HEALTH & WELFARE

As with any popular breed of dog, a number of hereditary conditions are occasionally seen in the Cocker Spaniel. The Cocker Spaniel Club has been monitoring the health of the breed for many years to ensure the incidence of these conditions is kept as low as possible.

PROGRESSIVE RETINAL ATROPHY

PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) is an inherited eye disease found in many breeds of dogs with varying ages of onset. It results in night blindness gradually leading to total blindness. In Cockers, PRA has a variable age of onset, from as early as 18 months to as late as 7 years. It is inherited as a simple Autosomal Recessive gene, meaning that a copy of the PRA gene must be inherited from both parents for the disease to occur. With recessive conditions like PRA, there are 3 genetic categories, affected, normal and carriers. Affected animals have two copies of the faulty PRA gene, one inherited from each parent. Carrier animals have one faulty copy of the PRA gene but appear perfectly healthy and cannot be distinguished from normal dogs by eye screening. Normal animals are entirely free of the faulty gene. The difficulty is that breeders have no way of identifying which category their breeding stock falls into as the only screening test available in the UK (eye testing by a BVA Panellist) can only determine if a dog is clinically clear of the disease at the time of testing. It cannot determine whether the dog is a carrier or whether the dog will go on to develop the disease at some time in the future. Research has been conducted by the Animal Health Trust into developing a DNA test to identify carrier animals but the results of this research are unfortunately unable to be used at the present time due to restrictions imposed by the American company, Optigen,which owns the Patent Rights to the Marker Genes used in the research. The Optigen test for prcd-PRA is however available to breeders outside the USA, more information can be found on their website at www.optigen.com.

It is advised that all breeders should annually eye test their breeding stock under the KC/BVA scheme to eliminate afflicted animals from the gene pool. Afflicted dogs, their parents (proven carriers) & their progeny (genetically carriers also) should not be bred from. More information on the eye testing scheme as well as a list of BVA Eye Panellists can be found at http://www.bva.co.uk/about/canine.html Details of Cockers which have been tested clinically clear & those which have been found to be afflicted with PRA are published in the annual Welfare Report published by The Cocker Club.

FAMILIAL NEPHROPATHY

Familial Nephropathy (FN), a fatal kidney disease in young Cockers, was unfortunately quite prevalent in the breed in the 1980's until research instigated by The Cocker Spaniel Club established that this was a hereditary condition with a simple recessive mode of inheritance (as with PRA). A Control Scheme was set up by The Cocker Club in the mid 1980's under which, all dogs & bitches known to have produced confirmed cases of FN were withdrawn from breeding and details of these carrier animals were published & made available to members & other breeders so that sensible decisions could be made in the selection of breeding stock. The success of this Control Scheme can be demonstrated by the fact that in recent years, only a very small number of confirmed cases have been reported.

An explanatory leaflet on FN & a list of matings that have produced confirmed cases are available from the Defects Co-ordinator, Mrs Lester. Email: quettadene@ukonline.co.uk

HIP DYSPLASIA

Hip Dysplasia (abnormal development of the hip joint) is generally associated with bigger breeds of dog but it can be found in any breed, including Cockers. It can cause lameness & pain in severe cases or produce no noticeable symptoms in minor cases. HD does not have a simple pattern of inheritance (it is a polygenic condition meaning it is controlled by several different genes) and whether an animal will develop HD is also influenced by external factors such as diet and exercise. At present, the incidence of HD in the breed is being monitored to determine if there is a problem. A relatively small number (in comparison to the total number of annual registrations) of Cockers in the UK have been hip-scored to date producing a breed average score of 15. More information on the Kennel Club/BVA Hip Scoring scheme can be found at http://www.bva.co.uk/about/canine.html

AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASE

Auto-Immune Disease is an umbrella name and covers different immune-mediated diseases of the dog, such as Addisons Disease, Hypothyroidism, Haemolytic Anaemia and others.

Auto-immune problems appear in all the dog population pure bred and otherwise, although some breeds appear to be predisposed to certain conditions. Cockers & Springers have been linked to Haemolytic Anaemia, although research so far does not indicate that the problem is inherited. It seems that environment, age and sex play an important role in an animal developing an auto-immune condition. Research is continuing & The Cocker Club will carry on monitoring the situation.