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.

Tell them what they don't want to hear

Lots of people buy dogs every year. Lots of people buy puppies every year. They get them from a pet store, or the newspaper, or Craigslist. They get them from a breeder that advertised their litter on the AKC web site. Every day.

So, what's wrong with this?

Donations and Puppy naming through the Doberman Assistance Network

This is Nola

(photo from DAN Facebook)

She's currently in the care of the Doberman Assistance Network. She also just had puppies. 11 of them! They need names, of course. I don't know the color breakdown, but one of the cuties is below:

(photo from DAN Facebook)

Over the next 24 hours (well, they started at 2 a.m., I think, but for the remainder of that time!), for ever $10 you donate to Nola and her family, you win a chance to name one of the puppies. You can donate to the Doberman Assistance Network via Paypal on their web site, and, say it's for Nola and her family, and in the Nola post comments on the Doberman Assistance Network Facebook page add a name.

Please consider donating to help Nola and her puppies! The Doberman Assistance Network has been swamped with new cases, so every little bit helps.

Doberman puppy lost the fight to Parvo at the Florida University Veterinary School

In Florida, a "breeder" had a litter of 8 Doberman puppies under his or her care. More than a week ago, all of the puppies got sick. And then five of them died. That breeder then got tired of it and took the three who were left to the Florida University Veterinary School and instructed for them to be euthanized.

The puppies all had parvo. Of the three, a little fawn girl died yesterday, and one of her red sisters died this afternoon. Only one is left, named Scorcha by those taking care of her. The Doberman Assistance Network has stepped in to help. If you'd like, you can donate to her care on the Doberman Assistance Network sponsorship page.

Sorcha has been sick for long enough that the deck is really stacked against her. She's under constant care in puppy ICU, on IVs for fluids and food. The best I can say about this is that she's under loving care, and if she pulls through, DAN will get her foster care with a rescue, and that rescue will find her a loving home.

I cannot countenance watching puppies grow that sick, for that long, and watching five of them die. I cannot. The details I've related to you are the only ones I know; I don't know the breeder's history of care otherwise, what vaccines the puppies did (or did not) receive, the condition in which they were kept. I can only make assumptions, and none of them are good. At least those poor little ones knew some love before they left us.

Edited to add:  As of 10 p.m., little Sorcha has died as well. I truly hope that the person who produced these puppies will take a hard look at how they do things in the future, or no longer keep dogs altogether. The Florida University Veterinary School tried their hardest, but sometimes it just isn't to be. So rest in peace, little ones. I'm sorry your stay here turned out the way it did.

"Just a dog"

There are times new members come on to Doberman Talk, and I truly hope these individuals are trolls. I'm not sure why people troll Doberman boards of all places, but it happens. But, why do I hope they're trolls? Because they disregard things that members, members who are more experienced and learned and all of that than I, who have had the infinite heartbreak of their dogs being sick and dying too early, and only want the best for the breed, and the best for individual puppies. And those new people? They say "You guys are too serious." They say "It's just a dog."

I mean, yes. It is "just a dog". But don't you want the best dog? Don't you want the dog who will last you the longest, have a great temperament, have the fewest health problems?

Doberman Assistance Network: video of 2012 dogs

I can't toot the Doberman Assistance Network's horn enough. They deserve it. They work tirelessly for this breed.

Below is their video from Youtube, reviewing the rescue dogs of 2012. Tearjerker alert: it is to the song "I will remember you".





Of course, they're also well on their way to helping lots of Dobermans in 2013.

Doberman Health: Parvo

Back in November, the Doberman Assistance Network took in three puppies that they suspected had parvo. This may or may not have been the case (I guess there was some shady vetting going on down there), but it occurred to me that I haven't really talked about the bogeyman Parvo here. It's not a Doberman problem, specifically, so much as a dog problem. A puppy problem. I have heard it said that Dobermans and Rottweilers might be more sensitive to the parvovirus, though, and suffer more severe symptoms.

So, what is Parvo?

(little Bluebell, who pulled through just fine, from the Doberman Assistance Network Facebook page.)

Friday followup: Pancho, the puppies, and a DAN auction (ends tomorrow)

One thing that drives me crazy about finding information on the Internet, about "death row" dogs, and sick puppies, is frequently you never hear how it turns out. You assume the worse, really. Though it's better to hope that they were adopted, and went to lovely homes where the adopters are not nearly as interested in the Internet as the rest of us.

I've done that too you a couple of times here. It wasn't intentional, obviously, but I don't always learn the answer either. Today, though, I have a couple of partial answers!

The puppies who may or may not have had Parvo are still holding on. Bluebell is unfortunately still not well, but is trying to hold her own.

Urgent: Doberman puppies need help! (updated 11-16)

The Doberman Assistance Network rescued four 10 week old puppies from a breeder in South Carolina yesterday. Sadly, they all have parvo. There were in fact five puppies, but one has died.

If you can help them in any way, please visit the sponsorship page on the Doberman Assistance Network website.

Parvo is an infectious disease that is almost always fatal in puppies. They vomit, they get diarrhea, they become lethargic and dehydrated very quickly.

Parvo is something that is vaccinated for by responsible owners, but at 10 weeks, these puppies would not have received adequate immunization against it. 

The puppies are receiving emergency care at non discount prices. No amount that you can give is too small; if you can donate at all, it could mean a big difference for these puppies' lives. 

Please, if you can spare it, donate to the care of these puppies. They didn't ask for this.

Edited to add on November 16: Unfortunately, the little red girl (who the Doberman Assistance Network christened Rose), did not make it. Her sisters, Violet and Bluebell, are scheduled to come off of IV's today. Their brother, Dodger, has remained full of beans. When Violet and Bluebell were moved to a different vet, their Parvo tests actually came back negative, but they were full of parasites (hookworms and whipworms), so it would seem their prognosis is better than anticipated! It's unclear whether the first vet was incorrect, ran an incorrect test, etc. Thank you everybody who has donated, and anybody who will consider donating. It saves lives!

Dodger (don't you love his face? He's trouble, clearly!)