In partnership with the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society (VCS), The Kennel Club’s Health team is hosting the second in a series of free webinars – open to owners and breeders of all levels of experience – to explore heart problems in dogs.
This session will build on the insights from an introductory webinar led by the organisations, and will feature cardiologist Dr Emily Dutton, who will take a deeper look into acquired heart disease, with a particular focus on dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
It will take place from 7:00pm to 8:30pm on Wednesday 18 June. Those interested in attending this webinar can register here.
DCM is a common acquired heart disease among dogs, typically developing later in life and most commonly found in large and giant breeds. This degenerative disease causes swelling of the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles), reducing its ability to efficiently pump blood throughout the body. Clinical signs include coughing, collapse, and abdominal pain.
The webinar will enable participants to further their knowledge about possible causes of DCM, including both genetic and environmental risk factors, clinical signs, methods of diagnosis, treatment options, and opportunities for future research. It will include a one-hour presentation followed by a 30-minute question and answer session, giving attendees a chance to put forward their queries and experiences for discussion (questions can also be pre-submitted at the time of registration).
Dr Emily Dutton, who is the Director of Cheshire Cardiology and a member of the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society, comments: “This session is a valuable opportunity for owners and breeders to deepen their understanding of heart disease in dogs. I look forward to sharing the latest research, answering questions, and supporting the dog-owning community in keeping their dogs’ hearts as healthy as possible.”
Further information about heart disease in dogs and support for owners and breeders is available on The Kennel Club website here.
The Kennel Club’s health-focused webinar series has so far explored other canine conditions such as bloat, epilepsy, colour dilution alopecia, osteosarcoma and haemangiosarcoma, as well as the science of DNA testing for health, with experts, researchers, owners and breeders. The webinars aim to raise awareness of various canine health concerns, explore research and future studies, improve diagnosis and outlook, and support dogs and their owners. Past webinars can be watched on The Kennel Club’s YouTube channel.
The Kennel Club takes insights from its health data and feeds them into its Breed Health and Conservation plans, so that it can work with breeders to give information and guidance about how to ensure the future health of pedigree breeds. These plans, which enable The Kennel Club to track progress and make meaningful changes to breed health, have been developed as a result of reviewing more than 4,000 research papers, making the project the most comprehensive review of pedigree health data anywhere in the world. More information about what the organisation does for dog health is available at thekennelclub.org.uk/health.