Border Terrier Breeders Gather To Discuss Two

TWO CONDITIONS affecting the Border Terrier are worrying breeders and owners so much that a meeting was called to discuss them.

In the region of 130 people attended the seminar in Derbyshire to air their feelings and experiences about canine epileptoid cramping syndrome (CECS) and shaking puppy syndrome (SLEM).

Sunday’s seminar was organised by Janet Lee (Tythrop) who has a dog with CECS and who said she was unhappy that so little had been done to raise awareness of the two conditions. She chose to pay for the event herself and told the meeting: “I hope the breed is now aware that we have two serious problems. If we make no progress to solve them and get a test in place our breed will have an all-carrier status, a very poor prognosis for future breeders of this lovely breed we all love dearly and are custodians of.”

Mrs Lee voiced her disappointment that breed health co-ordinator Steve Dean had been unable to attend the meeting as he is in New Zealand, and there was a call for him to stand down from the position.

In the six months of this international group coming together a Just Giving fund has been set up to pay for a freezer at the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and DNA testing using swabs which are being sent to the AHT. To date more than £3,000 has been donated by the group.

Border Terriers owners are being encouraged to submit swabs free of charge so research can take place into the isolation of markers for CECS and SLEM.