lea.
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