Allergy/Hairloss/Dermatology Committee Reports
(As submitted to the PWDCA Board)

Allergy Hair loss Dermatology Committee Report

I would like the Board to publish the need for volunteers to this committee. I have received the on application that was on file from Susan Bohan.

I understand from Karen Arends that posting the reporting form on the PWDCA Website will not be done at this time but rather at a later date.

I understand from Karen Arends that another blind generic survey is being planned and that I can submit questions I would like included in the survey to her for Allergy Hair loss Dermatology area. I will certainly do so, however, another blind survey will in no way supplant the need of this committee for a survey in which dogs and their pedigrees are identified in the survey to the committee for gathering verifiable data. In fact general numbers of dogs displaying an allergy, hair loss, dermatologic condition with no identification or verification will at best be irrelevant and at worst completely frustrating to the committee. This type of numbers only information will also be useless in approaching the research community for interest in helping us address our skin and coat issues since they would have NO starting point.

Once additional members have been added to the committee, it will be the committee's intent to develop a survey specific to not only problem coat and skin type issues found in the breed but also aspects of normal coat and skin and hopefully build a database of both normal and affected dogs including pedigrees, descriptive photos and possibly even hair samples (easily obtainable during normal grooming) to enable the committee to entice researchers. All the goals of such a survey might not be accomplished but we won't know if they can be accomplished until we try.

I will appreciate the Board publishing for volunteers to apply to be part of the Allergy Hair loss Dermatology Committee on the PWDCA website.

Thank you.