Common Symptoms
Hereditary Footpad Hyperkeratosis (Rottweiler Type) is an inherited disease of footpads affecting Rottweilers. Affected dogs typically present around 2 to 6 months of age with hard, thickened footpads. With time, the abnormal footpads often develop deep cracks predisposing affected dogs to foot infections, pain, and lameness. Affected dogs may also be predisposed to ear infections and have areas of itchy, thickened skin. Affected dogs can be managed with regular footpad trimmings and treatment for skin infections.
Testing Tips
Genetic testing of the DSG1 gene will reliably determine whether a dog is a genetic Carrier of Hereditary Footpad Hyperkeratosis (Rottweiler Type). This disease is inherited in an Autosomal Recessive manner in dogs meaning that they must receive two copies of the mutated gene (one from each parent) to develop the disease. In general, carrier dogs do not have features of the disease but when bred with another carrier of the same Mutation, there is a risk of having affected pups. Each pup that is born to this pairing has a 25% chance of inheriting the disease and a 50% chance of inheriting one copy and being a carrier of the DSG1 gene mutation. Reliable genetic testing is important for determining breeding practices. In order to eliminate this mutation from breeding lines and to avoid the potential of producing affected pups, breeding of known carriers to each other is not recommended. Dogs that are not carriers of the mutation have no increased risk of having affected pups.
There may be other causes of this condition in dogs and a normal result does not exclude a different mutation in this gene or any other gene that may result in a similar genetic disease or trait.
References
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Backel KA, Kiener S, Jagannathan V, Casal ML, Leeb T, Mauldin EA. A DSG1 Frameshift Variant in a Rottweiler Dog with Footpad Hyperkeratosis. Genes (Basel). 2020 Apr 24;11(4):469.
[PubMed: 32344723]
