Tag archives: kidney disease

There are not many dog breed names that give a more apt description of the breed’s physical appearance than that of the coton de Tulear. Taken from the French word “coton”, meaning cotton, the coton de Tulear’s signature soft white hair (not fur) has long been compared to the fluffy fiber of the cotton plant. According to the Malagasy Coton de Tulear Club of America, the coton de Tulear was developed in Madagascar around the 17^th century and is still the official dog of this island nation. Predecessors to the modern coton de Tulear were likely brought to the island by sailors or pirates around this time period. Though they are generally a healthy breed, unfortunately, like other purebred dogs, the coton de Tulear is known to inherit some genetic diseases that can make life challenging for this small, friendly companion and those that love them. One such inherited disease of the coton de Tulear is a severe condition known as primary hyperoxaluria (PH) that occurs due to a mutation in the AGXT gene.

Dogs affected with PH lack the ability to produce an enzyme that plays an essential role in the breakdown of a compound known as glyoxylate ...

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 ...

With the largest network of veterinary clinics in the country (more than 850), Banfield Pet Hospitals is uniquely positioned to collect data on dogs and the ailments affecting them. Their yearly “State of Pet Health Report” has detailed infectious diseases, common conditions and chronic conditions in canine and felines for at least the last four years.

In the 2014 report, the diseases and conditions are broken down individually, with descriptions, symptoms, common treatments and preventative measures given in an overview. The top-five states for each issue are listed as well.

Individual states can be selected from an interactive map, which details the canine population, most common diagnoses, most common names and breeds (likely differing from AKC’s popularity list, which is comprised strictly of registration statistics). For instance, in Paw Print Genetics’ home state of Washington, the average lifespan of a dog is 11.2 years (compared to 11.0 nationwide); the most common diagnoses are dental tartar, overweightness, ear infections, skin infections and skin tumors; most common names are Bella, Max, Buddy, Lucy and Daisy. The common dog breeds in the state: Labrador retriever, Chihuahua, shih tzu, Yorkshire terrier and dachshund.

The full report breaks down health trends in 2013 ...

               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 ...