Along with the organisation and development of dog breeding facilities, veterinarians, veterinary associations and educational institutions have gradually begun to adjust to the new technical requirements of dog breeding professionals and specialists, including recommendations and guidance in terms of genetics, architecture of breeding facilities and kennels, contagious diseases, diagnostic approaches, etc.
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A previous book (Practical Guide to Dog Breeding Facilities, 1997), based on a training course for prospective breeders, was intended to encourage breeders to consult their veterinarians. This Practical Guide to Dog Breeding Diseases aims to encourage veterinarians to visit and inspect breeding facilities and promoting the concept of "herd health" that, up to now, has been the domain of production animal veterinary medicine, and thereby eventually reconciling both these professions around common interests.
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A therapeutic diagnosis can often satisfy dog owners but breeders' requirements call for far more than a mere diagnosis. A breeder would like his veterinarian not only to identify and treat the disease but also to tell him on how to prevent its recurrence while integrating economic, hygienic, regulatory and puppy socialization requirements.
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Despite these requirements, dog breeding remains the preferential field of investigation for veterinarians because all animals usually display the same clinical signs, at the same time and in the same place, which makes presumptive diagnosis much easier (seeking a common factor, whether infectious, dietary or parasitic). In addition, several diseases (neonatal diseases, weaning disorders) are specific to breeding facilities and do not apply to the general population of canine patients, to such an extent that some breeders are still unwilling to ask their veterinarian for advice since they consider that he has not enough experience in this specific discipline even though it is quite simple.
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Medicine relating to breeding should provide the community with the knowledge of clinical cases. Quarantine, lazaret, post-mortem examinations, sample collection and management, the notion of a critical period, and breed predispositions are concepts that need to be integrated in order to improve the health status of a breeding facility while respecting the existing system.
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This book results from the collaboration of animal health companies (ROYAL CANIN and MERIAL) and the Unité de Médecine de l'Elevage et du Sport (UMES) (Breeding and Sports Medicine Department) of the Alfort School of Veterinary Medicine which are involved daily in controlling to the health of breeding facilities alongside veterinary practitioners. This book has mainly been written with a broad clinical perspective in mind. Therefore, the illustrations have been chosen in such a manner as to be easily understood by the layperson as well as the veterinarian wherever possible. The different diseases have been divided into major syndromes, particular importance being given to clinical signs, presumptive diagnosis, and confirmation tests to make the veterinarian's role more straightforward. The choice of relevant sampling procedures has also been dealt with, starting with the most relevant and economical additional examinations right up to the least common ones. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, the veterinarian can extend his knowledge of a particular disease by consulting the relevant literature.
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Some readers may be surprised by the importance that parasitology occupies in breeding diseases. Several reasons explain why: the first and most obvious is related to the very definition of a kennel or breeding facility i.e. coexistence and reproduction of several animals from the same species on the same premises provides ideal conditions for the completion of parasitic life cycles. The second reason is sadly, that veterinary practitioners' are less interested by in individual parasitic diseases. If it is possible to prescribe systematic and polyvalent anthelmintic treatment for dogs living in isolation and fed on commercial diets, it is so for dogs living in breeding facilities since the latter will become repeatedly infested from the environment as soon as the treatment ends (lack of persistence, lack of authorised medicated feed for dogs, lack of long-acting galenic anthelmintics for carnivores, etc.). The environmental factor cannot therefore be disregarded in breeding facilities, and medical treatment on its own is not sufficient. The last reason is obvious with the systematic use of anthelmintics by breeders, which causes and often enhances the onset of digestive protozoal infections (coccidiosis, giardiasis) that are insensitive to the molecules usually used "blindly". How often have breeders been heard saying that their breeding facilities could not harbour parasites because their dogs had been properly wormed?
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Parasitology therefore is and remains an essential discipline for veterinarians wanting to improve the health status of dog breeding facilities. In fact, considering that it is impossible to breed dogs without simultaneously "breeding parasites", it is difficult to make recommendations concerning disease control measures without prior identification of the environmental parasitism. Once the "game rules" have been properly identified, hunters can then adjust both their weapons and strategy to the parasite's lifestyle. Therefore, not only should the parasitic life cycle but also the spectrum of activity and diffusion of anthelmintics be taken into account before choosing the best suitable treatment to better control parasitic infestation and to prevent recurrence.
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Systemic parasitic diseases (e.g. babesiosis, leishmaniasis, hepatozoonosis) are not dealt with in detail in this book since collective living is not an additional risk factor in the completion of parasitic life cycles.
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Despite their cosmopolitan distribution, infectious and parasitic diseases differ from aetiological, epidemiological and therapeutic viewpoints. The reader should bear in mind the necessary adaptation to different geographical regions, the origins of animals and, of course, therapeutic and prophylactic alternatives.
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Most scientific data used in this Guide comes from European studies and, therefore, readers from other continents (USA, Japan, Africa, Asia and countries from the intertropical climatic regions) should interpret indications according to local and regional specificities, in particular as regards parasitic and fungal diseases.
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Some parasites can be highly prevalent in warm regions or some states of the USA, such as Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma ceylanicum or Ancylostoma brasiliense, although the last two zoonotic species cannot be found in Europe and the prevalence of Ancylostoma caninum is low compared to that of Ascaris or Trichurosis.
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Dirofilariasis caused by Dirofilaria immitis is a major helminthosis in other parts of the world (Southern USA, Japan, Pacific) while prevalence is high in some European countries (Italy, Spain) and very low (France, Germany, Central Europe) or non-existent else-where (Northern Europe) .
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Some fungal diseases are much more frequent on the American continent such as blastomycosis (Blastomyces or Ajellomyces dermatidis) or coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis).
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It should be underlined that severe fungal diseases from both the economic and medical viewpoints in Europe are dermatophytosis and Malassezia pachydermatis infections.
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Such variations will of course be obvious, too, as regards the treatment protocols recommended considering the great variation between veterinary medicine from one country to another. The protocols for the use of benzimidazoles, used with a larvicidal effect, on Toxocara canis during pregnancy have been published but are all based on the administration of high doses for several consecutively days. These protocols are off-label usages and are not implemented everywhere. Similarly, the use of ivermectin by the subcutaneous or oral route at doses of 0.2-0.6 mg/kg has been recommended by some authors for the treatment of sarcoptic mange, cheyletiellosis or demodecosis. Here again, these protocols are off-label and are not authorized for use in all countries. Posology, spectrum of activity, duration of action, contraindications are elements that differ from one country to another. In the end, it is quite difficult to make precise therapeutic recommendations or suggest a classification based on the frequency of parasitic diseases since it varies. Each reader should bear this in mind while consulting the information given in this guide.
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Successful operation of breeding facilities depends on the establishment of a genuine partnership based on trust between veterinarians, breeders, laboratories, and feed manufacturers. In the event of medical problems in breeding facilities, it then becomes possible to share expertise, knowledge and confirm diagnostic means at the least cost for breeders and to everyone's satisfaction.
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Veterinarians specialized in production animal breeding know that group diseases are often multifactorial in nature. Therefore, the approach in dog breeding facilities should not be solely limited to diagnosis but also include suggestions for solutions integrating all parameters relating to environment, diet, vaccination, comfort, respect of the animals, and so on.
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Feed always has an influence on the clinical outcome of a disease in breeding facilities. For example, enriching the weaning ration with soluble fibre, clay, prebiotics or probiotics, or lactoserum may artificially mask the clinical outcome of coccidiosis during the weaning period. Veterinarians should make sure that they do not recommend a change in diet without having first made a diagnosis. How can breeders, veterinarians and feed manufacturers possibly progress in the field of nutrition if their diagnosis were merely based on the assumption of a “digestive disorder of dietary origin”? Breeders’ satisfaction and confidence in veterinarians would not last long, or only until the next relapse that would no doubt affect the next litter (a large number of diseases only affect only one category of animals within a group).
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To conclude, I would like to warn all my fellow colleagues that group diseases in breeding facilities is a particularly profitable activity of veterinary practitioners. It is quite difficult to charge a visit to a breeding facility in the same way as an operation at the veterinary surgery (whose benefits are immediately visible). On the other hand, dog breeders’ expectations should not be unfulfilled nor should they be disappointed otherwise other technical experts will take our place. Once a trustful relationship has been built between the dog breeder and the veterinarian, the benefits will be shared, the number of puppies sold will increase and customer loyalty indirectly developed.
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Philipp PIERSON, DVM
Technical manager, Professional Market
ROYAL CANIN
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Dominique GRANDJEAN, DVM
Professor at the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire
d’Alfort UMES
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Frédéric BEUGNET, DVM
Technical Manager Pharmaceuticals, Europe
MERIAL
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