Health

Midland & West of England Great Dane Club

Est. 1948

Welcome to the

This page relates to health issues, health testing, and relevant links which will hopefully be of interest to breeders & owners, by providing information and also, as an aid to improve the health of our breed.

Vaccination Guidelines The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) regularly publishes guidelines for the vaccination of Dogs and Cats. Their website can be found at http://www.wsava.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines and it also contains a wealth of information on kidney, liver and hereditary diseases.

The Kennel Club have approved a new official DNA testing scheme for Inherited Myopathy in Great Danes (IMGD)/Hereditary Myopathy/Centronulcear Myopathy (HMLR,CNM) This is something within our control and, with careful breeding programs, can be eradicated from our breed. The test being done is Centronuclear myopathy (CNM) for inherited myopathy or, in the old days, central core myopathy. Laboklin does the test for mutation in the BIN1 gene.

Genetic Tests may also be carried out for coat colour testing LISTS OF UK LABORATORIES

The Kennel Club has confirmed that from 1st August 2018, any DNA health test result submitted for inclusion on its database must have at least two forms of identification on the result certificate.

It will be mandatory to include the dog’s microchip or tattoo number along with either the dog’s registered name or registered number. Any test results that do not carry these identifying features will not be accepted.

This brings the recording of DNA test results in line with those health tests carried out by the British Veterinary Association.

DCM Research still ongoing at Liverpool University Small Animal Teaching Hospital. If you are interested in having your Dane tested there are 2 options: You can travel to the hospital and have a heart scan + bloods etc done here - if your Dane is 4yr + OR if you have a Dane aged 1yr or above we can arrange to have a holter monitor (ECG) sent to your local practice to be fitted for a 24 hour period. Please contact Joan Toohey on 0151 795 6129 Mon - Fri 8a m- 2pm for more information or to arrange an appointment.

Great Dane Dilated Cardiomyopathy has not gone away! - and we want to help!

Seeking Great Danes!

Don't give up now! - We have worked together for over a decade and

we can continue to find out more to benefit the health, quality of life

and welfare of Great Danes.

We invite any of the following Great Danes and owners:

Great Danes of 12 months of age and older can be screened either by your primary vet or at the University of Liverpool. Tests include a blood sample for cardiac biomarkers and the Holter monitor. lf you attend your own vet, the Holter unit will be shipped to the vet from the Universityof Liverpool, with full instructions for fitting the Holter and for handling and lab details for the blood sample. The total cost for these tests if paid for privately would be about £826.
Great Danes of 4 years of age and older are mainly screened at the University of Liverpool, so owners will need to attend the Small Animal Teaching Hospital. Tests include blood tests for general healthy profile, thyroid testing and cardiac biomarkers, echocardiography (heart ultrasound) and Holter testing. The total cost for these tests if paid for privately would be about £825.
The Kennel Club Charitable Trust and Great Dane Breed Council funding cover MOST of these costs,but a condition of the award from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust was that each owner should make a small contribution towards these tests (ONLY £50 for the FIRST TIME the dog is tested as a REGISTRATION FEE) to show your personal commitment to advancing the health and welfare of the breed. Any subsequent tests (we usually see Great Danes every 1-2 years of their lives) would be FREE OF CHARGE. We hope you agree that this is good value, especially after 10 years of work already into heart health in Great Danes.

lf you would like more information, or to arrange a booking for full screening or Holter screening, please contact Mrs Joan Toohey (receptionist at the Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool), or Professor Jo Dukes-McEwan, Professor of Veterinary Cardiology, University of Liverpool.

Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus,

Chester High Road, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE.

Thank you for reading this! Jo Dukes-McEwan & Hannah Stephenson

Printed with kind permission from Joan Toohey

Great Dane Dilated Cardiomyopathy has not gone away ! - And we want to help !

What we know:

Kennel Club 2014 Pedigree Dog breed Survey: the leading cause of death in Great Danes was Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), accounting for nearly one quarter of all deaths (23.4%).

We have been studying DCM in Great Danesince 2008, from the LUPA project onwards. We found from health screening Great Danes of 4 years of age or older, 35.6% of all dogs screened had DCM. e also found that there was a risk of sudden death in Great Danes, even before any other signs.
You told us, in a large questionnaire including information about 710 Great Danes (Summer 2015),7.6% of all dogs had a sudden death - in most of these, they were under 6 vears old. We believe that these sudden deaths are "electrical deaths" because of abnormalities of heart rhythm. From our work over the last decade with Great Danes, we have found that Danes with abnormal heart rhythms are more likely to have a sudden death. Abnormal heart rhythm called ventricular tachycardia from a collapsed Great Dane, is shown at the top of this flier - only one ECG complex (*) is normal. After treatment, her ECG showed her heart rhythm was returned to normal (bottom ECG).
We know that early treatment of dogs with evidence of DCM on echocardiography will delay their progression and so screening dogs will help with both length and quality of life, even though we cannot stop the disease. It is also likely that specific anti-arrhythmic medication may reduce the frequency of abnormal heart rhythm.

What we do not know:

Can a simple blood test for cardiac biomarker tests be sensitive enough to identify Great Danes at risk of developing DCM or sudden death?
To investigate this, we need to take blood samples for the cardiac biomarkers from Great Danes with Echo and Holter studies.
In the future, cardiac biomarkers might be useful to focus the gold standard screening with echo Holter.
We need to know more about the risk of sudden death in Great Danes and association with DCM.
We have funding from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust and Great Dane Breed Council to investigate this further, but we need your continued support

Health

KC Breed Watch….

Fit for Function
KC Booklet
KC Infographics

Vet Surgeons recommended for Doppler echocardiography examination click on heart

Link to Heart Testing Information click on heart

Link to PennHip Screening

Vet Surgeons recommended for Eye testing

ANNOUNCEMENT from Hannah James, Health Research Manager The Kennel Club 22 March 2021

I am pleased to be able to share the below and attached press release with you. Please feel free to share this with your breed communities. This will also be going out on through the KC’s press and social channels.

THE KENNEL CLUB GENETICS CENTRE TO RE-OPEN AS PART OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Following the announcement in July 2020 of the closure of the Animal Health Trust, The Kennel Club is delighted to confirm that The Kennel Club Canine Genetics Centre will officially re-open and be located at the University of Cambridge. Here, the centre’s vital research into dog genetics and inherited canine conditions can continue.

The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has funded the centre since its initial launch at the Animal Health Trust in 2009. The new centre will continue to be led by Dr Cathryn Mellersh, and will resume its mission to research genetic mutations and assist in developing breeding tools for some of the most common and debilitating inherited conditions in dogs. The Kennel Club and the canine genetics team will work together to ensure that the centre’s research targets conditions that have the greatest impact on the health of dogs. The Kennel Club’s breed health and conservation plans, a project that gathers all available health information and data about each breed, will play a vital role in guiding the centre’s objectives and areas of research.

During its time at the Animal Health Trust, The Kennel Club Canine Genetics Centre had a significant impact on the health of numerous breeds. Researchers at the centre developed 25 different DNA tests for canine inherited diseases that affect over 50 breeds. Research into the impact of some of these tests revealed that over a ten year period, thanks to uptake of these tests by responsible breeders, the frequency of disease-causing genetic variants in some breeds reduced by a staggering 90%. Close collaboration with breed clubs and breeders is essential to the success of the centre, as is the collection of over 40,000 DNA samples that has been developed over the last twenty years. These samples, along with valuable scientific and DNA sequence data have now been secured and transferred to the University of Cambridge for further analysis.

Bill King, Chairman of The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, said: “The Kennel Club Genetics Centre has made an enormous positive impact on the health of dogs whilst under the auspices of the Animal Health Trust, the closure of which we were saddened and concerned to learn of last year.

“We’re now thrilled that the centre has found a home in such a reputable and prestigious research institute, and we’re very much looking forward to collaborating with the centre once more.”

Dr Cathryn Mellersh, head of The Kennel Club Genetics Centre added: “The last ten years have been incredibly important to dog health and, thanks to the University of Cambridge, especially Professor James Wood, Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge Vet School, for all his assistance in safeguarding our resources and The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, this work can now continue. Our work to support breeders in reducing health problems in dogs is essential and we are eager to continue this important work and are thankful to everyone for their support.”

Professor James Wood said: “We are delighted that the important work by Cathryn and her team, funded by The Kennel Club Charitable Trust can now continue through The Kennel Club’s Canine Genetics Centre at Cambridge Vet School. We look forward to working together for the health and welfare of our much loved dogs.”

Further information regarding The Kennel Club’s extensive work in the field of canine health and research can be found on The Kennel Club website at www.thekennelclub.org.uk/health.

As of 1st January 2021, the Breed Council Health Sub Committee’s online UK Great Dane Breed Health Survey

2022 The Kennel Club UK The new Kennel Club DNA Testing Services are now live! With more Breed-Specific Packages available than ever before. Find out what diseases your dog may be affected for, and what conditions they may be at risk of passing to their puppies should you ever decide to breed from them. The Kennel Club DNA Testing Services couldn’t be simpler to use. Browse our product menu and buy your test kit today at: https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/KCDNATestingGreatDane

PLEASE NOTE there are also alternative testing labs offering the same tests. Please check prices and discounts etc for comparisons eg LABOKLIN UCDAVIES PET GENETICS LAB