Meliora Drents

In 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, the Vereniging de Drentsche Patrijshond (VDPH) conducted health surveys of a subset of the Drent population based on age. Like all non-compulsory surveys, which have the logistical difficulty of effectively reaching and getting responses from the target group, the results should be taken with a grain of salt regarding their accuracy. However, the results do paint an interesting and valuable picture on the relative frequency of diseases and health complaints in the Drent.

The first three surveys were for dogs 3 and 6 years old – in 2018 for dogs born in 2012/2015, in 2019 for dogs born 2013/2016, and 2020 for dogs born 2014/2017. Since the survey was not completed in 2021, the 2022 survey covers the dogs who would have been 3 and 6 in 2021 – dogs born 2015/2018.

The surveys in their original form can be found HERE on the VDPH website – as they are all in Dutch, I spent some time combing through them and compiled the data into one sum to present below:

A Note on Interpretation

While it would be a misuse of the survey data to state exact percentages and numbers as blanket fact – such as, “5% of Drents have allergies” -what makes this data useful is in relative comparison. We can look at the things that top the list, like allergies, epilepsy, missing teeth, and elbow dysplasia as priority complaints to look out for as breeders, owners, and buyers, compared to things like thyroid problems or bladder stones which may be rare exceptions.

This information is especially useful when considering population management. In any breed, you can find a handful of dogs who have suffered or died from almost any/every disease there is. While that is heartbreaking and horrible for those individual dogs and their families, that does not make that disease an issue at the population level. It’s important to balance the emotional care for individuals with the ability to see the forest beyond the trees.

With a rare breed with a very small gene pool, knowledge of specific ailments and the results of specific health tests should be considered carefully in breeding, and be balanced with the preservation of the breed in all aspects (conformation, temperament, working ability, etc) – with priority going to avoiding the diseases that have the most frequently documented and severe effect on a dog’s quality of life. Otherwise, the steep decline in genetic diversity caused by heavy selection pressure will cause health issues long-term, even, counterintuitively, if the selection criteria is health-focused.