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YORKSHIRE TERRIER CLUB OF AMERICA FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED

HEALTH SURVEY DATA REPORT

INTRODUCTION 

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The YTCA Foundation, Incorporated (YTCAF), was established as an entity that would focus its efforts on the overall health issues of the Yorkshire Terrier in an attempt to accomplish the betterment of the breed.  Over the past several years, the Foundation has collaborated with the AKC Canine Health Foundation to financially support several small research endeavors at the University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee and Texas A and M University.   However, there have been many who felt that research should be done to focus on resolving some of the health issues that seem to plague the breed as a whole. 
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So with that goal in mind, the Board members of the Foundation designed a general health survey to assist in identification of the areas of concern, specifically from the perspective of those directly involved in the breed,   i.e., owners, breeders, exhibitors, handlers, veterinarians, etc.    Therefore the design of this Survey was purposefully made to gather information from the people who know the breed the best. 
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It is important to note that the survey was not designed as a research tool, per se, but strictly as a tool to gather information. Prior to the finalization of the survey format, it was presented both to a veterinarian and a statistician for input to make sure the necessary areas of concern were properly addressed.  As such, the results would be both meaningful and could be used as a tool to help in making decisions, with regard to where and if further in depth surveys were necessary, and or research money would best be invested.  It also needs to be noted here that because this was a survey, the data cannot, nor should it be used, in attempting to make any conclusions about the Yorkshire Terrier. The survey does not provide conclusive information to make this possible and it was not designed for that purpose.
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The information gathered from the survey is presented on the following pages.
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Officers and Directors of the YTCA Foundation Board

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GRAPH I- INTERESTS IN YORKSHIRE TERRIERS 
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GRAPH II- LENGTH OF TIME IN BREED
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(Note that only 208 or the 220 noted this information on their surveys)

 

 

With the above information, our statistician made the following comments:

"The combination of having the majority of your respondents being breeders and the length of time the respondents have been involved with the breed could, potentially, yield responses that are not representative of the average Yorkie.  One would hope that breeders have the healthiest dogs that they have kept for the breeding pool.  Additionally, with the longevity of time in the breed being over 15 years for so many respondents, you might have diseases seen more frequently in the past being over-represented in this survey.  For that reason, I'd recommend weighing the cause of death data more heavily in any decision making activities than the results of the general health condition data."

After studying the data, this observation certainly is a valid observation and needs to be kept in mind as the reader looks at the rest of the data.

 
GRAPH III- SIX MOST RECENT PRIMARY CAUSES OF DEATH
IN THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER

 

 

Next, the survey asked for “Testing Information” --- Whether or not a respondent tested their Yorkies for the following:

 

TEST                                                     YES        NO
 
Hip Radiograph*                                        5          96
CERF                                                       25        178
Patellas                                                 193          19
 
Preventive Tests    
 
Heartworm                                             151          46
Fecal                                                     182          22
Dental Checkup                                     206            5
Blood Work                                            193          15
Other                                                       22        100

 

 

* 107 only tested if there was a problem

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The Health Survey asked respondents to provide information on the General Health Conditions of the Yorkshire Terrier that had been documented and that were personally experienced in the Yorkshire Terriers that they had bred or owned.  This information was noted in the survey by identifying the various canine diseases by the particular body system involved.  The tabulation of this data by system is presented in the next graph.

 

GRAPH IV- GENERAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER
 

 

 

The data presented in GRAPH IV has been broken down by the system group and each of these system groups is being presented in the following series of individual graphs.  All of these individual graphs include only the most significant pieces of data in each of the conditions with the remaining ones noted below each graph.   This was done so that the presentation was easier to read, as well as to be able to look back at the data individually if needed in the future.  A complete summary of all the data received is included in Appendix II.

 

GRAPH V – SKIN

 

80 % of the data on Skin Conditions is represented above 
20% included color-mutant/color dilution alopecia, autoimmune skin disease,

contact dermatitis, cysts on back, dry skin, nodular panniculitis, sebaceous

adenitis and other-not specified.

 

 

 
GRAPH VI - NEUROLOGY

 

94 % of the data identified the above three Neurology Conditions 
6 % included brain aneurysm, dementia, GME and Laryngeal paralysis

 

 

 

GRAPH VII – HEMATOLOGY – BLOOD DISORDERS

 

All four of the data are represented above

 

 

 
GRAPH VIII – ENDOCRINOLOGY

 

94.6 % of data represented above
5.4 % included Addison’s Disease, adrenal, and polydypsia

 

 

 
GRAPH IX – DIGESTIVE SYSTEM – GASTROENTEROLOGY

 

89.7 % of data included in above graph
10.3 % included coccidia, gall bladder, H G E, irritable bowel Megaesophagus,

 obstructed bowel and P L E

 

 

 
GRAPH X – LIVER DISORDERS

 

87 % of data included in above graph 
13 % included active hepatitis and portosystemic shunt–unknown

 

 

 
GRAPH XI – OPTHALMOLOGY

 

90 % of the data is represented in the above graph
10 % included blindness, corneal dystrophy, ectropion, eyelash disorder,
Glaucoma, micro opthalmia, prolapsed gland of the third eye lid, 
retinal dysplasia, and ulcerated eye

 

 

 
GRAPH XII – EARS

 

99.3 % of the data represented above
0.7 % was included in deafness

 

 

 
GRAPH XIII – HEART – CARDIOLOGY

 

90.4 % represented in the graph above
9.6 % included heart attacks, defects, cardiomyopathy and COPD

 

 

 
GRAPH XIV – DENTAL

 

89.4 % of data represented in graph above
10.6 % included blocked saliva gland, brachygnathia,
 Lack of full dentition and nasal fistula

 

 

 
GRAPH XV – CANCER – ONCOLOGY

 

76.9 % of data is represented in the above graph for Cancer-Oncology
23.1 % included adenocarcinoma of the intestines, bladder, brain tumor, Carotid artery, liver, mast cell, stomach, testicular and other-unknown type

 

 

 
GRAPH XVI – MUSCULOSKELETAL

 

95.3 % of data is represented above
4.7 % included arthritis, arthritis-Rheumatoid, and back problems

 

 

 
GRAPH XVII – RESPIRATORY

 

96.4 % of data in represented in Graph XVII for Respiratory Conditions
3.6 % included deviated septum due to trauma, pulmonary stenosis,
reverse sneezing, and other-not specified

 

 

 
GRAPH XVIII – REPRODUCTIVE

 

70 % of data in Reproductive is represented above
30 % included abortion-spontaneous, breech birth, herpes virus,
infertility-female, infertility-male, inguinal hernia, mastitis, and small litters

 

 

 
GRAPH XIX – BIRTH DEFECTS

 

95.6 % of data is represented above
4.4 % included born blue puppy, puppy born without anus and underdeveloped kidney

 

 

 
GRAPH XX – KIDNEY – URINARY

 

95.3 % of data represented above
4.7 % included Glomerulonephritis, kidney stones and polyurea

 

 

 
GRAPH XXI – TEMPERAMENT PROBLEMS

 

89.3 % of data in represented in the above graph
10.7 % included fear biting, female urinating and then licking it up,
 and separation anxiety

 

 

 
GRAPH XXII – OTHER

 

66.7 % represented in above Graph
33.3 % included parasite infection and pneumonia

 

 

INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

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The reader should agree, after looking at all of the data, that there certainly are concerns that are now documented in a way that can be useful for further investigation and follow up.  The statistician presented a comment worth considering.  She commented that

"The length of time the respondents have been involved with the breed could, potentially, yield   responses that are not representative of the average Yorkie." Therefore in making an assessment of this data, one needs to weigh "the cause of death data more heavily in any decision-making activities when considering the results of the general health conditions data." 

One last comment by the statistician was:  

"It should be noted that even though almost half of the respondents have seen cataracts, very few CERF their animals." 

The statistician was not asked to analyze the information that she collected and entered in the database the above mentioned observation became clear to her and she shared these concerns with the Board. 

 
GRAPH XXIII 


SIX MOST RECENT PRIMARY CAUSES OF DEATH IN THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER
AND THOSE > 10 YEARS OF AGE

YELLOW – The Number of Deaths in the Particular Disease Category
PURPLE – The Number of Yorkies that were over 10 years old when they died

 

 

A consideration when looking at the age the four highest causes of death above; in generalities, are these health conditions not a common part of the aging process?  It is necessary to consider this when making decision on what and where to invest research funds. 

 
GRAPH XXIV – ACCIDENTS

 

 

 

 
GRAPH XXV – TEN HIGHEST HEALTH CONDITIONS
AS REPORTED IN YORKSHIRE TERRIERS

 

 

Even though the statistician did not address the issue of old age as shown in the following GRAPH XXVI - Old Age, she did allude to it. Taking into account the characteristics of the respondents both in terms of longevity in the breed and as interests in the breed, she noted that they must be doing their breeding by keeping the best of the best.   One certainly would have to believe this assumption as there are Yorkies who live to eighteen years and then, too, how many that are in this old age category alone that ranged from twelve to eighteen years of age at time of death.  It would appear that breeders must be doing something right.

 
GRAPH XXVI – OLD AGE

 

 

 

 
APPENDIX   I

 

 

 

APPENDIX  II

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The YTCA Foundation is a separate 501 C 3 charitable organization for the health and genetic concerns of the Yorkshire Terrier. Contributions are deductible for Federal Income Tax purposes.  It is NOT a breeder referral.
 
Please note that this web site is intended as a source of information only.  It is not intended as a substitute for professional care. Always consult with your Veterinarian about health related matters. The information provided here is a brief outline only of some of the health issues which may be of concern for the Yorkshire Terrier breed and should not be considered as a complete listing.