̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Jane Ladlow

Preventing genetic diseases in dogs, our best friends

cg605 — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 11:46:19 +0000

How genetics and DNA testing can pave the way for more puppies to be born free from hereditary illnesses.

Scheme launched to improve health of French Bulldogs, Pugs and Bulldogs

cjb250 — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 15:53:55 +0000

Developed by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and funded by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, the new Respiratory Function Grading Scheme assesses dogs for the presence and severity of a breathing problem known as BOAS (Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome). ̽��ֱ��scheme is currently available for the Pug, French Bulldog and Bulldog, and has the potential to improve the health and welfare of these breeds for generations to come.

Dogs with a flat, wide shaped head are said to be brachycephalic (‘brachy’ meaning short, and ‘cephalic’, meaning head). ̽��ֱ��soft tissue in the nose and throat of some brachycephalic dogs may be excessive for the airways, partially obstructing the airway and making it difficult for them to breathe normally and causing heavy panting or noisy breathing. This condition is known as BOAS and is a progressive disorder that can impair a dog’s ability to exercise, play, eat and sleep.

̽��ֱ��assessment, which can now be carried out by a number of specially trained assessors located across the UK involves listening to the dog’s airway both before and after an exercise tolerance test. Assessors then use a pre-defined protocol to grade the dog from zero to three. Dogs graded as zero are free of respiratory signs of BOAS, while dogs graded as three will show severe respiratory signs of BOAS, indicating that further veterinary examination is advised. ̽��ֱ��scheme issues guidance that dogs graded three should not be bred from.

These grades will be recorded on the Kennel Club’s database and published in the Breed Records Supplement, on the dog’s registration certificate, and on the Kennel Club Health Test Results Finder and Health webpages. ̽��ֱ��BOAS Scheme will be supported by guidelines for breeders, which enable them to understand the grade for their dogs in terms of risk when considering potential matings.

Speaking at the inaugural launch event, Bill Lambert, Senior Health and Welfare Manager at the Kennel Club said: “ ̽��ֱ��high demand for these breeds, combined with the already recognised health problems has made brachycephalic health and welfare one of the most pressing canine issues in the UK, and one of the Kennel Club’s top priorities. We’re proud to have been able to fund and develop this important scheme with the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and continue to support further research into BOAS, together with the other steps we are taking to improve the health of future generations of these breeds.”

“Launching the BOAS Scheme is a huge step in the right direction to improve the health of these brachycephalic dogs and protect the future of these much-loved breeds. It will enable vets to identify dogs at risk of BOAS, provide breeders and owners with the best available information and advice to make informed decisions and inform ongoing research into the condition.

Dr Jane Ladlow, Royal College and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “ ̽��ֱ��way that BOAS is inherited is very complex and so not always entirely predictable. We are researching the genetics of this condition but it is likely to take a few years before we have a viable genetics test. We have realised over the last few years how useful the functional grading scheme is in determining disease severity and it reflects the initial genetic data we have.

“ ̽��ֱ��scheme is a vital tool to help advise all owners if their dog is affected by BOAS and gives guidance to breeders to lower the risk of producing affected puppies. It also, crucially, facilitates important data collection and enables researchers to monitor the frequency of the condition and progress in the breed affected, which will inform ongoing research, for the overall improvement of relevant breeds.

Dr Ladlow and colleagues will be working with the Kennel Club and other organisations dedicated to improving brachycephalic dog health across the board through promoting the scheme and engaging vets, breeders and puppy-buyers to raise awareness and understanding of BOAS.

Adapted from a press release from the Kennel Club.

A new screening scheme aims to provide breeders of French Bulldogs, Pugs and Bulldogs with more information about the health of their dogs, helping them reduce the risk of breeding puppies with potentially serious breathing problems.

̽��ֱ��scheme is a vital tool to help advise all owners if their dog is affected by [breathing difficulties] and gives guidance to breeders to lower the risk of producing affected puppies

Jane Ladlow

GLady

French bulldog

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No simple way of predicting breathing difficulties in pugs, French bulldogs and bulldogs from external features

sjr81 — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 18:00:17 +0000

̽��ֱ��findings have implications for attempts to ‘breed out’ this potentially life-threatening condition.

Pugs and bulldogs have become popular breeds in recent years – the French bulldog is set to become the UK's most popular canine, according to the Kennel Club. However, a significant proportion are affected by a condition known as Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) related to their head structure.

Studies suggest that for over half of such dogs, BOAS may lead to health problems, causing not just snoring but also difficulty exercising and potentially overheating. It can even prove life-threating. But as symptoms often do not arise until after the dog has begun breeding, veterinary scientists have been searching for markers that can predict whether a dog is likely to develop breathing difficulties – and hence potentially help breed out the condition.

A study in 2015 led by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College, ̽��ֱ�� of London, working across many breeds suggested that dogs whose muzzles comprised less than half their cranial lengths and dogs with thicker neck girths were at increased risk of BOAS. However, a new study carried out by researchers at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and published today in the journal PLOS ONE, suggests that these measures applied to individual breeds are not dependable for this purpose.

̽��ֱ��Cambridge researchers took external measurements of features of head and neck shape, and of the external appearance of nostrils, together with measurements of body size and body condition score (an approximation to the degree of fatness/obesity) in just over 600 pugs, bulldogs and French bulldogs, the most numerous breeds that show this problem. Each of the dogs had also been graded objectively for respiratory function.

̽��ֱ��team found that while the external head measurements did have some predictive value for respiratory function, the relationship was not strong, and the measurements that showed the best predictive relationship to BOAS differed between breeds. They were unable to reproduce conclusively the findings from the previous study by the Royal Veterinary College in any breed.

“It can be incredibly difficult to take measurements such as distance between eyes or length of nose accurately, even for experienced vets, as the dogs don’t keep still,” says Dr Jane Ladlow, joint lead author. “This may explain why it is so difficult to replicate the findings of the previous study or find any conclusive markers in our own.”

Neck girth was a slightly more reproducible measurement, and larger neck girth in comparison to chest girth or neck length was associated with disease in the bulldogs and French bulldogs. In male bulldogs, neck girth showed a close enough association with disease to give moderately good predictive accuracy for the presence of clinically significant BOAS.

̽��ֱ��best measure identified by the Cambridge team was the degree of nostril opening, which proved a moderately good predictor of the presence and severity of BOAS in pugs and French bulldogs, and was also a useful marker for disease in bulldogs.

Altogether the variables measured, when combined, gave an 80% accuracy in predicting whether or not dogs will have BOAS, the difficulty of taking some of the measurements accurately, and the need to make multiple measurements and combine them in order to produce a prediction means that the researchers would not recommend using them as a guide to breeding.

Dr Nai-Chieh Liu, first author of the study, says: “Breeding for open nostrils is probably the best simple way to improve these breeds. Dog breeders should also avoid using dogs with extremely short muzzles, wide faces, and thick necks. These traits are all associated with increased risk of having BOAS.”

Joint lead author Dr David Sargan adds “At this moment there is no conclusive way of predicting whether any individual pug or bulldog will develop breathing difficulties, so we are now looking for genetic tests that may help breeders get rid of BOAS more rapidly.

“ ̽��ֱ��best advice we can give to owners of short-nosed dogs is to make sure you get your dog checked annually for any potential difficulties in breathing, even if you have not yourself observed any in your dog, and to keep your dog fit and not let it get fat.”

As many as a half of all short-nosed dogs such as pugs, French bulldogs and bulldogs experience breathing difficulties related to their facial structure. However, research published today by the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge suggests that there is no way to accurately predict from visible features whether an apparently healthy pug or French bulldog will go on to develop breathing difficulties.

Dog breeders should also avoid using dogs with extremely short muzzles, wide faces, and thick necks.

Nai-Chieh Liu

LW Yang

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