The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Open Registry By Pam Mandeville

When word circulates in a breed of a health problem, quite naturally questions arise. Are these isolated instances? Is it limited to a particular environment? Are the dogs closely related?

Such was the case in the 1980s when PLN (protein losing nephropathy) and PLE (protein losing enteropathy) became known in Wheatens. SCWTCA began supporting research at Penn and NC State vet schools but it was slow going. And those questions remained for many breeders.

The SCWT Open Registry was an important step toward answers.

The Open Registry (“OR”) started with the SCWTCA Health Committee in 1995. Owners would submit health records and pedigrees on their affected dogs to Dr. Meryl Littman at Penn who would validate the diagnosis. Once confirmed, they would be permanently listed, along with their sires and dams. One could join the OR whether or not they currently had a sick dog but membership included a commitment to submit any of their dogs who became sick. Participation would be voluntary but strongly supported and encouraged by the club as well as prominent breeders.

In June 1997, the first OR was published and distributed to over 300 OR members. Containing 80 dogs (Dr. Littman was still validating information on another 130), the OR was only the second OR published by any breed club in the US.

SCWTCA President Pam Donahue closed her letter to the membership with the following:

      “The Open Registry is our attempt to share information with each other and to promote openness among breeders. It’s an integral part of our club’s efforts to preserve and protect the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. No breeder or owner should feel threatened. The Registry is in the best interests of all of us.

Having over 300 members in the Registry is a good start; now we need to share more information. Our challenge is to report “everything” to the Registry. Just because a breeder has not yet had a “problem,” does not mean that they will not someday, somehow, be affected. There is no vacuum in dog breeding. Try as you may to avoid breeding into a problem, a secret held by another breeder will create a possible problem for you.

There is no shame in having a sick dog, the only shame is in hiding it.”

Over the years, the OR was updated as the number of dogs to be added warranted it. In 2001, SCWTCA revised its Code of Ethics to require members to join the OR; the Club absorbed the membership cost in annual dues. The final update of the OR took place in 2012 with 1103 dogs entered, 722 had PLN (279 of those also with PLE), 222 had PLE without PLN, 98 had Addison’s disease, and 66 had renal dysplasia/JRD. That same year, the DNA cheek swab test for markers associated with increased risk of PLN was introduced. In 2021, the SCWT Database (www.scwtdb.org) added OR information for many of those dogs.

Looking back, how well did the OR answer some of those questions we had?

It demonstrated that protein losing diseases were not an isolated problem. While certainly the list was not complete and the number of listed dogs wasn’t overwhelming, it was not insignificant. Nor did the dogs come only from one area of the country or one breeding program.

It showed there was likely a genetic component. By pairing pedigrees and diagnosis, we could see dogs and their offspring who were affected as well as multiple affected dogs coming from a parent.

It did NOT prove the mode of inheritance. Nor did it prove the cause was purely genetic; indeed, the PLN DNA testing demonstrates only increased risk.

It would be less than honest to say the OR was fully successful in promoting “openness among breeders.” While the OR enjoyed broad support and often silenced some whispers, not every breeder joined; indeed, a few resigned from SCWTCA when OR membership was required. Education around using the OR had limited effect as breeders struggled with how to incorporate this information in their breeding programs, resulting in some participating breeders feeling their dogs were unfairly blacklisted.

The Open Registry is still available for viewing. Contact health@scwtca.org for a copy of the Open Registry.

Artwork above painted by Jody Sylvester – Jessie as listed in the Open Registry. Thank you to Kathy Clarke and Elena Landa for allowing us to post his OR entry.  The dogs on the OR were very much loved by their owners. We appreciate their contribution to the discovery of the PLN Variant gene.

The Open Registry and DNA Bank for Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Tufts’ Canine and Feline Breeding and Genetics Conference, 2009 Meryl P. Littman, VMD, DACVIM; Amy J. Smagala, MLAS – click on the button below.