Health Matters

The English Setter Association are aware that the continued health of the breed is of major importance to all owners of English Setters. With this in mind, the ESA set up a Health Sub-Committee in 1990. It's role is to consider those health issues which are of particular concern to owners, investigate possible causes and to recommend good practices.

All breeds have some health problems. Fortunately, English Setters have relatively few, but you should be aware of those highlighted on the left which are of special interest to English Setter owners.

Health Seminar

The Golden Retriever Club and the English Setter Association held a combined canine seminar at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on Sunday 29th October.

The day began with an introduction by the Presidents John Tiranti and Valerie Foss. Chairing the day was Dr Jeff Samson who kept the proceedings moving along at a brisk pace tempered with polish and humour.

Our first speaker Dr Malcolm Brearly a specialist in Oncology gave a very informative lecture on Cancer In Dogs. His speech was structured into several parts beginning with‘What is Cancer? Various terms are given such as Cancer, Tumours and Neoplasia. Cancer affects one in four dogs with around 43% of dogs over 10 years old dying from the disease. Throughout his talk his attitude was very positive stating that cancer was definitely not a death sentence in a large percentage of cases if caught and treated at an early stage. He did not think that it is more common today but is more talked about, the Vets now have better means of detecting the disease and how dogs like people have a longer life expectancy. His description of cancer is a proliferation of cells outside normal control mechanisms within the body, an accumulation of genetic aberrations in a cell that cause it to multiply. Various definitions were given to the types of cancer, on how they manifest themselves, how they proliferate with details about the biology of the body and how small changes in cells, genes and DNA can cause mutations to create these abnormal growths. He went on to explain about the causes of cancer such as chemicals, UV light exposure, viruses and in some cases inheritance. Some breeds of dog are more susceptible to certain types of cancer but most are not inherited. Two thirds are benign, many are treatable and curable with early diagnosis. Features to be aware of are abnormal lumps, sores not healing, abnormal discharge or smell, not keen on exercise/ breathlessness, difficulty in eating, poor appetite, difficulty in passing motions, weight loss and increasing lameness. He stated that early diagnosis was most important in all cases, if in doubt ask your vet and do not be fobbed off by ‘wait and see'. Objectives of treatment were explained with ‘quality of life' being the main reason for this. Management of cancer was next explained. 95% of all tumours are treated by surgery, other treatments such drugs, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and complimentary medicine (but this is still not proven) are used. The side effects from the range of treatments were also mentioned. Looking toward the future he was very enthusiastic about new treatments becoming available such as gene therapy. Various questions were taken from the floor.

Dr D.G. Clayton Jones next took to the floor with a lecture on Radiology/Radiography in decision making with elbows and hip cases. Dr Clayton Jones started the lecture with Aspects of X Ray Evaluations:-.Radiology has limitations and only shows the subjects in shades of black and white depending on mineral and water content. Elbows were the first subject and dealt with mainly Golden Retrievers. Elbow Osteochondrosis is often termed elbow displasia which can occur separately or in combination in the same joint. It is a generalised condition due to a failure of normal endochondral ossification. It leads to progressive degeneration as the young dog ages and can be an inherited condition. There are various conditions associated with elbow displasia. In abbreviated terms they are OCD (Osteochondrosis of the medial condyle of the humerus), FCP (fragmented medial coronoid process) and UAP ( ununited anconeal process).
Clinical features:- Affects many breeds but usually medium and large dogs. Dogs suffering from this condition can have pain in movement, swelling of the joint, laying or sitting down more frequently, sitting back on the base of the tail, sliding from the sit to laying down position, difficulty on descending stairs, not jumping from cars, foreleg ‘bunny hopping', stiffness after exercise. The forelimb lameness may be unilateral or bilateral with cases mainly in young and growing dogs. Diagnostic methods are the X ray as the most common although lesions cannot be seen or are difficult to see unless the plates are taken from a variety of angles with different placing of the legs. Different views were shown on the screen showing the complexity of getting a plate to show the condition despite high quality X rays. They highlighted various secondary changes in bone definition and the structure of the joint. The B.V.A. Scheme uses X rays for evaluation and initially used three views but recently two. Scoring ranges from 0 to 3 with 0 being the best score and 3 being the highest. The minimum age for elbow grading is one year, and each dog is only ever graded once under the scheme. Advice to breeders is wherever possible to use only those dogs with grades of 0 or 1 for breeding. Various graphs were shown on screen proving the schemes and showing trends of the grades. Hip Displasia was the next subject covered. He explained about the various hip evaluation definitions from perfect, normal, borderline, acceptable for breeding, affected and breed variations showing problems in choosing or evaluating what to use. There were subtle changes in different breeds showing variations in the X rays. Various X rays slides highlight the progression of the disease as the dog ages. Unlike OCD where the lameness progressively worsens in HD the dogs body can in certain cases compensate for the condition. A range of slides was then shown explaining the various methods of X-raying dogs from different views. Dr Clayton Jones then explained about the anatomic interpretations of the X Rays with scores from 0 to 6 in each of the following parameters. Norberg Angle, Subluxation, Cranial Acetabular Edge, Dorsal Acetabular Edge, Cranial Effective Acetubular Rim, Acetubular Fossa, Caudal Acetubular Edge, Femoral Head/Neck Extosis and Femoral Head Recontouring. The lower the score the less degree of dysplasia is present with a minimum of O and the maximum of 53 in each leg making a maximum total of 106 for both hips. He explained about the numerous complications in measuring the angles and identifying problems to arrive at a score. In summing up he talked about breed mean scores, withholding or sending in plates and the implications of doing so in breed averages. After questions from the floor, the audience showed their appreciation and the Presidents made a presentation to both speakers. The lunch break was taken with a hot & cold buffet. Then the raffle was drawn which was generously supported raising around £148.00.

After lunch our master of ceremonies Dr. Jeff Sampson quickly brought the proceedings back to order and took his turn to deliver an excellent and interesting lecture on The Impact of New DNA Technology on Dog Breeding. He made his lecture on Canine Genetics and DNA so very interesting, comprehensible and entertaining making it a subject of which one would want to understand more of. Dr. Sampson began by saying that recent studies in DNA found genetic similarities in Dogs to Humans. At the same time a slide came on to the screen showing a heading ‘ Just how similar are we to our dogs' with pictures of dogs and people of a comparable likeness. The domestic dog or Canis Familaris he explained has amazing variation. With around 210 different breeds being registered by the Kennel Club with all dogs today evolving from the Wolf. The origins of most dogs began in the Far East up to 30,000 years ago but most dog breeds are only a few centuries old. Even Darwin was amazed by the diversity of the dog. Breed development was explained including topics on intense line breeding, reduction in the gene pool, early establishment of a breed register with the gene pool closed to the introduction of extra genetic variation. With natural disasters and other environmental effects having an effect in the structure of the breed. He elaborated on canine genetics stating that the dog has around 20,000 different genes (humans have 23/24,000). The genes contain a genetic plan or blueprint that an individual requires defining personal characteristics. He explained with a very comprehensive description of gene structure, alleles, canine chromosomes and how they determine the sex and characteristics of offspring. Continuing through the lecture inherited diseases was discussed with around 600 different diseases being found in the domestic dog. He was amazed with the progression of DNA testing and was confident that the tests will result in finding the causes of a large percentage of inherited diseases in the future. In this diverse lecture inbreeding depression and breeding for exaggeration were also mentioned. Summing up he stated that The Kennel Club were involved in discussion with Breed Clubs to slowly change breed standards on problem breeds. He also raised important discussion on the breeding of dogs, why breeders were heading in certain directions, judges perspectives on the judging of dogs and why DNA should never drive breeding programmes. Again discussion came from the floor and some very relevant points were raised.

For the final lecture of the afternoon Professor Peter Holt from the University of Bristol was introduced. Talking on the subject of Leaky Bitches, a very distressing and socially unacceptable problem for the owners of bitches and sometimes dogs with this condition. Again another speaker who was very competent in his subject and had kept a very detailed record of all the referred canine patients he had treated.
Clinical features:- Animals usually normal in all aspects apart from dribbling urine frequently, often a wet patch on their bedding or urine being passed on rising and the rear end wet and smelling of urine. The lecture covered the diagnosis and treatment of Ureteral Ectopia and Uretheral Spincter Mechanism Incompetence, the clinical names of the problem. The subject was based on a 175 case histories and of the 175 only one was an abdominal mass. Ages ranged for 6 weeks to 9 years with 156 of the subjects being female and only 19 male. Urinary incontinence also caused problems with infections of the bladder and secondary problems with the kidneys. Of the total 50% were treated, 25% partially treated and in 20% some of the problems were still not solved. A comprehensive diagram was screened of Ureteral Ectopia showing the Ureter, a tube taking the flow of urine from the kidney to the bladder. This is a congenital condition affecting mainly bitches in which the Ureter bypasses the bladder and joins either the Urethra (a tube connecting the bladder to the vagina) or the vagina and sometimes less commonly into the uterus. Infusing a coloured medium into the tubes and carefully assessing the flow using radiology or ultra sound helped make a diagnosis. Treatment was made by surgery repositioning the Ureter into the bladder but as shown above treatment is not always successful. Changes have been made with secondary infections treated prior to surgery to ensure improved healing. Further slides were shown of case studies of patients explaining the associated problems of diagnosis and treatment and with some cases drugs were used. Urethral sphincter mechanism incompetence is another cause of urinary incontinence with the urethra being almost absent in some patients. Treatment of this problem could be difficult. Surgery of the bladder neck was performed to create a longer "urethra." Again slides were shown and the audience were given a through and detailed explanation of this condition. Further questions followed from the floor and a vote of thanks and presentations were made to the afternoon speakers from both Presidents.

Congratulations to the committees of both organisations for arranging such an informative day.