PLSC - The Polish Lowland Sheepdog Club
Health
Click to download the Health Survey for 2016 and send it to the secretary Mike Furzland.
The Polish Lowland Sheepdog is considered to be a generally healthy, hardy breed, and provided they are given adequate exercise and not overfed, kept well groomed and mentally stimulated, most PONs live into their teens.
The health of the Polish Lowland Sheepdog in the UK has always been addressed with great importance by our Club and members, and every effort is made to promote the breeding of sound, healthy dogs.
The club has, since its inception in 1986, incorporated within its rules a strict breeding code of ethics, whereby all members are required to hip x-ray and eye test stock prior to breeding and submit the results to our PLSC Health Representative. It is hoped this goes some way to reducing the risk of any potential problems in these areas.
The PLSC have, since their formation, held annual KC/BVA Eye Testing sessions.
Our Club Newsletters continue to carry notice of the importance to submit these results along with informing of any and all health issues should they arise. Also attention is drawn to health and the submitting of results at our Annual General Meetings.
We are aware of isolated cases of various health issues, however some are considered dietary and/or environmental and there is no evidence to suggest we can prove there is any hereditary connection.
The breed is not considered to suffer from any hereditary health problems but we continue to remain vigilant. Useful Health Links
During 2004/5/6 there were three dogs imported from Poland that were from full litter brother/sister matings, two of these imports are being used for breeding and whilst the owner/importer is not a club member, the health and temperaments of the progeny will be monitored where possible.
Following importation during the 1980s the breed was placed on schedule ‘B’ as being under investigation for Retinal Pigmentation Epithelial Dystrophy (RPED) also known as Central Progessive Retinal Atrophy (CPRA) and this remains the case to date. We believe 7 cases were discovered initially, however these were removed from the breeding program. We are, however, disappointed that the Polish Lowland Sheepdog KC/BVA eye test results are still not published despite our efforts, as we feel this prevents the effective monitoring of any eye problems, as unless breeders/owners are prepared to submit them to the PLSC, there is no way of being aware of any new cases. With the recent law change making it easier to import dogs, more PLS are coming into the UK from elsewhere than ever before. It is a well known fact that eye problems in the PON are more prevalent in other countries, so now more than ever, it is crucial that only dogs with a clear certificate are bred from.
During 2013 (BRS) there were 69 new PLS registration with the Kennel Club, 13 were hip scored through the KC/BVA scheme. View results here