Category archives: Ask The Vet

Basenjis are an ancient, charming and unique breed originating in Africa. According to the Basenji Club of America, dogs resembling basenjis have been found in African cave paintings and Egyptian art dating back to between 1000 and 6000 BC. In the late 1800’s, the German botanist and ethnologist, Georg Schweinfurth described a domesticated dog closely resembling the Basenji belonging to native people of central Africa that he had encountered on his trips to the region. Shortly after this description was published, dogs resembling Basenjis were exported from Africa and displayed in Great Britain and Berlin as “Lagos Bush Dogs” and “African Bush Dogs” respectively. Despite their unique and desirable characteristics (such as their yodel-like vocalization known as a baroo), basenjis are similar to other dog breeds in the sense that they are known to inherit a handful of genetic diseases that can cause significant issues in breeding programs. Luckily for the basenji, genetic tests are now available through Paw Print Genetics to help breeders prevent future generations of dogs from being born with some of these preventable illnesses. The two inherited disease tests recommended by the Basenji Club of America and of great importance for basenji breeders have been the ...

No bones about it, being a great dog breeder is tough work! Picking dams and sires, health testing, monitoring heat cycles, caring for pregnant dams, vaccinating and deworming, and promoting and selling your puppies are just a few of the many tasks one must accomplish to be a top notch breeder.

One task that has historically been overly complex and time consuming for some breeders is getting genetic testing performed on their dogs. In the past, this often meant sending samples off to multiple laboratories to get testing performed because it was unusual for canine genetics laboratories to offer all of the tests needed under one roof. In addition, this situation meant filling out multiple submission forms, obtaining proper samples for each lab, and in some cases, waiting for several weeks for results. When Paw Print Genetics opened the doors for testing in 2013, it marked the beginning of the end for what I have termed the “multi-laboratory genetic testing dilemma” that most dog breeders were used to. Now, with over 140 genetic tests in well over 200 breeds, Paw Print Genetics has made a commitment to make canine genetic testing more convenient, user-friendly, and more affordable.

One important genetic ...

It is a very exciting time in canine genetics. Every month, new discoveries are making their way out of the laboratory and into scientific journals, thus disseminating new information to the scientific community. Some of these discoveries are newly identified, disease associated genetic mutations. Knowledge of a specific mutation and the way a condition is inherited allows for diagnostic laboratories such as Paw Print Genetics to develop new genetic tests for a particular disease. It has been the goal of Paw Print Genetics to offer a comprehensive menu of tests for our clients. This helps our client breeders improve their bloodlines and also assists prospective puppy buyers in purchasing a dog free of known inherited diseases. Therefore, Paw Print Genetics makes every effort to stay current with new mutation discoveries and medical updates in order to offer testing that will help improve overall canine health.

One such test that has recently been added to our expansive menu of test offerings is for a condition in Labrador retrievers known as cystinuria. Cystinuria in the Labrador is a condition caused by a mutation of the SLC3A1 gene. This gene functions as a blueprint for a protein that allows the kidneys to transport ...

It is no secret among many Dalmatian owners and their breeders that their beautiful breed is prone to developing bladder stones (uroliths) made of urates as they have historically been the poster puppies for the inherited condition, known as hyperuricosuria. However, many don’t realize that the same genetic mutation responsible for these stones has been reported in over a dozen breeds of dog, although at a much lower frequency.

Urates are formed from uric acid, a product of the breakdown of natural compounds of the body and from our food, known as purines. Affected dogs are predisposed to the formation of these bladder stones due to a mutation in the SLC2A9 gene¹; a gene that serves as the blueprint for a protein responsible for transporting uric acid in the body. In dogs free of this mutation, this transporter plays an important role in transporting uric acid from the blood into the liver for degradation and from urine produced in the kidney, back into the blood. Affected dogs cannot perform these tasks adequately, thus resulting in a high level of uric acid in both the blood (hyperuricemia) and urine (hyperuricosuria). The disorder is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion meaning ...

If I could be a dog for a week, I think I would enjoy sleeping the most. I’ve occasionally found myself jealous of my little terrier mix, snoring away as I wipe the sleep from my eyes in an attempt to get my day started. On his back, with all four legs in the air and dreams of rawhides in his head, he frequently reminds me that life doesn’t always have to be such a rat race. While both dogs and humans tend to share their appreciation for a little “R and R”, there are many conditions where sleep is no longer just a common necessity, but a frustrating burden. Whether it’s an inability to sleep or an inability to stay awake, most people with sleep disorders will attest to the overall decrease in life quality due to their sleep disturbance. One such troubling disorder that we share in common with our dogs is narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy is a rare condition marked by excessive daytime sleepiness frequently accompanied by a phenomenon known as cataplexy. Cataplexy is a non-painful recurring condition caused by acute episodes of decreased muscle function leading to a variable clinical presentation from mild muscle weakness to complete collapse ...

Interactions with our clients are valuable to Paw Print Genetics. It helps us understand their concerns when it comes to genetic testing. One question that we have been asked on occasion is about the number of genetic tests we have available for a particular breed as compared to a different breed and what that number means for the health of that breed as a whole. For example, Paw Print Genetics currently offers 12 genetic tests for the Labrador retriever, which is more than any other breed. For some of our clients, the natural follow-up question after this discovery has been, “Are Labradors more unhealthy than other breeds?” Though there are many diseases that have been identified in the Labrador retriever, we cannot make the assumption that they are more unhealthy or carry more genetic problems as a whole than other breeds without doing some statistical evaluation of the entire dog population. However, to my knowledge, this potentially expensive and time-intensive evaluation has not been performed. Despite the fact that veterinarians may sometimes get the impression that certain breeds are overrepresented in regards to disease, there are many factors that must be considered when objectively evaluating the number of genetic ...

               When you are a veterinarian living in a swirling haze of disease prevention and treatment, you often forget that most people don’t spend their spare time thinking about disease processes on a regular basis. They are even less likely to spend time comparing canine diseases to illness found in them or in people they know. Therefore, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised when my friends, family and clients find it so fascinating and unbelievable when I tell them that dogs inherit and develop many of the same genetic diseases as people.  In fact, dogs are well recognized in the scientific community as terrific models for particular diseases in people and have been thoroughly studied to gain information on many conditions. According to the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA; http://omia.angis.org.au), as of this writing, there are 343 genetic mutations identified in dogs that are considered to be “potential models for human disease” and the list continues to grow rapidly since mapping of the full canine genome was completed in 2005.  The mapped genome of a boxer named Tasha provided a much needed framework for genetic comparison studies ...

The season of the bird dog is upon us! Whether it's ducks, pheasants, geese or quail, your four-legged, bird-tracking machine needs to be well-trained and in optimal physical health if you want to improve your chances of collecting a limit. You handled the training through hours and hours of sacrifice, treats, frustration and love… and last year it showed. However, this year you are noticing that something is a little off with ol’ Chopper, and you can’t quite place what it is.

He seems unmotivated and won’t trail like he did last year. He acts like he’s excited for the hunt, but something is holding him back. Is it a health issue? Do you need to take him to the veterinarian? Given the immense financial, time and emotional commitments of purchasing and training a great hunting dog, wouldn’t it be nice to know that you’ve increased the chances of your hunting companion tracking birds with you late into their adult life? 

There are many different diseases or conditions that could take a bird dog off his game. Some of the most common ailments such as osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease, traumatic injuries and eye problems are called “acquired” diseases and ...

The popularity of the Labrador retriever doesn’t seem to wane.  It has been the number one dog breed registered by the American Kennel Club from 2002 to 2012 (the last time registration statistics were calculated) and is currently the most popular breed in the world.  Their cheerful dispositions, great prey drive, and high intelligence, has made them a common sight in American households.  Unfortunately, like many dog breeds, certain inherited diseases have become an issue as the popularity of the breed has increased.  One such disease, centronuclear myopathy (commonly referred to as “CNM” by Labrador breeders), has become a concern for the breed.  It is currently recommended (though considered optional) by the Labrador Retriever Club to perform genetic testing for CNM on all Labradors.  Despite that many Labrador breeders are currently testing for the disorder, from conversations, I have discovered that many breeders still have a significant number of questions in regards to what the disease actually is and what causes the symptoms seen in CNM.

CNM is a hereditary muscle disease of dogs caused by a genetic mutation in the PTPLA gene.  This disease was first described in dogs (Labrador retriever) in ...

Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL) is a group of inherited mammalian diseases characterized by abnormal accumulations of a metabolic byproduct known as lipofuscin in nerve cells and various organs of the body.  The accumulation of lipofuscin eventually leads to progressive nerve cell dysfunction and severe neurological symptoms including behavioral changes, balance issues, muscle atrophy, uncoordinated movement, blindness, head tremors and seizures.  Other organ systems can also be affected to various degrees depending on the severity of lipofuscin build up.  Most dogs will die due the disease or are euthanized when neurologic problems progress to the point of preventing normal daily activities.  While most types of NCL begin to cause clinical signs around 1 to 2 years of age in dogs, the age of onset and speed of progression vary significantly upon the type of NCL.  Variable presentation and progression among NCL types is expected given that multiple genes can cause this clinical condition.

Unfortunately, details about disease incidence and prevalence within a breed are often difficult to obtain including NCL.  Without going into an in-depth discussion about statistics, among other conditions, in order to estimate incidence and prevalence of disease for an entire population, individuals ...