The year 2008 was 'interesting', not only for the Skye Terrier breed but, for all breeds of pure bred dogs.  The unforgettable, negative propoganda conducted in the media resulted in huge concerns for the future of all our beloved breeds.  The questionnaire, issued  at the beginning of December by the Kennel Club for their new Breed Health Plans, did cause frantic activity to enable return by the deadline of 30th December.   The Skye Terrier Club was 'one step ahead' in fulfilling the new requirements, since we already had a Health Committee in place and I was nominated as the Health Co-ordinator.  The Skye Terrier was, like all other breeds, attributed with a list of conditions found in published scientific literature.  These then had to be commented on, omissions noted and final conditions listed in order of perceived importance.  The Skye Terrier is of course a generally healthy breed, but disease does nevertheless occur.

There seems to be a quite common belief that a great number of cases have to exist for a condition to give cause for concern.  It is however much more complex than a strictly numerical issue.  An incidence of even relatively few cases, at certain frequency, of any hereditary condition causing severe symptons and reducing life expectancy, cannot be ignored, especialy in a numerically small breed.

The way forward in caring for the future wellbeing of our precious breed is based on the ability to openly face and declare any matter of concern.  Active health monitoring is necessary to prevent the possiblity of a somewhat minor problem maybe turning into a major one.  The only way to find out about the actual health status of a breed is through real-time recording, including records of age at & cause of death.  Such recording is actually now also a KC requirement and I must again, as in earlier Health Reports, stress how important it is that ALL cases of significant illness can be logged.  Vigilance is important, so please keep me informed.  Received information is treated in strictest confidence.

One death from Coronary failure in elderly dog and 2 cases of Epilepsy have been reported during 2008.  The cases of Epilepsy, both in relatively young dogs, are obviously most distressing and hard for both the dogs and their owners to cope with.  I sincerely hope that both patients will improve with time and treatment!

A cheque for £50 has been sent to the Animal Health Trust (AHT) re swab donations.  No new cases of Renal Dysplasia (RD) have been reported.  This is of course good news but must not be taken as proof that the condition has gone away.  Hereditary conditions do unfortunately not vanish from the gene pool 'just like that'.  It has e.g. been argued that the Hepatitis has completely disappeared now, but scientific evidence sadly disproves that.  It is therefore disappointing to find that only 12 of the 27 registered puppies have contributed their DNA to the collection at the AHT.  This is not disappointing from a RD point of view, but generally.  The ideal is that DNA from the whole population eventually will be in storage and thereby available for any research if or when the need occurs.  It would be so much quicker and more feasible to tackle any problem that could be solved by a simple DNA test, if we had the genetic mateial readily available.  We have already got a good start with a total of 84 samples stored so, please, keep submitting samples!

Fund raising and donations have yet again added money to the Health Fund and it has now grown to the quite impressive sum of £1051.  Many thanks to all who have given their generous contributions!

Maud Hawkes BSc (Hons) AS

Please do not hesitate to contact me via email msascience@onetel.com or on tel:- 01623 812856 if you want to discuss or report any health matters in confidence.

All information is always, treated in strictest confidence!
It would also help our statistics, if owners were willing to let us know the age and cause of death, when they have sadly lost one of their beloved Skye's.Many thanks for everybody helping to care for the Future of Our Breed by sending information.                

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SKYE TERRIER HEALTH AND RENAL DYSPLASIA DNA REPORT
April 2008. The DNA–collection has been gathering strength and is progressing very well since the last report.  There are now samples from 73 dogs in storage at the Animal Health Trust (AHT).  Most breeders have co-operated by submitting swabs from the puppies they have reared during the last twelve months.  Many Thanks to all the contributors and please keep up the good work !  Another cheque for £100 re swab-donations was therefore sent by me to the AHT last autumn. And by the way, always get proof of postage and try and inform me immediately, when you have posted off samples, so I can check that they have arrived safely at AHT. Some samples appear to have been lost in transit, but it didn’t come to light before it was far too late to approach the Royal Mail about it.Please don’t forget that it is also extremely important to inform me and the AHT if any significant health changes occur to any of the puppies in their future life.
All data and received information is treated in strictest confidence as per the general rule in dealing with such information ! No cases of Renal Dysplasia have been reported to me, which presumably means that there are still no samples from affected dogs. The whole idea with the DNA work is to find a usable test, so that the birth of genetically predisposed dogs can be avoided already at the time of mating.  It has to be understood that it is not a specific culprit/dog to blame one is looking for, but a disease causing gene-mutation which exists in the gene-pool of the breed.  I was myself made aware of the condition already in a puppy born in the 1970s and other cases have been brought to my attention over the following decades.  Those who attended the breed Seminar on the Isle of Skye may recall that both Kirsi Sainonen and I agreed that we are dealing with a gene-mutation that seems to be distributed within the breed at a fairly low, but significant, levelI did, in the last Health Report, stress that the function of having the Health Committee is not just about the kidney disease but also about dealing with the whole health situation in the breed. I have had one single case reported during the year…  I did receive the full case history, veterinary report and pedigree of a 9 year old Skye, who sadly (and so prematurely in ‘terrier terms’) died from Haemangiosarcoma.  This is an especially nasty form of cancer which typically affects the spleen and I have myself been unfortunate to have two of my Skyes dying from it in the past. My two were certainly not closely related and there was, thankfully, a very long time between those extremely sad losses.

The Skye Terrier is overall a fairly healthy and robust breed, so please let it remain that way by openly addressing and dealing with any problems that occur. Our breed is so unlike any other breed I know of and it is certainly for me the ‘Heavenly Breed’.  But it is unfortunately also a breed with a very small global population and a seriously depleted gene-pool. Any health problem that is not kept under control can have very serious consequences.  We must all work together in a proactive, non-selfish way, if we want this breed to be around to give the same delight to future generations as it has done to us. It is therefore very reassuring that so many people must feel very strongly about the health of our wonderful breed, because fund raising and donations have contributed the impressive sum of £848.50 to the Health Fund since it was opened in July 2007 ! Maud Hawkes BSc(Hons)ASPlease do not hesitate to contact me via email   HYPERLINK "mailto:msascience@onetel.com"   msascience@onetel.com  or on Tel: 01623 812856 if you want to discuss or report any health matters in confidentiality.

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SKYE TERRIER HEATLH REPORT & RENAL DYSPLASIA DNA REPORT
May 2006 – February 2007The DNA-collection initiative was decided upon towards the end of April 2006 and co-operation with the Animal Health Trust (AHT) started immediately thereafter.  The first blood sample had been received by the AHT by the 10th of May and this was swiftly followed by buccal swabs from a litter of puppies.  The interest and uptake thereafter has been very encouraging, although more active participation is needed, if we are going to succeed to achieve the numbers required for research to begin.The number of DNA samples held in store for us is now a total of 36.  Three of these are blood samples and the rest are in the form of buccal swabs.  A further 21 swab kits have been despatched in 2007 but are not yet in storage.  There are as yet no samples from affected animals, but quite a few close relatives have contributed theirs.

One animal has recently sadly died from suspected Skye Terrier Renal Dysplasia.  No autopsy or histology was done and this case can therefore only be regarded as suspect, although strongly so. There was unfortunately no tissue or blood available for DNA testing.  Blood sample has however been secured from the Dam. Several dogs have over the last few years been so tragically lost prematurely due to the kidney disease. No DNA is however left behind for science to work with. Would it not therefore now be for the better, if all breeders did swab their puppies before they left to go to new homes ?  This seems, to me at least, to be the obvious solution to prevent that potentially vital DNA is lost for future genetic research.

Mike Taylor did send me a mailing from the KC’s Charitable Trust inviting breed clubs to apply for research funding.  This is somewhat premature in our case, since we are still lacking in samples.  I did also have this confirmed by both Dr Sampson and Dr Mellersh.  The future procedure, when enough samples have been collected, will be an application for funding to the KC directly from the AHT.  BUT, and this is important, the Kennel Club will expect that the breed club shows its support by contributing some funding itself.  It would therefore be advisable to already now start some fundraising.  I don’t think that, the £120 donated to the AHT so far, from swab-donations & private donations, will be regarded as quite enough somehow …

No other health problems have been reported during 2006, but it should be remembered, that the Health Committee is not just about kidney disease.  Any disease, be it of the liver, heart, pancreas etc. or forms of cancer or congenital conditions, should ideally be reported too.  That kind of continued monitoring of the general incidence of disease has been ongoing long-term in very many breeds.  This is the only way to find out if any problem becomes prevalent in a breed, since questionnaires are pretty useless.  It is therefore important that such reporting becomes effective in our precious and wonderful breed too.

Maud Hawkes BSc(Hons)A.S.
Skye Terriers are in general a very healthy breed and most live long and healthy lives One disease does appear to have appeared lately, not just in Skye Terriers but breeds in general.The Skye Terrier Club would like to collate information regarding this, if you feel you could help, please read on and complete the following questionnaire.SKYE TERRIER - RENAL DYSPLASIA (RD)With the ultimate aim of eliminating RD from the Skye Terrier Breed, it would be helpful to first establish the condition's prevalence, both past and present, within the breed. To this end, completion of the questionnaire would assist greatly and be most welcomed.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A FACT-FINDING MISSION ONLY.
AS SUCH, THIS INITIATIVE IS NOT BEING CONDUCTED WITH ANY INTENTION OF INFERRING BLAME ON BREED LINES THAT HAVE HAD AN AFFECTED DOG(S). THE CONDITION APPEARS TO BE THROUGHOUT THE BREED AND IN DOGS IN GENERAL.

The completed questionnaire should be sent to
Mrs Corrine Garland-Collins (address provided below).

If you are willing to supply copies of pedigree(s), at least 5 generations, and autopsy report(s), these should be sent to Mike Taylor (address given below).

If you are willing to supply a DNA sample, from either an affected or an unaffected dog, please contact Maud Hawkes for further information regarding how to go about this (contact details are outlined below).Please click here for the questionnaire.

Contact Details:

Mrs Corrine Garland-Collins
The Mill at Mangerton
Newcastleton
Roxburghshire
TD9 OTF
Tel: 01387-375036

Mr Mike Taylor
Westlea
Kyleakin
Isle of Skye
IV41 8PH
Tel: 01599-534391

Ms Maud Hawkes
Holmlea
Moorhaigh Lane
Pleasley
Mansefield
Notts.
NG19 7QF
Tel: 01623-812856

Additional copies of the questionnaire may be obtained from
Corrine Garland-Collins.