Polish Lowland Sheepdog Club - PON Health
Kennel Club Health Update June 2024
*UK Kennel Club - Important PON Health Update June 2024*
The Kennel Club have announced a new evidence-based approach to health testing, the Health Standard.
The following are proposals which are presently under review.
The Health Standard will have a shift for PONs with respect to health testing, and under this our breed's health tests will be as follows:
Essential
- Using best breeding practices to minimise inbreeding (due to a small population size).
Advisable
- Eye screening
- Hip scoring
Other
- None
Currently, PONs are listed under the Assured Breeders Scheme for the following tests:
Requirements - Hip scoring
Recommendations - None
The Health Standard promotes breed-specific health testing and is a clear evidence-based guide for breeders, of all levels of experience, about health testing priorities within their breed. It represents a crucial step towards The Kennel Club’s strategic aim to safeguard the future health and well-being of pedigree dogs.
The Health Standard uses a consistent and rigorous process to prioritise and categorise health tests based on scientific evidence collated from The Kennel Club’s Breed Health & Conservation Plans (BHCPs).
The standard takes into account published literature, prevalence data and – in a first - genetic diversity, in order to categorise and prioritise health tests within every Kennel Club registered breed.
Within the Health Standard, whilst the KC strongly encourage breeders to undertake all the health tests listed for their breed, each test has been categorised into ‘essential’, ‘advisable’, or ‘other’. This breed-centric categorisation reflects the priority of the tests for the entire breed. These categories highlight which are the most important tests puppy buyers should be looking for and to advise breeders how to prioritise tests when making breeding decisions.
Here’s a brief overview of each category:
- Essential tests: These are tests that breeders are strongly encouraged to undertake prior to breeding, as there is strong evidence that the condition being tested for is a significant concern in the breed, for example, it may be increasing in prevalence.
- Advisable tests: These tests are that breeders should consider to be of importance and are advisable to use prior to breeding – being for conditions which are still known and relevant in a breed. However, they have been categorised as advisable either due to having a lower prevalence than those in the essential category, or due to other considerations within the breed, including the need to balance health test results against genetic diversity.
- Other tests: We don’t yet have sufficient data to assess the importance of these tests, however breeders/ puppy buyers should be aware of them and check their lines before breeding or purchasing a puppy.
How has the Health Standard been developed?
A rigorous process has been undertaken on a breed-by-breed basis, to establish where each test should sit for each breed. The criteria to determine this includes:
- Trends in a condition over time (i.e. prevalence, breed averages, frequency of genetic mutations etc.).
- Published evidence in scientific journals to support the accuracy of a test.
- Population of a breed and whether the breed has limited genetic diversity.
The Kennel Club will collect and publish health results from all three categories.
General Health
Polish Lowland Health / PON Health
The Polish Lowland Sheepdog is considered to be a generally healthy, hardy breed, and provided they are given adequate exercise and not overfed, kept well groomed and mentally stimulated, most PONs live into their teens.
The health of the Polish Lowland Sheepdog in the UK has always been addressed with great importance by our Club and members, and every effort is made to promote the breeding of sound, healthy dogs.
The club has, since its inception in 1986, incorporated within its rules a strict breeding Code of Ethics whereby all members are required to hip x-ray and eye test dogs prior to breeding and submit the results to our PLSC Health Representative. It is hoped this goes some way to reducing the risk of any potential problems in these areas.
We are aware of isolated cases of various health issues, however some are considered dietary and/or environmental and there is no evidence to suggest we can prove there is any hereditary connection.
The breed is not considered to suffer from any hereditary health problems but we continue to remain vigilant.
Following importation during the 1980's the breed was placed on schedule ‘B’ as being under investigation for Retinal Pigmentation Epithelial Dystrophy (RPED) also known as Central Progessive Retinal Atrophy (CPRA) We believe 7 cases were discovered initially, however these were removed from the breeding program.
With the recent law change making it easier to import dogs, more PLS are coming into the UK from elsewhere than ever before. It is a well known fact that eye problems in the PON are more prevalent in other countries, so now more than ever, it is crucial that only dogs with a clear KC/BVA certificate are bred from.
KC/BVA Hip Scoring
Scored only once in the lifetime after 12 months of age, (KC mandatory)
When the Polish Lowland was first introduced into the UK those involved in the breed wanted to retain the health and wellbeing for future generations, therefore breeders agreed to KC/BVA Hip score their Pons prior to breeding- this was to hopefully prevent hip dysplasia, a condition that can effects a pets lifestyle considerably.
The process is; for the PON to be X-rayed by a vet and the x-ray submitted to the KC/BVA panel of specialists for a ‘score’ this can be range between 0-106, the lower the better. Initially to utilize the gene pool, if fit and healthy pons were bred from up to approx. total score of 30.
It is recommended that breeders choose breeding stock with hips scores around, and ideally below, the 5-year breed median score which for Polish Lowland Sheepdogs is 12 (2022 published results) and Hip scores should be considered along with other criteria as part of responsible breeding programme
Our KC/BVA scoring system is one of the most stringent, there are differing methods of testing in other countries, however for puppies born in the UK it is recommended their parents are scored in the UK or via the Australian scoring system.
For more general information see:
KC/BVA Eyes
Ideally tested annually or the parents tested clear within 12 month prior to puppies born.
When the breed was introduced to the UK all pons were KC/BVA eye tested prior to breeding, there were a very small number who showed signs of CPRA (RPED) and these were not included in the breeding programme.
We believe through commitment to health this eye condition is rarely seen, however it is a recessive condition, so can crop up even though for generations the parents have been tested clear. At present there is no reliable DNA test specifically for pons.
Our more recent statistics to 2022 show that various types of Cataract are being recorded from the KC/BVA ophthalmic testing, therefore it is very important for breeders to continue to undertake eye screening.
There have been concerns overseas regarding late onset PRA, there is a DNA test (PRA - RCD4) for this condition, however the PLSC have no recorded cases on record.
The PLSC hold over 750 KC/BVA CLEAR eye test certificates, and all responsible breeders comply with the PLSC code of ethics regarding eye testing, it is not a KC mandatory test, however be aware of breeders not having a current clear KC BVA eye test certificate available (within a year of the puppies being born), as all reputable breeders do comply
Central Progressive Retinal Atrophy (CPRA)
CPRA is also known as retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy (RPED). The cause of this condition is the loss of the retinal pigment epithelium's ability to effectively process the photoreceptor outer segment (POS) and subsequent accumulation of POS material in the RPE and loss of function. The loss of function of the RPE leads to photoreceptor degeneration. Poor diet and/or Vitamin E deficiency have recently been associated in the development of CPRA. Affected dogs suffer poor vision in low light and quite frequently have difficulty seeing moving objects.
Although RPED/CPRA appears to be irradiated cases of differing cataracts have been recorded in recent years.
For more general information on eyes:
PON Health is important.