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Submit Your Mastiff Health Survey Here

The Mastiff Club of America (MCOA) supports Mastiff health awareness through a variety of health programs and projects, educational outreach and research studies. All of which have been made possible through the help of the MCOA Health Committee and Health Sub-Committee volunteers, the MCOA Charitable Trust, the AKC CHF Mastiff Donor Advised Fund and individuals within and outside of the Mastiff Community. 

It is the Mission of the MCOA Health Committee to always consider:

The Betterment Of The Mastiff Breed & To Provide For Its Future...
                

     Mastiff Club of America Health Committee

The MCOA Health Committee is pooling the resources of our Health Sub-Committees and various groups working on individual health problems, providing support and dialog, tracking health problems in all Mastiffs, encouraging all Mastiff owners to participate in health testing, keeping an eye on research, interfacing with the Canine Health Foundation, and helping to keep Mastiff owners and breeders informed of new developments and research opportunities with respect to health problems relevant to Mastiffs.

Today, we are seeing more and more new research being done where information is needed by researchers in the form of health histories, diagnostic reports, pedigrees, and DNA samples. Each day, new diagnostic tools are becoming available for detecting and tracking health problems and new treatment options are being developed.   These programs are dependent on your financial support and your donations are appreciated.
          It Takes A Group Effort Of Team Work To Achieve Our Goals & Objectives Of:

                                    Maintaining and Improving the Overall Health of the Mastiff Breed!

 

With the help of conscientious, caring breeders and owners and the expertise and knowledge of excellent researchers, the MCOA Health Committee and Sub-Committees have made progress in a variety of areas.  Our past participation in health research projects have been very successful and have lead to DNA tests for Dominant Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and Canine Multifocal Retinopathy (CMR).  The PRA DNA discovery for Mastiffs was the greatest health break through in the Mastiff Breed’s history and we are extremely proud of this accomplishment!  Both PRA and CMR are inherited eye diseases that can cause loss of vision and blindness in Mastiffs and the DNA tests will help us eliminate these problems in our Breed. 

We have also co-sponsored several research grants through the AKC CHF that have been partially funded through our MCOA Charitable Trust and the CHF Mastiff Donor Advised Fund.  Some of our more current Health Research Projects that we have sponsored and/or financially supported include studies in Cystinuria, various types of Cancer, Cruciate Ligament problems, Epilepsy, and Infectious Canine Influenza Virus, etc... 

We are very optimistic that the current and future Health Research Projects that we sponsor may lead to additional DNA Health Tests, better diagnostic tools and more efficient and effective treatment options for Mastiffs with specific health problems.  Your help with this is vital to the future of our Breed and your financial support is needed and greatly appreciated!

As we are able to collect and donate more DNA samples from Mastiffs and as more breeders and owners participate in research studies and as we continue to financially support research projects and as better technology becomes available, we expect to see even more progress!

Mastiff Health Information Sheet

The MCOA Health Committee recommends that all Mastiff breeders provide their puppy buyers with a list of health problems found in Mastiffs. If you are considering adding a Mastiff to your family, please follow the link above and print out the Mastiff Health Information Sheet and review it first. Please note that all dog breeds like humans can have various health issues and it is important to know what conditions they can have and what symptoms to watch for.  Regardless which breed of dog you chose to add to your family, it is important to educate yourself on your specific breed’s health issues, to build good relationships with your Veterinarian and to health test your dogs and participate in health research projects. 

Veterinary Insurance For Your Mastiffs.

It is also a good idea for all dog owners to consider purchasing Veterinarian Insurance for your dogs to help cover future medical expenses.

Click Here to Read/Print Article About Veterinary Health Insurance For Your Mastiffs!
 
We encourage everyone to read the MCOA Bulletins and Journals to keep up on the current health research projects.  If you are able to attend a Mastiff Club of America National Specialty, please be sure to attend the educational Health Seminars that are available and participate in the Health Clinics and other Events.  We also encourage everyone to feel free to contact any of the Health Committee and Sub-committee members if you have questions or concerns.  We will do our best to assist you ourselves or refer you to the appropriate researcher or others that are more knowledgeable in specific areas...
 
We encourage everyone interested in learning more about Mastiff Health to click on all the available navigation buttons and hot links throughout these health pages as they will bring you to additional pages and sites with even more detailed information. 
Our work and passion is in a variety of key areas:
MCOA Health Committee Co-Chairs:
Anna May (951) 704-6022 mastiff@iinet.com  
Jenny Zinn-Boyce (562) 425-8354 jzinnboyce@aol.com    
 
MCOA Health Committee Members:
Jan McNamee (330) 648-9427 windfallmastiffs@hughes.net 
Dr. Bill Newman (814) 623-9377 dansdad@pennswoods.net

 

 

NOTE: This information is provided by the Mastiff Club of America only as a guide to help the public to become informed about their Mastiff's health. Please seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian when making any health related decisions for your Mastiffs.