Sadie with Illinois Doberman Rescue is Senior of the Week

Sadie is this week's Special Needs Dobermans Senior Doberman Project Senior of the week. This 7 year old docked tail, natural eared girl was picked up as a stray and then surrendered to IDR when her owner was located an found unable to care for her. She's in the care of Illinois Doberman Rescue plus.

Other Black and Tans in the Dog World

For me, when I think of dogs with black and tan markings (or black and rust, or black and rust markings are "fuego", flame, if you're in Spain), I think of Dobermans and Rottweilers.

Doberman Health ~ Health Testing outside the United States

I live in the United States, and as a result have a rather ethnocentric view. I try not to, but there are times I find myself falling into it.

One of those times is with regards to health testing in Dobermans before breeding. Many of the health tests I know about, and thus recommend when looking for a breeder are ones based in (or mostly available in) the United States. But it's a big world out there.

Image of Earth taken from the International Space Station

Doberman Health: Color Dilution Alopecia

In my The Doberman: Color post, I touched on Color Dilution Alopecia briefly. I've actually seen it coming up in Google searches, and thought that I would do a more in-depth (or at least slightly more informational) post.

It is a condition resulting in hair loss and skin irritation that only affects the dilutes of the Doberman breed, so blues (which are a dilute of black) and fawns (which are a dilute of red). I think Nola from Thursday's post is a blue, if that gives you some color perspective (I'm not saying she has CDA, just pointing out her color):

Doberman Health: Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the bogeyman in Dobermans nowadays. There is no modern bloodline that is free of it. There is a $65 genetic test that you can get from VetGen to see if your dog is a carrier of that specific gene, but the problem is, they've only identified one gene. So dogs that test "clear" may still die of DCM.

It's a scary thing to think of. And currently, with Elka at the tender age of 3, I'm clinging to the notion that she'll live forever. That's how this story will go, right?

(notice how Elka found the only green in the fallen leaves?)

Doberman Health: vonWillebrand's Disease

On Sunday night/Monday morning I had the unfortunate experience of having quicked Elka's nail while trimming it. Other than Wednesday, it's rather become this week's theme, unfortunately. That's my life, no shortage of inspiration, I guess!

Part of the reason I've been talking about what seems like such a minor thing all week is the fact that her nail bled for so long. It was unsettling, to say in the least. I didn't think that it was life threatening, as I knew that Elka was a carrier for vonWillebrand's disease, but neither affected nor clinically affected. And then I realized that it was time to talk about vWD.

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.

Where do puppies come from?

I was in a mall today, and that mall had a pet store. Not just a pet supply store, but one that had that row of cages, separated by windows, with puppies in them.  You know the type.

There was a Puggle, and a Morkie, and a Chihuahua, and a Pomeranian (though the people standing next to me thought it wasn't a purebred Pom; I thought it was, but held my tongue).  There was a Bernese Mountain Dog, and an English Bulldog.  The smaller breeds were all $700, but Berner was $1999, and the English Bulldog had a sign that said "Serious inquiries only."

So, where did these puppies come from?