TheAmericanKennelClubwebsitesumsupwhyIshare
mylifewiththisbreed.Theywrite,“It’stoughtoresistfalling
forPBGVsatfirstsight.Notonlyaretheyridiculouslycute,
they’reamongthehappiestdogbreeds—andtheirzestfor
lifeisinfectious.”PBGVsarehearty,activescenthoundsand
aremarkablyhealthybreed.Sincethe1980s,whenPBGVs
wereintroducedintheUSandthePBGVCAwasformed,the
individualswhoestablishedthebreedintheUShadthe
foresighttoadoptthebesthealthpracticesofotherbreeds
beforethereweresubstantialhealthproblemsinPBGVs.So
farthishaskeptthePBGVrelativelyhealthy,atrendthat
wehopewillcontinue.

TwogroupsthatoverseePBGVhealthintheUSarethe

PBGVCAHealthCommitteeandthePBGVHealth&Rescue
Foundation.Thesegroupshavedistinct,butoverlapping,
membershipssothattheycanfulfilltheirobjectiveswith
amplecrosscommunication.

PBGVCAHealthCommitteeMission.Themissionof

thePBGVCAHealthCommitteeistohavethemostcurrent
informationonPBGVhealthreadilyavailabletoclub
membersandnon-membersalike.ThisallowsPBGVowners
toprovideoptimalhealthcareandmakewisechoicesin
managingbreed-specifichealthcareissues.Committee
membersdevelopandmaintaineducationalinformation
targetedtothegeneralhealthcareofPBGVs.Thisinforma-
tioncanbefoundonthePBGVCAwebsite.Articleson
PBGVhealthcareappearinalmosteveryissueofSaberTails.
Wealsodevelopandmaintainaknowledgebaseofmedical
problemsspecifictothePBGVontheclubwebsite.These
includeclinicalresourcestoassistwithdiagnosis,treatment
andmanagementofbreedspecifichealthissues.

HealthSurveys.KnowledgeofPBGV-specifichealth

issuescomesfromtwotypesofhealthsurveysthathave
beenconductedinthepast.Ourfirsthealthsurveys
collecteddatacumulativelyovermanyyears.Thisgaveus
somequalitativeinformationonhealthissuesthataffected
PBGVs,butultimatelyprovedunhelpfulbecausemany
ownersregisteredtheirdog,enteredtheirfirsthealthissue
andthenrarelyorneverupdatedthedog’sinformation.
Therefore,in2011weturnedtoa‘snapshot’formatin
whichownersprovidehealthinformationonallPBGVswho
werealiveatanytimeduringaone-yearperiod.Information
wasgatheredonage,sex,reproductivestatus,sourceofthe
dog,healthtestingthathasbeenperformed,anddiseasesor
conditionsthatafflictthedog.

Thegoodnewsfromour2011surveywasthatthe

PBGVisahealthybreed.Ofthe302PBGVssurveyed,134
(44.4percent)hadnohealthconditions.Surveyresponders
wereaskedtoidentifyanyproblemsinoneormoreof18
groupsofhealthconditions,andtobrieflydescribeeach
problem.Wekeptinmindthatitismuchmorecommon
forindividualstorespondtosurveyswhenthereare
problemsthanwhentherearenoproblems.Therefore,the
percentagesofdogswithspecificconditionswouldlikely

bemuchlowerifwehadreceivedahealthsurveyfor
everysinglecurrentlylivingPBGV.Forthedogswithhealth
issues,themajorityofconditionsreportedwereeither
relativelyminorormanagedsothatqualityoflifewas
wellmaintained.

Themostfrequentissuesreportedstillonlyaffected11or

12percentofthedogs.Thesewereendocrine/hormonal
disorders,suchashypothyroidismandCushing’sdisease;
allergies;arthritisinseniorPBGVs;eyeissues,suchas
cataracts,persistentpupillarymembrane,andglaucoma;
andgastrointestinalcomplaints,suchaspancreatitis,
inflammatoryboweldisease,andcolitis/gastritis.Reproductive,
cardiovascularandurinarydisordersaffectedlessthan10
percentofdogsaffected.Wepaidcloseattentiontoany
reportsofglaucomaandidiopathicepilepsyinourbreed.
Fortunately,thePBGVisnotabreedthatisathighrisk
foreitherdisease.However,havingadiseasethatwill
leadtoblindnessorrecurring,unpredictableseizuresis
disproportionatelytraumaticforthedogandhis/herfamily.

62

www.pbgv.org

Summer2015

ISaberTails

IPBGVHealthForum

byLauraLiscum,ViceChair,PBGVCAHealthCommittee

TheHealthyPBGV

PhotobyJaneSwanson