| dc.description.abstract | The Norwegian Lundehund is a prehistoric small type spitz dog originating from the North of Norway on an island called Værøy. Here the breed was used for hunting the small puffin bird. The dog serves its purpose excellently by having some special anatomical characteristics like hypermobile joints making them able to maneuver in the smallest spaces, extra toes on all feet for better grip on the rocky mountains and extremely movable cartilage within the ear, making it possible for them to close the ear completely and thereby protecting them from dirt and sand falling into it. The breed is believed to be as old as 1000 years, but today breed all descends from five remaining dogs from 1961 after the breed almost had become extinct three times. As a result of this, the breed has long had a high inbreeding as there have been very few individuals to choose from in the breeding program. Today we estimate that there are 1000 individuals of Lundehunds worldwide, where 500 lives in Norway. This lively and unique dog is predisposed to a series of gastrointestinal diseases named “Lundehund Syndrome”. The most prominent clinical signs are intermittent diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, ascites and subcutaneous edema in the hind legs. The most common cause of the disease is Chronic gastritis and Intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL). There is also a high prevalence of gastric carcinoma. There are strong indications that IL has a genetic background, and similar diseases found in humans like Crohn’s disease supports this theory. It is also speculated if there is a link between the polydactyly found in the breed and the gastrointestinal disturbances as there are many evidences of polydactyly exerting a negative pleiotropic effect on other parts of the body. As many as 100% of Lundehunds might be affected clinically or sub clinically with a type of gastrointestinal disturbance. This is very high, and research is being done on the field to find a genetic marker predisposing the Lundehunds for IL. In addition to this, a high inbreeding coefficient of up to 40%, and a low average birth rate (2.75 puppies pr. litter) indicates that the breed might need to be crossbred with another breed in order to achieve heterosis. The Norwegian gene resource institute has deep frozen sperm from the breed in order to secure the breed for the future. This together with the effort made by the breeding association and an increased interest for the breed shows a positive future for the breed. | en |
