In Finland English Springer Spaniel has its own reaction program against hereditary diseases (in our country we call this PEVISA, perinnöllisten sairauksien ja vikojen vastustamisohjelma). This program requires that every dog which is used to breeding has to me examined for hip dysplasia and eye diseases. If the dog is not examined, its puppies will not be registered at all. Hip dysplasia and eye diseases like PRA are most common diseases of english springers, but mostly this is very healthy breed. There is also some epilepsy, hypothyroidsim, skin diseases and ear problems, but most of the dogs are healthy. In this chapter we tell you about the dog diseases from springer's side.
The official hip research has to be done to a dog over one year old. The grading system for both hips starts from A (healthy hip) and ends to E (very bad dysplasia). Dog gets a result from both hips and from these the Finnish Kennel Club's doctor decides which is the grade of dog's hips (one value). This means that for example if the right hip is A and the left is B (but nearer A than C), the doctor might say the hips are healthy (A hips).
You can use a dog with C-hips to your breeding, but sometimes this means you have to have a good reason to it. I mean there has to be some other values, which make the dog very valuable for breeding. It is very common to use a dog with B-hips to breeding.
The hips are exmined with X-ray by the vet and it costs here in Finland about 60-100 €. The vet checks the X-rays and if you give your permission, he will send the photos to the doctor of Finnish Kennel Club (Mrs. Anne Liman). In 1-4 weeks the Kennel Club will send you an official statement of the hips.
There is many opinions about these official statements of the kennel club's doctor and about the justness of them. This is also researched by the breeding science commission of the Finnish Kennel Club. Mrs. Anne Liman (the doctor of the kennel club) is very high educated for giving statements of the hip X-rays and she has found to "judge" impeccably just as the FCI's estimation rules say. It is understandable when your own dog got a bad hip statement you first start to accuse the doctor who gave the statement. And sometimes you do not accuse her/him for nothing, but most of the accusing cases are needless and pointless. But you can make a complaint and if it is reasonable, you really should do it.
The hip dysplasia disease per cent has been about 30 % for a long time now and most of the cases are slight C-degrees dysplasia. C-hips do not bother dog's life. E-hips are very rare and some years there is none of this bad cases in Finland.
Eye diseases to fight against are for example HC (hereditary cataract) and PRA (Progressive Retina Atrophy). Every year there are about 100 springers to be examined in Finland and about 1-2 percent of these do have some kind of eye diseases.
This disease was taken to this chapter because there is lots of rumours about it and also lots of people who do not know about the disease so much. This is a hereditary disease, which is caused by a mutation in a gene which is conducting some certain enzymes. I am not going to discuss much about this enzyme (because I am not an expert in this), but as far as I know this enzyme is taking very complicated molecules into parts so these molecules can get out of the cells. When a dog has a mutation in this gene conducting the enzyme, the molecules are not dissolving and they are collecting into cells. This divergent activity will finally disturb cell's ability to function.
When the function of the cells is disturbed, it will cause some symptoms in nervous systems (central nervous system and other too). Some organs permits these molecules collecting into cells quite well, but the central nervous system has proved to be very sensitive. Clinical symptoms are misbehaviours and also motor function disorders, which start when your springer is from one to two years old. Sick dogs has unusual behaviour models, which might be aggressive or particularly depressed. There might also be some disturbances of eguilibrium. Sometimes dog might become blind or deaf too and it might have intestinal disorders like vomits or diarrhoea.
Fucosidosis developes very fast and this means when the first symptoms will appear, it takes only a few weeks and springer will die or it will have euthanasia. This disease performs in show springers but also in field trials (all kind of springers). Hederitary is latent so the dog might be carrier even if it does not have any symptoms and is not sick. Only dog which both parents are carriers or sick may have this disease. Dog might be a carrier if only other of the parents is a carrier. A sick dog's offspring are always carriers or sick.
As far as I know there hasn't been any cases of fucosidosis in Finland ever! In Sweden has been only under ten cases in 15-20 years! And you must remember this breed is much more common in Sweden than in Finland (in Sweden ess is 10th popular dog of all breeds!). Some cases has been also in UK and Australia (in both lines of ess). Also in United States has been some cases, but the amount of the carriers is not known.
This is NOT a very common disease, but we are talking about very dangerous hereditary disease and this is why this issue should been token seriously. But if you are planing to own a english springer spaniel, you should not be frightened now. This is not a sick breed. Actually we are talking about a very healthy breed (a lot more healthy than many other breeds). So why am I telling you about this disease: just because it is dangerous, NOT because of it's commonness.
Springers may be tested with a DNA test and some of the breeders have done it to their most important breeding springers. While this is not very common disease they would not have to do it. This is just an insurance that the mutation is not carried in their important lines. And once again: english springer spaniel is a very healthy breed and this is a very rare disease.