Rehoming

In the most part, Lakelands are happy go lucky family pets who fit into everyday life with no problems. Being terriers they may not be the most obedient type of dog but their cheeky character endears them to most people. Basic training and good socialising generally produces well rounded, much loved family pets that live long and healthy lives However, our Secretary does sometimes get calls for help from Lakeland owners whose circumstances have changed and their dog no longer fits into their new life. The reasons are varying such as a home move, relationship splits and sadly, owners dying. The plight of the Lakeland is our concern and we make no reprisals or recriminations, if a Lakeland needs a new home we will do our utmost to help.

Some of these enquiries concern terriers of "Lakeland type", often referred to and sold as "Lakelands" and sometimes known as "Patterdale" or more properly "Fell Terriers". Unfortunately, whilst we appreciate these dogs are in need of a good home and we as dog lovers are concerned for their welfare, we cannot commit ourselves to helping anything other than pedigree, Kennel Club registered Lakelands. The Lakeland Terrier Club was founded in 1932 to promote, develop and protect the pure bred Lakeland and that is what we must pursue.

In the first instance, please contact the breeder of your Lakeland. Under KC guidelines they are obliged to help wherever possible to give advice and may be able to assist in re-homing your pet if that is the ultimate decision.

Breeder/exhibitors are sometimes seeking happy retirement homes for healthy show dogs who would benefit from being a special pet.

We also take calls asking for help on some behavioural issues which hopefully have been addressed but sometimes bad habits are difficult to reverse and owners have some hard decisions to make - we may be able to advise here too, a new home is not always the answer. In a nutshell: Our concern and committed help and advice is available for ALL Kennel Club registered Lakelands. Where a dog MUST be re-homed urgently we can usually find a temporary kennel whilst being assessed and waiting for a new home. If a dog can remain with its current family whilst a new home is sought then it is best for all concerned. If a dog has serious behavioural traits i.e. aggression, we can offer advice and re-assurance towards the best solution.

If you are interested in re-homing a Lakeland, please get in touch with our Secretary Louise Hetherington at lakelandterrierclubsecretary@gmail.com or Elaine Baldwin on 01302 742095 who will give you all the information on the current situation.

We can't promise immediate results - good things sometimes take time.

Health and PLL Survey

Predisposition to some conditions that occur from time to time in Terriers may have an obscure hereditary basis, but pure bred Kennel Club Registered Lakeland Terriers have been free from any of the Dog health problems that have established inheritance patterns. The LTC, as custodians and promoters of the pure bred Lakeland, are proud to acknowledge this health status and will fiercely protect it in every way possible.

Some months ago it came to our notice that a registered Lakeland Terrier had tested positive for a hereditary eye condition. This condition, Primary Lens Luxation (PLL), is found in several other breeds.

This dog was not in the United Kingdom and the LTC has no knowledge of the problem being present in the gene pool. Unfortunately we could not find any further information on this dog's pedigree so the inheritance could not be confirmed. However, as the breed originates from England and the movement of show and breeding stock is now relatively easy worldwide, chances are that some current UK breeding could be behind this affected dog and further investigation seemed sensible. It was therefore unanimously agreed by the Officers and Committee that we should set up and finance from our Welfare Fund, a DNA testing survey for breeders here to test for the genetic mutation that leads to the condition PLL.

The non invasive tests were made available to us by The Animal Health Trust (AHT), which is supported financially by the Kennel Club, at a greatly reduced cost. We are pleased that several prominent breeders took advantage of this and made a representative survey possible. The results are now available for all the owners who participated and the AHT have advised us, as the parent club and instigators of the survey, that all samples received by them were clear of the PLL mutation.

This result confirms our belief in the statement that the Lakeland Terrier is a very healthy breed with no known hereditary health conditions.

The Lakeland Terrier Club gives its assurance that the club will continue to be vigilant in the future to protect the health of our breed and we are developing a:

LAKELAND TERRIER CLUB BREED HEALTH STRATEGY

We invite any Pure Breed Lakeland Terrier owners to email us, direct to our Secretary and Health Co-ordinator Louise Hetherington on lakelandterrierclubsecretary@gmail.com and give as much detail as possible on any health concerns your Lakeland has presented. If we find some recurring problems we will make enquiries if there are some relevant investigations that can be done into the possibility of a genetic link. Any relevant and worrying information will also be passed to the Health Co-ordinator to the Kennel Club. We are in the process of producing some tips and helpful hints on the health care of your Lakeland, these will cover some of the basic and sometimes nuisance problems that can be problematic to both dog and owner but are often simple to avoid and/or remedy.

Donations to our Welfare Fund are always appreciated.