Re: [PyrNet-L] Health discussion/juvenile renal disease

["Karen Reiter" <kreiter@servtech.com>]

Tracy Bassett Wrote:

<< came across some information/articles in relation to Juvenile Renal
Disease (Renal Displaysia) which mentions Pyrs as being a breed prone to
this condition.  As this is the first time I have heard of this condition
being applied to Pyrs (it can be fatal in breeds such as Poodles), I thought
I would add this to the discussion and ask what other peoples
experience/knowledge is of this condition?  >>

Tracy, I just checked the most recent GPCA Health Stat's (compiled in March
of 1999) and out of 1700+ Pyrs, not one was listed as having JRD.  We DID
have 4 reported cases of a Kidney Condition, but they were not specific as
to what the condition was.  I guess that I would be interested in knowing
where they obtained their information from, what kind of research was done
and how did they apply this numer to the general population to define
whether this is a true "problem" in Great Pyrenees.

After looking at the Cornell site, I just want to add that Vet Schools are
more inclined to see "problem" dogs, therefore will may report things like
this as a problem because they really have no baseline population to compare
it to.    FWIW, I took a genetics course at Cornell's Veterinary school 2
years ago.  One of the things that they were discussing was inheritance and
specifically VWD.  The presenter claimed that it was a problem in Pyrs.
After the lecture I asked her about her statement,  what she meant by
"problem" and asked where she got her data from <g>.  She had data from ONE
family of Pyrs in which the problem had been reported across two
generations.   This "data" can hardly be generalized as a problem for an
entire breed.  I guess the devil's advocate in me always wants to know where
the numbers come from and how are they being applied to the general
population.

Karen Reiter
GPCA Health Committee File Manager
kreiter@servtech.com