The Manchester Terrier is compact in appearance with good bone and free from any approach to the Whippet type. The head is long and the skull flat and narrow, level and wedge shaped without showing cheek muscles. Eyes are not prominent but set close in the head; ears are small "V" shaped and carried well above the top line of the head and hanging close to the head above the eyes.
The Manchester Terrier head is set on a fairly long neck, tapering from the shoulder to the head and slightly arched at the crest. The shoulders are clean and well shaped and the chest narrow but deep. The four legs are quite straight and set well under the dog. The Manchester Terrier body is short with well sprung ribs and slightly roached. The tail is short and set on where the arch at the back ends, thick where it joins the body and tapering to a point, and carried not higher then the level of the dog. The Manchester Terrier coat is of firm texture, close, smooth and glossy; its colour is jet black and rich mahogany tan. The ideal weight for the breed is 18 lb. for dogs and 17 lb. for bitches.
The Manchester Terrier is considered to be the oldest of all identifiable terrier breeds, with a dog closely resembling the breed today being described in books as early as 1790 (de Lavis-Trafford and Clowes, 1997). This breed is classified as a “vulnerable native breed” by The Kennel Club as there are fewer than 300 puppy registrations in the UK each year.
This survey was conceived in collaboration with The British Manchester Terrier Club (BMTC), to carry out a confidential survey with the aim to achieve a response rate better than that achieved in the years Purebred dog health survey which was anonymous. The aim was to gather health information on as many of the UK’s population of Manchester Terriers as possible to establish what health conditions are affecting the breed today and to enable breeders to work at eliminating serious health problems which may have an inherited component.
In total 101 deaths were reported, but only 96 were included in the analysis. Those dogs for which either age at death or dates of birth and death had not been provided were not used. Seventy one Manchester Terriers had been euthanised (median age 11 years and 10 months, min 3 months max 15 years and 3 months) and 24 died (median age 12 years and 4 months, min 2 years and 6 months – max 17 years and 6 months), 2 unspecified. Median age at death overall was 12 years (3 months - 17 years and 6 months). Half of the Manchester Terriers in this survey were still alive at 11 years of age, and 20% were still alive at 14 years of age (Figure 1). A post mortem examination had been performed on only 1 Manchester Terrier, who had died of pancreatic cancer. The three most frequently reported causes of death were “old age” (31%), cancer (23%) and renal failure (15%).
The proportion of deaths due to renal failure is a cause for concern, particularly considering the relatively young age of some of the Manchester Terriers for whom this was reported to be the cause of death. Half of the reported cases (7 of 14) had died or been euthanised before 10 years of age. Age at death due to renal failure was significantly lower than age at death due to other causes (p<0.01). Normal kidneys have huge functional reserves, thus renal disease can extensively damage the kidneys without causing signs of renal impairment.
Clinical signs associated with raised circulating blood urea levels do not occur until 75% of nephrons have been lost. At this point, the dog is approaching end-stage renal failure and little can be done. Indeed, the scant information I was able to gain by contacting the vets with which the Manchester Terriers who were reported to have died or been euthanised due to renal failure had been registered, indicated that they were likely to have been brought to the vet’s in a collapsed state and had not responded to any treatment.
If renal disease and renal failure can be diagnosed early therapeutic interventions, including dietary changes and medication, can be applied that may slow or even halt disease progression. An annual health check by a veterinary surgeon, including laboratory testing of blood and urine, is one of the best ways to detect declining renal function. Owners should also be alert for changes that they may notice in their Manchester Terrier, such as decreased appetite and body weight, increased drinking and urine production and the development of bad breath (and sometimes excessive mobility of the jaw).
Owners should consider informing their vet that their may be an increased susceptibility to renal failure at a relatively young age in the Manchester Terrier, and requesting annual health checks including blood and urine analysis, perhaps from the age of 5 years onwards. This may be particularly important in Manchester Terriers who have had a close relative die or be euthanised at a relatively young age due to renal failure, although at the moment there is no evidence to suggest an inherited component to the condition.
While there are many understandable reasons why owners may choose not to have a post mortem examination performed on their pet when it has died, the more accurate information about cause of death that the results of such examinations provide would be invaluable for future studies of Manchester Terrier health. It would be particularly useful to have more information about the exact nature of the “renal failure” which was the third most frequently reported cause of death. The authors are willing to speak with interested owners and veterinary surgeons about how to facilitate post-mortem histopathological diagnosis of renal and other diseases.
Manchester Terrier Breed Standard
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