(Ez a
cikk magyarul megtalálható ezen a blogon - Az epilepszia újabb arcai)
My
responsibility to the Mudi is not something I take lightly, what is best or
important for the breed must always come first. I hope that everyone involved in the Mudi breed
also feels this same way and will do whatever has to be done when it comes to
the best interests of the breed, however hard it may be, whether you are a
breeder or an owner.
Since my
last post about the incidence of epilepsy in September 2020, 17 more cases of
epilepsy have appeared, that’s a 33% increase in just 2 years (please click on
the purple Mudi Epilepsy Awareness ribbon on the right side of this blog to
read that article in English and Hungarian).
Kora’s Destiny
I was contacted
recently by an owner whose Mudi Kora had epilepsy. They shared with me information about their
Mudi, videos of her seizures, which are placed below, as well as the
progression of the seizures and the final outcome for their Mudi girl.
Kora was sent
to this owner from another owner who no longer wanted her, at 6 months of
age. Very soon after she arrived, she
started to have full body/generalized (also known as grand mal) seizures. She continued to have more seizures and have
them more frequently. She was on anti-seizure
medication and also CBD oil, neither of which helped. The seizures started to come daily until she
had a seizure that would be her last, as it could not be stopped, and Kora’s
life ended, at only 19 months of age, from idiopathic epilepsy.
Kora’s
seizures started at a very young age, before she could had puppies of her own,
but that is not always the case. While
most seizures from idiopathic epilepsy occur before 4 years of age, today many
Mudis are being bred that have not even reached the age of 2. This is incredibly irresponsible in a breed
that is known to have epilepsy and every Mudi breeder is aware that epilepsy
does occur, it has not been kept in deep secrecy since 2008. There is no justifiable reason to breed any
Mudi before it reaches the age of two.
Relative
Chaos
Kora’s father
has produced at least 4 litters/18 puppies, born in 2019 and 2020 and is still
available for breeding. One of his
puppies has already been bred twice, with 16 puppies being born, and will have
a 3rd litter in 2023. Besides Kora, he has another puppy that had a
seizure in the spring of 2022. At least 6 puppies/grand-puppies have been
exported to other countries.
Kora’s
mother has at least 5 litters with 22 puppies already born, in 2018, 2019,
2020, 2021 and 2022, with a 6th litter planned for 2023. Four of her pups have already been bred at
least 6 times, which produced 31 puppies.
At least 8 of these puppies have been exported from their country of
birth and 2 of them have produced at least 17 puppies in their new country.
Additionally,
Kora’s grandparents were also widely bred, with puppies placed in many
countries around the world and 2 grandparents are still available for further
breeding.
As for the
other 3 Mudis in the photo montage above, they have not been bred either, but
their parents have produced at least 72 puppies, with many being exported from
their country of origin and used in breeding.
Littermates have also reproduced.
Considering
the above reproduction rate from typical Mudi parents, it’s easy to see how
epilepsy genes can be spread far and fast, around the world and the gene pool.
The most
important reason for informing Mudi breeders and owners about epileptics in the
breed, is the need for knowing the family connection between the affected Mudi,
their parents, littermates and offspring, to other Mudis living in many parts
of the world. Knowing where epilepsy
occurs can help to prevent it from occurring again, by not breeding any direct
relatives and not breeding any mates together that are considered high risk.
Minimal Statistics
Besides Kora,
16 more cases of epilepsy have been brought to my attention since September
2020. Seven are confirmed and ten are
highly suspected to have idiopathic epilepsy (IE). There have also been 2 cases of paroxysmal
dyskinesia (PD) which is either another form of epileptic seizure (such as
focal and generalized) or a related neurological disorder. The University of Minnesota is studying PD
and they currently consider PD to be another form of IE seizure presentation.
Current
Epilepsy Statistics as of January 2023
(figures do not include 2 PD cases)
Total
Epilepsy Cases: 73 (55 in 2020)
Confirmed:
46 (39 in 2020)
Highly
Suspected: 27 (16 in 2020)
What has
also changed since 2020 is the rate at which Mudis, particularly those used in
breeding, are connected to more than just one epileptic, further indicating the
epilepsy seen in the Mudi is genetic.
Also the incidence of PD is on pedigrees that also have considerable
occurrence of epilepsy, indicating it is most likely not a separate disease,
but another presentation form of seizure.
What is
really concerning is how many epileptic Mudis we don’t know about, making these
statistics above the bare minimum.
Damage Control
We can
continue to look the other way and ignore what is right in front of us and
denied by many breeders still, and I can continue to record the cases of
epilepsy and write new articles that show exponential occurrences, or every
breeder can finally decide to follow the breeding strategy goals I covered in
my seminars that will help to reduce the occurrence of epilepsy. You can be the
cure, or you can be the cause, the choice is yours, but time is running
out. Time certainly was against these 4
Mudis, for 2 of them, time stopped completely.
Having a
Mudi affected with epilepsy is hard enough, please don’t make it harder for these
owners by contacting them or sharing their names. If you have questions, please ask ME.
I asked for
permission from each of these owners to use the name of their Mudi and provide a
picture for this article, as well as permission to use the videos they sent me.
If you have a
Mudi that is having seizures, you are welcome to share your Mudis information
with me. Information that would divulge
the identity of the Mudi or owner is never shared without permission. The information about your Mudis seizures
helps me to help breeders produce litters with lower risk for epilepsy
occurrence. This is vitally important to
the future of the Mudi breed and those who want a Mudi to share their life
with.
For more
information, to report epilepsy, or any health issue that has occurred in your
Mudi, please email, in any language: MudiDirections at gmail.com
Meet the
Fated Four
The 4 Mudis
in the photo montage at the beginning of this post are:
1) ‘Kora’
Born: July,
2020, black female (COI: 4.1%)
Kora died in
February 2022, during a seizure event at 19 months of age. She started to have seizures at 6 months of
age, which increased over time and were not able to be controlled with
medication.
Warning!
These videos may be disturbing to some viewers!
Kora 1
Kora 2
2) ‘Pásztor’
Born:
August, 2019, black male (COI: 0%)
Pásztor is
currently doing well on medication which keeps him mostly seizure free. He
started to have seizures at 1 ½ years of age.
Warning!
These videos may be disturbing to some viewers!
Pásztor 1
Pásztor 2
3) ‘Cifra’
Born: May,
2018, black merle female (COI: 5.4%)
Cifra is
currently doing well on medication which keeps her mostly seizure free. Her
first seizure appeared at 3 ½ years of age.
4) ‘Bögöly’
Born:
October, 2014, black female (COI: 10.3%)
Bögöly died
in 2022 during a seizure event at 8 years of age, she had seizures from at
least 4 years of age when she was rehomed with her final owner. It is quite
likely they started before 4 years of age, but it was not disclosed to her
final owner by the previous owners.
Positive
Fate
I wish I
could say the future looked bright for the Mudi breed. But with 90+ diseases being tracked that have
occurred over these last two decades, and with several serious health issues occurring
at disturbing rates, it’s just not possible to be positive about the Mudi breeds
future. I can’t change this bleak destiny
alone, however we can all work together to change the grim fate that lies ahead
to a better outcome.
I hope you
will change your course to the healthier path forward for the Mudi breed,
rather than remaining on the dead-end street it currently travels. Make this a New Year’s resolution you will fulfill!
