Tag archives: muscle atrophy

It’s not hard to love a Labrador retriever. Their outgoing, family friendly personality, great rapport with children, receptiveness to training, and their ability to hunt both waterfowl and upland game have made them a highly desirable and well-loved breed. This popularity is reflected by their place at the top of the American Kennel Club’s registration statistics for the past 24 consecutive years.

When adopting or purchasing a new canine family member or hunting companion, we would all like to know that our enormous investments in love, time, and money will see a sizable return. For a family dog, we’d like to know that they will be healthy and live as long as possible. For a hunting or working dog, in addition to a long life, we’d also like to know they will be able to have a long, healthy career performing the specific task for which we’ve prepared them. Though we could never eliminate or predict all disease risks for our dogs, genetic testing technologies have made elimination and prediction of some inherited diseases easier than ever before.

This blog is the first of a four part blog series examining preventable inherited diseases of America’s favorite dog, the Labrador retriever. What ...

Throughout human history, people have learned to use a variety of animals to help perform essential tasks in an attempt to make their lives easier. While dogs are often recognized for their skill as hunters or as integral hunting companions in pursuit of a variety of game, one under recognized skill of dogs is as draft animals. While we often associate draft or sled dogs with competitive racing such as the Iditarod or Yukon Quest races, many do not realize that these races were developed from the historical use of dogs as draft animals. One dog breed with significant roots as both a hunting and draft animal is the Alaskan malamute.

Early accounts describe ancestors of the Alaskan malamute being used by the native Alaskan tribe previously known as Mahlemuts. These dogs played a crucial role in helping the tribe succeed in the harsh and unforgiving land of northwestern Alaska by assisting them with hunting and pulling sleds. When gold fever struck the Yukon and Alaska in the 19^th century, demand for malamutes and other capable draft dogs increased substantially to assist hopeful prospectors in their quest for a golden fortune. Often confused with the Siberian husky due to ...

The popularity of the Labrador retriever doesn’t seem to wane.  It has been the number one dog breed registered by the American Kennel Club from 2002 to 2012 (the last time registration statistics were calculated) and is currently the most popular breed in the world.  Their cheerful dispositions, great prey drive, and high intelligence, has made them a common sight in American households.  Unfortunately, like many dog breeds, certain inherited diseases have become an issue as the popularity of the breed has increased.  One such disease, centronuclear myopathy (commonly referred to as “CNM” by Labrador breeders), has become a concern for the breed.  It is currently recommended (though considered optional) by the Labrador Retriever Club to perform genetic testing for CNM on all Labradors.  Despite that many Labrador breeders are currently testing for the disorder, from conversations, I have discovered that many breeders still have a significant number of questions in regards to what the disease actually is and what causes the symptoms seen in CNM.

CNM is a hereditary muscle disease of dogs caused by a genetic mutation in the PTPLA gene.  This disease was first described in dogs (Labrador retriever) in ...