title: International and collaborative strategies to enhance genetic health in purebred dogs.
abstract: Health problems in pedigree dogs have recently been highlighted in the media worldwide and verified internationally by cynological organisations. Collaborative actions are now needed to deal with both existing and future issues. In this article, potential roles for various stakeholders are discussed and the value of national and international platforms for collaborations is stressed. Development of specific strategies for action must be based on criteria of significance, such as severity, prevalence and inheritance, as well as availability of effective preventive measures. Assessment of options should be founded on evidence from appropriate populations-at-risk and consider broader issues, such as demographics and human-animal interactions. Existing data, such as those from insurance statistics and health surveys, should be used as a reference until representative national/international population-level breed-specific data are available. Key issues and challenges, as well as possible strategies to address them, are discussed.
authors: Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7052, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. ake.hedhammar@slu.se
authors: Åke A
authors: ÅA
authors: Hedhammar
authors: Sofia
authors: S
authors: Malm
authors: Brenda
authors: B
authors: Bonnett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D004285:Dogs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D006306:Health Surveys; D007390:International Agencies; D010375:Pedigree; D011156:Population Density