Health
Our breed is in general quite a sound and healthy breed. I have been in dogs since 1972 and had German Shepherds, Rough Collies, a Standard Poodle and Rottweiler before I finally got myself a Lancashire Heeler. Compared to these breeds, the Lancashire Heeler is very healthy. Most insurance companies have placed heelers in group 1, which is the group with the healthiest dog breeds!
However, the breed suffers from an eyedisease called lensluxation. It makes the lense go from its ordinary position and either fall back or forward in the eye. This can be very painful to the dog and if not treated, it will lead to blindness.
In Sweden our breed club has decided that all breeders must have their breeding stock eyetested annually or before mating (clear from PLL), eyecertificate maximum a year in order to be able to register offspring from the sire and dam.
There is also a small known amount of dogs that have CEA, collieeye, the name of this eye disease deriving from the fact that it is to be found primarily with Collies. More info on this to be found on our club webpage, www. lancashireheeler.se. In most cases CEA is not a painful condition in the way lensluxation is.
In my kennels I focus on positive points /qualities. Breeding stock must have a good temperament, be sound and healthy and meet the breed standard. I believe that inbreeding is what has caused problems in most breeds so preferably, if possible, I try to breed out. I use a program called Lathunden and also the Swedish kennel club database. Lathunden is constructed by the geneticist Per-Erik Sundgren, very well-known in Sweden.
This are invaluable tool for the breeders. In these programs we have all the registered heelers in the country, we can also add heelers from abroad or add data such as all registered heelers in another country. We have all the information about ex eyediseases, we can plan matings, calculate the inbreeding ratio and also calculate risks/defects.
The program that Mr Sundgren has made is easy to understand and easy to operate, safe and informative. Per-Erik is a doctor of agronomics within the field of genetics and is very experienced in the field of genetics in dogs. He has constructed programs like this since 1985 based upon the data from the SKK. The SKK database has both Hunddata and then also the magnificent help Avelsdata.
You find this by going to the address www.skk.se. Press the button "Avelsdata" and then you need to register yourself. After that you can use the program, calculate inbreeding ratios, find health statistics and also plan matings.
I have not yet had any dogs from my breeding go down with lens. But in the Autumn of 2005 Swanndale Lord of the Ring's,
previously living with us here in Sweden, was diagnosed with PLL. His owners John and Julia Swann in the UK and our family will always remember him. I have also had two cases of CEA this year, which is why I will now have all my breeding stock DNAtested for CEA.
A dog that we bred, Limebrook's Autumn Honour, has been found to be a carrier of PLL. He has an offspring in Finland that was recently diagnosed with PLL.
A few puppies with PPM. Persisting pupil membranes. remains from before birth. None of our puppies have so far experienced any problems as adults.
We have also had some with undershot bites.
In most pedigrees you will find carriers of lensluxation.There have been many discussions about using carriers in our breeding program. It is very hard finding a pedigree totally free from carriers so my own personal goal is to keep the risk as low as possible when calculating the mating in the Lathunden program. Research is conducted on this issue and the result can be close, but it could also be very far away. Meanwhile I feel it is highly important to be informed, study pedigrees, where the carriers are, what dogs are related to each other, what the positive and the negative characteristics are in each individual.It is also important to encourage my puppy buyers to have their dogs eyetested and to learn more about the breed. Knowledge is always a good thing to have! We must never forget that cooperation is of utmost importance. Listen to each other and never forget that experience is a lot worth.
