Health
The driving force behind the creation of the Korthals Griffon Club of America is to educate breeders and buyers of the unintended health consequences of the hybrid introduction.
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General Health Resources
The first and only website dedicated to the Health and Genetics of the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon.
Founded by tireless advocates of the breed concerned with their future, seasoned Wirehaired Pointing Griffon and Korthals Griffon owners and veterinary professionals who noticed the need for an online portal to globally share and archive health and genetic related articles for new, perspective and current owners and breeders. http://korthalsgriffon.org/index.html
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AKC Gazette Articles on the griffon
October 2005 Gazette Article balance
October 2006 Gazette Hip Article
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Following articles written by or provided by Katherine March on the Health Issues of the Griffon
Color issue
Kerns Coat
Structure
Penn Hip Article
Part III Hip Article
Thyroid
Thyroid AKC Symposium
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​Some conditions new to the breed and noted in only the hybrid griffon are:
Steroid Responsive Meningitis (SRM)
Steroid Responsive Meningitis (SRM) has recently surfaced as a disease in Wirehaired Pointing Griffons (WPG) with at least one breeding showing a significant number of affected offspring. SRM, a systemic, immune disorder, is also know by other names such as beagle pain syndrome, necrotizing vasculitis, aseptic suppurative meningitis, and more. This disease is over represented in some breeds, but not enough data has been gathered for establishment of levels of occurrence in the WPG. The condition can either be acute or chronic, and is usually characterized by episodes of profound spinal pain, depression, stiff gait and fever. There is no definitive genetic nor clinical test for SRM. The prognosis for SRMA is fair to good, especially in dogs with acute disease that are treated early.
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Your veterinarian should be consulted if your dog develops any of the above symptoms. Although these symptoms can indicate many other diseases or injuries, due to the difficulty in diagnosis, SRM should not be overlooked.
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Recommended Reading:
These are only two of the many papers on SRM. For more information, click the link to the full article.
Tipold, A. and Schatzberg, S. J. (2010), An update on steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 51: 150–154. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2009.00848.x
Kiss, Caroline M. and Gregory C. Troy (2011), Recognizing and treating immune-mediated polyarthritis in dogs.
Thyroiditis
Hypothyroidism is one of the most commonly diagnosed hormone disorders in dogs. Symptoms of hypothyroidism often mimic those of other diseases, and that sometimes includes behavioral problems. Dog owners are most often not aware of clinical signs of the disease, and both they and the veterinarians might have difficulty sorting out symptoms leading to diagnosis and treatment.
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The OFA website is the best source of information on hypothyroidism, including disease description, testing procedures, and databases for individual breeds. Searching the database for testing results for individual dogs is available there. If you are breeding a dog, both parents should be tested within a year before breeding, and should be tested annually. If you are buying a dog, and the dogs have not been tested, or testing is not documented, ask the breeder why not.
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Further Reading:
An excellent overview: Schaer, Michael, Hypothyroidism in the Dog, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, July 29, 2000, can be found at:
The Canine Thyroid Epidemic: Answers You Need for Your Dog, W. Jean Dodds DVM and Diana R. Laverdure (Dogwise Publishing, 2011) provides the dog owner with comprehensive up-to-date information on thyroid disease.
Korthals Griffon Pedigree International Database provided by Herrenhausen Sporting Dogs
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Orthopedic Foundation for Animals - database of hip, elbow, thyroid and other testing. Be aware that not all the dogs listed as wirehaired pointing griffons are Korthals Griffons. A full pedigree search must be conducted to determine if the animal is indeed a Korthals Griffon