In this article I do not intend to
deal with hip dysplasia in the Perro de Presa Canario
from a scientific point of view. I'll leave that to the
vets. I simply want to address the seriousness of the
problems of this illness which are little by little
destroying the breed. For those of you who are not up on
the topic, we should start by saying that hip dysplasia
can be congenital, that is most frequent, of acquired.
This second one can be motivated by lack of the necessary
exercise, excess of weight, inadequate feeding, etc.,
etc.
In this occasion we are going away to focus on the
first type, in the congenital hip dysplasia, for reasons
which shall soon become obvious.
At the last International Show in Tenerife, the
veterinarian Miguel Angel Morales Bello (a vet who is
extremely well-versed in the Perro de Presa Canario and
the pathologies which affect it) told me that he
understood why people didn't x-ray their breeding Presas
in this first phase of the breed's reconstruction, since
if we could only use dysplasia-free Presas for breeding
purposes, we wouldn't have much to work with. I quite
disagreed with him. From the very beginning these dogs
should have been systematically x-rayed. Generation after
generation, all specimens that were used for breeding
should have been x-rayed. Of course, hindsight is 20/20.
And we musn't completely mix up the realities of the past
with the goings on of today. To be perfectly fair, back
in the 70's ignorance of hip dysplasia here among
Canarian and mainland aficionados alike was nearly
complete. And our breeding knowledge back then left much
to be desired too. If we accept these bases, it is easy
to understand that the breeder of those days back then
was really actually very pleased if he could just plain
breed Presas Canarios. With the passing of time the more
tenatious breeders, the more studious ones that were
truly interested in recontructing the breed saw that the
Presas were coming out full of all kinds of defects
(morphological, as well as character defects, an
all-too-large number of dysplastic defects too). Each of
them (of us) began to seriously ponder (each of us in our
own way) the need to conceive the breed as something
important which required a perfectly elaborated breeding
plan. Mostly, those "plans" never included a
requirement to x-ray breeding specimens. In the Breeding
Plan of the Breed's Club the words "x-ray" and
"dysplasia" stand out for their absence-as is
the case for the majority of breeding plans of the other
Spanish canine breeds. The Club, thus, does not provide
us with a correct example to follow for breeding Presas.
This is all so such extreme that in 1997 an expresident
of the Presa Canario Club and also Specialist Judge said
, "It's normal for Presas Canarios to have hip
dysplasia. Afterall, it is a mollosser."
If at this height in the game the big guys who hold the
official titles for the Presa Canario think this way,
well, we shouldn't be surprised then to find ourselves in
our present-day situation.
I am perfectly aware of the risk I run when I make
references to the Spanish Club of the Perro de Presa
Canario, to its mistaken policies, and to the ulterior
motives (mainly economics) which drive some of its
executives and which have driven them ever since the
Club's very founding. It's just that it is absolutely
impossible to speak of the Perro de Presa Canario, its
pathologies and the problems surrounding this issue,
without bringing up the Official Club (which in some way
and to some extent manages the breed's fate, from an
institutional point of view).
SOLUTIONS
Congenital hip dysplasia only has one solution. And that
is to x-ray the dogs' hips. This illness may only be
eliminated by taking dysplastic dogs (of whatever degree)
out of the breeding process altogether, be they male or
female specimens. There is just no other alternative. I
mean, if parents that have been dysplasia-free for
generations still give birth to dysplastic pups (albeit
in ever lesser numbers), what else could we possibly
expect from dysplastic parents?
Sure. It is unpleasant and economically speaking it is
costly to have to set aside Presas that have been bred
for the sole purpose of reproduction. But truly
responsible breeding requires just this. And the breed
deserves it. And beside healthy hips, the breeding
specimen should also have correct morphology, balanced
character, desired authenticity, and so on.
But a breeder with a certain amount of experience and a
real desire to improve his/her line would not wait for
the pup (male or female) to be adult before testing it.
After six months a first x-ray should be done. And if it
is seen that the dog has hip problems, you automatically
get rid of it.
In as far as this concerns me, as a breeder worried about
the breed's future, I never tire of saying still to risk
that call me annoying, inopportune, etc., that the
Spanish Club of the Perro Presa Canario (CEPRC) should
have created a regulation requiring breeders to present
certification for dysplasia-free hips in males and females, for character
testing, for sociability and for
physical resistance (not forgetting, of course that this
is a seizing mollosser, a work dog, we are talking about).
The Spanish Club of the Presa Canario (CEPRC) is thinking
lately about the need to x-ray its Presas (I don't know
if this would be for all its members or only for some).
Someone told me a couple of months ago that a young
veterinarian x-rayed some twenty or twenty-five dogs.
Among them were the monographic and Spanish champions
Verdugo, Mencey and Uga de Mayantigot. The three of them,
sadly enough, dysplastic.
Hmmm...three dysplastic champions. There wouldn't be much
to it, of course, if they were not destined for breeding.
But this is not the case. Who knows how many pups Verdugo
and his son Mencey have wrought! -Uga was mated by
Verdugo, by that of which CH with CH safe sale, and that
crossing indeed made the president and the vice-president
of the club -. I find it quite opportune to stress here
that these three specimens are not the only dysplastic
specimens around. Oh, no. There are many more that are
breeding throughout the Islands, in the hands of breeders
who wouldn't dare miss a show. They place bombastic ads
in specialist magazines bragging about the trophies their
specimens have won. I needn't say that this type of
breeding is absolutely ruinous for the Presa Canario dog.
Apparently, the CEPRC was going to x-ray some three
hundred dogs; the Cabildo of Tenerife was to subsidize
part of the cost. But it seems that the project was
stopped short in its first phase (at twenty-some x-rayed
Presas, perhaps?) because word of the results of these
x-rays got out. That's what I heard, at any rate.
As I understand it, if you allow me to go on, the problem
cannot be resolved without a regulation which encompasses
all the Presas in the country and publication of the
results in the Club's official bulletin. This is what is
done with other breeds. I think it is high time to stop
all this lying, all this hiding, all this fraud. It is
obvious that in order for any of this to come about the
CEPRC must make an about-face. For starters, it would
help to lay down the law that all specimens aspiring
first prize in Male or Female Open Class, or aspiring to
Spanish Champion title 1) be dysplasia-free, and 2) have
passed a character a sociability test. Of course, it
isn't the best solution, but we have to start somewhere.
Due to a lack of regulation, in Spain anybody can breed
"pedigree" Presas Canarios, with the
consequential breed defects which can so easily be found
among Presas. This is the great downfall of the Presa
Canario dog, when the real reason for a breed club's
existence should be to work for the good of its breed, to
improve it in the fullest sense of the word, and to
popularize it at every level.
