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• Survey Statistics
• Hip Dysplasia
• Progressive Retinal Atrophy
• Cystinuria
• Seizures
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• Sample LC

Mastiff Health

Donate directly to AKC CHF Mastiff DAF

To make a tax deductible donation directly to the AKC Canine Health Foundation Mastiff Donor Advised Fund make checks payable to the AKC Canine Health Foundation and indicate "Mastiff DAF" in the notes section. Include a note indicating that the funds are to go into the Mastiff Donor Advised Fund which is directed by the MCOA. Mail the check to:

AKC Canine Health Foundation
PO Box 37941
Raleigh, NC 27627-7941

UPDATED: Mastiffs Issued CHIC Certificates in 2003 and 2004

Update Cystinuria Statistics - 3/04 OFA Preliminary Hip and Elbow

Evaluation Change 1/1/04

"In an effort to encourage open sharing of health test results, beginning January 2004, the OFA will publish preliminary (under 24 months) hip and elbow results on the OFA website IF the owner has initialed the authorization block to release all results (including abnormal results)."

Mastiff Health Information Sheet

The MCOA Health Committee recommends that all Mastiff breeders provide their puppy buyers with a list of health problems found in Mastiffs. If you are considering getting a Mastiff, please follow the link above and print out the Mastiff Health Information Sheet and review it first.

Mastiff Health Fundraisers

Help support cancer, epilepsy, cruciate ligament rupture and cystinuria research!

CERF Statistics for 2003

This information is provided by CERF and may not be reproduced without CERF's explicit written permission.

Mastiffs passing CERF in 2003

• CERF Statistics Report for Eye Disease 2002 and 2003

Mastiffs to Participate in Lymphoma and Osteosarcoma Research

 If you have a Mastiff diagnosed with Lymphoma or Osteosarcoma please consider participating in this new research being funded in part by the MCOA. For more details about how to particiapte please click on the following link: Participants Needed for Research on Canine Cancer.

CHIC - Canine Health Information Center

The Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) was started by the Canine Health Foundation's (CHF) in cooperation with Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). CHIC is developing a database which will serve as an information resource for researchers, breeders and dog owners. The CHIC Criteria for Mastiffs developed with the OFA and approved by the MCOA Board are listed below. The OFA mailed out the first 150 CHIC Certificates in June 2001.

For more information check out the CHIC web site at: http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/

The following four criteria are mandatory:

• Hip Dysplasia OFA, OVC, or GDC hips. OFA, OVC, GDC hips to be based on x-rays taken at, or after, 24 months of age.
• Elbow Dysplasia OFA, OVC, or GDC elbows. OFA, OVC, GDC elbows to be based on x-rays taken at, or after, 24 months of age.
• Heart OFA heart, at 12 months or older.
• Eyes CERF certified at or after 24 months of age. Yearly recertification recommended.

The following two to be optional:

• Thyroid MSU or other lab's equivalent full thyroid panel and/or OFA Thyroid Certification at or after 24 months of age. Yearly recertification recommended. For tests other than OFA, the following must be included:
• Free T4 by dialysis (FT4D)
• Canine Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (cTSH) Thyroid globulin Autoantibody (TgAA)
• T3 & T4 Autoantibodies
• Lab interpretation Lab must be one of those approved by OFA

Cystinuria

UPenn cystinuria at or after the age of 18 months.

The evaluation at the oldest age is the one that will be recorded. For instance, if a dog is certified at 24 months, then is later (at 30 months) evaluated by the same or other agency, then the 30 month evaluation would be recorded in CHIC.

Permanent identification at the time of testing (tattoo, microchip or DNA) is a CHIC requirement.

For failing results from open databases: Should the owner decide to send in information that meets the requirements for a CHIC certificate and some of the results are from an open database and are not normal (e.g. mild hip dysplasia, heart condition, etc.), the mastiff and owner will still receive a certificate and the failing results will be listed on the certificate and anywhere that the certificate is published.

PRA News

• PRA DNA Testing Clinics - Refunds and Discounts
• Mastiff PRA DNA Test Now Available thru OptiGen
• Transcript of Dr. Acland's Seminar
• Mastiff PRA Gene Found!
• Second Meagle Diagnosed With PRA
• Significant Development in Mode of Inheritance Study Murphy, one of the "Meagles", has been diagnosed with PRA. Click on the link above to read more. Also read Thoughts on Murphy by Jane Walsh.
• MCOA Health Poster Wins 1st Prize at CHF Conference 

Health News

• CHF 1999 Health Symposium Summary
• Canine Eye Registration Statistics for the Year 1999
• von Willebrand in Mastiffs

Future Dog: Breeding for Genetic Soundness

Book by Patricia J. Wilkie, Phd. sold thru the Canine Health Foundation with profits going to support research. An excellent, up to date source of information about genetic principals and their applications in dog breeding. You can order it online at the CHF Store http://www.akcchf.org/new_pages/Store/Store_Nav.htm, or by calling the CHF at 1-888-682-9696.

Canine Health Foundation Parent Club Partnership Program

The MCOA Board has voted to join the Canine Health Foundation Parent Club Partnership Program. This will allow the MCOA to take advantage of the CHF's tax exempt fund for donations, matching funds, research proposal help, and review of grants. There are various requirements when using the tools. For more information check out the Canine Health Foundation Web Site at http://www.akcchf.org.

Health Committee

What is the purpose of the MCOA Health Committee? We are pooling the resources of the groups working on individual health problems providing support and dialog, tracking health problems in all Mastiffs, encouraging all Mastiff owners to participate in health testing, keeping an eye on research, interfacing with the Canine Health Foundation, and helping to keep Mastiff owners and breeders informed of new developments and opportunities with respect to Health problems relevant to Mastiffs. Today, we are seeing more and more new research being done where information is needed by researchers in the form of histories, pedigrees and/or DNA samples. New tools for detecting or tracking health problems and, new methods for treating problems are being developed.

We cannot make progress without you, we need your help and support in many ways: providing information to the MCOA GDC both positive and negative, answering Health Surveys, donating information and DNA to various research efforts, become a part of the Committee, letting us know your thoughts and ideas, and sometimes donating time and money to raise funds for research. Are you interested in a particular health problem? Are you willing to research it, write articles, help gather information? If you can help, please get in touch with one of us, we look forward to hearing from you.