Breed Health Co-ordinator
Dear Samoyed Community,
I am thrilled to share with you all that I have been appointed as the new Breed Health Coordinator for Samoyeds! It is truly an honour to take on this role and work towards the betterment of our beloved breed.
As the Breed Health Coordinator, my primary focus will be on promoting and safeguarding the health and well-being of Samoyeds. I am committed to collaborating with breeders, owners, veterinarians, and other stakeholders to implement strategies that prioritize health, longevity, and vitality within our community.
Together, we will strive to enhance awareness of health issues specific to Samoyeds, facilitate health screening and testing programs, and support research initiatives aimed at advancing our understanding of genetic health concerns.
I am incredibly passionate about the welfare of Samoyeds and am dedicated to serving our community to the best of my abilities. Your support and participation are crucial as we embark on this journey together.
I look forward to working with each and every one of you to ensure a bright and healthy future for our cherished Samoyeds.
Can I please encourage you all to use the Cause of Illness and Cause of Death forms on the Samoyed Breed Council website as this data is invaluable for research? https://samoyedbreedcouncil.co.uk/notification-of-illness-form-online/
https://samoyedbreedcouncil.co.uk/online-cause-of-death-form/
Along side this there are also information sheets and fact sheets regarding DIABETES, HIP TESTING, BLOAT, SEBACEOUS ADENITIS, EYE TESTING , GLAUCOMA, CORNEAL ULCERS and LIVING WITH A BLIND DOG on the DOWNLOADS PAGE.
https://samoyedbreedcouncil.co.uk/downloads/
The KC Breed Health Conservation Plan (2021) can be also be found on the Downloads Page. (Updated every 5 years)
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Let’s make a positive difference for our wonderful breed!
Warm regards,
Mikaela Short
Samoyed Breed Health Coordinator
General Health Information
The Kennel Club require all Assured breeders to score their dogs under the BVA hip dysplasia scheme and also recommend eye testing as well, but there are not that many Samoyed breeders within the scheme. The Code of Ethics for the breed makes the following statement:
Breeders should not knowingly breed from any stock which has hereditary diseases. It is advised that all breeding stock be X rayed for Hip Dysplasia by a qualified veterinary surgeon and that all the plates should be submitted to the BVA for hipscoring under the KC/BVA scheme, even if the hips are poor so that a picture of hip displasia in the breed can be assessed.
In short health matters.
With the increased use of social media, health within the breed is also more transparent. The Cause of Death/Illness survey continues to be very relevant although input into this survey remains low currently. We hope to promote this important information so that it is not just viewed as a Cause of Death survey but for the breed to be aware of health issues arising during a dogs lifespan. It is already known that indolent ulcers are more common in samoyeds than a lot of other breeds, and especially if they are over 7 years old.
The breed is also aware of the ongoing issue of diabetes within samoyeds and is supporting research to identify the relevant markers which show a predisposition to this disease. Hopefully in the future it will lead to a test.
With the Samoyed community becoming more international with more overseas dogs being imported, and also some dogs exported from the UK, health and health testing becomes more central to ensuring that not only UK samoyeds remain healthy but that we don’t import or export any health issues. We can only do this by being very open about issues we come across in the breed in our own dogs.
We are very lucky in our breed that it is a Category 1 and as far as the Kennel Club is concerned we do not have any big issues but to keep it that way, we need to health test and not use untested dogs to breed from.
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Cause of Death Form – Now available ONLINE
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Notification of Illness Form available NOTIFICATION-OF-ILLNESS or complete ONLINE HERE
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Information Sheets regarding HIP TESTING, BLOAT, SEBACEOUS ADENITIS, EYE TESTING , GLAUCOMA, CORNEAL ULCERS and LIVING WITH A BLIND DOG can be found on the DOWNLOADS PAGE
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Fact sheet on DIABETES can be found on the DOWNLOADS PAGE
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****NEW **** – KC Breed Health Conservation Plan (2021) can be found on DOWNLOADS PAGE