Tuesday, September 22, 2020

The Faces of Epilepsy


(Ez a cikk magyarul megtalálható ezen a blogon - Az epilepszia arcai)


Each of these beautiful Mudis in the above photos were created with a great deal of love and concern for not only their future, but also the future of the Mudi breed.

They were born into a litter of 5 puppies on June 28, 2018.

The breeder carefully considered which male to use to make the litter, what owners to place the puppies with and kept in close contact with the owners after they went home.

The breeder did everything right, but still it went wrong, very wrong.

How did this happen if such great attention to so many important details was carefully considered?  We can ask many questions, unfortunately, there is just one answer: idiopathic epilepsy is the devil that hides in the details. 

Idiopathic epilepsy is quite possibly the most dreadful disease that affects purebred and mixed breed dogs alike: it is genetic, there is no DNA test or any other indication a parent carries the genes, it appears in unexpected places, it doesn’t appear in the expected places, it has variable seizure types and presentation, it terrifies both breeders and owners, and in the end the dogs are the biggest losers as they often pay with their lives. Those “lucky” dogs that don’t die from the seizures or medications used to treat them, pay with a much lower quality of life.  The owners incur costly vet bills, experience high stress levels and heartbreak.  There is no cure, euthanasia is often the best, if not only, option.


Further insult to injury comes from announcing to the Mudi community that your Mudi has idiopathic epilepsy, this is far too often almost as bad as the disease itself, and this is a burden the owners should not have to additionally face. The Mudi community should be ashamed of itself for the way it handles difficult realities – this must change.


These are the details of the litter:
- Kennel name: Bohemia Paws, in the Czech Republic, this was their first Mudi litter
- Mother (Tiszai Hullámtörô Ágyas) was 4 years old, father (Wartownik Wiatru Versor) was 6 years old; this was the mothers first litter and the fathers second, fathers first litter was born earlier in 2018 in Finnish kennel Takkutukan
- COI is 4.50% based on a 32-generation pedigree, 4 full generations; the genetic COI given by Embark for “Kafka” (one of the puppies in the litter) is 10%
- The epilepsy risk score for this litter, given before the litter was bred, was 38 moderate, epi risk was mainly on one side of the pedigree – the mothers
- An updated score, knowing what is known now about the carriers on the father’s side that I did not know then, but should have, would have given a minimum epilepsy risk score of 44 moderate; not a large increase, but now the pedigree for the pups has risk on both sides (mothers and fathers) which increases the chances to produce an epileptic; and additionally, a second score type that I now also provide, because of what happened with this litter, would have been 69 high; if these risk scores on the father’s side had been known before the litter was bred, another sire would possibly have been chosen that offered a lower risk
- The puppies were placed in homes in 4 different countries, Czech Republic, USA, Italy and Belgium
- “Kafka” in the USA started to have seizures in December 2018 at almost 6 months of age; he was euthanized a year later due to complications of his epilepsy treatment
- “Abby” in Italy started to have seizures in June 2020 at almost 2 years of age, she is currently on anti-seizure medication, her future is uncertain
- “Ean” in Belgium suffered a medical event, similar to a seizure, while under anesthesia, in June 2020, he did not survive, he was being castrated, this was his first time under anesthesia, he showed no signs of epilepsy prior to this; it is important to note that his brother Kafka also had a full body seizure while under sedation


Kafka and Abby were diagnosed by veterinarians to have idiopathic epilepsy after significant testing.  Ean’s vet could not be sure what happened, but it is highly suspected that he suffered a seizure while under anesthesia and could not be revived.

Kafka’s seizure presentation and age of onset was very similar to another Mudi in Finland named “Vinka" (Mustantassun Mauno).  Vinka and Kafka are related via sisters from one kennel on their father’s sides and via several shared relatives on their mothers sides; however without a DNA test, I cannot be exactly sure which grandparents gave the required genes to the parents, but as these two litters have shared relatives that are connected to other diagnosed epileptics, a pattern of inheritance is clearly evident. The path of transmission is more clear on the fathers sides, than the mothers. 

There are rumors that a sister of the mother of Kafka died from a seizure (this would be Kafka’s aunt). Her son is also rumored to have seizures (this would be Kafka’s cousin). If one or both of these rumors are true, the epilepsy in this line is particularly fierce.  Now more than ever, it would be vital to know how many other Mudis, not only in this line, but in other lines, have epilepsy.  Sharing your Mudi’s epilepsy will help stop the stories that are yet to come by providing wiser litter planning.


The confirmed epileptic count is now 39.  There are 16 possible epileptics as well.  There are rumors of many others. In the confirmed cases, males outweigh the females by 22 to 17. In the possible cases, females outweigh the males 11 to 5.  But as we do not know all the affected Mudis, there is no way to know if one sex is more affected than another.  COI is also not seen to have an effect at this point, but more research is needed in that area before any connection can be ruled out.

How common is it that more than one puppy in a litter has seizures?  I can only answer that with regards to the Mudi.  The Bohemia Paws A litter (born 2018) and two separate (with different parents) litters in one Hungarian kennel each had at least two epileptics (born in 2000 and 2002), and a Finnish kennel also had one litter with two epileptics (1988 litter).  Several kennels have had related litters with epileptics as well: Hungary (3 separate litters in one kennel in 2006-2007), Sweden (1998 and 2009 litters), another kennel in Hungary (2002 and 2009 litters) and Finland (1987, 1988, 1989 litters). Of course, these are only the epileptics that have come forward, there are surely others.  At this point in time, there is no kennel or line that does not have some connections to epileptics in their 5 generation pedigree.

I have also been told by several owners that their epileptics also had fear issues and other behavioral problems, particularly in this Kafka-Vinka line.  Is this a sign, is there a connection?  I do not know without more information being shared.

Kafka and Vinka both began to show a very similar type of seizure at almost 6 months of age. Vinka’s epilepsy progressed more slowly than Kafka’s.  At 2 years of age Vinka’s seizures became worse and more frequent and he was put on anti-seizure medication.  Kafka’s seizures progressed more quickly, while Abby’s seizures were serious from the very first one.   

Another relative named “Leo” also suffered from odd unexplainable behaviors, and severe fear issues that progressed over time, eventually resulting in euthanasia. It was denied by his breeder that it was epilepsy and there were many rumors that it was or wasn’t true. I believed the breeder, this mistake haunts me to this day.  It was not until after I heard about Kafka (who had similar seizures to Vinka and was related to Leo, as is Kafka) that I did serious investigation which concluded that Leo was indeed epileptic, especially in light of his family connections to Kafka and Vinka and another relative from Leo’s kennel that also exhibits odd behavior and was diagnosed as likely being epileptic. If I had done the proper investigation sooner, this litter may not have been sired by the father that was finally chosen because he appeared to be the least risky. We now know that was not the case.


While the tragedy of this litter is unimaginable, it could have been worse and the knowledge that was gained, provides a little bit of solace.  This litter clearly shows that waiting till the parents are older to breed them, and not breeding litters in rapid succession, prevents more affected puppies and carriers being born that will continue the spread of this disease. Hypothetically speaking, if the breeder chose the most common age (2 years old) to start breeding her bitch (instead of waiting till she was 4 for her first litter), this could have been the likely result:

-Mother Ágyas is bred at 2 years of age to Father Buksi, they have 5 pups
-Mother Ágyas is then bred at almost 3 years of age to Father Samu, they have 4 pups
-Mother Ágyas is bred at 4 to Versor, they have 5 pups, some pups in this litter are diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy
-All pups in first two litters are now likely carriers, and should not be bred, nor should the pups in the affected litter, nor any in any following litters; litters the father of the epileptics has produced with other bitch’s should also not be bred
-In the meantime, Mother Ágyas may have even had another litter AND the pups in the first litter may also have had a litter.  All this in just the span of 2-3 years.  How many Mudis are instantly removed from the gene pool due to this speed breeding style?

This is why breeding too young (before 4 years old for both males and females) and breeding litters closer than 2 years apart is harmful to a breed that has epilepsy. Breeding the Mudi in the traditional or ultra-modern ways will not work to slow the spread of epilepsy.  We must choose another method which is: waiting till breeding dogs are 4 years of age and spacing litters 2 years apart.


It’s time for you to meet Vinka and the Bohemia Paws littermates that have epilepsy and hear their stories and see their videos, I hope it will help you to understand epilepsy from the closest perspective and realize why it is so important to not let epilepsy take our dogs and this breed away from us.  There is still a chance, but the clock is ticking, and the window will close, please don’t let that happen.  If you have an epileptic Mudi, please tell someone about it and let them share the story of your epileptic Mudi if you cannot do so yourself. Do it for your Mudi, because they would do it for you.

This is a video of Vinka experiencing focal type epileptic seizures:




This is a video of Kafka experiencing focal type epileptic seizures:






Abby and Ean’s stories will be posted as soon as the owners are able to write them, it is a very difficult task for them at this time.





This article was written with the approval and collaboration of these owners and the breeder of these pups.  I hope that more owners and breeders will work together to raise epilepsy awareness.  It is not your private shame, it is our shared burden and we must all carry it together.



Bohemia Paws Alpine Leopard, ‘Kafka's’ story:



As a puppy, Kafka was uncertain about strangers, not unlike many Mudis, despite being very well-socialized and adored by his breeders. He would generally warm up after a little bit or he could be desensitized to odd objects with a little click-and-treat work. Over time, however, his fear of other people became worse and he would try to scare them away. I noticed a sharp decline in the month or so before his seizures started at 5.5 months.

In late December 2018, Kafka started having repeating focal seizures involving a head tremor without loss of consciousness. You could interrupt him with food. But, the seizures kept coming and kept getting worse. After a day or two, we went to the emergency clinic at a veterinary school where they did a basic neurological exam and bloodwork, including thyroid and tick-borne disease testing. Kafka had not had any vaccinations in the weeks before the seizures started, nor was he taking tick or heartworm preventatives at the time. Nothing showed up on his exams and the tremors kept happening. Taking him to any vet was hard, because he was so afraid of contact with strangers.



After all the basic testing was done, we were referred to one of the top neurological programs in the country, at University of Wisconsin Veterinary School. In the exam room, Kafka had seizure after seizure. We subsequently did an MRI and a spinal tap to analyze spinal fluid for evidence of any infection that had crossed the blood/brain barrier. Nothing was found. Because he was so young, no one wanted to jump to the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy. Instead, we kept looking for alternative causes. We tested his blood to see if he might have had lead exposure as a puppy; we examined his ears to see the head tremor might have been caused by an inner ear issue; we examined his eyes to see if he had a vision problem. Again, nothing. We tried changing his diet to a prescription food formulated for neurological issues. No improvement. Other veterinarians around the country were consulted about his case.

One alternative diagnosis that was considered was "idiopathic head tremor syndrome" which also involves focal seizures, but does not respond to anti-seizure medications. But Kafka had a full-body seizure while under sedation, and responded to anti-seizure medications. Subsequently, he was started on Keppra (levetiracetam) which worked for about a month to stop the seizures, and then failed. (This is apparently typical of refractory cases.) We switched to a combination of Zonisamide and Gabapentin, along with behavioral medications for his fear, which continued to intensify. The Zonisamide/Gabapentin would work for a while, and then the seizures would start again. When they restarted, we would increase the dosage. After a few months, 28-pound Kafka was taking enough drugs to leave dogs twice his size groggy and immobile. That was still not enough, so we tried CBD oil too. His seizures could be controlled for a while, but if you watched him carefully, you could see slight head movements or shaking of the head that suggested to us that seizure activity was on-going, just at a lower level. Because he did respond to medications, even if imperfectly, the neurologists ultimately decided to diagnose Kafka with idiopathic epilepsy, meaning that there were no known physical causes and it was likely to be genetic in origin. 



Tragically, the constant seizure activity seemed to heighten his fear, and his fear heightened his seizure activity, creating a terrible downhill cycle. We consulted with professional veterinary behaviorists across the country, including Dr. Karen Overall. He was sweet and loving and a perfect dog with his family, but very suspicious of anyone but his people. He could not go outside our property without a muzzle. Even when we had worked with a trainer for weeks, and he seemed to have grown accustomed to her, he would suddenly turn without any apparent cause and try to attack her. He started having problems with dogs inside the household too. After a year of fighting the diagnosis and doing everything we could for him, we ended up making the painful decision that he was too much of a risk for others, and that the confinement that was necessary for him was exacerbating his epilepsy and his behavioral problems. We spent his last months trying to make sure that he experienced joy every day, that he played with the one dog who could manage him, that he had off-leash adventures on our property, and special one-on-one time with us. And then we said good-bye.

Though, of course, it was not really a good-bye because a dog like that will stay in your heart forever, and the scars of losing him will never leave you. The memories are still painful, but I hope that making his story public will help save some other family from repeating the same pain.






Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Mudi Breed Census 2020

The 2020 Mudi breed census is underway and the first group to have their data compiled is the United Kingdom and Ireland region. I will be asking for Mudi data from breeders and owners region by region as each one is completed.  Thank you in advance for sharing your data!


United Kingdom/Ireland Region

The UK Mudi owners were a highly responsive and cooperative group, it was truly impressive! The three current, and one future, Mudi breeders all willingly shared their litter data/plans with me. Many individual owners contacted me with their Mudis data as well.

Thank you all!

These are the statistics that I have compiled for the Mudis living in this region of the world, as of August 31, 2020.

 

MUDI BREED STATISTICS FOR UNITED KINGDOM / IRELAND

The Mudi is not currently an accepted breed in The Kennel Club (KC), the United Kingdom’s official purebred dog registry organization.  Puppies born in the UK use the Irish Kennel Club for FCI litter registration.  The United Kennel Club (UKC) in the USA is also available for Mudi litter registration, however the UKC registration papers are not accepted for registration by most other purebred dog organizations such as the KC, FCI or AKC.

A Mudi breed club was created in 2019: Hungarian Mudi Club UK

POPULATION STATISTICS

26 Mudis in the United Kingdom (1 in Scotland, 0 in Ireland)

2015-2020 Year of Birth Range for these 26 Mudis

Mudis Born per Year:

          2015 = 3

          2016 = 2

          2017 = 4

          2018 = 2

          2019 = 8

          2020 = 7

9 Males / 17 Females

Colors:       Black                     14

                   Black Merle           7

                   Yellow Merle         1

                   Brown                    2

                   Ash Merle              2

15 Mudis were imported from 11 different kennels in Hungary between 2015 and 2020 (August)

(Please note: There may be more Mudis living in the UK/Ireland region, these are the Mudis I am aware of.)

 

INBREEDING/PEDIGREE STATISTICS

COI % data (Coefficient of Inbreeding percentages) for all 26 UK Mudis (based on the full length of their known pedigree):

          Highest COI:                                    21.40

          Lowest COI:                                            0

          Average COI for all 26:                      8.42

Longest pedigree generation length = 28 (9 Mudis)

Shortest pedigree generation length = 24 (1 Mudi)

Highest number of full generations = 5 (7 Mudis)

Lowest number of full generations = 1 (1 Mudi)

Most Mudis had 4 full generations = 10 (2 gens = 3; 3 gens = 5)

(Foundation research can be done later when the population is larger)

 

HEALTH STATISTICS

3 DNA tested with Embark or MyDog

          1 Mudi carries a gene associated with DM

4 Hip Checked / 2 Patella Checked (all passing scores)

Health Issues: Microphthalmia = 1; Allergies = 1; DM Carrier = 1

(Please note: I may not be aware of all the health tests or health issues in the UK Mudi population, I can only give statistics for what has been shared with me.)

 

BREEDING STATISTICS (data is listed in numerical order, not litter birth order)

3 Litters in 3 separate kennels were born in the UK:

        2 – 2019; 1 – 2020 = 17 puppies (2019 - 11 puppies born /

                                                              2020 -   6 puppies born)

The litter average COI is: 7.81% (based on litter COI’s of: 8.91 / 8.21 / 6.32)

1 Litter is planned for 2020-2021 with a 4th breeder

Generation Time per Litter: 2; 3.5; 6.5

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE MUDI IN THE UK

-Importation from as many different kennel lines as possible is going to be required until a sustainable breeding population is achieved.

-A higher percentage of imported males should be the current focus in order to offer a wider mate selection and to balance the current population as the females currently outnumber the males almost 2 to 1; it is suggested that males not be automatically neutered, rather keep them available for possible future breeding as much as possible; importing semen is also something to consider.

-The Mudi should become a recognized breed with The Kennel Club to make registration easier, provide sport opportunities, breed promotion, etc.; if the current group of Mudi owners in the UK does not wish to do this, a future group of owners will, you have the unique opportunity to decide the future of the Mudi in the UK now, or let another group do it later.

-The COI percentages for the UK born litters are very nice; please keep it in mind to ask for the COI when planning future litters.

 

GENERAL BREEDING RECOMMENDATIONS

(which apply to every country’s Mudi breeding program)

-Breeding with many different dogs is highly beneficial for the breeds gene pool and repeated (same parent) litters should be discouraged; for example if there are 4 puppies in a litter, it is better to breed with 2 or more of them than just 1, more foundation genes are preserved with this method.

-COI’s for planned litters are best kept below 10% and as close to 6% as much as possible to avoid inbreeding depression issues; avoiding COI’s over 12.5% is highly recommended.

-Breeding should only be done with parents that are minimum 2 years old and only after completion of breed appropriate health testing which includes: Orthopedic screening of hips, elbows and patellas, (spine is optional at this time); Eye examination by an ophthalmologist veterinarian, not a general practitioner, preferably annually; Embark or MyDog DNA testing is recommended; Optional tests include: cardiac, thyroid; Correct number of teeth (none missing), correct bite (scissors) and correct number of descended testicles (2) should also be confirmed before breeding.

-Herding instinct testing and temperament testing are also highly recommended prior to breeding.

-Generation time is also recommended to be as high as possible to reduce genetic loss (age of mother at time of breeding + age of father at time of breeding divided by 2 = generation time).

-Honest and open reporting of health and temperament issues in breeding and non-breeding Mudis is critical to low risk litter planning.

-It would be very insightful for even companion (not planned to be used for breeding) Mudis to have hips, patellas and eyes checked after the age of 2 so that a broader representation of what is being produced can be known and problems more rapidly addressed before they affect a larger segment of the breeding population.

-Use the services of a proper database to calculate the correct COI’s based on the full number of known generations for litter planning; as well as to track and assess the risks of epilepsy and other known health issues that are known to appear in the Mudi breed when planning litters. Use the services of Embark DNA testing to do genetic COI calculations for litter planning, genetic screening and puppy color possibilities.

-The epilepsy risk in litters should be kept to the low risk level as much as possible and avoid producing high epilepsy risk litters. Also waiting to breed any Mudi until it is 4 years of age will help to avoid epilepsy genes being spread deeper into the population because most cases of epilepsy should appear by 4 years of age.

-Quality over quantity should be the goal of any breeding program, but more so for a rare breed. Waiting two years between litters, so the previous litter can be properly evaluated, is recommended. 

____________________________________

If there are other statistics you would like to know or have a question about the statistics I have given here, please ask!

I have calculated the epilepsy risk for the 3 litters born in the UK and the breeders and owners can ask me for their litters score privately.

The future of the Mudi in the UK is in your hands, if your enthusiasm to share your Mudi’s data with me is indicative of your dedication to the breed, the Mudi’s future in the UK will be very good indeed. 

Once again thank you all, it was a pleasure working with you!

Mudi Epilepsy Update September 1, 2020

In preparation for an important post on epilepsy that will come out in the near future on this blog, I want to explain how the epilepsy risk scoring system now works, as well as include the chart which interprets the given number scores to a word description.

Prior to 2019, I gave only one score for epilepsy risk.  It was based on only those Mudis which had connections to confirmed epileptic Mudis.  These connections would be the epileptic Mudi themselves, any offspring (puppies) they had, their parents and grandparents.  And yes, there have been incidences of epileptic Mudis being bred over the decades.  Remember epilepsy has been in the Mudi since the 1980’s and in the ‘old days’ it was not given the respect it should have been by quickly removing the epileptic and their nearest kin from breeding.  If only they had known then what we know now, this post and the ones to come would probably not be necessary.

Currently the number of confirmed epileptics outweighs the not confirmed epileptics by 2.8 to 1. However there is always the possibility that I can confirm one of the suspected epileptics which occurred this week and last year.

As the incident with epilepsy that occurred in January 2019 has taught me, the possible epileptics cannot be ignored.  After a long thought process about how to make the scoring system reflect a more clear picture of the risk, I decided to give two scores, it would double the work, but it might equally reduce the chances of producing another epileptic.

I now give two scores.  The first score is the KNOWN risk score which includes all the relatives on a pedigree that are known to be connected to a confirmed epileptic.  The second score is called the PAIR score which stands for Possible All Inclusive Risk. The PAIR score includes the known confirmed relatives and the not yet confirmed relatives.  These two scores encompass the whole picture of the risk on a pedigree into a two score risk zone.

This is the word chart that indicates how high of a risk is the score. The given two scores can and often do, fall into different categories of risk:

 

Ideally we would want to only breed litters that fell into the Very Low category, but that is practically impossible today as every Mudi on the planet has some risk on their pedigree.  Except for those empty pedigree wonders that some breeders still find hanging around the recycling bin.

About 2-3 years ago most Mudi litters fell into the Low range, today most fall into the Moderate range, with more than a few also being in the High range.

If we continue to breed the way it is now being done, the most common risk range will graduate to High and from that I am not sure how we could return to a lower range.

Again ideally, we would breed only low risk dogs to other low risk dogs, but what to do with those in the moderate to high category?  I don’t have the answer, but it would not seem wise to exclude a rather significant segment of the population from breeding.  The best solution is to breed them less and only to low risk dogs to make a medium risk litter and then breed those resulting pups to low risk and so on.  But as most Mudi breeders still do not know what the actual epi risk is in their litters, this will be a difficult goal to achieve. It is for those breeders that do want to know the epi risk in their litters and the ones that will come along that also want to know, that I keep doing what I do.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Speed Breeding, Is It Right For The Mudi?


I have heard from several Mudi people recently that canine reproduction specialists claim that breeding a bitch young, and on every heat, then retiring her early, is best for her health.  This is called speed breeding.

First I would like to know if there have been any studies done to prove this, as in scientific research published in a peer reviewed journal.  Or is this just the “feeling” these repro specialists have accumulated, what is it based on? What are the benefits for the bitch and are they good for all bitches or just a few? What are the downsides of this method? And really, how many repro specialists are of this opinion?

Second, think about the breeders and the breeds that most often use a repro specialist, it is certainly not common in the Mudi.  What do breeders use these repro vets for?

1) AI – artificial insemination: side by side (collected and implanted on site), fresh/chilled and shipped, frozen; (there are reasons these are used and that is not the purpose of this post, but none of them are commonly done in the Mudi, in any country)

2) Bitches being used are difficult to impregnate due to any number of reasons, age, infertility, disease, size, fragility, previous caesarian section or litter deaths, etc. (none of these are common in the Mudi and is breeding of “needy” bitches really good for a breed?)

3) A breed is rare, and every litter is important (while the Mudi is rare, it is not so rare this is a concern)

4) Stud is old and cannot mount the bitch, but can be collected (is it wise to use such a male?)

5) Collecting, assessing for viability and possibly freezing sperm for later use

6) Assessment of the bitch for breeding, most vets can do this, a specialist is not usually required

None of them apply very often to the Mudi.  We are very lucky this is the case!

This means repro vets are using their experience with a select group of clients to make a recommendation for all bitches and breeds.

Have these repro vets and breeders considered the harm this kind of breeding does to a breed?

1) Breeding immature bitches (before 2 years of age for the Mudi) is not a good idea, its like letting teenage humans become parents. They are neither physically, nor mentally ready for the challenges of pups/kids in most cases.

2) Most health tests for canines (ortho and eye) can only be done officially after the dog/Mudi is 2 years of age, breeding before these tests are done is certainly not a good idea, you have no idea what you are breeding.

3) If you breed on every heat, even starting from 2 years of age, you cannot assess what the parents have made, you will not have health, temperament or appearance results till those pups are 2 years of age. Meanwhile you have had 2-4 more litters from a parent that might not have been wise to have more than 1 litter with.

4) Epilepsy does not always appear in young Mudis, it can take up to 6-7 years, but most seizures appear by the age of 4.  Breeding lots of younger than 4 year old Mudis and breeding their pups, will not help to lessen the appearance of epilepsy in the breed, it will actually make it worse and will take out more Mudis from breeding in the long run. 

5) Generation time is important to the diversity in any breed and speed breeding is the enemy of generation time.

What is generation time and why is it important, especially for the Mudi?

The Mudi is lucky to not need the services of a repro vet or most any vet due to it being a rather healthy and easy to impregnate breed and this is due in large part to the diversity of its gene pool. Generation time directly affects the diversity of a gene pool.

Genetic losses occur in every new generation/litter of purebred dogs. The reasons are varied and not important for this discussion.  What this means is that the fewer generations there are between the foundation stock and the Mudi you want to breed with, there is more of the original gene set of the founders, than those Mudis that have more generations between.  For example, one Mudi has a 24 gen pedigree and another has 32.  The one with 32 is much farther from the gene set of the original founders, which means that Mudi has less genetic diversity and you should know that having a large set of diversification in your gene set is the key to health, not only for that dog, but for the whole breed.

It is therefore in the best interest of the breeder and the breed to maintain a high average generation time.

This is how you figure generation time for any litter - already born or planned: take the age of the sire at mating, add it to the age of the dam at mating, then divide by 2 (sire is 4 + dam is 2 = 6 ÷ by 2 = 3 is the gen time).  4 years is considered to be an appropriate minimum level, 5 or 6 is better.  Every breeder should keep track of their generation time for each litter and for their kennel as a whole and every puppy buyer should ask for it.

Breeding young dogs is breeding blindfolded. Genetic diseases and temperament problems often do not appear until 3-4 years of age. Maintaining a high average generation time gives a breeder a clear advantage to produce healthy pups and it makes breeding results more predictable, while minimizing loss of genetic diversity.

Reproductive rush, aka speed breeding, has three main consequences:

1) greatly accelerated rate of loss of genetic diversity

2) selection for early maturity which has an elevated risk of assorted orthopedic and health issues

3) lowering of average longevity

Speed breeding is the tool of puppy mills. Breed them as soon as possible, as much as possible, and when the bitch or stud is not producing enough, get rid of them and start with another. How has this method worked for the quality of what they produce?

-Is this method good for the Mudi?  

-What happens to those bitches in a speed breeding program when they are no longer needed? 

-Do we really need to pump out so many Mudi puppies?  Wouldn’t the breed be better with quality than quantity?  If you want to follow this method, you breed your bitch in rapid succession-on every heat, isn't this quantity breeding?

Every breeder has to decide how they want to breed.  Every bitch is unique, and a good breeder will do what works for her individually.  A prospective buyer can research how many litters a breeder has created and how close together the individual bitches are having them and then decide for themselves that this is a breeding style/breeder that is what they want to support or not.

In the end however, it comes down to not just the bitch’s welfare, but the breeds welfare.  Is the individual bitch more important than the breed?  What is truly the best method for the Mudi-not for any other breed, just the Mudi?  That is something all Mudi people have to decide for themselves and the decision we all make now, will affect the future of this breed, do not forget that, because you cannot go back and undo the pups you made with the wrong choice.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Don't Drop the Ball

I recently saw a post on FB from a person offering to help others find a dog or puppy from a responsible breeder or a qualified rescue.

While I admire their passion, this is a can of worms no one wants to open.

First off, if someone is not capable to find a dog from either of those sources on their own, are they qualified to own a dog at all?  Owning a dog is a serious responsibility that takes a great deal of dedication.  If someone cannot devote the time and brain cells to find a quality source for a canine companion that will share their home and life for the next 10-15 years, what is the likelihood they will spend the time and gain the knowledge needed to make the relationship a good one that does not end with rehoming their no longer compatible companion?

We should not enable anyone to own a dog that is not properly suited to have one.  And suitability starts with knowledge you took the time to acquire.  While it might be a success story for a few people that obtain outside help, chances are more favorable it won’t end happy ever after.  Many people do not take care of things they did not have to invest anything into and asking someone else to do it for them is dropping the most important ball into someone else’s lap they can blame later for the mistake that now lives in their yard.  

Another concern is how does anyone know who is a good breeder in every possible breed, no one can have that big of a network or experience and every breed is different and has special health, care and suitability concerns that only breed deep people will be aware of.

Making a recommendation on where to get a puppy or dog leaves you open to an incredible risk and backlash from disappointed owners, and it will happen. 

While it is a noble effort to want to help people find a great companion, no dog is perfect, nor is any owner and trying to match them up is a monumental task that is best left to the person wanting the companion dog, because something you worked for is always more treasured than something you asked someone else to do. Because anything worth doing, is worth doing yourself.

I am not qualified to help anyone find a good dog rescue, you‘ll have to do that research yourself if that is where you prefer to get a canine companion from.

I can however help you recognize a GREAT Mudi breeder.  These points below apply to the Mudi breed, because I am a Mudi person.  For other breeds you will have to do breed specific issue investigation yourself as I am not qualified to give that.  Look for these things listed below in a Mudi breeder and your chances of getting a good Mudi will greatly improve, but you should know that every Mudi is different, this is not a cookie cutter breed and there are no guarantees. This list in not in any particular order and is MY personal list of what I think a good breeder is/does. You should make a priority list of what you consider to be important BEFORE you contact any Mudi breeder and do not compromise for any reason, there is a breeder out there that can tick all of your boxes, however patience is absolutely necessary, as all Mudi pups are adorable and quick to steal your heart.  However waiting for the right Mudi puppy will be the best gift you can give yourself. 

1) The Mudi breeder does health tests and shows the results via the actual certificates and/or allows them to be made public on the testing facility site (such as OFA, FKK) on ALL of their breeding Mudis/parents of the puppies: they must have orthopedic test results for: hips and patellas, extra points for elbows and spine; a recent eye exam like CERF or from a certified eye vet is also a must. Extra points for DNA testing with Embark or Wisdom and/or other canine genetics labs and the results are public on the testing facility website, although full DNA panel screening is quickly becoming a must have.  Extra points for thyroid and heart screening.
2) Herding instinct test pass
3) Temperament test pass
4) Sport or performance results, for me this is only extra points because the vast majority of super sport star Mudis did not come from super sport star parents – they achieved what they do because of their owner, not their genes, although being a Mudi does help as it is a very versatile and talented breed when it comes to sports and activities
5) Breeding exam (Hungary) or conformation show results indicating the breeding dogs have proper dentition for the breed which is all the teeth and a scissors bite; in males two descended testicles; these can also be certified by vets
6) The breeder gives a pedigree, whether you want one or not – meaning they pedigree ALL of their puppies, all of the time and through a recognized international kennel club such as FCI, AKC, or CKC
7) The breeder does not sell puppies to just anyone and certainly not to puppy traders or pet shops
8) The breeder does their best to meet your wishes for sex and color, but ultimately matches the personality of the puppy to your purpose for the puppy
9) Prices are not based on sex or color
10) The dogs being used in breeding were NOT bred before they were 2 years of age
11) The puppies are not placed before 7.5 weeks of age, they have had age appropriate vaccinations and have been wormed several times
12) The breeder allows you to feed the type of food you want to feed – it is not contract dependent
13) The breeder does not insist you spay or neuter your puppy before two years of age
14) The breeder gives you other puppy owners contact information or their owners are visible on FB or other forums that you can contact and ask about their experiences, but of course the breeder will not give you unhappy owners to talk to, so this is also something you have to investigate for yourself – google is a fantastic tool for this
15) Google the breeder – you can learn a lot by doing that
16) The breeder allows you to visit their home and the puppies and their Mudis
17) The breeder will tell you about temperament and health issues in the breed and in their lines, for example epilepsy, it does occur in the Mudi breed and in every kennels lines – no breeder can guarantee a puppy will not become epileptic – a good breeder will be honest about this and tell you how they try to avoid producing epilepsy in their litters; if a breeder tells you they do not have epilepsy in their lines they are not being honest, this is not a breeder you want a puppy from
18) A COI from a reputable source is given and it is preferably below 10-12% (Co-efficient of Inbreeding – how related are the parents of the litter to each other); if the COI is higher than 12.5% they should tell you why they chose to make the litter – what was the reason behind the creation of this litter that outweighed the high COI; I can give you an accurate COI if you want to double check they were giving a correct one and I give free COI’s to anyone that asks free of charge
19) It was a planned litter, it was not an accident
20) The breeder plans to keep a puppy for themselves, THIS speaks volumes, they are not breeding simply to make $, but to have a puppy for themselves – this means the breeder has faith in that litter and they hope it will be worthy of breeding further
21) This is not a many times repeated breeding of the same parents – repeating an identically parented litter more than 2 times is not good for the breed unless the litter size was very small each time
22) The breeder does not always have a litter of Mudi puppies to sell, more than 2-3 Mudi litters a year is a sign that other less honorable objectives may be behind puppy production
23) The breeder does not have more than two breeds they reproduce, extra points to breeders that only breed Mudi’s as the chances for an accidental cross breeding are greatly reduced
24) Litters are spaced out at a two, or more year interval from any female, a good breeder waits to see how the previous litter develops before making more pups from that line and that takes about 2-3 years
25) The breeder will take back any puppy they bred or help you to rehome it should you not be able to keep it longer
26) The breeder does not have too many dogs at home and does not keep them in kennels or runs, they live like members of the family in the home
27) Puppies are born and raised in the home, not a barn or kennel
28) Puppies are given socialization and enrichment from birth, extra points for ENS and/or Puppy Culture, and other proven puppy raising practices
29) The breeder gives a contract
30) A health guarantee is good, but practically un-enforceable, and no breeder can realistically guarantee a puppy will be healthy for its lifetime, no one can see into the future; while a replacement puppy might sound nice, would you really want one from this breeder?  A $ refund is a more suitable option as it can help to pay for health care expenses or another puppy from any other source
31) Puppies are microchipped, pedigreed and given EU Passports in Europe at no extra cost
32) DNA verified parentage on the litter has been done
33) Surely there are other concerns, but these are the most critical items to look for


Great dogs are made, not born.  The bigger cause of your dog’s success depends on you.  So, if you are not willing to put the time and knowledge in to find, and then make the dog you get great, then choose another type of pet that is less demanding. 


Bringing a dog into your life is a big commitment, make sure you get your future companion from a reputable source.  Avoid retail rescues and breeders that do not have the future of their breed as their main goal.  Everyone that truly wants to share their life with a dog deserves the best one they can find, don’t settle for less.  Research is the first step of the adventure with your new companion, be sure to experience and enjoy every phase of the journey yourself!  You won’t regret it, and neither will your dog.