Border Terriers
I wish that back in 2020, I knew what I know now about Border Terriers. About their genetics. About hereditary gut issues, gluten intolerance, the secret signs of pain in these stoic little dogs. About the increasing numbers of ever younger gallbladder mucocele sufferers. About how a group of issues is commonly related to what we feed our dogs. And how we can provide a better quality of life for our besties by realising that everything starts in the gut.
I trusted my vet’s information on vaccines and chemical treatments. I trusted food companies to provide nutrition and tell the truth about what is in their products. I didn’t believe in intolerances or allergies. I certainly didn’t think in a million years a dog, let alone my dog, could be ‘allergic to chicken’ like the Frenchies down the park. I didn’t want my dog to have these issues. And I didn’t believe that his gunky and itchy ears, and his ‘no chill’ behaviour had anything to do with the food I was giving him. I was giving him the best food! It was ‘hypoallergenic’ it was ‘grain free’… it was expensive. How can an itchy ear have anything to do with his gut or food?
I loved my little dog so much. He had so much love to give. But he also had a few difficulties every now and then, and the vet would tell me ‘he’s fine’. His bloods were fine, a little low on the B12 and Folate, but just take these and supplement for it. He needs worming, or another vaccine, and dutifully I followed their expert advice. I was not an expert. I was not a nutritionist. I was not a dietitian, and I was not a dog poop specialist.
But I was lucky enough to get new neighbours. A neighbour with skin in the game. A neighbour with so much experience, my little brain couldn’t fathom the knowledge this incredible human had on dogs. On training. On tricks and how to live efficiently with not only 1 dog, but 4!
First hand experience walking, training, working with all kinds of breeds, large and small. And to be such a wonderful human too. What I learnt from her - about body language, learning theory, kindness, positive reinforcement, how to connect with a dog, and how to communicate with them, really set me up for who I have become today.
We had a shared background in horses and were a similar age. But she really was my go to for everything dog - until even she couldn’t answer the questions. But, she did teach me how to advocate for my boy at the vets. And told me what questions to ask - mostly why something was happening. Not just treating the symptoms with Cytopoint injections and more antibiotics, but really getting to understand why my dog was in the vets monthly for this and that.
She helped me understand about food and feeding. About treats and training. And she really saved mine and my boy’s life. But not everyone has a Carrie. And there’s not enough Carrie to go around all the people and dogs who need this knowledge. And so, some may say ‘I’m a convert’ but really, I was inspired.
And while she set me up on the very best trajectory to look after my little man, she also set me up to be knowledgeable about so many other things dog related.
I’ll get to the point. We are given the dog we need. Not the dog we want.
I didn’t want ‘a broken dog’. I didn’t want a ‘dog who needs training’. I didn’t want a dog that was expensive to run, and time consuming, and ‘allergic to life’.
But I chose this gift of a Gustas, as a tiny puppy, with his mum and sisters. And I decided that I wanted to love him for who he was, and how he needed to be loved. Even though I had no idea how to find these things out. But I did have a Carrie to signpost me to the best free courses, the best trainer in my area and the most interesting and entertaining podcasts to help me learn by osmosis.
Augustus looking healthy and happy on the beach
What does this have to do with Border Terriers? Augustus is a Border Terrier. I had family border terriers growing up. They had ‘skin issues’ and were ‘itchy’ they were on ‘a special diet’ recommended by the one and only Noel Fitzpatrick. And what we knew about the breed back in the 00s was nothing compared to how they are now.
Now the breed has a hereditary gluten intolerance - the breed with the most severe intolerance symptoms for gluten (and other triggers), yet people just change their food and guess. But we don’t need to guess. We can know. There is now a gluten sensitivity test that not only tells you IF your dog is gluten sensitive, but HOW sensitive they are. And that is a game changer when it comes to feeding. Because that’s where gluten comes from.
A little bit about the recent history of this amazing breed (yes I’m biased!). Recently the inbreeding coefficient has had to be raised a significant amount - that means that these dogs are more inbred than they were. And what does inbreeding do? It doubles down on genes. So small sensitivities become stronger.
‘Fussy eaters’ are notoriously aware of their triggers - that is why they don’t want to eat. They can smell the triggers. Dogs can be trained to tell coeliacs whether a food is contaminated with gluten. Everything from tea bags to oats to ‘gluten free’ products. Coeliac detection dogs are life savers for the coeliac community. Gluten intolerance is older than glyphosate. It’s older than lots of the harsh mass production weed killers and chemicals which have soaked our land and infiltrate the food system. Dogs can smell the molecules they need in things - like grass, so of course they know what is in their food, and why they want to avoid it.
Just like coeliac disease in people, dogs can be coeliac too, but it’s commonly called other things - depending on the breed. It used to be called Spikes Disease. Then Paroxysmal Gluten-Sensitive Dyskinesia, Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome (CECS). There are a number of researchers currently working on building a genetic database of dogs, starting with border terriers, to find a genetic test for gluten intolerance in dogs. It’s also recently been associated with Fly Catching Syndrome and ‘Seizures’.
Other breeds who notoriously also suffer from gluten sensitivity are Biewer Terriers, Schnauzers, Labradors, Papillons, Cavaliers, Wheaten Terriers, Irish Setters, Westies, German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels and more. And their symptoms can differ by breed.
Close up of a hotspot that took weeks to heal on Augustus’ muzzle age 1, due to systematic inflammation caused by the wrong food and gut dysbiosis.
So what do we know?
Dogs with intolerances show ‘gut issues’. Low Folate and low B12 are classic malabsorption markers. Symptoms from the damaged gut due intolerance triggers.
Dogs with ‘behaviour issues’ commonly get pain overlooked as a cause of that reactivity, not wanting to be touched or picked up, or an inability to calm down. This is called ‘displacement behaviour’ and it’s different in every dog. Some dogs may dig. Some dogs may move about a lot. Some dogs will literally bounce off the walls. Some dogs will have colitis (yellowy mucousy poops) some dogs will have ‘sloppy poops’ that you can’t pick up, some will have blood. Some will have yellow, red and green poops from the chronic pain of their gut shedding to try to survive the triggers.
What are the more subtle signs of pain?
Dogs lip licking, stretching (to stop the cramping). Suddenly stopping and sitting. Tail and back leg itching. Hiccupping, grass eating, foamy sicking. Either being more clingy than normal, or taking themselves off and sighing. Needing to get up between 3 and 5am to go outside to relieve themselves - either with grass or emptying themselves.
What does this look like in real life?
I also know that not enough owners, breeders, vets and specialists know about the ‘other signs’ of this disease. They don’t need to have a full blown episode to be diagnosed. The dog's don’t need to suffer to find out whether this is a life long genetic issue for them. They don’t need to look drunk and fall over, and be moving weirdly with their limbs or head and neck in pain to get a diagnosis. We can do a £100 blood test before the gluten builds up in their system causing systematic havoc and affecting other things. Like hotspots, UTIs, prostatitis and other secondary infections from the inflammation in the gut due to food triggers.
Gluten, like other molecules, builds up in the system with every exposure. So it may be ok at first, and you won’t know. you may not even know for a while if you’re dealing with a lower sensitivity. But, it will reach a threshold, and then suddenly, panic. Worry. Vets and vet bills. The vets don’t always know the early symptoms, they may miss the episode and the dog is presenting ‘normally’ by the time you can get an appointment.
Augustus Border who has significant IBD, gluten sensitivity and is happy and healthy
The Test
You can ask your vet about this test - and by ask, I mean - strongly request it - because they may not want to do it, and may recommend a hypoallergenic or vet diet (which really won’t help your border terrier due to the ingredients) - feel free to email Royal Canon and Purina and ask them on the efficacy of their diet in border terriers specifically. If they don’t have the data, please don’t touch it. Feel free to get in touch for my personal recommendation for border terriers.
Pet guardians should have the test done BEFORE changing diet. This test works best when gluten is in the system. I couldn’t bear to put my boy on gluten to find out something that I already knew. His suffering wasn’t worth knowing ‘I was right’. I found out about this test way too late, and he was suffering since the day I picked him up at 9 weeks old. BUT, in 2024, he shared a water bowl with a dog who’d eaten a cocktail sausage. And he was ill for 2 weeks. So I went to the vets to draw the blood and spin the serum into a sample I could send off in the post. And I called Laboklin to find out how to send it to them for that specific test, and paid over the phone. My vet wanted to charge me £350 for the test. Laboklin was charging £96 for the analysis. So I posted it in a jiffy bag, on ice with next day delivery.
The service was fantastic. It was so fast. They were incredibly helpful, and I got my positive gluten sensitivity result that I was expecting. And even though he’d had a ‘minor cross contamination’ his intolerance was so severe that the results came back ‘very positive’.
What do I WISH every breeder, owner, pet parent, vet, specialist trainer, behaviourist and enthusiast knew?
That this is a manageable, genetic disease, that is easily diagnosed with a £100 blood serum test, and managed by maintaining a gluten free diet and home.
Those dogs who test positive can (and should) go into the DNA database deepfreeze to enable the researchers to identify genetic markers to help breeders maintain a healthy breed. To be entered into the Cambridge Research database is free. The Cambridge Research Lab is the only independent lab left in the country. This can help the future health of the breed.
If you’d like to help fund their work, please donate.
I’ll produce another article on what it means to live with a dog with intolerances. If you’d be interested in how to effectively manage and keep a dog with gluten intolerance healthy and safe, please reach out on my social media - or email - and let me know.
If you suspect that your dog has any of these or other gut issues, please know that there are resources out there to help you. DM/email me and I will be most happy to help you, signpost you, and help prevent your little one from suffering.
Why get the test when you can just change to food? Because then you know. then we have data. then there will be more accurate numbers of how widespread this genetic condition currently is. When there’s data, we’re empowered. The vets will be empowered and the dogs will be able to thrive.
The Takeaway
While not every issue can be ‘fixed’ with food, it is the one thing that we have most control over which has the greatest impact on our dogs. I will never ‘fix’ Augustus’ gluten intolerance. He will have it for life. As will his litter mates, and other relatives. As well as thousands of other dogs. But we can give our pets a happy healthy life, with minimum expense. And I would love to be able to show you how.
Augustus and his girlfriend posing at a nature hotspot in Hampshire
Links:
Find out more on the Understanding Canine Epileptoid Cramping Syndrome Facebook Page.
If you’ve been affected by this, or have a positive test result, please let the Border Terrier Health Group know about it. And do follow up to ask for a response from them.
Get your Gliadin Test from Laboklin.
Biome 4 Pets (International) Gut Microbiome Test - use discount code Augustus for 20% off your test kit to work out how to heal and rebalance the gut.
If your Border Terrier has Gallbladder Mucocele, enter the research to help prevent the disease.
Veterinary link to International veterinary canine dyskinesia task force ECVN consensus statement: Terminology and classification.
