One of the priorities in our Outcrossing Plan was to determine the incidence rate of genetic diseases produced by or related to our initial population of breeding animals. To do this, we decided to go back five years to confirm our information on the lines for the past two to three generations. We sent all breeders a listing of their litters produced since January of 2012.
We asked our breeders to note any genetic issues that had come to light in their listed litters. Though we prioritized a specific list of disorders that our health database noted as our top ten highest risks, our breeders rose to the challenge and added information on additional issues to their reports, resulting in what we feel is a comprehensive overview of the current state of breed health in our ISSA Shilohs.
At the conclusion of the survey, results were published on our Club Facebook page for the membership, and a fully-detailed listing of all litters and disorders from 2012 onward was published for our breeders’ reference in researching potential mates.
Below you’ll find the results, in raw numbers and percentiles, for our health survey. We also chose to document the number of pups stillborn or that passed away soon after birth, as this is often directly linked to a lack of genetic diversity (inbreeding depression), and one of the reasons we are moving forward with outcrossing. We hope the addition of fresh genes over the coming years will make the heartbreak of losing a newborn puppy a true rarity.
ISSA INFORMAL HEALTH SURVEY
Pre-Outcross, July 2017
DATA SUMMARY
TOTAL PUPS BORN: 567 pups from January 2012 to present (July 2017)
NUMBER STILLBORN OR FADING: 41
NEWBORN MORTALITY RATE: 7.2%
NUMBER OF LITTERS: 85
NUMBER OF C-SECTIONS: 7
C-SECTION RATE: 8.2% OF LITTERS
LITTER AVERAGE SIZE: 6.67
NUMBER REPORTED AFFECTED AND ANALYSIS:
- Canine Hip Dysplasia : 13 dogs affected.
- SAS : 11 dogs; 2.1%.
- EPI : 7 dogs; 1.3% (at this time; however, this disease can have a late onset.)
- GSDIVA : Confirmed via Holter: 17; Non-typical – ALBA felt not GSDIVA, or one very minor (27 singles) – 3.
- Cryptorchids: 14 dogs; 2.7%. Of course, this disease can only be detected in male dogs; females can be affected and pass this on to their offspring.
- Bloat: 3 dogs; below 1.0%, but this disease has been demonstrated to rise in risk later in life.
- Pannus: 0 dogs (average onset time 5-6 years; two parents of tracked litters affected)
- Mega-e: 6 confirmed, 2 more suspected (infant deaths, no necropsy); 1.4 to 1.5%.
- PAF: 0 (one parent of tracked litters has an affected sibling; several others have affected relatives.): 0%
- Allergies: 8 dogs; 1.5%
A few notes on other diseases.
Our breed has not seen a confirmed case of Degenerative Myelopathy for over 7 years. The DNA test for DM is mandated for our breeding animals. Currently, there are less than a handful of carriers left in our gene pool according to the DNA testing. Based on these results, we are hopeful that this terrible disease will shortly be wiped out in the ISSA Shiloh Shepherd population.
Elbow dysplasia has been rare in the Shiloh Shepherd, but a couple of recent cases have surfaced in ISSA litters and we are keeping an eye on this disorder. All breeding dogs must have their elbows x-rayed and we encourage our pet owners to x-ray as well, in order to get a more complete idea of where this disease lurks in our lines.
Panosteitis (growing pains) is seen often in large breeds and Shilohs are no exception. The disorder is self-limiting–pups will outgrow it–and the severity can be linked to environmental factors such as type and amount of food the pup is given. In frequency it seems irregular; sometimes several pups from a litter will be affected, sometimes only one.