 |
| Breed Health Websites A source of useful information for veterinarians and their clients By Wayne Kompare, President, Westie Foundation of America There are more than 150 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club. Most of the national breed clubs have some presence on the Internet, usually covering, at a minimum, a general description of the breed, information about the national breed club, and various competitive activities for owners and their dogs. A large number of these websites have health information about their breed and the diseases that affect them. Most of these breeds will also have either a health committee or a health foundation, either integrated into the national breed club or as a separate entity. The breed health information contained on these websites can vary considerably, but a number of them represent an excellent source of information both for the veterinarian as well as for the vet’s clients. A good portion of the breed specific health information may not be generally available to veterinarians as part of their education or from normal veterinarian data sources. In addition, a breed health internet site has the advantage of being continually updated, in order to present the most current information. Some examples of the useful information available to vets on the breed specific websites include: Breed health surveys are taken approximately every five to seven years and can provide significant details about which diseases are increasing or decreasing in that breed, as well as the age, gender, and mortality rates of the affected canines. Diseases can affect dogs in one breed differently than another breed and/or have different primary causes (e.g. skin problems), and it may be helpful to have that information, particularly if the vet doesn’t often see a particular breed in his or her practice. Breed health seminar presentations are often held in conjunction with a breed’s national specialty show and may be either recorded or available as a PowerPoint presentation (or at least have a written summary) on the breed website. These are often highly informative sessions given by experts in a particular canine health area and usually focus on that health concern in that specific breed. Breed funded medical research project information can provide advanced scientific information about aspects of a specific disease in one or more particular breeds. This can often provide leading-edge data on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, or genetics of that disease in the subject breed. Also, it can provide the clinical vet with the researcher’s name and organization for potential follow-up questions and additional information. Finally, some breed health organizations are developing breed health eBooks on their websites, containing considerable in-depth and up-to-date information about specific health concerns within their breed. Often, these eBooks may contain some technical and scientific information more appropriate for clinical veterinarians than for the average dog owner. In addition to helping vets with some useful and unique breed health information, breed health websites can help the clients with a considerable amount of health information directly addressing their particular breed. This can help vets by making their clients more knowledgeable when discussing their dog’s health with their vet. The key is that the website should always carry a caveat that the information there is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by their veterinarian. A number of breed health sites provide links to other websites, including poison control, what to do in a natural disaster, specialized testing organizations like OFA and CERF, basic genetics information, the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC), and information about medical research sponsored by the AKC Canine Health Foundation and the Morris Animal Foundation. At the risk of sounding subjective and biased toward the organization I am associated with, I think the Westie Foundation of America website is an excellent example of the points mentioned above. In addition to the Westie Foundation website, there are a number of other breed health sites worth taking a look at and recommending to your breed clients. This list is by no means exhaustive or complete, but it can give you a good idea of the quantity and quality of breed specific health information available on the internet: Bearded Collie: www.beaconforhealth.org |
Follow Us