Welcome to the Scottish Deerhound Club of America’s web site on Deerhound health issues. We hope this will help Deerhound owners and breeders, as well as those considering adding a Deerhound to their home.
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SDCA Health and Genetics Committee
Welcome to the Scottish Deerhound Club of America’s web site on Deerhound health issues. We hope this will help Deerhound owners and breeders, as well as those considering adding a Deerhound to their home.
Read moreThe 2023 National Specialty Health Clinics are going to be our biggest ever!
Read morePhoto by Ellen Bonacarti.
We are THRILLED to announce that our breed has a new genetic test — the DEPOHGEN™ test for Delayed Post-Operative Hemorrhage (also called Delayed Bleeding Syndrome or hyperfibrinolysis)!
Read morePhoto by Margory Cohen.
Thankfully, congenital heart disease is rare in Deerhounds, but it does occur.
Photo by Amber Duff.
It’s been a long time coming, but we’re delighted to report that the Holter project has begun! We have already started to monitor dogs and are booking dogs now for the fall.
Read morePhoto by Amy Opoka.
Although congenital megaesophagus is exceedingly rare in Deerhounds, here is some recent research that may be helpful with any future cases.
Read morePhoto by Katrina Richardson.
Our research is still being impacted by COVID. Many projects continue to be delayed. But we have made a bit of progress on some fronts.
Photo by Verena von Eichborn, who passed away last week and whose photos will be greatly missed on this website.
Below are a couple of articles from the fall on new developments in diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy.
Photo by Susan Trow.
Some high-profile people say that the top priority for making breeding decisions for all dogs, including Scottish Deerhounds, should be to increase genetic diversity. I believe this recommendation is a mistake that could harm, rather than improve, Deerhound health. Read more
All photos by Marjan de Raad-Hemminga.
Even though it is not a test for a genetic disease, Deerhounds do have a new genetic test available: for the recessive mutation that causes hairlessness in our breed.
Emerging information in Greyhounds suggests that Deerhounds may experience a third type of clotting disorder called thrombotic disease, in which a blood clot forms in the wrong place or at the wrong time.