As a veterinary pathologist, I am very interested in examining the larynges of affected dogs and comparing them to normal dogs. I will perform a complete post mortem examination on any Norwich Terriers that die within the next year or so, regardless of whether they were ever diagnosed with upper airway disease. I will take out the larynx and photograph it and also will look at the tissues under the microscope. Your veterinarian will be sent a complete necropsy report detailing all of the findings in your dog, those associated with the upper airway as well as any other abnormalities. There will be no charge to you for this service.

If you wish to participate in this study, you will need to contact my administrator Zipporah Gilchrist at 443-287-2953. . She will send you a form to fill out that describes the history of your dog’s veterinary problems. You will also need to transport your dog between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm. You can drive your dog to this location personally or ship it double-bagged in plastic with abundant ice packs overnight via Federal Express.

Attn: Bruce Baldwin or Chris Zink
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dept of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology – Loading Dock
1721 E Madison St
Baltimore MD 21205-2196

You can request that your dog’s remains be cremated and the ashes returned to you, which we can arrange through the generosity of a local veterinary clinic. You will be responsible for the cost of cremation ($80).

I know that it is a very difficult time when our beloved Norwich die. However, this is a way that your companion can contribute to our understanding of this devastating condition. Please give this study consideration now and let us know, if possible a few days in advance, if you expect your dog to die and would like to contribute to this study.

— Chris Zink DVM, PhD, DACVSMR

Forms:

Study of Norwich Larynxes Desc[1]

Release for Norwich Larynx Study

Cremation Request

Long before the American Kennel Club recognized the Norwich as a breed, a small terrier type had arrived in Pennsylvania taking the foxhunting fraternity by storm. He was called a Jones Terrier who, along with his eventual counterparts, set the stage for Norwich in America.

February 20, 1936, the AKC registered its first Norwich Terrier, thanks in large part to the efforts of AKC Secretary Henry D. Bixby and G. Gordon Massey. Sounds simple enough, but truth be told the story of Norwich in America is a libation like no other. Mix equal parts of legend, lore and likelihood, add a dash of two different ear carriages, and you have a potion whose ingredients will be debated well into the next millennium. Take for example William Jones, the first dog of its breed type to be seen in America. He was not called a Norwich, rather a Jones Terrier, his ears were not erect, they were cropped, and while a prolific sire his name will not appear in any AKC registered Norwich pedigrees. Known by his owner as “Willum” he was purchased in England by popular Philadelphia sportsman Robert Strawbridge and brought to these shores in 1914, destined to become a hit amongst the vested gentry from Vermont to Virginia and points south. Willum was bred by one of the breed’s founding fathers, an Irish born character named Frank Jones, hence Willum’s surname and hence the oftnamed Jones Terrier. Nobody could have predicted then that this twelve pound mongrel, “all teeth and hair, like a rat-catcher’s dog” would pave a path to the popularity Norwich enjoy today.

While no one can pinpoint the exact beginnings of the Norwich Terrier, its origins are believed to have evolved in the 1880’s, primarily by stockmen in England’s eastern counties, and primarily for use as a working dog, death to game, hardy of constitution and active for its size. To simplify, Charles Lawrence produced a Cantab Terrier for Cambridge student companions and ratters. Jodrell Hopkins developed the Trumpington Terriers from which came the ubiquitous “Rags”. Frank Jones is credited for the Norwich Terrier, named for the town where he first worked as a whip to the Norwich staghounds in 1901.After moving to Market Harborough in Leicestershire, once a center for English fox hunting, Jones worked as a roughrider and earned a reputation for selling his terriers to horsemen. The breed’s reputation as ‘devils to poach’ spread quickly, particularly to the United States.

Willum was a traveling good-will ambassador who headed south every year with his owner after the Pennsylvania foxhunting season had ended. His stamina and style caught the eye of many a Master of Foxhounds who were inspired to duplicate the dog’s hunting prowess. J. Watson Webb, MFH of the Shelburne hounds in Vermont, first saw Willum in South Carolina and used him on his terrier admixtures.

Equally attracted to the breed type was Harry T. Peters, MFH of Meadow Brook, who later built his strain of Windholme prick-ears from English imports. Peters would eventually become the first president of the unofficial Norwich Terrier Club, formed in New York in 1938. Eugene Reynal, MFH of the Millbrook Harriers, was so impressed by Willum he traveled to England to purchase a pair from the roughrider Jones. And when Reynal brought his pair to Virginia, Col. Sterling Larrabee, MFH of the Old Dominion Hounds, became similarly smitten that he, in turn, began to breed the Jones Terrier. And so it went. Col. Larrabee wrote of Reynal’s pair…

“The first Jones’ I ever saw belonged to Eugene Reynal who brought a brace to Middleburg for the hunting season in 1920 or 1921. Reynal told me he obtained these dogs in Melton Mowbray from a man known as Roughrider Jones. Reynal insisted his particular pair had been bred down from crosses between Corgis and Welsh Terriers and combinations of East Anglian terriers. This is easily credible as the early Jones did not breed true to type. Many had the reddish coat with the white flash on chest, white paws and erect ears characteristic of the Corgi, while others manifested black and tan coloring, pendant ears, and the coarse coat of a Welsh terrier. Jones Terriers became immensely popular and a number of them were imported from Melton, Market Harborough and the Cambridge area. Any very small red terrier was claimed to be a Jones! Thus, their origin, at least in America, is really lost in obscurity, much of which is conflicting.”

Conflicting perhaps, but not to Frank “Roughrider” Jones . Throughout his very long life (1876-1969) Jones maintained as far as he was concerned their only qualifications were they be game, tackle a fox, have no white on their top coat and have prick ears. In a 1956 interview with the writer Macdonald Daly, Jones stated, ”Mine all had prick ears, and they were smaller than today’s – not much bigger, in fact, than Yorkshire Terriers.”

By the time of Willum’s death in 1928, the plucky little fox bolters had established themselves not just as game workers, but affectionate companions in private life as well. The advent of AKC recognition brought the breed before the public who gradually became acquainted with the now-named Norwich Terrier. Not surprisingly, efforts to encourage owners of Jones Terriers to apply for registration failed miserably. Many were of the opinion bench shows would ruin the breed.Those of another persuasion turned to England for imports. Ironically, the first registered prick ear Norwich to reach these shores, prior to World War 11, were direct descendents of Frank Jones’ stock, most notably dogs from Phyllis Fagan, and W.E. West’s Fardon strain. Worth mentioning is English champion Farndon Red Dog, the maternal grandsire of America’s first prick ear champion bitch and dog, Rachael and Apple Jack in 1939. Full Cry came full circle.

Today the Jones Terrier is merely a footnote in time gone by. The Norwich is a popular, well-established breed throughout much of the world. Small hunting terriers are rarely used for fox bolting either banned by law or out of precaution; and the open country, its rolling fields once crimson with fox, is now greatly diminished. But sometimes on a quiet evening, when November chills set in, if you listen carefully, listen very carefully, you just might hear a yip, yip, yip of the Roughrider’s dogs.

Margaretta “Missy” Wood, a collector of breed history, has owned Norwich Terriers since 1966 under the Terrapin prefix.

What is a Conditional Registration?

In years past, when the parentage of a dog was found to have an unknown ancestor, the AKC registration was cancelled. This could be discovered years later, either by proving that a pedigree was incorrect (e.g., fraudulent) or via the AKC’s DNA testing program to determine a dog’s identity. A few years ago, the AKC changed the cancellation policy. Now, instead of cancelling the registration, the AKC issues a downgraded status called a “conditional” registration.

How to tell if a dog has a conditional registration

The AKC registration number will start with the letter “Q”. For example, a dog initially registered as RN123456/01 would be registered with Conditional Registration as QN123456/01. This is the most important, and usually the only, tool that a puppy buyer will have to identify Norwich with unknown ancestors.

Why this is huge problem for Norwich Terriers

The NTCA has been working for many years to maintain the integrity of our registry. We want every Norwich registered with the AKC to be a purebred Norwich. Much to our dismay, the current AKC conditional registration process allows dogs with unknown ancestors to be fully (unconditionally) registered. The offspring of a conditional dog can be fully registered after 3 generations. For our Norwich, often these conditional dogs are not purebred – rather they are Cairn mixes.

Why does AKC allow this?

AKC intended the conditional registration program to be used in cases where the dogs are believed to be purebred, but a registered parent is found to be incorrect. One argument in favor of the program was that it would help maintain genetic diversity in some breeds with a small gene pool.

Unfortunately, the conditional registration process creates a way for impure dogs to enter the registry. The NTCA has shown that some of the conditional pedigrees contain Cairn mixes. Sadly, there are unscrupulous breeders who have introduced Cairn mixes into our registry. Because Cairns have fewer whelping problems and larger litters – dishonest puppy millers, commercial breeders, and backyard breeders are exploiting our Norwich for profit.

Is it safe to buy a Norwich from the AKC Classified Listing?

Unfortunately, no. Norwich with conditionally registered dogs in the pedigree can be listed. If the puppy dog being sold, or its sire or dam are conditional, you will know by the “Q” being the first digit in the registration number. If the unknown ancestors are farther back, then you won’t know without requesting the pedigrees.

The Norwich litter listed below is the first conditional litter that we have seen advertised on the AKC website. The sire of this litter is Terday’s Tank who has a conditional registration (the AKC registration begins with a “Q”).

SOURCE: This listing was accessed from http://www.akc.org/classified/search/index.cfm on 11-21-2012.

Why this matters to the puppy buyer

Before buying a Norwich puppy, do your homework. Contact reputable breeders. We recommend that you contact several NTCA breeders, visit the breeder(s), ask lots of questions about their breeding practices, and get references. Do your homework. When you buy a Norwich, you want a healthy purebred. When someone buys an AKC registered Norwich Terrier it should be a purebred. Most of the conditionally registered Norwich that we have found either contain ancestors known to be Cairn mix and/or are related to known puppy mills – these pedigrees will often have Norwich from eastern European countries (usually on the dam’s side) that are from known puppy millers and commercial breeders who export unhealthy dogs to their contacts based in the United States and to naïve backyard breeders trying to make a quick buck without knowledge or regard for our Norwich. The pedigrees may also contain Norwich bred by very reputable breeders too and Norwich with championship titles.

What NTCA is doing to fix this problem?

We are working with the AKC to solve the problem of conditional registered Norwich whose breeding is impure but whose offspring are finding their way back into our registry. Our Registry Integrity Committee has worked diligently for years with the AKC to remove Cairn mixes. 130 Norwich have been removed from the registry based on two litters. Owners who registered their dog with AKC only to later have it cancelled are understandably upset when this happens – and this is not good publicity for the AKC. While the AKC’s stated intent is to allow conditional registration only in cases where the dog appears and is believed to be purebred and only one of the dog’s ancestors is unknown, this is simply not the case with Norwich. The AKC has denied use of Mars Wisdom Panel tests as requested by the NTCA to identify mix breeds, however, we are continuing to work with the AKC and are hopeful that advanced DNA testing and changes in policy will solve this problem. In the meantime, buyers must beware!

We are here to help and answer any questions. Please contact us if you have concerns about a conditional registration or integrity of a Norwich Terrier pedigree.

To help puppy buyers make informed decisions, we are making a list of Norwich with conditional registrations available on our website as they become known to us. We are only posting the AKC registered name and registration number. This is not a complete list. We will continue to update.

Norwich Terriers with Conditional Registration

Needlepoint Stockings

$25 each plus $3.50 postage

NTCA Notecards

Notecards: $ 12.50 plus $ 3.50 postage for ten notes and envelopes.

First DNA Test for a Norwich Health Problem Identified

In 2004 Dr. Phyllis Pullen noticed that her not-quite-6-year-old Norwich, Ch. Jerusalem Chutney (Chute) had developed obvious pain in one eye. She remembers, “I saw a canine ophthalmologist that day. He told me that this was due to a luxated lens that had been floating around for some time and suddenly blocked the duct that carries the vitreous fluid out of the eye, causing glaucoma.” The vet told Dr. Pullen that primary lens luxation (PLL) had caused the glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a descriptive term that basically means an abnormal fluid buildup inside the eye. The eye is filled with a liquid called aqueous humor. Normally the amount of this transparent fluid is carefully balanced to keep the eyeball in its proper shape and continuously bathed.

This balance can be disturbed if for some reason the fluid cannot be removed as quickly as it is produced. This causes pressure to build up. Without treatment the elevated pressure will destroy retinal cells and cause damage to the optic nerve as well. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in dogs (and people).

PLL is a hereditary eye disease where the supporting ligaments holding the lens of the eye are weak. These weak ligaments can allow the lens of the eye to detach (usually between the ages of 4 and 8 years), which can lead to painful glaucoma and blindness. PLL is common in many terrier breeds.

In Chute’s case, it was too late to save the eye. Dr. Pullen relates, “The opposite eye had a loose lens also, so this lens was reattached during the surgery to remove the blind eye.” Thus while one eye was lost, the other was saved.

In my readings I came across information about the PLL DNA test, which was discovered in late 2009 and developed at the University of Missouri and made available by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). The test had not been proven to be applicable to Norwich Terriers, however.

I remembered that Chute had lost his eye because of a lens-luxation problem, so I asked Dr. Pullen about it. She verified that Chute had been seen by an ACVO (American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists) specialist who had diagnosed Chute’s glaucoma as being caused by PLL.

At my behest, Dr. Pullen was kind enough to have Chute tested with the PLL DNA test. The test came back positive. This verified that the mutation causing PLL in Norwich terriers and the mutation found by the University of Missouri DNA test are one and the same. Dr. Pullen says she never would have noticed that Chute had PLL if he had not developed glaucoma.

The PLL mutation is a simple recessive, meaning that a dog is either clear (has no copies of the bad mutation), a carrier (has one copy of the bad mutation), or affected (has two copies of the bad mutation). Two copies of the bad mutation are necessary for the disease to express itself—which normally happens after an age when many Norwich are bred.

Now that there is a verified DNA test for PLL in Norwich, responsible breeders can use it to avoid producing PLL-affected individuals of the breed. There is no longer a need to exclude any Norwich with PLL (nor closely related dogs) from a breeding program and from our already small Norwich gene pool. As long as affected and carrier animals are only bred to clear animals, the disease should not develop in the progeny. Thus genetic diversity need not be lost while the bad mutation it eliminated from the gene pool. And if two Norwich are bred who are both PLL-clear, then the progeny are PLL-clear “by descent” and do not need to be tested.

The OFA website allows one to see which Norwich have been tested for PLL and provides their PLL status. If you do an “Advanced Search,” you can specify Norwich Terrier as the breed and “Primary Lens Luxation” as the report type. This will show all the Norwich who have been tested and their PLL status.

Many health tests are interpretive (such as hip X-rays), requiring several experts to agree before giving a ruling. (This is similar to the requirement where several conformation judges must evaluate a dog and agree on its superior quality before the dog can be called a champion.) However, a DNA test is the gold standard in health testing, as it reads the DNA and tells definitively if a dog is affected, a carrier, or a clear for certain trait or defect.

The PLL DNA test is a simple cheek-swab test and can be ordered from the OFA website for a cost of $65 — (www.offa.org/dnatesting/pll.html)

It would be terrible if another Norwich is bred who develops PLL and loses sight when a tool — the PLL DNA test — exists to prevent it. —B.K.

Thank you, Blair, for helping to get this crucial information out to the fancy. The Norwich community would also like to thank Dr. Phyllis Pullen for testing Chute and for agreeing to make Chute’s PLL status public. Chute passed away earlier this year from unrelated causes at age 13½. Dr. Pullen notes, “Chute had no further trouble with the repaired eye for the rest of his life and went on to compete in obedience, rally, and agility.”

Please have your Norwich tested! A CERF exam will not tell you if your Norwich is a carrier.

— Leandra Little, AKC Gazette Breed Columnist · Weehawken NJ · llittle9@earthlink.net

© AKC Gazette, November 2012 · Norwich Terrier Breed Column · Reprinted with permission.