We are facing an interesting and busy time. Fortunately I get the feeling that folk want to work together in harmony for the benefit of our breed. However just over half the clubs have given me the name and email of their co-ordinators – could the others please do so as soon as possible. With the support of Patrick our BC Chairman I have invited overseas breed clubs to participate through my contacts. Three have indicated their willingness to be involved and invitations to others will be extended as soon as possible. Communications will be by email, with British Clubs to co-ordinators and ‘cc’ to secretaries as back up, but with overseas clubs to secretary or other nominee only.

We do not know where our deliberations may lead or what actions may be recommended to the Breed Council and our clubs. We must ensure that this is evidence-based – we must have the facts before proceeding! To act on speculation and hearsay is a recipe for disaster   
 

KC Health Plan. As most will be aware we received the Health Plan literature from the KC some months ago. Amongst conditions of concern they listed cancer and myotonia. Both claims were invalid and the KC duly informed. Many will know about this already but it is a flaw in the KC’s system as neither should ever have been on the list. For the record, the myotonia claim was based on a single case in a Staffordshire Terrier (Amstaff) in an American journal. The cancer claim came from a study on gastric cancer in dogs. Only 3/31 cases were Staffords and it was claimed that this was significant when compared with breed totals coming into the clinic. This was wrong as any comparison should be related to totals in the community, but frankly it is wrong to even to try this on such inadequate numbers. 
 

Hidden talent. There is a wealth of untapped expertise and experience in dogdom and Staffords as well; we need to utilise this. One co-ordinator is involved in cyto-genetics professionally and thus has much to offer. Do we have anyone experienced in statistics and statistical methodology in our ranks? Do we have any vets (I do not know how involved Paul Boland is currently) or veterinary nurses who might assist? Does anyone else feel they have specialist knowledge to offer? Please let me know so that we can use such expertise to the breed’s best advantage. 
 

Current situation. We can be justifiably proud of what has been achieved to date in the breed.

As I see it we cannot go any further with HC and L-2-HGA for the moment at least. All we need is to keep promoting the genetic testing of all breeding stock to ensure carriers are not mated together to eliminate the risk of clinical cases. Current figures from the AHT show a carrier rate of 4% for HC and 17% for L-2-HGA. As hereditarily clear dogs are not tested these figures may be on the high side but nevertheless while the HC carrier rate is pretty low that for L2 is rather high and greater than may have been hoped. Hopefully we may see a drop over the next year or two.

Regarding PHPV, we still have to eye test, preferably whole litters but certainly before contemplating mating. Cumulative eye test data is currently awaited from the KC but unfortunately the results of litter testing are not available. A preliminary discussion has been held with Cathryn Mellersh of AHT to see if it would be feasible to undertake research into its genetics, perhaps leading to a diagnostic test. There is still the suggestion that a dominant gene with variable expression and pentrance may be responsible but basically we still do not know. As Dobermanns also suffer from PHPV I have tried to contact their breed council but a reply is awaited. Whether there are enough stored specimens for Staffords will have to be assessed but more important is funding, which hopefully the KC might help with again. Cathryn Mellersh and her staff are currently funded by the KC but many thousands would be required for consumables; the financial aspects would have to be discussed by the full Breed Council so it would be wrong to say anything more at the moment.

Then we have PPSC (polar cataracts). There have been a few cases in Staffords but as these are not reported in the BRS, no figures are at hand although the KC have been asked to provide these if possible. I was under the impression that they occurred mainly in older dogs and caused little if any problems. However it may be that in Labradors and Golden Retrievers, they can appear at any age from a few months to old age and a few may progress to affect sight significantly. Hence we need to consider how we ought to tackle the issue and see if it really is a problem. However we could make a start by asking club members who have had a dog diagnosed with PPSC to send a copy of the test certificate to their Club’s co-ordinator for collation at a later date. 
 

Future eye testing. If the HC status is determined genetically and PHPV by a single eye test, then theoretically, as these are the two known specified conditions affecting the breed, no further testing is really required. But we have PPSC to clarify, although this is really a research matter, and the ABS recommends annual testing. I had a forceful discussion with Jeff Sampson at Crufts. I argued that unless PPSC was shown to really be a problem, then we ought not to recommend more than a single test at some stage to deal with PHPV.  Jeff did see my point of view but thought breeders might co-operate and have further tests in the breed’s interest. Some suggest that breeders make considerable money but the general opinion is that most break about even when all hidden extras are taken into account and puppies are being properly reared. Jeff did suggest maybe only further tests in middle then old age. At seminars the eye vets did suggest annual testing ‘just in case’ something showed up! Are we being asked to fund their research by stealth? If they offered free testing subsequent to initial tests then owners would probably be willing to pay the travelling to retest over several years – the vets would get the benefit of publishing their research in appropriate journals. My concern is that we could finish up recommending unnecessary subsequent testing to all our members – is this not morally wrong? 
 

Other conditions. Skin conditions are mentioned frequently and are an important cause behind insurance claims thus may need further investigation.

In the KC health survey cancer of unspecified types was connected to 44% of Stafford deaths compared with 27% of all breeds. This may or may not be significant but suggests further well-thought out investigations are warranted.

Some have expressed worries about Cushing’s disease but only one case was reported in KC mortality data. We need more data and, as concern has been expressed, it would be useful if co-ordinators noted any cases they hear of.

Cases of possible interest or unusual ones should be noted in case anything similar occurs in future. For example I was made aware of a dam and her two daughters all dying of brain tumours and I was also told about three littermates all suffering from porto-systemic shunt problems – failure of liver bypass in the foetus to close within a day or two of birth. 
 

Possible Survey. When talking to Jeff Sampson, he suggested councils and clubs might be interested to conduct a survey of members to find out how often they had attended their vets and for what reason over the past year. Do you think this would be of use? How many can actually remember when they attended the vet and the reasons?

E Mids have been attempting a health survey of their members but no results have been forthcoming as yet but it is still ongoing. This may be something to build on.

Do you think such surveys may be of value? Personally I to not like the questionnaire approach as those responding are self-selecting and interpretations may vary. Are there any other methods we ought to consider for collecting such information?  
 

Scientific Literature.  I have copies of some articles in scientific journals that refer to Staffords, plus the titles, and maybe the appropriate abstract, of others. I will get these reviewed and listed but will any one coming across any papers that refer to our breed please note the title and reference i.e. journal’s name, volume number, page number and year published, and let me know please. 
 

I hope the relevant topics have been covered but please let me know of any omissions or other concerns.

Archie Bryden