Post by RealPitBull on Apr 16, 2008 14:34:15 GMT -5
Interesting article that appears on the UKCdogs.com website.
The new CHIC program offered by OFA sounds fantastic!
www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/Articles/LegislativeUpdate01102008
The new CHIC program offered by OFA sounds fantastic!
www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/Articles/LegislativeUpdate01102008
Why can’t we all get along?
The United States Canine Registry Conference 2007 (Part 1)
Cindy Cooke
The United States Canine Registry Conference took place in Las Vegas in November 2007. When Wayne invited me to be there, my first thought was, “Why couldn’t the meeting be held somewhere else?” I know Las Vegas is a popular resort community, but it’s not my cup of tea. My idea of gambling is to breed a bitch to an imported stud dog. I hate the noise of the slot machines - it’s like putting my head inside a pinball machine.
Still, I was excited about this meeting. For years, I along with other dog owners working in the legislative arena have watched the various registries struggling to find effective ways to fight for the rights of dog owners. Every registry has tried something, and most have had occasional successes, but it’s clear that the organized, well-funded HSUS is winning too many battles. I was curious to see if the registries had any new ideas. I was not disappointed.
The first exciting news is that almost every major registry sent representatives. Jarvis Umphers, of the Professional Kennel Club and a well-known member of the coon hunting fraternity, was there. The American Dog Breeders Association, originally a single-breed registry for American Pit Bull Terriers and now an all-breed registry, was represented. The oldest registry for gun dogs, American Field, was absent only because its representative became ill at the last moment and was unable to attend. Two of the most prestigious single-breed registries, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club and the Australian Shepherd Club of America, were also present. Although the AKC did not send a formal representative, three AKC delegates - one a past AKC President and one a current member of the AKC Board of Directors - were in attendance. The audience also included individuals who have become battle-hardened in the legislative wars of recent years.
On day one of the conference, we had two speakers whose topics seemed to have nothing to do with legislation. The first speaker was Dr. Eric Johnston, Senior Manager for Operations at MMI Genomics. I met Dr. Johnston almost 12 years ago when UKC was first developing their DNA program. At the time, Dr. Johnston looked too young to shave, let alone have a PhD degree. He now looks about 14, but it’s clear that Dr. Johnston is still on the cutting edge of molecular biology. He spoke about MMI Genomics’ DNA program for identification and also talked a little about their new Canine Heritage Breed test. This is the first DNA test designed to identify the breed composition of a dog. At present, the test can only identify 38 breeds, but new breeds will be added in the future.
The second speaker was Eddie Dziuk from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Eddie is one of the most well-known Beagle breeders in the conformation world and his organization, the OFA, is the most well-known health registry for purebred dogs. The OFA was founded in 1966 by John Olin, a wealthy industrialist, philanthropist and gun dog enthusiast. When Olin’s hunting dogs began to be crippled by hip dysplasia, he met with veterinarians and dog clubs to talk about methods to limit or eliminate the disease. His efforts led to the founding of the OFA.
Initially, the OFA’s mission was limited to evaluating hip x-rays, maintaining a database of the evaluations, and providing genetic counseling to breeders. Today, OFA has expanded its mission to include four objectives: to collate and disseminate information concerning orthopedic and genetic diseases of animals; to advise, encourage and establish control programs to lower the incidence of orthopedic and genetic diseases; to encourage and finance research in orthopedic and genetic disease in animals; and to receive funds and make grants to carry out these objectives.
OFA’s databases are extremely useful tools for breeders who are trying to maintain breed characteristics while avoiding health problems, particularly for polygenic conditions such as hip and elbow dysplasia that plague so many hunting breeds. However, OFA has two relatively new programs that will be useful to all breeds of dog. The first is the Canine Health Information Center, aka CHIC. CHIC is a centralized canine health database, individualized by breed. Each breed’s parent club is given the opportunity to identify health issues that are of particular importance in that breed. Once those health issues are chosen, OFA determines a scientifically valid means of diagnosing dogs who have that condition and, equally important, dogs who do NOT have that condition. Breeders who submit test results (normal or abnormal) for those conditions selected by the parent club are issued a CHIC number. The benefits of the CHIC program are spelled out on their website (www.caninehealthinfo.org):
• For breeders, CHIC provides a reliable source of information regarding dogs they may use in their breeding programs. In the future, breeders can begin to analyze the pedigrees of a proposed breeding for health strengths and weaknesses as well the traditional analysis of conformation, type, and performance strengths and weaknesses.
• For buyers, the CHIC program provides accurate information about the results of a breeder’s health testing. For diseases that are limited to phenotypic evaluations, there are no guarantees. However, the probability that an animal will develop an inherited disease is reduced when its ancestry has been tested normal. Further, as more DNA tests become available and the results are entered into CHIC, the CHIC database will be able to establish whether progeny will be clear, carriers, or affected.
• For parent clubs considering establishment of health databases on their own, CHIC provides the answer with no upfront investment required by the club. The CHIC infrastructure is supplied and maintained by the OFA. The data is maintained in a secure environment by trained staff. The services are not subject to the time, technology, and resource constraints that parent clubs might face on their own. This frees parent clubs to focus on their core strengths of identifying health concerns, educating their membership, and encouraging participation in the CHIC program.
• For researchers, CHIC provides confidential and accurate aggregate information on multiple generations of dogs. CHIC information will also be useful for epidemiological studies enhancing our knowledge of health issues affecting all breeds of dogs.
• For everyone interested in canine health issues, CHIC is a tool to monitor disease prevalence and measure progress.
The other new OFA program that is very exciting is the CHIC DNA Repository. If you’ve participated in the development of any new DNA test, you’ll know that it often takes years for a researcher to collect enough useful DNA for the research project. OFA is now collecting and storing DNA samples along with pedigrees and other useful information about each sampled dog. This will significantly speed up the search for genes that cause health problems in our dogs. If you’re interested in participating, go to www.caninehealthinfo.org/dnabank.html to read more about this program. All of our dogs get an annual test for heart worms. It won’t cost any more money or take any more time to draw an extra sample to send to OFA. It’s a small thing that each of us can do to support canine research.
You can read more about OFA at their website: www.offa.org and all about CHIC at www.caninehealthinfo.org.
If you’re wondering why speakers on canine health were at a registry conference, the answer is really pretty simple. Dog breeders provide almost all of the funding for research into canine health. The more we support these cutting-edge canine health organizations, the more all dog owners benefit. OFA and CHIC and DNA-identified dogs are things we can point to with pride when we are arguing our case in front of legislative bodies. It’s a good example of how we can benefit in the legislative arena by doing the right thing for our dogs.
Breed Specific Legislation Note
I have been in contact with BSL warrior Dahlia Cane, who is trying to force Miami-Dade County to rescind their 20-year old ban on “pit bulls”. Dahlia is a paralegal so she has a good understanding of all the different tools to use to attack breed-specific dangerous dog laws, often referred to as BSL. Dahlia has appeared on television and radio to repeat her message that BSL is illegal and punishes innocent dogs and their owners. She has solicited cease and desist letters from UKC and AKC to prevent animal control officers from using copyrighted breed standards to identify individual dogs as “pit bulls”. She even managed to get her own APBT, Chocolate, as a guest on Cesar Milan’s show where he subsequently spoke out against BSL.
Dahlia refers to her community as a “banana republic,” which doesn’t seem too over-the-top when you read some of the ordinances they propose. If they get their way, property owners in Miami and Dade County will be liable for any personal injuries caused by dogs owned by their tenants. Do you think this will affect the ability of dog owners to rent homes or apartments? You bet!
Dalia Cane and her Ameican Pit Bull Terrier with Cesar Milan.
Dahlia has formed an alliance of individuals and organizations who have filled the council room at every meeting. Among the people speaking out against BSL at the last meeting were: Edel Miedes, animal behaviorist/dog trainer; Grace Acosta, President of the Greater Miami Dog Club, dog show judge, and breeder of Rottweilers; Odalys Hayes, Chow Chow breeder; Russ Mead, General Counselor for Best Friends Animal Society; Joe Morwei, President of the Florida Bull Terrier Club and Rescue; Danny Deresky, Sabbath Memorial Dog Rescue; Robert Reeves, Supervisor and large dog handler for Dog’s Inn in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Pam Grier, Doberman rescue and breeder; and Patty Fisher, animal advocate and rescuer.
While Dahlia is fighting, 15 pit bull puppies are facing euthanasia in the Miami shelter. By the time you read this, most of them will be dead. That’s the real result of BSL.
The United States Canine Registry Conference 2007 (Part 1)
Cindy Cooke
The United States Canine Registry Conference took place in Las Vegas in November 2007. When Wayne invited me to be there, my first thought was, “Why couldn’t the meeting be held somewhere else?” I know Las Vegas is a popular resort community, but it’s not my cup of tea. My idea of gambling is to breed a bitch to an imported stud dog. I hate the noise of the slot machines - it’s like putting my head inside a pinball machine.
Still, I was excited about this meeting. For years, I along with other dog owners working in the legislative arena have watched the various registries struggling to find effective ways to fight for the rights of dog owners. Every registry has tried something, and most have had occasional successes, but it’s clear that the organized, well-funded HSUS is winning too many battles. I was curious to see if the registries had any new ideas. I was not disappointed.
The first exciting news is that almost every major registry sent representatives. Jarvis Umphers, of the Professional Kennel Club and a well-known member of the coon hunting fraternity, was there. The American Dog Breeders Association, originally a single-breed registry for American Pit Bull Terriers and now an all-breed registry, was represented. The oldest registry for gun dogs, American Field, was absent only because its representative became ill at the last moment and was unable to attend. Two of the most prestigious single-breed registries, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club and the Australian Shepherd Club of America, were also present. Although the AKC did not send a formal representative, three AKC delegates - one a past AKC President and one a current member of the AKC Board of Directors - were in attendance. The audience also included individuals who have become battle-hardened in the legislative wars of recent years.
On day one of the conference, we had two speakers whose topics seemed to have nothing to do with legislation. The first speaker was Dr. Eric Johnston, Senior Manager for Operations at MMI Genomics. I met Dr. Johnston almost 12 years ago when UKC was first developing their DNA program. At the time, Dr. Johnston looked too young to shave, let alone have a PhD degree. He now looks about 14, but it’s clear that Dr. Johnston is still on the cutting edge of molecular biology. He spoke about MMI Genomics’ DNA program for identification and also talked a little about their new Canine Heritage Breed test. This is the first DNA test designed to identify the breed composition of a dog. At present, the test can only identify 38 breeds, but new breeds will be added in the future.
The second speaker was Eddie Dziuk from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Eddie is one of the most well-known Beagle breeders in the conformation world and his organization, the OFA, is the most well-known health registry for purebred dogs. The OFA was founded in 1966 by John Olin, a wealthy industrialist, philanthropist and gun dog enthusiast. When Olin’s hunting dogs began to be crippled by hip dysplasia, he met with veterinarians and dog clubs to talk about methods to limit or eliminate the disease. His efforts led to the founding of the OFA.
Initially, the OFA’s mission was limited to evaluating hip x-rays, maintaining a database of the evaluations, and providing genetic counseling to breeders. Today, OFA has expanded its mission to include four objectives: to collate and disseminate information concerning orthopedic and genetic diseases of animals; to advise, encourage and establish control programs to lower the incidence of orthopedic and genetic diseases; to encourage and finance research in orthopedic and genetic disease in animals; and to receive funds and make grants to carry out these objectives.
OFA’s databases are extremely useful tools for breeders who are trying to maintain breed characteristics while avoiding health problems, particularly for polygenic conditions such as hip and elbow dysplasia that plague so many hunting breeds. However, OFA has two relatively new programs that will be useful to all breeds of dog. The first is the Canine Health Information Center, aka CHIC. CHIC is a centralized canine health database, individualized by breed. Each breed’s parent club is given the opportunity to identify health issues that are of particular importance in that breed. Once those health issues are chosen, OFA determines a scientifically valid means of diagnosing dogs who have that condition and, equally important, dogs who do NOT have that condition. Breeders who submit test results (normal or abnormal) for those conditions selected by the parent club are issued a CHIC number. The benefits of the CHIC program are spelled out on their website (www.caninehealthinfo.org):
• For breeders, CHIC provides a reliable source of information regarding dogs they may use in their breeding programs. In the future, breeders can begin to analyze the pedigrees of a proposed breeding for health strengths and weaknesses as well the traditional analysis of conformation, type, and performance strengths and weaknesses.
• For buyers, the CHIC program provides accurate information about the results of a breeder’s health testing. For diseases that are limited to phenotypic evaluations, there are no guarantees. However, the probability that an animal will develop an inherited disease is reduced when its ancestry has been tested normal. Further, as more DNA tests become available and the results are entered into CHIC, the CHIC database will be able to establish whether progeny will be clear, carriers, or affected.
• For parent clubs considering establishment of health databases on their own, CHIC provides the answer with no upfront investment required by the club. The CHIC infrastructure is supplied and maintained by the OFA. The data is maintained in a secure environment by trained staff. The services are not subject to the time, technology, and resource constraints that parent clubs might face on their own. This frees parent clubs to focus on their core strengths of identifying health concerns, educating their membership, and encouraging participation in the CHIC program.
• For researchers, CHIC provides confidential and accurate aggregate information on multiple generations of dogs. CHIC information will also be useful for epidemiological studies enhancing our knowledge of health issues affecting all breeds of dogs.
• For everyone interested in canine health issues, CHIC is a tool to monitor disease prevalence and measure progress.
The other new OFA program that is very exciting is the CHIC DNA Repository. If you’ve participated in the development of any new DNA test, you’ll know that it often takes years for a researcher to collect enough useful DNA for the research project. OFA is now collecting and storing DNA samples along with pedigrees and other useful information about each sampled dog. This will significantly speed up the search for genes that cause health problems in our dogs. If you’re interested in participating, go to www.caninehealthinfo.org/dnabank.html to read more about this program. All of our dogs get an annual test for heart worms. It won’t cost any more money or take any more time to draw an extra sample to send to OFA. It’s a small thing that each of us can do to support canine research.
You can read more about OFA at their website: www.offa.org and all about CHIC at www.caninehealthinfo.org.
If you’re wondering why speakers on canine health were at a registry conference, the answer is really pretty simple. Dog breeders provide almost all of the funding for research into canine health. The more we support these cutting-edge canine health organizations, the more all dog owners benefit. OFA and CHIC and DNA-identified dogs are things we can point to with pride when we are arguing our case in front of legislative bodies. It’s a good example of how we can benefit in the legislative arena by doing the right thing for our dogs.
Breed Specific Legislation Note
I have been in contact with BSL warrior Dahlia Cane, who is trying to force Miami-Dade County to rescind their 20-year old ban on “pit bulls”. Dahlia is a paralegal so she has a good understanding of all the different tools to use to attack breed-specific dangerous dog laws, often referred to as BSL. Dahlia has appeared on television and radio to repeat her message that BSL is illegal and punishes innocent dogs and their owners. She has solicited cease and desist letters from UKC and AKC to prevent animal control officers from using copyrighted breed standards to identify individual dogs as “pit bulls”. She even managed to get her own APBT, Chocolate, as a guest on Cesar Milan’s show where he subsequently spoke out against BSL.
Dahlia refers to her community as a “banana republic,” which doesn’t seem too over-the-top when you read some of the ordinances they propose. If they get their way, property owners in Miami and Dade County will be liable for any personal injuries caused by dogs owned by their tenants. Do you think this will affect the ability of dog owners to rent homes or apartments? You bet!
Dalia Cane and her Ameican Pit Bull Terrier with Cesar Milan.
Dahlia has formed an alliance of individuals and organizations who have filled the council room at every meeting. Among the people speaking out against BSL at the last meeting were: Edel Miedes, animal behaviorist/dog trainer; Grace Acosta, President of the Greater Miami Dog Club, dog show judge, and breeder of Rottweilers; Odalys Hayes, Chow Chow breeder; Russ Mead, General Counselor for Best Friends Animal Society; Joe Morwei, President of the Florida Bull Terrier Club and Rescue; Danny Deresky, Sabbath Memorial Dog Rescue; Robert Reeves, Supervisor and large dog handler for Dog’s Inn in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Pam Grier, Doberman rescue and breeder; and Patty Fisher, animal advocate and rescuer.
While Dahlia is fighting, 15 pit bull puppies are facing euthanasia in the Miami shelter. By the time you read this, most of them will be dead. That’s the real result of BSL.
I look forward to learning much here