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