Winning poster will be used to help to spread the word about hip and elbow dysplasia.
A poster competition for children and adults has been launched to raise awareness of hereditary diseases in dogs.
The competition forms part of a campaign entitled 'What’s in my Genes?', which aims to reduce instances of hereditary conditions in future generations.
This year the campaign is focusing on elbow and hip dysplasia, and participants are being encouraged to include the slogan 'Be My Hero – Aim for Zero', in accordance with BVA advice to only breed from a dog with a zero elbow score.
The winning poster will be displayed on the 'What's in my genes' social media pages and will be used in various other aspects of the campaign.
Campaign leader Annie Wilson said: “We hope schools and parents will encourage their children to send in entries all free of charge. You can find entry details on our website, Pawsagainst.co.uk.”
Annie launched 'What's in my Genes' after her Bernese mountain dog, Button, was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia, aged just seven months. Button, acquired through a top Bernese mountain dog breeder, underwent extensive surgery and is now on pain medication.
To prevent other puppies going through the same ordeal, Annie is now calling on potential puppy buyers to ask for the relevant health certificates of the parent dogs, and for all breeders to do the relevant health checks before breeding.
A key part of the campaign will be encouraging vets to display the winning poster in their practice to help build public awareness.
“Ideally, it would be great to have a designated nurse in each practice who is the go-to person with regards to hereditary health, and could advise both puppy buyers and potential breeders," said Annie.
“It is good to educate puppy buyers so they can make informed choices, but I believe it has to be changed at source. I.e., all breeders should health test and heed the results. You don't build a house on wobbly foundations, nor should you “build” a puppy with unhealth tested or poor-test-resulted parents.”
To find out more about Annie's campaign, visit: pawsagainst.co.uk/whats-in-my-genes/
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
