Dog Breeding: A complete reference book

Dr Kurt De Cramer was born in Belgium in 1962, where he attended primary school. His family later immigrated to South Africa where he completed high school and qualified as a veterinary surgeon from the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Onderstepoort, University of Pretoria, in 1986. He completed his National service at the Bourke's Luck dog training unit where he was introduced to the breeding of service dogs and their health problems. He started his veterinary career at a research laboratory and entered private practice in 1992 when he co-founded the Rant-en-Dal Animal Hospital. In furthering his studies he obtained his Master's degree MMedVet (Gyn) - Specialist theriogenologist (Animal reproduction) and PhD degree from the same university. and is currently completing aHis PhD study entailed planning elective caesarean section in high risk breeds. His thesis paved the way for planned elective caesarean sections as it is performed in women routinely and contains the discovery of the first ever confirmed monozygotic twins as well as freemartinism in dogs. As a general practitioner he focusses on running a busy small animal practice. However, he attends to numerous reproduction cases in small animals as a specialist. Dr De Cramer has extensive experience with service dog breeding and neonatology. Dr De Cramer has remained in close contact with his Alma Mater through collaboration in research projects, acting as external for pre and post graduate examinations and as referee of research protocols and scientific articles. This collaboration has led to the publication of numerous articles in various international journals. Dr De Cramer closely collaborates with dog and cat breeder associations. He has written and presented many breed specific seminars and held numerous talks on various aspects of dog and cat breeding. His habit of digitally capturing almost all cases he encounters in his practice has led to an extensive collection of digital images of veterinary interest, specifically on small animals and exotic species. His inquisitive mind compels him to continue making a contribution to the science of dog breeding; constantly researching and solving clinical problems that breeders experience. This he manages despite time constraints placed upon him by private practice activities. Dr De Cramer is married to Zelda and has two children, Kyle and Mira.

Dr Sooryakanth Sasidharan Priyadersini was born in Trivandrum, India, in 1976. He qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon from the College of Veterinary And Animal Sciences in Kerala, India in 2001 and moved to South Africa in the following year. In 2005 he obtained an MSc in Veterinary Science (Cum Laude) from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria, investigating sarcoid tumours in Cape mountain zebras. He later focused on the genetics of African cheetahs for his doctoral studies. In 2008 he moved into private practice in South Africa after passing the South African Veterinary Council Board Exam and later obtained his MRCVS from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (UK) by examination in 2012. He has since been in private practice in the UK. His interests are canine and feline genomics and the evolving topics around testing for complex conditions. He firmly believes in a future where canine breeding and animal welfare is improved by genetic testing.