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What is Centronuclear Myopathy?
Labradors at work: Parents Autism Workshops and Support
Has your dog been screened?
Are you having problems with the website?
What is Centronuclear Myopathy?
Centronuclear Myopathy (CNM) in Labrador Retrievers is a muscle disease (myopathy) which causes weakness and poor tolerance of exercise. The disease is also known as Hereditary Myopathy of the Labrador Retriever (HMLR).. The disease is caused by a mutation in the PTPLA gene.
The mutation is inherited by dogs from their parents. Affected dogs have two copies of the defective gene (one from each parent). If dogs have one copy of a defective gene, and one normal copy, they are called a carrier. Carriers do not show any signs of the disease (that is to say they can exercise normally), but can pass the defective gene onto their puppies if they are bred. If two carriers are bred together then on average half of their puppies will also be carriers, a quarter of their puppies will be normal, and a quarter will be affected by the disease.
A DNA test is now available for the disease, which identifies both affected dogs and carriers. Ideally, carriers should not be used for breeding as they will pass the mutation on to half of their puppies. The Kennel Club publishes a list of affected, carriers, and clear (normal) dogs on their website: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2717
Living with CNM: Merlin’s story
Mrs R. Farthing
Merlin was born in October 2009. He was noticeably thinner and lighter than the other pups but seemed to be no less healthy or active than the others. After about ten days, all the pups suffered from a stomach infection, thought to have been brought in by Mum from the garden. They were all put on a course of treatment by our vet and soon started to recover, except for Merlin, so we took him to the vets where he could have undivided attention and care. This paid off and after two days Merlin was rehydrated and strong enough to come home. Reintroduced to the litter, Mum seemed to take special care of him.
Merlin’s progress from then on was always slightly behind the other pups but we put that down to his poor start. He was always a little quieter, a little less steady on his feet, and not quite as bouncy as the others. He was however, very affectionate! The most noticeable difference was that Merlin became tired very quickly. After just a short time running around, he would sit down and not move for some time. This became the norm and his general condition was now becoming of some concern. By five months he had started limping slightly and a visit to the vets diagnosed him to be slightly lame. But, as the weeks went on, it was very apparent that all was not well. Merlin had now started arching his back, collapsing after going to the toilet, and unable to walk any distance at all. He had also developed a strange gait in his back legs.
After various diagnosis and tests, the vets confirmed that Merlin was CNM positive at five months old. It was pointed out that the cold severely affects the condition so we were to avoid this wherever possible and swimming was out of the question due to poor muscle stamina. At this stage the general outlook was not very good for Merlin and we had concerns about his quality of life. Feeding was difficult as he wasn’t able to stand for long and would end up eating lying down. Exercise was very much limited to a stroll around the garden before he would collapse, and the same could be said of him going to the toilet. The specialist vet had told us that to try and build his muscle up, he needed to walk continuously for a minimum of ten minutes. At this time we did not think that this was ever going to be possible but we were determined to persevere.
By the time Merlin was ten months, there seemed to be slow but very positive changes to his condition. He was becoming physically stronger, able to stand to eat his food, eating dried food and able to go to the toilet without collapse. His stamina improved and he didn’t seem to tire as quickly. He was also able to play with the other dogs and hold his own to some extent.
Now here we are with Merlin approaching his second birthday. He runs around in his own funny way, goes for walks for over half an hour with the other dogs, and eats in true Labrador fashion! He has become a big, strong, playful, happy and very naughty dog; perhaps he’s making up for lost “chewing” ground! Only his gait and funny walk are clues to his condition.
The moral of the story – never give up! Dogs with CNM can still enjoy a quality of life but by testing dogs before breeding, the disease is preventable.
Many thanks go to Mrs R. Farthing for her story about Merlin
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Labradors at work: Parents Autism Workshops and Support
Parents Autism Workshops and Support (PAWS) is a new service from the charity Dogs for the Disabled. The special chemistry shown between a child and dog through the charity’s work providing assistance dogs for families with a child with autism, led them to realise that whilst for some children there will be a clear need for a fully trained assistance dog, a well trained family pet dog can also have a massively beneficial impact.
Many Labradors make excellent assistance dogs due to their gentle temperament. Experiences have shown that dogs can provide reassurance and help to calm autistic children if they become distressed. PAWS help families that care for an autistic child by offering advice on dog ownership and supporting them to train their own dog to help if they do not have a fully trained assistance dog.
Through the PAWS project, families of children with autism can meet to discuss the advantages of getting a pet dog (or training their own pet dog), and meet people in similar situations. PAWS provide lots of information and support on every aspect of dog ownership from choosing the right dog, specific training, and the effect the dog has on the family environment.
PAWS workshops are open to parents of children with a clinical diagnosis of autism aged between 3-16 years. They can be attended whether the family already has a pet dog or are thinking about getting one. The workshops take part all over the UK and consist of three one day sessions over the course of three months. From hands-on practical learning and demonstrations, to leaflets, information and advice, PAWS workshops aim to give all the support needed to those considering training a dog to help their autistic child. The charity also offers long-term support after the workshops have been completed.
Participants of PAWS may be asked to take part in a research project set up in collaboration with the University of Lincoln and The National Autistic Society. The 3 year study aims to find out why dogs affect children with autism, and the impact on the family as a whole, in order to get more specific information on the benefits of dog ownership and provide families with better guidelines before undergoing the scheme. As with Dogslife, participating in research projects means that valuable information can be gathered in order to improve our knowledge and understanding and help give better advice for the future.
For more information about PAWS, please visit: http://paws.dogsforthedisabled.org/
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Has your dog been screened?
Has your dog been screened for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia or eye diseases? The Kennel Club and British Veterinary Association run a number of health screening schemes which are used by breeders to try and increase the probabilities of producing healthy puppies (see http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/breed/health.aspx?id=2048). For Labrador Retrievers, genetic (DNA) based tests also exist for one form of blindness (called Progressive rod cone degeneration - Progressive retinal atrophy) and Centronuclear Myopathy (as detailed in this month's newsletter) which breeders can use to avoid the risk of breeding puppies that develop diseases.
We are often asked by Dogslife members where they can detail the results of these tests when they have been performed on their dog. Well, we have not added a specific place on the Dogslife website to enter the test results because we already know them! The results of these tests are freely available to the general public so anybody can find the results for a particular dog if they know its Kennel Club registration number or name (you can try it out at http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/mateselect/test/). Thank you to everybody who has enquired about uploading their dog's results - hopefully this Kennel Club service can reduce the amount of time you spend telling us about your dog's health screening, leaving more time to help us capture as much other information about your dog as we can.
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Are you having problems with the website?
Dogslife aims to provide a website that is user friendly, fun and informative. If at any time users experience difficulties, we would be very grateful for feedback on the nature of the problem so that we can resolve it. To tell us about an error or difficulty, email us at info@dogslife.ac.uk and we will endeavour to find out where the problem lies and fix it as quickly as possible.
To help us pinpoint the nature of a problem, we need to know which kind of computer people are using (e.g. PC, Mac etc), the operating system (e.g. Windows 7, Windows XP etc), the browser and version they are using (e.g. Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 4.0, Safari), and exactly what is happening when a problem occurs i.e. the page or data that is being entered, what has been clicked on, and any error messages (emailing us a screenshot often helps). If you are unsure how to find these details out about your system, contact us at the same e-mail address and we can talk you through the process. We really appreciate users giving us as much information as they can since we need to try and recreate any errors in order to find and fix them.
Before starting a data entry, it is worth having all your dog’s details to hand. By making a note of the dog’s height, weight, and feeding measurements, dates of illnesses, trips to the vet, and details of any treatments or medications before you start entering data, you will minimise the chance of being “timed out” of a data entry session (the website or your computer stopping if there is a long pause between entering different data points). When uploading photos, it is best to make sure that the size of the file is not too big (the maximum size is detailed where a photo can be added) as larger images may not load.
Although we keep a close eye on the website to ensure its smooth running, we are keen to find out about any issues we are not aware of so that we can continue to improve the website and our members and visitors can enjoy using it without difficulties. Thanks again to everyone who contributes to the project by helping us find out what keeps dogs healthy, and helping us keep the website in shape too!
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Don't forget to come back to Dogslife to update your dog's record www.dogslife.ac.uk
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