2025 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference

Health Committee Update

Day 1: “Vibrant Dogs on the Move”

• Answering Common Pet Owner Nutrition Questions - Dr. Martha Cline, Purina

When it comes to pet food safety, veterinarians try to educate their clients by asking them to look for the nutritional adequacy statement by AAFCO.  The AAFCO  statement should say that the food is developed for a particular life stage and should also say that animal feeding tests using AACO procedures substantiate that the diet is complete and balanced for that particular life stage.

Dr Cline went over the AAFCO Statement on pet food labels as well as Life stages.  She also discussed the ingredient list which is listed in order of weight with water included.  To get an accurate idea of the real weight of ingredients you have to look at dry matter.  This is the ingredients with the water removed (she didn’t actually go over this I just know that is how the weight of different types of ingredients is actually compared in diets).  She stated that animals require nutrients and not actual ingredients.  By products is a term on pet food labels that most people think of as bad but they actually are just an ingredient that is derived from another ingredient.  For example peanut butter is actually a by-product of peanuts.

• Exercise Programs for Pet Dogs - Dr. Cynthia Otto, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Otto discussed that dogs can achieve fitness comfortably.  It is important to exercise the body and the brain for complete health.  This can build a bond with your dog and also build your dog's neuroplasticity.  She disclosed it is important to talk with your vet to make sure that your dog is healthy enough to exercise.  

She went over BCS (Body Condition Score) and how to describe to owners by using your fist to illustrate if a dog is too skinny vs. overweight.  When the fist is closed, run your hand on the knuckles.  If your dog’s ribs feel like this then your pet is too thin. Next open fist and feel the back of the hand along the knuckles.  This is how the ribcage should feel.   If a dog’s ribcage feels like the palm of the hand then it is overweight.  A BCS of 4-5 is ideal. Dr. Otto also recommended looking at MCS (Muscle Condition Score) for athletic dogs.  Again an MCS score of 4-5 is ideal.  

Dr. Otto referred to a Purina lifetime study that has been around for a while.  The study showed that dogs that are an appropriate weight lived 2 years longer than overweight dogs which is significant.  She stated that all working dogs should have a fitness program that is balanced.  Penn Vet Working Dog Center has a Fitness Program called Canimetronics which is a lifetime program.  It starts at 8 weeks of age and teaches stability, balance, muscle strength and endurance. The fitness routine is focused on a warm up with  teaching posture and proprioception.  The fitness plan should balance strength with cardiovascular stamina and flexibility with stretching.  

• Insights into Sr. Active Dogs’ Health - Dr. RuthAnn Lobos, Purina

Senior dogs and cats comprise 44% of their population. There are not any Sr. Guidelines provided by AAFCO.  They have many reasons for longevity which include improved healthcare, better diets, nutrition innovations and confinement which decreases trauma and infectious diseases.

 Around 7 years of age (depending on the breed) a dog’s glucose metabolism begins to change.  This affects memory, learning and decision making.  It also affects nerve impulses.  The GI tract has blunted villi as a pet ages as well as shallower crypts.  It doesn’t absorb fats as well as before and has more bad bacteria which causes decreased digestion and absorption. Senior dogs need an increase in protein and a decrease in calories.  

Dr. Lobos recommends senior exams twice a year checking bloodwork, shorter length of training and activity and an increase in recovery days.  She uses body work such as acupuncture along with massage and chiropractic work for her senior dogs.  For a dietary recommendation she likes Bright Mind which is a Purina Diet.

• Moving toward Understanding of Canine Dysautonomia - Dr. Cox, Pathologist

Dysautonomia is the dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.  It is a very rare disease that has a high mortality rate.  Dogs, horses and cats can be affected.  Diagnosis is very challenging.  Most cases are in the Midwest. Ninety percent of cases are along the Mississippi  River drainage.  Veterinarians believe 45% or 326 cases have come from a place where there has been recent digging.  They believe the disease is shed in the feces.  The cause is hypothesized to be a bacteria which is in the animal's microbiome called Ruminococcus torques.  If an animal ingests the soil that is contaminated then a neurotoxin is produced.  Researchers are still studying this disease and have much more to learn.  

• Cooling Hot Dogs- Managing Exercise induced Hyperthermia - Dr. Cynthia Otto, University of Pennsylvania

Hyperthermia is the most common traumatic cause of death in working dogs.  The definition of heat stroke is a core body temperature greater than 105 degrees F and neurological signs.  Dogs that exercise can go up to 108 degrees F without symptoms and then can cool.  Dogs must be acclimated to this type of exercise and heat.  It can take a dog 2 weeks to get acclimated to the heat.  She did a study which showed that prehydration with SQ fluids did not have a significant effect on electrolytes and temperature. She also did a study that showed alcohol on the paw pads did  help a little bit but also increased heart rate.  Putting dogs in the shade did not seem to help. She found that the most effective thing to do to decrease a dog's high temperature was to do head dunking.  She said this must be trained in advance by teaching a dog to dunk his or her head into a bucket with water.  She feels teaching working dogs to do this can be very helpful.  They are still studying the proper water temp to use to cool. 

• The Roles of Mobility and Functional Testing for Canine Aging- Dr. Christopher Frye, Cornell University

Dr. Fry talked about mobility and aging dogs.  Exercise and a proper diet can help prevent age-related diseases and morbidities.  He believes that we need better methods to characterize and monitor mobility in older dogs.  This can help us intervene and provide a better more accurate prognosis for aging dogs and their families.  He is working on a TUG (Canine Timed up and Go)  test to help predict longevity and morbidity in dogs.  This is the amount of time that it takes a dog to get up and go. This test can correlate with a client survey of pain, mobility and home activity.  The next step is to show how TUG can predict morbidity and mortality in geriatric dogs.

Day 2, Morning Session: “Connecting Human Medicine for Better Care”

• Epilepsy: Studies on Imaging the Gut Microbiome and Cluster Seizure Management, Dr. Karen Manana, Neurologist, North Carolina State

There are 3 classifications of epilepsy:

• Structural Epilepsy - 17% - Brain tumor,  Inflammatory disease,  Stroke, Developmental Malformations

• Idiopathic Epilepsy - 58% - Genetic, Suspected Genetic

• Reactive Seizures - 25% -  Liver Disease, Low Blood sugar, Electrolyte derangements, Toxin exposure

Idiopathic Epilepsy is the most common type.  It can be defined as two or more unprovoked seizures for which there is no underlying cause other than presumed genetic predisposition. Idiopathic Epilepsy is a diagnosis of exclusion. 

Breeds reported to have genetic idiopathic epilepsy include:

Australian Shepherds, Belgian Shepherd, Bernese Mnt Dog, Boerboel, Border Collie, Cane Corso, Cav king Charles Span, Eng Springer Span, Finnish Spitz, Germ Shep, Golden Ret, Irish Setter, Irish Wolfhound, Italian Spinone, Keeshound, Lab Retriever, Logotto Romagnolo, PBGV, Standard Poodle, Rottweiler, Shetland Sheepdog, Vizsla

*The Logotto Romagnolo and the Rottweiler are 2 breeds they have found the cause and are able to help because of it

The diagnosis of Idiopathic Epilepsy is based on a tier system implemented by the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force.

• Tier I- Onset of seizures- 6mos- 6 year normal physiologic and neuro exam, normal bloodwork (CBC/Chem/UA)

• Tier II- Tier I testing + Bile Acids, MRI, CSF analysis

• Tier III- Tier II testing + EEG abnormalities

If these tests are all normal, then a diagnosis can be made.

Approximately ⅓ of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy are resistant to drugs.

• Studies

  Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

• Description

  • Functional MRI is a non-invasive technique used to evaluate brain activity by measuring small changes in blood flow associated with increased energy demand.

  • It can detect spontaneous fluctuations in blood flow that are analyzed for synchrony between connected brain regions.

• Hypothesis

  • Dogs with idiopathic epilepsy have alterations in the brain’s functional connectivity compared to neurologically normal dogs.

• Specific Aim

  • Analyze blood-oxygen-level-dependent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in dogs with drug-resistant idiopathic epilepsy to identify intrinsic functional brain networks and compare them to neurologically normal dogs.

• Conclusions

  • Overall levels of spontaneous brain activity and local synchronization were similar between epileptic dogs and control dogs.

  • Abnormalities in network connectivity identified in epileptic dogs likely represent an epilepsy-related network.

  • Functional MRI provides a sensitive method to detect network-level alterations in dogs with neurologically normal conventional MRI scans.

  Gut Health (Microbiome) and Epilepsy

• Study Overview

  • The study evaluated the correlation between the gut microbiome and epilepsy.

  • Fecal samples were collected from pairs of dogs living in the same household.

  • Each household pair included:

    • One dog with idiopathic epilepsy

    • One neurologically normal dog

  • Dogs were fed the same diet.

  • Blood work was evaluated.

  • Dogs were not receiving medications, except that phenobarbital use was permitted.

• Conclusions

  • The household environment is a major contributor to gut microbiome composition due to shared physical environment and diet.

  • Dogs with idiopathic epilepsy have a greater abundance of Collinsella in their gut microbiome compared to control dogs.

  • Collinsella may promote inflammation and could potentially play a role in the development of epilepsy.

  • Further studies are required to determine the clinical significance of these findings.

Treatment for Dogs with Cluster Seizures

• Study Overview

  • The study evaluated in-home treatment options for dogs with cluster seizures.

  • Treatment included oral pulse therapy using:

    • Clorazepate (Tranxene), a long-acting benzodiazepine, or

    • Levetiracetam (Keppra), an anticonvulsant medication

  • The goal was to determine the effectiveness of these therapies in controlling cluster seizures.

• Treatment Protocol

  • Oral pulse therapy with either clorazepate or levetiracetam was combined with intranasal midazolam.

  • Effectiveness and side effects were evaluated.

• Current Status

  • The study is currently enrolling participants.

  • The investigator may be contacted if dogs with cluster seizures are available for enrollment.

The Acid-Stress Continuum in canine Chronic Kidney Disease, Dr. Autumn Hams, North Carolina State

• Study Overview: Study compared healthy dogs and dogs w/ CKD and measured their ability to excrete ammonia using a simple urine test called Urine ammonia-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)

• Conclusion: Ammonia excretion declines with declining renal function.  Dogs with a low ammonia excretion (UACR less than 2.0) were nearly 3 times more likely to die during the study period than dogs with higher excretion.  These dogs also had significantly shorter time to progression of their kidney dz and shorter survival times.  

CAR T Therapy for Canine Hematologic Malignancies, Dr. Matthew Atherton, University of Pennsylvania

• Background

  • Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (“CAR T Therapy) is used in human medicine to treat B-cell lymphoma and histiocytic sarcoma. Dr. Atherton would like this therapy to be used for these cancers in Canine medicine also (specifically in B-cell lymphoma).

  • Current standard of care for canine B-cell lymphoma is multi-agent chemotherapy, which produces an initial response but is not curative.

• Methods

  • T cells are isolated from a canine cancer patient.

  • Chimeric antigen receptor T cells are manufactured in the laboratory.

  • Modified T cells are reinfused into the patient.

• Key Findings

  • Increased T-cell levels in cancer patients have been associated with increased survival time of up to two years.

  • CAR T-cell therapy is feasible in dogs.

• Significance

  • This therapy has the potential to improve long-term outcomes for dogs with B-cell lymphoma.

  • Challenges remain, but development of veterinary CAR T-cell therapy is ongoing.

Circulating Cortisol Concentrations in Canine Congestive Heart Failure, Dr. Jessica Ward, Iowa State University

• Background

  • The most common cause of congestive heart failure in dogs is myxomatous mitral valve disease.

  • In humans, increased cortisol levels are associated with worse clinical outcomes.

• Methods

  • Plasma cortisol levels were measured in dogs diagnosed with congestive heart failure.

• Key Findings

  • No correlation was found between increased cortisol concentrations and risk of death in dogs.

  • Dogs with lower potassium levels had improved survival.

  • Treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and spironolactone was associated with longer survival times.

Pain Catastrophizing in Dogs and Their Owners, Dr. Margaret Gruen, North Carolina State University

• Purpose

  • To evaluate the relationship between owner pain catastrophizing and its effects on canine patients.

• Methods

  • A scale was developed to measure pain catastrophizing in dog owners.

  • A behavioral proxy measure for pain catastrophizing in dogs was established using a heat stimulus.

  • The relationship between owner pain catastrophizing and canine pain responses was evaluated.

• Key Findings

  • Data collection and analysis are ongoing.

• Why Host a Health Clinic?

The spokesperson for the Irish Setter Club spoke about how they do their health clinics. 

They offer blood draws for six genetic tests, titers to MSU, thyroid tests to MSU, and an eye clinic. 

They have everyone sign up online ahead of time. This gives them the opportunity to get all of the forms filled out, printed and specimen collection supplies ready ahead of time. This includes preprinting the labels for the tubes and putting the supplies needed for each test in a ziploc ahead of time. They charge a $10 processing fee plus the cost of the test. They require the results to be allowed to be published on the OFA website no matter the result. She also suggests calling the labs and asking for group testing prices.  Details of the organization of the Irish Setter clinics were shared.

• AKC Purebred Preservation Bank - Dr. Garvin

Dr. Garvin spoke about the importance of the PPB. This idea is similar to the idea of the seed vault in Norway. If there is a catastrophic event, then there will be a way to prevent the extinction of a breed. 

The PPB will take unused semen and put it into this bank so that it will be available in times of need. If a person, that has semen from a dog, passes away and the family doesn’t want to pay to keep it frozen, the AKC PPB will take it as a donation and take over the costs of having it stored. They have many storing facilities they deal with.  Anyone can donate semen if they want to. It is up to the parent club to put together parameters and criteria  on who can donate and who can receive the semen if needed. All types of samples can be accepted whether it be for breeding or research purposes. 

This service is for the long term. Samples won’t be distributed for 20-60 years in the future depending on the circumstance. The parent club would be contacted before distribution if they have set up criteria. 

Day 3 - Balancing Form and Function for Canine Health

• Respiratory Function Grading Schemes

Researchers suggest a grading scheme and limited breeder matching for the popular breeds heavily affected by Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome.

•  Genetic Testing - Is it possible to have too much information? Heidi Parker

Heidi created the first genetic classification of 96 dog breeds.  Since then she has expanded her population studies to include nearly 400 dog breeds and isolated non-breed populations.  She uses the knowledge she has gained from studying the purebred structure of the domestic dog to find the genetic elements responsible for major breed defying traits and to investigate the inheritance of cancer predisposition in high risk populations.

In 1990 the first genetic maps of the dog genome came about.  Since then hundreds of diseases, disorders and traits have been mapped to genes or regions of the genomes.   This helped find treatments, inheritance and identification methods for them.  The early genetic map was made up of only a few hundred markers across 40 chromosomes.  The first reference sequence took more than a year to complete and cost $30 million dollars.   Now we can genotype 750,000 markers in a couple of days and sequence the entire genome for about $200.  

• Genetics of Canine Spinal Abnormalities, Dr. Ekenstedt

There has been evidence of dogs with short spines throughout history.  This tells us this phenotype has been around for centuries.  Reports have shown a presumed simple autosomal recessive mode of inheritance.  

Today there are only a few dozen short spined dogs.  

Common features of these dogs include: 

Severely truncated or absent tails

Limited cervical spine mobility

Exercise intolerance

Difficulty rising from prone position 

Radiographic evidence of axial skeletal deformity with limbs being normal

Dr. Ekenstedt is looking for DNA from dogs with Spondylocostal Dysostosis(vertebral segmentation defects) and Brachylomia (shortened vertebra) to study.  This will help her identify recessive mutations allowing for genetic testing to be developed and used. This will help breeders avoid producing more affected puppies. 

• Is Cruciate Ligament Rupture an Injury or a Disease? Dr. Peter Muir- Univ. Wisconsin

In human medicine a cruciate ligament tear or rupture has been shown to be due to increased trauma.  Because of this it has been assumed that this is the case in our canine patients as well.  Dr. Muir has proven that this indeed is not the case in dogs.  He feels that we need to focus on preventing the disease instead of focusing on the treatment of Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) tears in dogs.  Right now the best treatment for a torn CCL in dogs is Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) surgery.  

There are other contributing factors in CCL rupture in dogs.  It has been shown that breed risk is common.  Ten percent of breeds are affected.  Greyhounds are very athletic but have a very low risk of developing a CCL tear.  Rottweilers, Labrador Retrievers and Newfoundlands are the most common canine breeds that are affected.  Labrador Retrievers have the highest genetic risk of all breeds. Coat color influences the risk in the Lab. Yellow Labs have a greater risk than Chocolate or Black Labs.  

There are also extrinsic risk factors for disease progression which include:

Age - 2-8 years

Neutering before 12 months

Being overweight

Stifle morphology- increased tibial plateau angle (TPA)

Stifle Synovitis

Stifle Osteoarthritis

Dr. Muir has developed a polygenic risk test for Labrador Retrievers.  This test examines thousands of genetic markers in an attempt to predict a dog's risk of developing a CCL tear.  He is also working on a test for other high risk breeds.  The test is at the University of Wisconsin.  It is a saliva or blood test and costs $250.

• Itraconizole Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in dogs with Blastomycosis, Dr. Jennifer Reinhart, University of Illinois

The purpose of this study was to establish a protocol for itraconizole therapeutic drug monitoring in canine blastomycosis.  Dr. Reinhart found that most dogs with blastomycosis need to have their dose adjusted to make sure that they are maintaining the blood level concentrations they need.  The dose needed to maintain serum concentrations was found to  decrease over time.    

• Outcomes For Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome, Dr. Natasha Olby, North Carolina State

Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CCDS) is a progressive degenerative condition causing cognitive decline that impairs daily life. It is associated with brain atrophy. DISHAA is the umbrella term for Canine dementia. 

D - disorientation

I - interaction changes

S - sleep/wake changes

H - house soiling

A - activity changes

A - anxiety

Diagnosis is done by taking a look at the history, physical exam, blood work, urinalysis, blood pressure and neurological exam.  There are surveys that owners can take which can help them aid in the diagnosis of the CCDS.  There is a canine cognitive dysfunction rating scale (CCDR), Canine Dementia Scale (CADES), Canine Cognitive Assessment Scale (CCAS) and a DISHAA survey.