Six of the seven Border Terrier Clubs have agreed to form a health group to consider the health status of the border terrier. In particular the group will consider the evidence associated with two conditions of immediate concern to the breed. Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome is the first condition. It has been reported over several decades and has attracted limited veterinary research. The second condition is ‘shaking puppy syndrome’ a neurological illness recently anecdotally reported in very young puppies.
The group will seek to provide interim advice to breeders on both conditions, alongside developing a research plan to more clearly identify the clinical symptoms and epidemiology of both illnesses and to seek potential inheritance factors that may assist control or elimination of both conditions.
The group will also consider the general health status of the border terrier and comment on other diseases that could be listed for further research. The members of the new group will be Dr Eddie Houston, veterinary surgeon and Chairman of the Border Terrier Club, Prof. Jeff Sampson, previously a geneticist at the Animal Health Trust and the Kennel Club and Dr Andrew Harbottle, a border terrier owner and a research scientist working in the field of biomarker discovery. Prof Steve Dean will attend the meetings as the Joint Clubs’ Breed Health Co-ordinator. To get the latest information from the UK Border Terrier Breed Health Group www.borderterrierhealth.org.uk .
