Hello from Derbyshire

dom · Hello from Derbyshire

Hi

My name is Dominique, I live in Derbyshire with my 4 dogs and my housemates 5 dogs. Between us we have 4 collies, 2 terriers, 2 cocker spaniels and a brittany cross (we think!) I have joined to just do a bit more research on the breed and to see if anyone has information on auto immune conditions within the breed, in particular lupus which we believe Vixen has.

She arrived to me pregnant at about 6/8 months old, and here she is with 2 of her pups who are now 2 years old

Mugi

Hi Dominique - Vixen looks lovely and yes she does appear to have a lot of Brittany in her from my somewhat inexpert view.

I am sorry to hear she has health issues and I am not going to be a great deal of help as I don't know that Auto-Immune Issues are a problem in the breed and certainly I haven't heard of issues with Lupus.

doganjo

She may not be pure Brittany and the lupus could come from the other side. Never heard of it in the UK or France. If Goldie is browsing she may have some answers from America.

So sorry to hear of her problems. Poor wee soul, she's lucky to have found you!
I suspect she had been thrown out when her previous owner found out she was pregnant so young. They must have been VERY careless for her to have been caught at that age. It's a disgrace!. Have you had lupus diagnosed by your vet, or have you looked at the symptoms on the internet and come to that conclusion yourself? What are her symptoms?

Your dogs obviously have great fun together. Welcome to the forum, we'll help where we can.

Tricky micky · Hello from Derbyshire

Hi Dom

I was so sorry to read that your dog has Lupus l had no idea that dogs had auto immune diseases, l have had Lupus for 10 yrs and as you probably know its the hidden damage that it can do thats the worst, my heart and liver are mainly affected. I was also very interested in the fact that she had managed to carry pups without aborting, as in humans this is something that usually happens, does she have the fatigue problems that humans have? sorry to joke but this could be a blessing in a Brit! and is she on any drugs? I will be watching your post with interest, and will ask my vet what she knows on her next visit.

Karen

johnhod

Certainly has the looks of a brittany mud magnet in the 2nd and 3rd pics Laughing

dom

thank you everyone for your comments. Unfortunately, she probably wasn't pregnant when her previous owners chucked her out, it was more likely she was 'caught' once straying Sad

Her previous owners more likely chucked her out due to the condition she was in. When she arrived to me her tail was rotten (no fur, covered in sores) open sores on her neck, legs and belly. Her ears (which we managed to save thankfully) the skin was black under layers of scabs, and she was unable to eat or drink. We didn't know she was pregnant on arrival so went ahead with a general anaesthetic to amputate the tail and she still managed to not miscarry. She had further biopsy and skin tests after the pups were born to try and get a diagnosis. She did have a negative result to Lupus which apparantly happens in the majority of cases.

She now is under the care of a specialist vet and I chose to go ahead with the treatment for lupus about a year and a half ago. The soft and hard tissue in her mouth is badly affected and she dribbles when eating and can't drink properly and pants alot. Her digestive system is affected and her kidneys and bladder. We have seen about a 50% improvement in thr last 6 months which is great! Her life expectancy is going to be short, mainly because of the pain that she is in and that it will increase in time.

Yes tricky micky she does suffer badly from fatigue, she can't be walked everyday Rolling Eyes

2 or 3 times a week at only an hour at a time (otherwise she becomes shift and has spinal pain). Meds wise she is on medrone (not an easy decision) but a very low dose of 1 every other day, proplain for her urine leakage (very, very low dose as it affects her bowels), and she is on natural herbs from csj for her immune system, digestive system and bladder.

A couple of pictures, she is very happy, and very loving

and one of her pups which has the majority of her looks and character

doganjo

What a super little girl! As I said before she is lucky to have found you. I hope you manage to keep her medical problems under control for a long time so that you can enjoy each other, and that you will keep us updated on her progress.

Lin Dyke

Hello Dom, welcome to the forum.

What a sweetie your girl is. As Annie said, she is so lucky to have found you. She has certainly been through such a lot but thanks to you she is in a far stronger state to meet the challenges of her condition. She has such a happy smiley face.

Nuray Besbudak

Welcome to the forum

Dom, as Anne and Lin said...Vixen is so lucky to have found you!!! what happened to her is terrible, she was totally left.

Hope she can enjoy the rest of her life with you.

Regards from Argentina!!

highclare

Hi my name is Gill and I have a for my sins a Brit called Mabeleen.
Vixen looks lots of fun but of course Lupus is not fun. If you think that she is a cross Brit it is proberbly the Lupus has come from the Brittany side.
I have Welsh Springers and they get auto immune alot. In fact I have had 3 dogs with different types of auto immune conditions, its not funny and a great worry.
I have a good website in my favourites which I am sure you and maybe others could read as I beleive we can all learn about what makes the breed tick.

www.napoleon.org.uk/health/lupus.htm

Maybe you can come to one of the days of the Brittany weekend which is coming up on the 10/11 of October. It is held at Catthorpe, where the A14 crosses the M1.
All the Brittany experts will be there.

Gill and the Mabeleen.

doganjo

Sorry, Gill, but I may have to disagree with this -

highclare

Ok Anne, did you read the web site.

Gill and the Mabeleen

guy

I did a google search 'Brittany Lupus' and the first three sites had exactly the same text so without a reference I fear the value of the information is poor. To refer to them as Brittany Spaniels also does not bode well for the veracity of the information.

The personal experience of a breeder of nearly 30 years standing carries the argument for me.[/u]

doganjo

I found a reasonably accurate website - these normal health issues were mentioned -

Patricia

Firstly, have we evidence that this little bitch is actually a Brittany cross???( please no offence intended here) I have never heard of Lupus in any Brittany, certainly not in the UK. You will never get ALL Brittanys never to have health issues, no more that you will people!!!
I find the breed pretty healthy on the whole: I remember a letter I wrote to Berverley Cuddyof " Dogs Today" asking why ALL those diseases in the Brittany. Mr Willis answered me.( Haven't kept the letter). Of course, just like humans some dogs will fall ill with rarer diseases.
I have heard of fitting, dysplasia, slipping patellas, more often than others Confused

I also recall a crossbred from Greece sent over for rehoming: I has asked Pauline Beaven to identify it as a supposedly Brittany or cross. It was a Collie X as it happened and a pretty agressive one at that...It was Orange & white ...