Re: Exercise Induced Collapse Thank you so much Vicky, for your views on EIC from the vet's perspective. Your contribution is very much appreciated. It is good to hear from a vet in the front line. As you indicate, and as stated by my own local vet - a vet in general practice cannot possibly be expected to know "EVERYTHING" about "EVERY" condition genetically associated with "EVERY" breed. However, those of us involved in research into EIC, and those of us with collapsing labradors, do feel the need to do everything humanly possible to raise awareness of the condition among veterinary surgeons, among breeders, and among puppy buyers in general. I do feel that many dogs with EIC may have possibly been misdiagnosed. There is the need to ensure that collapsing labradors are not mistakingly identified as having epilepsy or some other better known condition. As you are a vet with a particular interest in working gun dogs I can well understand you comments that you feel that CNM is probably a more serious condition than EIC. Obviously this is because a pup with CNM is more likely to die than the dog with EIC. But I really do consider that statistics from the Uni of Minnesota suggest that, in the future, EIC in the UK is likely to prove much more prevalent in UK labrador lines than Centronucleur Myopathy - as has been seen in North America, Europe and Australia. Indications so far would lead us to believe that the EIC gene is to be found at a very high rate among our show lines (and to a lesser extent in our working dogs). Unfortunately, unless UK breeders " take the bull by the horns" - test and publish their results - we continue to sit on top of a probable timebomb and we continue to need vital support from the people we trust most - our veterinary surgeons. Unless our vets know of EIC, and of the testing procedures available, we will not be able to eliminate this devastating and now preventable condition from our breed. I am sure that any support in promoting awareness of EIC would be very much appreciated by us all. PLEASE HELP IN WHATEVER WAY POSSIBLE, TO RAISE AWARENESS OF EIC IN OUR BELOVED BREED OF LABRADOR RETRIEVERS.
Re: Exercise Induced Collapse Hi Vicky Many thanks for coming along and giving us your thoughts. Much appreciated. I agree that breed clubs and breeders should be aware of diseases affecting their breeds, and would go further and suggest that they should be a reliable source of the latest up to date information on health and health testing both for breeders and for puppy buyers. It is interesting to note that the UK’s national Labrador Retriever Club do not yet have any information on EIC on their health page. The lab club of Scotland don’t mention it either but they do have a link to a Canadian site which does. I looked at half a dozen other regional Labrador clubs and some of these had health sections, but none I looked at had information specifically on EIC. Looking at the Alexa rank of these sites, it is likely that they do not have many visitors, however, they are places where people looking for information on Labrador health might go so it would be good to get the EIC message up on them. I will be moving the EIC article to the Labrador site shortly and will contact these Clubs and ask if they would like to link to it. I will let you know what their response is. I think it would also be helpful for there to be a downloadable concise health testing information sheet available for breeders to put in their puppy packs. Perhaps if I make one for the main website, a friendly vet might give it the ‘once over’ when she has a moment. If anyone has any more ideas for anything we can do on this website to help spread the word, do let us know. Pippa
Re: Exercise Induced Collapse I just wanted to say how pleased I am to see and read the replies on this thread and I think there are some useful suggestions as well. One of the things I do (which only helps in a small way I know) is take all my health testing certificates in when I visit my own vet, my hip and elbow scoring vet, and the BVA eye testing vet so they get a chance to have a look at them and I answer any questions that they have about the tests and the conditions they cover. Sadly the last locum vet I saw proudly told me about a labrador litter he had bred with no health tests done at all :.
Re: Exercise Induced Collapse [quote author=Ettinsmoor link=topic=27.msg425#msg425 date=1309771818] Sadly the last locum vet I saw proudly told me about a labrador litter he had bred with no health tests done at all :.[/quote] OMG!!
Re: Exercise Induced Collapse Always happy to help. If you want to write to a vet magazine try Vet Times, it's sent to us all every week and has lots of pictures which makes it more appealing at tea break time than the ol' Vet Record. I'll look out who you email/ write to if you want. Keep up the good work....lab people are so far ahead of ESS people it's untrue. Most FTCH labs have at least hips, eyes and prcd PRA tests, lots have CNM and elbows now too. Find me a FTCH spaniel with hips, eyes, fuco, cord 1 PRA and PFKD tests : The few of us that health test just get battered down by the triallers who say all we are doing is trying to make money out of studding dogs of no trial merit just coz they are health proven!
