Page 24 - Chow LIfe - Spring 2020
P. 24
AKC CHF National Parent Club
Canine Health Conference
By Lewis Klein
The 2019 AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) ring gut microbes in mice transferred their anxiety.
National Parent Club Canine Health Conference
was held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in St. Louis, Darcy Adin, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) pre-
Missouri, one block from the Gateway Arch. It was sented updates on nutritional considerations and
in August from Friday afternoon through Sunday heart disease staging in dogs. She said, while there
afternoon and was no ordinary canine conference. is a genetic basis in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM),
It was sponsored by CHF’s corporate partner Purina aka enlarged heart, nutrition has a role in its de-
Farms, who provided virtually everything needed for velopment, progression and control of the disease.
the weekend. The conference had non-stop activi- Since DCM cannot be reversed and dogs eventu-
ties. There was a continuous program of speakers ally succumb to it, comfort of the dog is primary
and panel sessions throughout the day and during importance by using diuretics, reducing pulmonary
the short breaks and after hours, there were display congestion and lowering blood pressure. Other find-
booths by conference sponsors and organizations ings were Pimobendan medication slows Mitrovalve
related to canine health. Just when you thought you heart failure. The diuretic Furosemide’s absorption
could take a break, there was an after hours meet- varies depending on various factors but testing
and-greet on Friday and an awards banquet on chloride levels to keep them low is very important.
Saturday to honor Anita Oberbauer, PhD with the Also, Omega 3 fatty acids improves muscle mass in
Asa Mays, DVM Award for Excellence in Canine congestive heart failure in dogs.
Research for Anita’s lifetime achievements in canine Everyone’s favorite session was an update on Can-
genetic research. nabis uses in dogs by Stephanie McGratch, DMV,
MS, DACVIM (Neurology). Studies were done that
Most of the speaker’s sessions were updates and
discoveries on current CHF genetic research grants determined Cannabis has no adverse effects on dogs
by well known geneticists, biologists and veterinar- except for occasional diarrhea. While not a major
ians and were fairly technical. There were sessions issue in Chows, 20-30% of dogs have uncontrolled
by other well known canine health organizations Epilepsy and must be euthanized due to the side
that presented their mission and services to improve effects of their drugs. However, studies showed that
canine health and make pet lives better. There were Cannabis products, i.e. CBD have been shown to re-
panel discussions to wrap up each day on various duce Epileptic seizure frequency. But caution needs
medical issues and Q&A’s. to be taken if buying online, due to the large diver-
sity in quality of the various websites.
On Friday the sessions were primarily on digestive
system disorders. The last session on Friday was by Eddie Dziuk,
MBA on OFA’s Canine Health Information Center
Jan Suchodolski, DVM, PhD presented new ap- (CHIC) program. While best known for its consoli-
proaches to diagnosis and therapy for intestinal dated source of breed specific canine health tests,
microbiota dysbiosis (bacteria imbalance). He said, whose criteria is established by the individual breed’s
each healthy dog has a unique microbiota and in parent club, OFA also maintains a DNA repository
gut diseases, what’s missing may be more important for research studies. The repository has over 27,000
than what’s present. During his study on fecal micro- samples across 189 breeds and has given out 3,000
biota transplantation via enema, 89% of patients samples for research. Samples from healthy and af-
experienced resolution of their chronic diarrhea. flicted dogs both have a potential use but afflicted
dog samples are the most useful. Most of their
Michael Lappin, DVM, PhD presented the effects of samples are from healthy young dogs but if a healthy
Probiotics (beneficial live microorganisms) on the dog comes down with a disease in the future, the
gastrointestinal microbiome (microbe environment) OFA should be notified at ofa@ofa.org so they can
and immune system of dogs. He found evidence that update the dog’s record. The OFA made a call to ac-
Probiotics are effective in managing chronic diar- tion, requesting all breeds and dogs to provide DNA
rhea from infectious diseases, vomiting and stress, samples.
assists with immune modulation and inhibits the
replication of disease related bacteria. Later on that Friday evening, there was a “Meet and
Greet” for all presenters and attendees, where I met
Ragen McGowen, PhD presented the gut-brain the CHF liaison to CCCI, Andrea Fiumefreddo. We
axis and the impact of Purina’s BL999 probiotic on discussed CCCI’s needs and various research oppor-
reducing anxiety and heart rate in anxious dogs. She tunities at CHF.
presented that 29% of dogs have fear/anxiety that
lead to disease and a holistic solution in- On Saturday the sessions were varied across studies
cludes behavioral medication, drugs and nu- on autoimmune diseases like Addison's and Endo-
trition (bovine milk, fish, L-Theanine amino crine disorders, and vector-borne infections like
22 acids). She did studies showing that transfer- Meningitis and Leptospirosis.
