Dogs

What do the Border Collie "Health Details" mean?

Definitions: Clear: The dog does not suffer from the disease. Carrier: The dog does not suffer from the disease, but…

Definitions:

Clear: The dog does not suffer from the disease.

Carrier: The dog does not suffer from the disease, but could only be bred with a 'Clear' dog - otherwise the puppies may be affected.

Affected: The dog suffers from the disease.

CEA:

CEA means 'Collie Eye Anomaly'

CEA, is an inherited disease causing defects in the formation of the eye. CEA has now been determined to be a genetic disorder.

Several forms of the disease are recognized, but the most common is a lesion on the back of the eye.

Fortunately, there is now a DNA test which will confirm whether or not a dog is clear, a carrier or affected.

CL:

CL means 'Ceroid Lipofuscinosis'.

This is an inherited disease, which is not contagious, but it is fatal and cannot be treated.

It affects the nervous system including the brain.

Affected animals appear normal until aged approx 15 months. From that age, any or all of the following signs may be noted:

Unreasonable apprehension or fear of familiar objects/surroundings; sight disturbance; demented behaviour; hyperactivity; disorientation; fixations; loss of toilet training; strange or abnormal behaviour.

Affected animals have all been euthanased by the age of 3½ years.

TNS:

TNS means 'Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome'.

It is an immune deficiency in Border Collies.

TNS is a condition where the bone marrow produces neutrophils but they are not released into the bloodstream.

This results in an impaired immune system that cannot fight infections.

There is no evidence that carriers of the TNS defect have increased immune problems.

Note: This information is further described by material in each Puppy 'Log Book'.

Can you explain the dogs' names?

Ok, so the Border Collie names look a bit funny and are often unpronouncable...here's the goss. We've had a strong…

Ok, so the Border Collie names look a bit funny and are often unpronouncable...here's the goss.

We've had a strong association with things "Irish" for many years and when we decided to buy our first (real) Border Collie we had to find a suitable name.

Partly to honour the late wife of an Irish builder who's family Donna has known since she was a little girl, and partly because we like it anyway, we named our first puppy 'Bridie'.

When we made the plunge to breed our own Border Collies, it was decided that all puppies would be given Gaelic names.

Thanks to the Internet it's been fairly easy to find the names, although on occasion we've had to ask an Irish lass how to pronounce our latest choice.