FLC of GB: Health

Health

The Finnish Lapphund is generally healthy in comparison to many other breeds. The Kennel Club, the British Veterinary Association and the breeders in the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain have worked together to ensure that mandatory health tests on Finnish Lapphunds are carried out before breeding. On 1st January 2010, new eye tests were introduced - click here for more information.

If you are thinking of buying a Finnish Lapphund, then please go to a breeder who is a member of the Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain and who will have carried out all the tests before breeding and made informed decisions on the sire and dam to increase the liklihood of having healthy pups.

The results of health tests are given below to assist breeders, owners and puppy purchasers with understanding the health profile of Finnish Lapphunds.

If you have a health question, would like to report a health problem or send a test result into the Breed Archive, then please see the links below or contact Michaela Grabowski, club Health Co-ordinator and Breed Archivist at health@finnishlapphund-club.co.uk.

If your dog is showing any sign of distress or discomfort or any unusual symptoms, then always go to your vet as soon as possible - there is no substitute for professional advice.

Health Information
Description	Details	Useful Links
CLUB CONTACT : Ask a health question, report a health problem, send a test result into the Breed Archive, report a dog passing away - please contact the Health Co-ordinator, Michaela Grabowski.	health@finnishlapphund-club.co.uk Tel. 01672 810776	KC Breed Watch KC Breed Watch advisory
RESULTS: Find a dog's health test results and, if you are buying a puppy or breeding, check the results of the dam and sire and earlier generations. The FLC of GB is very grateful to members for permission to use the data. Also the UK Kennel Club for permission to use data from the breed health database and the Finnish Kennel Club & the Finnish Lapphund Club of Finland for use of the KoiraNet database. To ensure health is monitored in the breed and research is supported, all test results should be sent to the FLC of GB Breed Archive. For the Certificate of Eye Examination, the KC only holds data on Schedule A conditions i.e. GPRA. The BVA does not send copies of the Certificates to the Breed Club. To make sure all eye conditions are picked up and your dog's full eye results are recorded on the Breed Archive database, please send a clear photocopy or scan of your dog's Certificate of Eye Examination to Michaela Grabowski, FLC of GB Health Co-ordinator. Email me for my address or send scans to health@finnishlapphund-club.co.uk.	BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme: Hip Scores - for KC Registered dogs and their dams and sires (one-off test). Includes Hip Score Comparison Table. Sources: the KC, BVA, KoiraNet and the FLC of GB Breed Archive. Eye Test Results covering the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme (annual test) and the prcdPRA gene test for KC Registered dogs (one-off test). Sources: the KC and the FLC of GB Breed Archive. prcdPRA Gene Test Results (one-off test). Link to KC records. The files are updated at intervals by the KC. Search the KC database for Hip, Eye and prcdPRA results by dog's name or KC Registration Number. Link to KC records. The files are updated on a daily basis by the KC.	BVA Canine Health Schemes Optigen prcd-PRA Gene Test Search prcd-PRA results in Finland Search all health test results held in Finland with KoiraNet. The link includes a guide on using the database.
TESTS: Find out about the mandatory health tests in place for breeding Finnish Lapphunds: Hip Scoring. Breeders should choose sires and dams with scores well below the Breed Mean Score for the breed, which is 13 for Finnish Lapphunds (as at 1st Nov. 2008, BVA). Optigen gene test for prcd-PRA (progressive retinal atrophy). Annual Eye Examinations by specialist vets for eye conditions including GPRA (Schedule A) and HC, PHPV, PPM and MRD (Schedule B, from 1st Jan. 2010). See the KC and Finnish Lapphund Club of Great Britain Code of Ethics for the rules on breeding using these tests. Annual Eye Examinations by specialist vets and Gene Tests for prcdPRA are both essential for preventing new cases of vision loss.	BVA Canine Health Schemes KC/BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme and BVA Breed Mean Hip Scores BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme with list of veterinary eye specialists and details of clinics around the country BVA document What is the Eye Scheme? Announcement of new eye tests from 1st January, 2010. BVA Information on Hereditary Eye Disease in Dogs. This is a full overview that gets updated regularly Background to the prcdPRA Gene Test: article from December 05 Club Newsletter	All dogs must be permanently identified for BVA Health Schemes: BVA press release KC Breed Watch KC Breed Watch advisory KC Breed Standard KC Info on Health Tests KC Fit for Function-Fit for Life KC Accredited Breeders Scheme and ABS Health Tests. BVA Mean Breed Scores - all breeds
OPTIGEN EYE TESTS: Find out about Optigen's gene tests for prcd-PRA and how to get discounts by going through: - Optigen's Discount Days. These are specific days where a code is issued to give a discount online for tests - more days planned in the Spring - check the Optigen website. - Optigen 20/20 Clinics - owners group together to get discounts: Moira, Derbyshire, Sat. 1st May 2010.	Find out about UK group sessions here where the cost is about 50% compared to doing the test individually. (Thanks to Alison Seall for maintaining this list). Find out about tests done by Optigen here For Epsom 20/20 Clinic bookings which must be booked in advance, email Val Tiller at val.tiller@talk21.com or phone 01372 273597 For Derbyshire 20/20 Clinic bookings which must be booked in advance, email Sheila Gay at sheila2020@darianbc.com or phone 01789 550888	Find out about Optigen's Discount Days where the prices are reduced for tests. For full details on upcoming Optigen 20/20 clinics in the UK click here.
RESEARCH: Read the latest on research into Epilepsy and Hereditary Cataracts in Finnish Lapphunds at the University of Helsinki.	University of Helsinki Research introduction, with links to instructions on sending samples to support the research and questionnaire Genetic Studies among Finnish Lapphunds, 26 August 2009. Latest update on Epilepsy and Hereditary Cataracts from the University of Helsinki with instructions on samples Email on Epilepsy and Cataracts, Autumn 2008 from the University of Helsinki.
HOW TO HELP: Find out how to support further research into the health of Finnish Lapphunds. Your dog's data is essential to researchers in the UK and Finland working on new tests for health improvement. They need as many samples as possible of the types of dogs listed below to help develop gene tests: The Animal Health Trust needs samples from healthy dogs which are over 8 years old, which have no history of inherited disease and which have been given the all clear by veterinary examination e.g. the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme test. The Animal Health Trust also needs samples from dogs with any type of clinically diagnosed disease, inherited or family related e.g. diagnosed as having Idiopathic Epilepsy or diagnosed by a BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme test as affected with Cataracts, PRA, Primary Lens Luxation, Sebaceous adenitis, Cerebellar ataxia or Multifocal Retinal Dysplasia. Also samples from close relatives of affected dogs. By close relatives we mean parents, siblings and grandparents. The University of Helsinki's research team also needs samples from dogs which have been given the all clear by a BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme test and dogs which are clinically diagnosed as affected with Idiopathic Epilepsy or Cataracts. The team also needs samples from close relatives of affected dogs. By close relatives we mean parents, siblings and grandparents - the older the better.	Giving your dog's DNA is very straightforward with a cheek swab kit or blood sample kit. At the AHT, the Finnish Lapphund falls into two areas of funding: a project to investigate inherited eye conditions in northern breeds and there is also a European-wide consortium, of which Dr. Hannes Lohi's lab at the Univeristy of Helsinki is involved, to investigate canine epilepsy. The Animal Health Trust's DNA sample kit can be obtained by emailing bryan.mclaughlin@aht.org.uk. For more information see the AHT site on current canine research. Finland's University of Helsinki team have research programmes on Idiopathic Epilepsy and Hereditary Cataracts in the Finnish Lapphund. See the instructions on how to provide samples at the end of the document - University of Helsinki Research.	The Animal Health Trust is the UK's leading veterinary charity dedicated to improving the health and welfare of dogs, horses and cats. Please support them with a donation or by buying gifts from their web site.
BREEDERS' SYMPOSIUM NOV. 2009: read the summaries of the presentations on Patella Luxation and Cruciate Ligament problems; Cancer in dogs; Canine Dentistry; and KC Health Screening Schemes.	Breeders' Symposium Pack
KC HEALTH SURVEY: Find out the results of the Kennel Club health survey of all breeds, carried out in 2004.	KC/BSAVA Health Survey 2004 introduction Finnish Lapphund Results Summary Results all breeds