The Coton Malgache Volume 15 Issue 1 March 2015 Snickers & yer editor wishes everyone a very Happy Spring! Inside This Issue President s Message Linda Brookes Page 2 Health testing what it means and what it doesn t mean - Paula Campbell Page 3 A show weekend in Nassau, Bahamas - Marie-France Prayal Page 5 About Us CCTC Page 8
2 President s Message Linda Brookes Hello Everyone, I hope this spring newsletter finds all of you coming out of the winter season with healthy and happy Cotons. The CCTC Board of Directors continues to work steadily on several items. The Board is trying to develop methods to communicate effectively with all members of the club. We encourage each of you to join our Yahoo! CCTC Members Group. This will provide a great method to discuss issues and share information between our members. If you haven't already joined this group and have deleted your email request, you can contact Paula Campbell to receive another invitation. Once we get a majority of our members on this group, it will begin to show the benefits. Paula's email is Paula@chapalabaycotons.com We are making plans for the 2015 Specialty Show to be held the second weekend in September in St. Louis, QC. We hope that the number of Cotons being shown at this show will exceed our recent years. The CCTC always provides gifts for participants and we really have a nice time at the show getting caught up with old friends and meeting new ones. We are putting together some information regarding the breed registry of the Coton. We anticipate that there will be referendum where all CFC Coton Registered Breeders will be asked to vote on whether they wish to move to full recognition by the CKC or to remain with the CFC. This is not a pressing issue currently as the CKC is currently reviewing some recent referendum issues, but we want to be prepared with information for our members so they can make a decision based on facts and what is best for their own interests and direction. We have begun putting together a breed information brochure. This would be useful to distribute at "Meet the Breed" booths, dog shows, by breeders, etc. It will have basic information in it and several photos. The information will be topics such as a breed standard outline and characteristics. If you have any photos you would like to provide for consideration in including in the brochure, please send them to either Linda Brookes at shoes..and.dogs@hotmail.com or to Sonja Femia at femias@sympatico.ca. Do you have an interest in hosting a Coton Booster at a local show? Would you like to host a Meet the Breed booth at a local event? Would you like to plan an entire show near you? Let the board know! Any ideas you have of how we can educate the public on the Coton, and especially Cotons from COE breeders, helps us towards our goal as a club. Enjoy your spring days with your fluffballs!
3 Health testing what it means and what it doesn t mean By Paula Campbell Health testing is a complicated matter and requires some basic information to understand what it means and what it doesn t mean. This article will tell you the ins and outs of health testing, what it means, what it doesn t mean and will answer the how and why. This will hopefully be of use to both puppy adopters and breeders, especially new breeders. Health testing is always in the minds of breeders, at least serious breeders who care about what they are doing. There is more to health testing than meets the eye. If only it were as simple as do tests a, b and c and everything will be fine forever. Sadly, Mother Nature cannot be controlled. All we can do, as breeders, is to test what we can test for and make informed, ethical decisions on breeding and handle problems that come up along the way. As puppy adopters, educate yourselves and ask the right questions. I am going to attempt to outline the ins and outs of health and health testing for you. First off, I m going to outline the public resources available. There is a registration body that posts health tests at the request of the breeder. It is called the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, www.offa.org. There is a lot of information on the OFA site that explains the different diseases, how common they are, etc. The other wonderful thing is that you can look up a dog and see if their health tests are posted. All you have to do is to type in their full registered name (can be taken off the pedigree) in the search box and it will pull up the tests. Being that tests are quite expensive, most breeders will post their results on OFA if they go to the trouble and expense of testing. If the results are not posted, it is completely acceptable to ask the breeder for the health certificates. Breeders who do perform health tests are generally pleased that you care enough to ask and are attempting to avoid back yard breeders and puppy mills. The other resource for information is The Canine Health Information Center, also referred to as CHIC, http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/ You can look up common problems for breeds. They also have information on health testing and diseases. When a dog on OFA has listed that they have a CHIC number, it just means they have completed the number of tests required, not that they have passed those tests. This is to encourage health testing in order for the breeder to make informed choices. There are two types of testing available; the first is to perform tests to see if the dog has that condition at the time of testing. The second is a DNA test that can identify dogs that are clear, carriers or affected. DNA testing is the best because it gives you reliable information about what the future holds. The rest of the testing is a point in time that is still valuable because you can screen out dogs that show that there is a good chance things may go wrong in the future. The tests available to see if there is a problem at the time of testing are as follows: Hips - x-rays done by your Veterinarian and submitted to OFA for a board certified radiologist to grade. There is also an option to send to Pennhip, please visit their site to learn more http:// info.antechimagingservices.com/pennhip/ Elbow - x-rays done by vet and sent to OFA for evaluation Heart - tested for in office by a Veterinarian or a Veterinary Cardiologist CAER-OFA Eye Certification Registration (formerly CERF) This is an eye exam performed by a Veterinary Ophthalmologist Patellas This test is done in office, at your Veterinarian by feeling the knee caps Legg-Calves-Perthes x-ray performed by vet and
4 Health testing continued... evaluated by OFA. Automatic clearance if Hips are normal at 2 years of age. Thyroid This test is done by taking a blood sample Full blood panel blood sample The DNA tests that are available at this time are as follows. They are done by using a cheek swab: Canine Multifocal Retinopathy (CMR 2) Von Willebrand s Disease Type 1 (vwd 1) Neonatal Cerebellar Ataxia (Bandera s syndrome) Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) Primary Hyperoxaluria Hyperuricosuria If there is a DNA test done, one can tell if the dog is clear, a carrier or affected. We know what the mode of inheritance is so that we can make choices in order to avoid producing any of these problems. Having a carrier is fine as long as they are bred to a clear dog, then the pups will never get the disease. This is important to know because having a carrier is only important if one is breeding. Many breeders will do a lot more testing on the boys and if the boy is a carrier, then they test the girl to make sure they aren t producing it. As breeders, it is our job to understand this and make sure we don t produce those problems. Having a lot of health testing done is great, however, knowing what to do with it is equally, if not more important. The fact that a breeder health tests is a very good start! Having many health tests done does not mean you will have a healthy dog forever. It just means that the parents have been tested for certain things and there is a better likelihood that the puppy won t get those diseases. For the diseases that there is a DNA test for, one can guarantee that your puppy will not get that disease if one performs the tests and breeds to make sure they don t produce it. For the ones that show the parents are clear at the time of testing, there is a less likely chance that your dog will get that condition or disease. There are many other issues, like cancer, degenerative disc disease and a host of other diseases that can t be tested for. This is where experience comes into play, especially if they are genetic. The breeders are always working towards having DNA tests developed to be able to control genetic, inherited diseases. This is ongoing and ever changing. Ethical breeders will always have a contract that outlines what the guarantee is for the puppy. Most breeders will have a one to two year guarantee for serious, inherited health problems. Make sure you understand exactly what the guarantee is and make sure that you are comfortable with the terms before making a commitment. Guarantees do vary from breeder to breeder, so it is essential to understand this in order to avoid potential problems. So, what do you do with this information when selecting a breeder? First, ask what the breeder tests for. Then see proof of testing, whether it be on the OFA website or certificates from the breeder. Also ask what problems they have dealt with and what they are trying to improve upon in their lines. That gives a good basis to start. What do breeders do with this information? Understand the health testing, understand mode of inheritance and make ethical choices in your breeding program based on those tests and on what you are producing. By having a thorough understanding of health testing, both what it means and what it doesn t, one can help produce sound and healthy Cotons for future generations.
5 A show weekend in Nassau, Bahamas By Marie-France Prayal At the hotel, the day before the first show, Linda was grooming Seamus. After the winter we had (and still have), this show weekend in Nassau (Bahamas) was more than welcome! Walking in the street with a white show dog it is helpful to have socks on! We were ready to leave Thursday, March 19, but we had another storm (Yes, another snow storm!) and we had to wait another day. Here are the crazy people from Nova Scotia: Lynne and her Papillon, MarieFrance and her Coton, Jamie and his Griffon and Frank with his Golden, all in the same plane. Linda from Ontario, the lucky one, was able to leave Thursday and was already waiting with her Coton for us in Nassau.
6 A show weekend continued... Saturday, first show. Gabi took the breed and Group one. The judge was from USA and was very proud to tell us he went to a seminar about the Coton. After the grooming, Gabi and Seamus are very happy and are ready for the show! The site is well organized. Tents, chairs, we feel really welcome and happy to be here. Saturday, Best in Show.
7 A show weekend continued... Seamus took the breed and a Group 2 Sunday. A nice picture of Gabi. What a nice Coton (and a nice handler!!!) Sunday, second show. Linda with Seamus on the table. Linda and Seamus in action. The show weekend is over. It was a nice experience but I am sure, Gabi will be happy to go home. We enjoyed the good company, the nice weather, the warm and relaxing ocean. Another excellent trip with good friends!
8 About Us. Denis Carriere founded the Coton Malgache Publication in 1994 so that breed fanciers might share their mutual interest. The club s aim is to support, educate and advise owners, members and prospective owners about the Coton de Tulear. All members of the CCTC will abide by a code of ethics that will govern the breeding and prosperity of these lovely animals, protecting and preserving the qualities of the Coton de Tulear, and striving for its betterment. CCTC publishes the Coton Malgache quarterly in March, June, September and December. We encourage your submissions! Please send photos of, and articles about your Cotons. Photos will be returned upon request if you include a S.A.S.E. Deadline for the June 2015 Coton Malgache is June 15, 2015. CCTC Executive President: Linda Brookes Email: shoes.and.dogs@hotmail.com Please send all submissions for the Coton Malgache to: Email: hawks_n_hooves@yourlink.ca Subscriptions to the Coton Malgache are included with a CCTC membership. The CCTC is a Canadian non-profit organization. All renewing memberships are due January 31 each year. Vice-President: vacant Secretary: Paula Campbell Email: paula@chapalabaycotons.com Treasurer: Marie-France Prayal Email: polana@ns.sympatico.ca Western Director: Paula Campbell Email: paula@chapalabaycotons.com Ontario Director: Corinna Yannoulopoulos Email: demcor@sympatico.ca Ontario Director: Sonia Femia Email: femias@sympatico.ca Ontario Director: Margaret Stagg Email: mstagg1@cogeco.ca Director: Ed Cooper Email: ejcooper@bellaliant.net Newsletter Editor: Linda Stevens Email: hawks_n_hooves@yourlink.ca The opinions expressed in the Coton Malgache are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. The articles in the Coton Malgache belong to their authors and cannot be reproduced either in whole or in part in any form without written permission of the author. www.coton.ca Advertising is available on our website. * Sponsor Advertising $25 per calendar year for a business card $45 per calendar year with a live link to a website * Breeder Directory Members Only * Litter Announcements Available FREE of charge to Breeder Members Only Contact Marie-France Prayal polana@ns.sympatico.ca Tel. 902-757-0826