The seven dogs have several things in common: All are of the Australian copper dog breed All come from the same kennel All were born during the corona pandemic All have received the same diagnosis, but to varying degrees All have owners who believe the suffering comes from bad dog breeding – We are seven families who stand together on a report of concern to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority because we believe this is about the qualifications breeders have to run responsible and ethical dog breeding, says Cathrine Berget, who is spokesperson for the families. They refer to section 25 of the Animal Welfare Act, which deals with breeding. Rare disorder Berget is foster mother to the one-year-old Australian copper dog Sam, who, like six other dogs from the same breeder, has a rare disorder called Short ulna syndrome. This means that the dog’s front legs do not develop normally while the dog grows. It can lead to errors in leg position, limping and pain. The prognosis for surgery is best before the dog is fully grown. Short ulna syndrome Short ulna syndrome is about two bones (ulna and radius) that must grow in parallel and that are dependent on each other. When growth in the ulna stops, the other forearm bone will be affected and will grow in a kind of rotated formation, so that the problem is amplified. It can cause ringing effects for the wrist joint that lies below, and the elbow joint that lies above. The elbows can be completely or partially dislocated. The prognosis for surgery is best before the dog has fully grown. Short ulna syndrome is most commonly reported among dog breeds with short legs, such as Dachshunds and Corgis. Short ulna syndrome can be caused by genetics/inheritance or environment/damage in the growth zone of the bone while the animal is still growing. Source: Moldal/NMBU All the dogs come from Kennel Cunard, which breeds Australian Cobberdogs. – We think it’s bad dog breeding when several dogs from different litters have suffered the same problem, the families say to news. One of these seven kittens was euthanized at 4 months old due to the severity of the suffering and additional diagnoses. In the report of concern, they react, among other things, to what they believe is trivialization of the diagnosis, disclaimer of responsibility and lack of response to questions from the owners. Storm was born on 21.11.21 and is the half-sibling of Nure and Lurve. He was a quiet puppy, didn’t want to play and lay down at all times. Storm was diagnosed with Short ulna. Operation was advised against and Storm was put down four months old. Photo: Privat Nure was born on 21.11.21 and is the full sibling of Storm and Lurve. He has been operated on twice. Gong number two only on one leg as the first operation did not give good enough results. Photo: Privat Lurve was born on 21.11.22 and is the full sibling of Storm and Nure, all of whom have ancestors from Drøbak hundehotell. Lurve was operated on for OCD (disease in articular cartilage) and was later also diagnosed with Short ulna. Photo: Helene Brørby Sam was born on 9.11.21 and is the full sibling of Ludde and Marvin. He is operated on for Short ulna in both legs. Now it’s about slowing wear and tear on the elbow joint and cartilage. The forecasts are uncertain. Photo: Private Marvin was born on 9.11.21 and is the half-sibling of Sam and Ludde. He is also diagnosed with Short ulna and is operated on twice, in April and June 2022 Photo: Privat Ludde was born on 9.11.21 and is the first sibling of Sam and Marvin. After several consultations with vets and specialists, Ludde was diagnosed with Short ulna syndrome in September 2022. Ludde has not been operated on. Photo: Private Pepsi was born on 6 November 2020. Has common ancestors with Sam, Ludde, Marvin, Lurve, Nure and Storm. Pepsi had surgery on both legs when he was 7 months old, but because the wrong position in the legs, he is very exposed to wear and tear and pain in the joints and a shortened lifespan. Photo: Private In total there are 7 dogs divided into 3 litters in the period 2020–2021. One puppy was euthanized due to the severity of Short ulna and additional diagnoses, four were operated on, two were not operated on. Photo: Aud Darrud / news According to Kennel Cunard, there are around 10,000 Australian Cobberdogs in Norway today. Photo: Aud Darrud / news The dog asks approx. 60 percent of the weight say on the front legs. Lameness in the forelegs and especially in these joints will be serious for a dog, and it becomes more serious the larger the animal. Photo: Marius Christensen / news Do not link diagnosis to genetics In an email to news, Kennel Cunard wrote that they are sorry that the dogs have become ill, and that this is a bad experience for those who breed. – Short ulna is a rare diagnosis, and there are dog breeds with short legs that are predisposed to it, and therefore not the copper dog. In addition, the disease can be both hereditary and environmentally predisposed, writes Sissel Frenningsmoen, who owns the kennel. She writes that they had had three or four cases of the condition, before the two litters they had in 2021. The kennel writes that when they received a message that a puppy from the 2020 litter had contracted the condition, they did not think that it could be genetic and apply to several quail pairs. But when the breeder was later notified of another case in one of the 2021 litter, they realized that this could be genetic. – Then we contacted everyone at the litter, and asked them to be aware of symptoms, and that it might be a good idea to take an X-ray to be sure. Several dogs with joint problems When everyone was at home during the corona pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the number of dog owners skyrocketed. Elena Moldal is an associate professor in surgery at the NMBU veterinary college with a doctorate in surgery, and is also a European specialist in surgery on dogs and cats. – Several of these dogs with Short ulna end up with lifelong medical treatment with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, says Elena Regine Moldal, associate professor of surgery at NMBU. Photo: Håkon Sparre / NMBU She has not treated these dogs, but it seems that they generally see more dogs with skeletal and joint problems after the pandemic. – I think we are experiencing that we see more problems that can come from genetics, especially after the corona pandemic. It may seem that it was bred rather uncritically among some, because we see a lot of problems with the skeleton and joints, which can come from genetic origins, says Elena Moldal. At the same time, she points out that it is difficult to know which gene produces which result in the dog. Notice the increase in demand Kennel Cunard says the demand for Australian copper dogs is great, and that he multiplied during the pandemic. But they deny that they succumbed to the temptation to produce more coal than planned to meet demand. – The amount of coal we have had was anyway fixed in our planning before the pandemic started, writes Frenningsmoen. She writes that a breeding dog with them normally has three litters, but that some have fewer. She thinks it’s a shame that they have complained to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, but that the safety inspection is welcome to tamper with their routines. It is important to get to the vet early. Short ulna syndrome can be the reason why the dog limps, walks with a stagger, becomes wheel-legged in the elbow joint and calf-legged in the wrist. – There is not much research into pain as a result of Short ulna syndrome, but completely subjectively and personally I consider this condition to be quite painful for the dog, says Moldal. X-ray of the forelegs of the dog Storm, which was euthanized. Photo: Privat/Anicura Dyreklinikk She points out that it is very important to get to the vet early, as the prognosis for surgery is best before the dog has finished growing. – If it is discovered early, then someone can get completely well, or almost completely well. Some will struggle with this for the rest of their lives, she says. Short ulna syndrome is a developmental disorder, which can result from genetic predisposition, but it can also occur as a result of an injury/trauma. – I am not familiar with these copper dogs in question, and it is difficult to say for sure, but from what I hear as a veterinarian, I would have said that there are clear indications that there is something in the genetic material, that it is hereditary , says Moldal. Lurve and Sam would much rather Helene Brørby play than talk to news Photo: Aud Darrud / news Thought they were alone news meets six of the dogs, and their owners, on a cold winter’s day in Ekeberg. All the dogs protest loudly as they have to wait in the cars, while the owners have to talk to us. There will be a lot of noise. It ends with the dogs getting out. The dog gang goes crosswise when everyone wants to greet everyone, and the dogs seem happy to meet each other. All seven owners thought for a long time that they were alone in having a puppy that was not good, but discovered by chance that they have common stories. The puppies come from three different litters. The owners say that the first litter was never notified that Short ulna had been detected in the litter. The second litter was notified when a veterinarian confirmed the diagnosis of a lice, while the third litter was notified after a few months. They are upset that the breeder did not notify them sooner and better when Short Ulna Syndrome was discovered in the litter. – It is provocative, they say together. The puppy owners believe this may have led to the suffering not being detected early enough for several of the dogs, and the opportunity to be operated on. All these dogs have been diagnosed with Short ulna syndrome. Couldn’t see Kennel Cunard writes that they now see in retrospect that the cases they have experienced in these litters may be due to genetics. – We wish we could turn back time and inform earlier, they wrote in the e-mail to news. But they think they were quick on their feet in one litter, when they were able to confirm that several quail pairs had been diagnosed with the disorder, and that it could be genetic. – From the time we were notified, it took eight hours before we informed all owners that they should check their pods, they write. The kennel writes that the mothers of the dogs that have now been diagnosed with Short ulna have previously had litters with healthy tick pairs. They therefore claim that it was difficult to foresee that so many quail couples would later suffer. – Here it was simply the combination of parents and genes that made the difference. We have discussed with several specialists who say that there was nothing we could have done in advance to prevent illness in so many quail pairs. Christin Pedersen had to say a final goodbye to the kitten Storm, when he was four months old. From the same breeder she bought a new Australian copper dog called Nero. Photo: Marius Christensen Aadne Tho with the dog Ludde Photo: Marius Christensen Cathrine Berget with the dog Sam Photo: Marius Christensen Pia Tangen and Aleksander Aas with the dog Marvin Photo: Marius Christensen / news Helene Brørby with the dog Lurve Photo: Marius Christensen / news Trine Lilleby with the dog Nure Photo: Marius Christensen / news Jarle Lerøen with the dog Pepsi The breeder tells news that the mothers have now been taken out of the breeding program after Short ulna was discovered in the litter, so that the gene is not passed on. A male dog taken out of the breeding program Fedrane til hundane is connected to Kennel Nor in Drøbak, which runs breeding and breeding services for Australian copperdogs. Daily leader Rita Vedal Wiik wrote in an e-mail to news that they are very sensitive to genetic diseases. When there were reports of several cases of Short ulna in several litters, they also made an assessment as to whether this could be genetic. This meant that one of the fathers was withdrawn from the breeding programme. – One of our male dogs has more than one case of Short ulna among his litters. He has been taken out of the breeding program for safety reasons, writes Wiik. But the other dogs that have been used in the litter where the suffering has been proven, have not yet been taken out. – They have many other offspring without known cases of Short ulna. If we remove from breeding all individuals who are related to a sick individual, without knowing whether there is a connection, we will only be left with those who have not been examined well enough. She writes that instead they try to find the probable cause, and take out the dogs that go again when it is the case that occurs more frequently than is usual for the breed. Working with regulations The Norwegian Food Safety Authority confirms that they have received the notification of concern. They say they can’t say anything about how serious the case is until they have been inspected. – But we can say that we do not regard this as an acute animal welfare issue, since it concerns breeding which may have resulted in several of the dogs later developing genetic diseases, says section manager Jarle Bergsjø in the animal section in Østfold and Follo to news. On a general basis, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority underlines that breeders are responsible for producing healthy, healthy and well-functioning dogs. They have also been commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to develop their own regulations for dog breeding. This type of breeding has not previously been regulated in regulations.
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Dog breeder complained after seven pairs of quail from different litters suffered the same – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
