Margaret C
Well-known member
This has been highlighted by Sabby on another thread, but I thought the Karlton Index http://www.thekarltonindex.com/ may be something that the many breeders that visit this site should be aware of. They are not likely to see this information on any other cavalier website.............
"This entire project is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of our dogs. The health and welfare of dogs have become contentious issues of late so to help us all understand just what is happening I have established a way of measuring our progress.
The Karlton INDEX™ will highlight the breeds that are making the most progress, it will illustrate just how they are managing to do this, it will encourage the sharing of knowledge and understanding and champion those that persevere. It will flag up the breeds that lag behind too but with a view to identifying what is holding them back and assist them in overcoming the barriers they face."
Breed scores are awarded on the basis of published information and data on breed club websites.
Cavaliers score 13 and the comments on their page read..............
"The Club website has a worthy aim of “providing up-to-date information on health”, but is immediately scuppered by the next sentence, “Cavaliers are generally a happy, healthy breed”. Evidence suggests that in fact Cavaliers have become one of the most afflicted with genetic health problems.
That being said there is more information on the site than ever before and they do update it with details of the many health-related events that now take place. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel community is a dramatic reminder to all other breeds of how easy it is to breed in serious health conditions and how difficult people can make the reversal of that. They have a history of persistent denial, they have a history of attacking the messenger, and they have not yet created a culture of early adoption of best breeding practice. The current approach to managing health, as presented now, certainly fails to match the urgent need for concerted action that the clinical evidence says is required. Better web-based resources on cavalier health can be found at Cavalier Campaign and Cavalier Matters and Cavalier health. The Club is improving its approach, but the pace of change needs to quicken. Afterall over 103,000 were registered in the past ten years"
Unfortunately the Cavalier Club has now handed all decision making about health matters to the Cavalier Health Liaison Committee. I doubt whether there would have been any score at all if the CHLC website had been the one assessed. Just take a look at their one and only page....... http://www.cavalierhealth.co.uk/
A few out-of-date notices and an old press release about the Dry Eye Curly Coat and the Episodic Falling Syndrome tests, but no information about the FREE DNA tests for these conditions now being offered? ( Nor did the Cavalier Club send out this information with their recent mail out )
The AHT have offered these free tests to establish how widespread these conditions are in the Cavalier population. I wonder why the CHLC are not promoting it?
No news about the new BVA/KC scheme designed to help establish the official EBV project, no information about the KC/AHT EBV project itself, although until recently there was a link to a Mickey Mouse alternative EBV scheme.
I'm glad to see that link has been removed, although when I last checked our KC health representative and the CHLC Chairman's wife were still promoting this tin pot rival scheme on the Belgium website.
The CHLC gives no information, no links, no help to any one trying to find out anything about the health of cavaliers. It is a breed disgrace that this is what represents club members.
Among those that have any interest in improving the health of cavaliers the CHLC has gained a reputation for being a black hole down which all health initiatives disappear forever.
Despite the often repeated assertion by breeders that it is MVD that is the biggest problem in cavaliers, I do not think that there is any chance of an official heart scheme being progressed by this group.
There is some interesting discussion about the CHLC and its Chairman on Jemima Harrison's blog......... http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/09/no-more-protests-official-sm-scheme.html#comments
"This entire project is dedicated to improving the health and welfare of our dogs. The health and welfare of dogs have become contentious issues of late so to help us all understand just what is happening I have established a way of measuring our progress.
The Karlton INDEX™ will highlight the breeds that are making the most progress, it will illustrate just how they are managing to do this, it will encourage the sharing of knowledge and understanding and champion those that persevere. It will flag up the breeds that lag behind too but with a view to identifying what is holding them back and assist them in overcoming the barriers they face."
Breed scores are awarded on the basis of published information and data on breed club websites.
Cavaliers score 13 and the comments on their page read..............
"The Club website has a worthy aim of “providing up-to-date information on health”, but is immediately scuppered by the next sentence, “Cavaliers are generally a happy, healthy breed”. Evidence suggests that in fact Cavaliers have become one of the most afflicted with genetic health problems.
That being said there is more information on the site than ever before and they do update it with details of the many health-related events that now take place. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel community is a dramatic reminder to all other breeds of how easy it is to breed in serious health conditions and how difficult people can make the reversal of that. They have a history of persistent denial, they have a history of attacking the messenger, and they have not yet created a culture of early adoption of best breeding practice. The current approach to managing health, as presented now, certainly fails to match the urgent need for concerted action that the clinical evidence says is required. Better web-based resources on cavalier health can be found at Cavalier Campaign and Cavalier Matters and Cavalier health. The Club is improving its approach, but the pace of change needs to quicken. Afterall over 103,000 were registered in the past ten years"
Unfortunately the Cavalier Club has now handed all decision making about health matters to the Cavalier Health Liaison Committee. I doubt whether there would have been any score at all if the CHLC website had been the one assessed. Just take a look at their one and only page....... http://www.cavalierhealth.co.uk/
A few out-of-date notices and an old press release about the Dry Eye Curly Coat and the Episodic Falling Syndrome tests, but no information about the FREE DNA tests for these conditions now being offered? ( Nor did the Cavalier Club send out this information with their recent mail out )
The AHT have offered these free tests to establish how widespread these conditions are in the Cavalier population. I wonder why the CHLC are not promoting it?
No news about the new BVA/KC scheme designed to help establish the official EBV project, no information about the KC/AHT EBV project itself, although until recently there was a link to a Mickey Mouse alternative EBV scheme.
I'm glad to see that link has been removed, although when I last checked our KC health representative and the CHLC Chairman's wife were still promoting this tin pot rival scheme on the Belgium website.
The CHLC gives no information, no links, no help to any one trying to find out anything about the health of cavaliers. It is a breed disgrace that this is what represents club members.
Among those that have any interest in improving the health of cavaliers the CHLC has gained a reputation for being a black hole down which all health initiatives disappear forever.
Despite the often repeated assertion by breeders that it is MVD that is the biggest problem in cavaliers, I do not think that there is any chance of an official heart scheme being progressed by this group.
There is some interesting discussion about the CHLC and its Chairman on Jemima Harrison's blog......... http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/09/no-more-protests-official-sm-scheme.html#comments