[ SHOWGSD-L ] ADMINISTRATION!!! EPILEPSY THREAD!!!!!
- From: "David Fritsche" <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <stormy435@xxxxxxxxx>, <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 20:11:42 -0700
THose that are continuing the personal reference regarding the breeders or
owners of the original subject WILL Be put on mod post.
Please honor the ADMIN request, and restrict your posts to the disease not
the people involved.
The Showgsd-l Administration
> ------------------------------------------------
About the disease...
We had two epileptic dogs over the years (58), so I suppose we are lucky.
Lucky that it was not more and lucky to have had them. Greatly loved and
still mourned.
After finding out that our boy had it, many years in between and no
relationship, I started on a campaign to discover all there is to know about
it and to study pedigrees until I figured out which dogs were passing it on
and to asked that we not breed on those lines. Grand venture, well meant but
impossible. I received tons of pedigrees from people who had also
experienced this, and there were some common dogs in most of the pedigrees,
way back, but in the expansion of the breed and the use of those dogs, it is
everywhere. Of course, it has to have been in the original gene pool or it
wouldn't be with us at all - if I understand anything about genetics. I must
for I read all of Michael Creighton's books.... <g>
It is everywhere, but fortunately it is rare. It is more prominent in other
breeds, spaniels in particular. It is rare in the GSD, at about 3%. Too
large a percent, but lower than some breeds.
As has already been posted, there are a ton of causes, and it is common for
people to hope that it is a poisoning or shot or other toxicity that will
pass, but according to the figures I read, over 90% of seizure prone dog
have what is called Idiopathic Epilepsy, which from the Latin, simply means
to 'not know' - the cause is unknown but assumed to be genetic in that in
runs in lines. The fact that breeding a bitch who has produced it to another
male and not finding it in the next litter may confirm that. As I understand
it, epilepsy in humans is pretty much confirmed as a genetic anomaly, and
yet some human seizures are caused by poisoning, but also, the vast majority
of recurring seizure patterns are Idiopathic and genetic.
When we found out that our boy had epilepsy, we were heart broken. He was
pointed and on his way. We called the breeder to let them know and they
replaced him (we kept him until he passed away from cluster seizures) and
thought it best to not repeat that breeding and did not breed to that male
again. That seemed to end the events and no other dogs in the litter or in
subsequent breedings of that bitch were affected. Whether they did the right
thing or not, others will have to judge. We appreciated their commitment to
the breed and the stance they took. We adopted their stance.
The problem is, we need a genetic test to determine where this gene is and
then be careful to not double up on it. We did not breed our boy, and we
made the same commitment years before with the bitch we had which had it.
She had her first seizure in the whelping box with her first litter. We
spayed her and asked people who took puppies from that litter to let us know
if any of the puppies had it. One did, and we asked that he be neutered,
which he was. The rest were fixed anyway and in pet homes.
Someone posted that there is a test. I would like to hear more about that.
If there is, we need to know and use it. It is exciting to see the field of
genetics opening up to us and to realize that we are unraveling the
mysteries of life and of disease. There are great possibilities ahead.
When we finally let our boy go, the vet turned to us and said, "You may not
sleep tonight, but you will be able to sleep soon. For over a year, you have
not had a night sleep, for you were always listening, half asleep, and ready
to jump up and go to his side.... Now, you can sleep." I didn't realize it
until he said it, but he was right. For over a year we did not sleep -
listening for the bump in the night.
When we have the tools, let's master this one....
Dave
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2012. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in
any post.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org
SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
============================================================================
Other related posts: