Dew claws and why I don't remove them.

http://gordonsetterexpert.org/2016/02/11/dewclaws-should-we-remove-them/

Last, but not least

Michaelangelo

Amistosa's New Litter

Sorry, all pups are spoken for, but enjoy the colors.  This is what makes breeding Havanese so much fun.

The only girl - April

Donatello

Leonardo

 Mom and the kids:

 Splinter

 Raphael

Sonrisas Classical Enchantment - Elsa

Only eight months old and Elsa has her two majors towards her American Championship.  Good girl, Elsa.  Nice handling cnd congratulations to her owner, Judy Higgs.

Here is a perfect example of why we need to use the diversity testing. On paper this dog is a product of a complete outcross. There are very few common ancestors in the sire and dam pedigree. However several of the puppies in the litter have autoimmune thyroiditis. Obviously both mom and dad (dad has both of these haplotypes, mom has not been tested) have 1054 and 2022 and these are two very common haplotypes in Havanese. On top of that look at the IR value. The IR value is higher than some of the line breedings I have done. Before this testing the breeders may have come to the conclusion that that outcrossing was not a good thing. Look what happened, I outcrossed and got this! However, now we have this wonderful tool to help us avoid this kind of pitfall. This was, in fact, unbeknownst to the breeders, an intense line breeding.

Havanese and Autoimmune Problems

Common autoimmune conditions include autoimmune hemolytic anemia, sebaceous adenitis, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and the most common of all, autoimmune thyroiditis to name just a few.  Anyone who has been on the pet H Havaneselists has heard of all of these and more in our breed.  If there is one case we know about, there are probably many, many more.  So, is this something we should be concerned about as breeders?  And, if so, what do we do about it? 

First, let’s look at other breeds that have similar problems including the Standard Poodle, and the Italian Greyhounds.   What have they done?  The department of genetics at UCDavis under the guidance of Dr. Niels C. Pedersen has developed a gnome wide genetic diversity test geared specifically for the standard poodles and the Greyhounds:

https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/GeneticDiversityInStandardPoodles.ph

https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/GeneticDiversityInItalianGreyhounds.php

How  this works and what is different to the other services that have been offered is that while the UCDavis study looks at the entire gnome, it also pays particular attention to the MHC (major histocompatibility complex) which contains many of the genes that protect our dogs from external assaults such as viruses.  The MHC of dogs is commonly known as the dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) complex.   

But sometimes an immune system goes crazy and can’t tell a foreign body like a virus, from the animal’s own cells.  The result may be an auto (self) immune condition like those mentioned above. 

Why this is most challenging for breeders is twofold.  We may see different conditions in different litters or even in the same litter and not realize that what causes them may be related.  While one dog may have thyroiditis, another may suffer from SA (sebaceous adenitis). The second problem is that many of these conditions tend to occur in the more mature dogs and most need to have some type of trigger.   So even in two genetically identical clones, one may experience thyroiditis and the other not.

So what can we do about it?  The propensity to develop an autoimmune disease is associated with a general lack of genetic diversity, as witnessed by the fact that they occur far more frequently in pure-breeds than random bred dogs. They also tend to occur with greater frequency and clinical form as a breed becomes more inbred. 

Autoimmune diseases are genetically complex and involve the whole genome, and not just the DLA.  So how do we maintain a diverse immune system in our dogs and still maintain the characteristics we want, the beautiful structure, coat and personality of our breed?  One way is to build a picture of the Havanese genome to see what genes we actually have across the entire genome, as well as in the DLA complex. Once we know that, then by testing all potential mating pairs, we can ensure that while maintaining the quality and structure we want for our dogs,  we can also ensure that each new breeding brings us as much diversity as possible. But aren’t we doing that using COI (Coefficient of Inbreeding) to guide us?  COI simply shows us the probability that any two dogs are genetically similar or dissimilar.  With genetic testing we have a much more accurate idea of the diversity level of any mating pair.

First, however, we need to find just what set of genes exist within our particular breed and to do that we can take advantage of the program at UCDavis developed in conjunction with   the Standard Poodle, Italian Greyhound,  Alaskan Klee Kai breeders have also started studies through UCDavis. Several more breeds are also considering genetic diversity testing.

There is a group of people who have already joined together to try to see this accomplished. You can find out more about them through the Facebook group- HavaneseGeneticsUCDavis, whose members are from almost every country where Havanese can be found.  You may also contact me as coordinator for North America or Senija Hodzic in Holland who is responsible for the European segment of the Havanese population.

The goal is to find every unique gene so that we know what we have to work with. To get started we need as diverse a sample population as possible which includes Havanese from all countries where they exist, and from all the unique lines within those countries. Many dogs from the same breeder or family is not the goal in this initial step.  We need at the very minimum 100 dogs, but 400 would be better.  The initial cost will be $50 per dog and some volunteers are already working on gaining financial assistance where needed.  The goal is to find every unique gene that exists within the world-wide family of Havanese.  Once that is achieved then genetic analysis will be made available so that each breeder with be able to judge the diversity level between possible breeding pairs and hopefully choose the dogs found to be the most diverse. 

https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/GeneticDiversityEnrollment.php