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YORKSHIRE TERRIER CLUB OF AMERICA
FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED
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HEALTH SURVEY DATA REPORT
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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)
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With the above information, our statistician
made the following comments:
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| "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." |
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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.
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GRAPH III- SIX MOST RECENT PRIMARY CAUSES
OF DEATH
IN THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER
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Next, the survey asked for “Testing Information”
--- Whether or not a respondent tested their Yorkies for the following:
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| 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.
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GRAPH IV- GENERAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN
THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER
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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.
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GRAPH V – SKIN
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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. |
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GRAPH VI – NEUROLOGY
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94 % of the data identified the above three
Neurology Conditions
6 % included brain aneurysm, dementia, GME
and Laryngeal paralysis |
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GRAPH VII – HEMATOLOGY – BLOOD DISORDERS
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All five of the data are represented above
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GRAPH VIII – ENDOCRINOLOGY
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94.6 % of data represented above
5.4 % included Addison’s Disease, adrenal,
and polydypsia
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GRAPH IX – DIGESTIVE SYSTEM – GASTROENTEROLOGY
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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
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GRAPH X – LIVER DISORDERS
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87 % of data included in above graph
13 % included active hepatitis and portosystemic
shunt–unknown
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GRAPH XI – OPTHALMOLOGY
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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
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GRAPH XII – EARS
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99.3 % of the data represented above
0.7 % was included in deafness
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GRAPH XIII – HEART – CARDIOLOGY
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90.4 % represented in the graph above
9.6 % included heart attacks, defects, cardiomyopathy
and COPD
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GRAPH XIV – DENTAL
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89.4 % of data represented in graph above
10.6 % included blocked saliva gland, brachygnathia,
Lack of full dentition and nasal fistula
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GRAPH XV – CANCER – ONCOLOGY
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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
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GRAPH XVI – MUSCULOSKELETAL
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95.3 % of data is represented above
4.7 % included arthritis, arthritis-Rheumatoid,
and back problems
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GRAPH XVII – RESPIRATORY
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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
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GRAPH XVIII – REPRODUCTIVE
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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
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GRAPH XIX – BIRTH DEFECTS
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95.6 % of data is represented above
4.4 % included born blue puppy, puppy born
without anus and underdeveloped kidney
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GRAPH XX – KIDNEY – URINARY
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95.3 % of data represented above
4.7 % included Glomerulonephritis, kidney
stones and polyurea
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GRAPH XXI – TEMPERAMENT PROBLEMS
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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
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GRAPH XXII – OTHER
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66.7 % represented in above Graph
33.3 % included parasite infection and pneumonia
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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:
.\
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| "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." |
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GRAPH XXIII
SIX MOST RECENT PRIMARY CAUSES OF DEATH IN
THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER
AND THOSE > 10 YEARS OF AGE
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YELLOW – The Number of Deaths in the Particular
Disease Category
PURPLE – The Number of Yorkies that were over
10 years old when they died |
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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.
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GRAPH XXIV – ACCIDENTS
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GRAPH XXV – TEN HIGHEST HEALTH CONDITIONS
AS REPORTED IN YORKSHIRE TERRIERS
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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.
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GRAPH XXVI – OLD AGE
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APPENDIX I
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APPENDIX II
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