At the recent Cavalier Health Liaison Committee meeting, Clubs voted to ask the Kennel Club to include all results from the EF CC/DE DNA tests in the KC’s registration system and in their Health Test Results Finder and published by the Kennel Club in the Breed Record supplement. Furthermore the Club’s requested that all CKCS that are not already heritably clear should be tested for both EF and DE/CC prior to breeding and that at least one parent of each litter is free of each mutation, to ensure no affected puppies can be produced or registered.

The Club recognised the AHT’s findings that it is perfectly safe to breed with carriers, provided they are only ever mated to clear dogs and that we should actively encourage breeders to include their carriers in their breeding programmes so that the genetic diversity of the breed is not compromised. The two mutations are inherited independently, so it is perfectly safe for one parent to be a carrier of one mutation and for the other parent to be a carrier of the other mutation, or for one parent to be a carrier for both mutations.

The Cavalier Clubs would like to thank the AHT for carrying out this work which represents the culmination of several years research that has been funded by several Breed Clubs, individuals and organisations including the Kennel Club Charitable Trust.

David Moger
Chairman Cavalier Health Liaison Committee
March 2013