Recommendations Regarding Health Care
The American Belgian Tervuren Club, Inc. recommends that in addition to the normal and ordinary veterinary care given to your Belgian Tervuren, the following veterinary services be obtained on each Tervuren:
- That each Belgian Tervuren, regardless of its breeding status, have a hip x-ray and elbow x-ray done at two years of age and the x-rays be sent for certification/registration to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.
- That each year, regardless of age and breeding status, a veterinary ophthalmologist examine the eyes of your Belgian Tervuren and submit the results of the examination of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER)
For more information, go to the OFA website www.ofa.org. Download the necessary forms and instructions at www.ofa.org/application-forms
Gastric Cancer Study
Dr. Jacquelyn Evans at Cornell University leads the international Belgian Gastric Cancer Consortia https://caninegeneticslab.vet.cornell.edu/stomach-cancer/ with collaborators at NIH (Dr. Elaine Ostrander), UC Davis (Dr. Anita Oberbauer), and Utrecht (Drs. Peter Leegwater and Paul Mandigers).
If you are interested in submitting blood/tissue samples, please contact caninegenetics.evanslab@gmail.com directly. The team will provide you the information and forms needed. If your Terv has been recently diagnosed please do this as soon as possible to coordinate receipt of the tissue preservation and handling materials. In case of an emergency and only if you do not have time to contact Dr. Evans first, you can collect 3-6mLs of blood in a purple-top/EDTA tube, store in the refrigerator, and then contact Dr. Evans caninegenetics.evanslab@gmail.com for submission instructions.
Download blood collection info. Updated Gastric Cancer Blood Collection Info
Blood and tissue samples should be sent to:
Dr. Jacquelyn Evans
Baker Institute for Animal Health
235 Hungerford Hill Rd
Ithaca, NY 14853
ABTC will financially support tissue collection at necropsy. Inquiries regarding this support should contact Cathy Greenfield at trackingtervs@gmail.com .
If you or your club would like to make a monetary donation to the study, you can do so by sending a check with a brief note indicating you would like the funds to support the gastric cancer research. Checks should be made out to:
Baker Institute for Animal Health. Please include “Evans/gastric cancer research” in the memo line.
Mail checks to the following address:
Cornell University
Baker Institute for Animal Health
PO Box 37334
Boone, IA 50037-4334
Donors can include a note if they wish to remain anonymous from any public communications that would highlight their giving.
Epilepsy
The epilepsy study is current and ongoing. For information visit https//cgap.ucdavis.edu/epilepsy-project.
2020 Belgian Tervuren Health Study
Hosted by the OFA, this 2020 Belgian Tervuren Health study was designed by the ABTC Health Education Committee to help identify significant health concerns and collect general information in the Belgian Tervuren breed. All owners are asked to fill out this survey for each Tervuren you have owned since 2014. Go to https://www.ofa.org/about/educational-resources/health-surveys then scroll to “Belgian Tervuren 2020” and click on that link to participate in the survey.
AKC Canine Health Foundation
The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) is the largest nonprofit funder of health research focused solely on dogs… CHF works closely with AKC Parent Clubs, dog owners, breeders, veterinarians and researchers to identify and address health issues in dogs.” Sign up for the newsletter.
More Information on Tervuren Health
“The Ins and Outs of Pedigree Analysis, Genetic Diversity, and Genetic Disease Control”- presented by Jerold Bell, DVM at the 2023 ABTC National Specialty https://abtc.org/download/2023-abtc-jbell-presentation-slides/
An Anesthetic Primer for Belgians by Libbye Miller DVM
Reports from National Parent Club AKC Canine Health Foundation Meetings – Libbye Miller DVM
TNT Health articles by Anita Aborn
2006-2009 TNT Health Columns
2010-2014 TNT Health Columns
2015-2019 TNT Health Columns
2020-2023 TNT Health Columns
Nationals Health Stats by Anita Aborn