The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland

Health Problems?

The Flatcoated Retriever Club of Scotland now has a health committee that has taken over the role of Health Co-ordinator, which previously was completed by one person. In addition the Kennel Club now requires annual information from a health committee from every breed club. The aims of the Health Committee are:

• To offer advice and information on health related matters to members seeking help

• To promote and encourage the use of health schemes among members and to participate in research studies concerning the breed

• To monitor health problems occurring within the breed and liase with the other two UK breed clubs so that concerns about the prevalence of any particular problem can be raised at an early stage, ensuring shared strategy for action.

• To maintain confidentiality at all times with regard to information received or advice sought. No names will be used in sharing information with other clubs

• To disseminate information on health related matters to club members via the newsletter or this web site

The committee can be contacted at health@flatcoat-scotland.com and its members are:

Dorothy Gray who will act as the person to liase with breed clubs and Kennel Club.

Sandra Stevenson who will collate any information received.

Vivien Stucke who will be the initial contact for anyone wanting some information or advice on a health related problem, and will arrange to obtain further advice for them as necessary.

Many of you may already be aware of the exciting development in that the Animal Health Trust are willing to store DNA from blood from Flatcoated Retrievers for future investigations. This may possibly complement the cancer research done by Jane Dobson, and also the glaucoma research involving James Wood and begun by Tony Read a few years ago. Details are available on the web site at Animal Health Trust or from any of the Health Committee including forms to fill in and send along with pedigree and health records such as hip scores, eye test and any other relevant health information. Again information from this will not be published in a way that can identify specific dogs, and owners will have any information returned directly and only to them.

So folks, it's over to you. The Health Committee is here to help in any way it can, with the aim being improvement in the quality of life in the Flatcoated Retriever. If we don't talk about problems, we can't do anything to address them and the dog is the loser so it's up to every one of us.