ProjectDog Fundraiser: Vestibular Deafness in Dobermans

A few years back (in 2012, I've been blogging here for awhile!) I wrote about ProjectDog, and how they had a Doberman survey. I was contact recently by a breeder who would really like to see ProjectDog get some much needed funds, asking me if I was willing to blog about them again. I was provided with a linki to a fundraising campaign to fund research on Vestibular Deafness in Dobermans (affected dogs are referred to as "dings", but I'm going to use the other, less mean sounding, DVDob). It's "vestibular" deafness rather than the usual sort, because frequently it also severely impairs the dog's equilibrium.

According to this article (which quotes Ann Ramsbottom, the Doberman breeder who uses the Cambria prefix, who has had a lot of very beautiful and successful dogs), a gene for DVDob was isolated in 2012, and is an autosomal recessive mutation. Meaning that, like Von Willebrand's Disease, a dog who is a carrier can be bred to a dog who is "clear", and the resulting puppies will not be affected by DVDob. But they still don't know if the gene is related to other things, more prevalent in certain lines, associated with other genes, etc. and would really like the research to move forward. Frequently puppies are so badly affected that they are euthanized before they get very old. To paraphrase the Cambria breeder's quote from the above article, They seem to be in constant discomfort, have trouble locating the nipple to nurse, have trouble latching, and that's if the mother doesn't push them away.

Breeders don't want to have to watch their puppies suffer, and definitely don't want to have to make the tough decision to euthanize puppies when they're still only a few weeks old. It would be a great boon to learn more about DVDob and its causes, and build a database of dogs who are carriers, clear, and affected to be aware of these factors as well while breeding.

And before you think "It's just deafness, what's the big deal?", take a look at the video on the top of the Go Fund Me page for ProjectDog to study Doberman Congenital Deafness. It's of a three week Doberman puppy affected by DVDob. The puppy struggles around on the surface where he was placed (granted, there's only so well three week old puppies move anyway), unable to even maintain an upright posture. His head movements are jerky, unnatural and heartbreaking, as are the little cries he's making. He looks, to me, like a wounded animal. It seems rough to say, but it doesn't surprise me that a dam would reject a puppy like that, if the rest of the litter seems "normal" and viable.  There's another video on the page of a 10ish week old puppy affected by DVDob, and these physical symptoms have not gone away. She falls over for no reason, she cries, she staggers around. It breaks my heart (and might break yours, so if you don't want to sit weeping at the computer, perhaps don't watch those videos).

So, if you're able, I urge you to donate what you can to ProjectDog so they can resume funding research in this area.

Update on Doberman Health Survey: More Participants Still Needed!

Go to ProjectDog.org to take the Doberman survey and receive your DNA sampling kit. June 30 is the survey deadline!

Dr. Neff's team would like to share that the response to the recent request for participation in canine research to benefit Dobermans has been nothing short of PHENOMENAL. They are IN AWE of the Doberman community!

Several hundred more participants are still needed, so please note the health survey closes June 30th. If you haven't participated already, please do, and please share with friends and all Doberman owners and encourage them to do so as well.
 Several additional items:
 1. Some survey participants will be receiving a targeted follow up survey in the near future: your specific responses for your Doberman(s) were of special interest to researchers and may help advance this study effort. NO email addresses or other information will EVER be shared or divulged to others, this is and will remain a strictly confidential undertaking between the researchers and ourselves.
 a. Dr. Nicholas Dodman, world renowned canine behaviorist and collaborator with Dr. Neff on Doberman behavior research, will also be undertaking a few select telephone interviews with a small number of survey respondents.  Participation is, of course, voluntary, but the research group would like to thank everyone for their support with these quality control efforts.  Dr. Dodman is a pleasure to speak with- and feel free to discuss any questions you may have if you are involved in a telephone interview.

2. Several hundred more responses are still needed to meet the goal of 3000 Dobermans participating in this focused research effort. Please participate if you have not, and share this email with ANYONE who owns a Doberman- thank you!
3. Also please note - information and specimens on ALL DOBERMANS are encouraged, not just Dobermans with disorders. Controls for both disease and behavior are of value, so **even if you answer No to every question on the survey**, a DNA sample from your dog will definitely help this research!
An overview summary of participation (ALL anonymous, statistics only) in this study will be provided shortly after the survey closes, and Dr. Neff will be speaking in greater depth on these issues during his presentation at Health Night at our 2012 National.

Thank you again VERY MUCH EVERYONE who has participated and will participate in this study effort. You continue to advance the reputation of the Doberman community as the #1 community of dog owners most dedicated to their breed!!
Kathy Davieds DVM

Please crosspost

Doberman Health: Idiopathic Head Tremors

On Friday I posted about the DNA survey for Doberman health. I got my sample package super quick! I swabbed Elka this morning and mailed it out. She let me do it without any kind of a struggle, but was overall less than enthused.

So, what do I think qualified Elka for the Doberman health study? Well, first off, every study needs a control group. Even if she wasn't "normal", they still might have wanted a DNA sample. There were two things on the survey that Elka displayed, though: Idiopathic Head Tremors, and a specific preference for a toy. We've talked about Gumby Love here before, but we haven't talked about the head tremors.

Doberman Health: Would you like to take a survey?

I noticed it first on Doberman talk, and then saw it mentioned on Dobermann Daze as well.

Dr. Mark Neff at The Van Andel Research Institute in Michigan is doing genetic research on inherited disorders in Dobermans. There is a survey ( around 2 minutes, not bad) and then you have the option to request a DNA sample kit so that you can enter your dog's genetic tissue in the survey. They pay the shipping both ways. The survey is on projectdog.org, and the goal is to have a sample size of 3000 Dobermans!

So if you, or anybody you know, has a Doberman, go on over and take the survey. There is no cost to you (other than the tiny time commitment of taking the survey and eventually swabbing your dog's mouth for DNA) and the results may give a lot of insight into things that Dobermans inherit, such as idiopathic head tremors (something Elka has), flank sucking, Wobbler's Syndrome (otherwise known as Cervical Vertebral Instability), DCM, and more.

This is a valuable opportunity, and if you could spread the word that the survey is at http://projectdog.org/, that would be awesome! All results are confidential, if you have concerns about that.