357 – Genetic Testing Helps You Swipe Right for Your Dog
Genetic Testing Helps You Swipe Right for Your Dog
Today’s dog breeders are getting a boost from the burgeoning field of genetic testing. Doberman Diversity Project co-founder Sophie Liu talks about her work using advanced tools to improve genetic health issues in Doberman Pinschers.
Liu was a vet student researching her next dog when she became aware of the multitude of health challenges facing Dobermans.
According to the DDP website:
OUR MISSION is to reduce the incidence of heritable diseases in the Doberman by studying and addressing the depression in the overall genetic diversity of the Doberman breed and studying and researching widespread disease-associated mutations, through comprehensive genetic testing and analysis, development and sharing of evidence-based breeding findings, development of online breeder decision-making tools, and long-term tracking of results to measure the effectiveness of varied approaches to breeding — in terms of genetic health and longevity.
Combatting DCM
Liu said that a major focus of their research is geared toward reducing the incidence of Dilated Cardiomyopathy in the breed, which currently is plagued by the devastating disease, with nearly half of the breed being affected.
A great deal of DDP’s research and studies are directed at developing a tool which establishes a genetic value for the risk of passing on DCM. Building on the work done by Guide Dogs for the Blind, DDP hopes to enable breeders to determine an “estimated breeding value” for DCM on a pedigree and genetic basis.
“This is a super powerful tool,” Liu said. “This is how guide dogs have systematically improved their breeding program.”
The two genes identified to date that are associated with DCM in Dobermans are autosomal dominant, Liu said. Because the disease shows up late in a dog’s life, it can be hard to stay ahead of, she noted.
Genetic testing offered through Embark at cost enables DDP to track genetic data. Study participants also update all clinical health data for the research project.
Need more dogs tested
Liu said that in just about two years DDP has tested more than 2,500 dogs, but they need many more.
“We need more dogs tested. Affected and unaffected dogs. We need raw data and clinical updates and medical records,” Liu said. The guide dog programs’ success relies on having the advantage of huge breeding colonies that are all tested in house, she added.
DDP’s relationship with Embark enables breeders to find the right balance between the inbreeding percentages needed to fix type and maintain health. Embark’s breeder tool enables people to make that decision for themselves, Liu noted, “just like Tinder for your Doberman.”
“We’re finding out that the genetic bottlenecks are worse than we thought,” Liu noted. “Over 99% of Dobermans share a single paternal haplotype, in other words, one stud dog is behind nearly every Doberman tested.”
The research is also turning up valuable information about the heritability of various traits – in other words, how much variation of the trait is genetic. For example, studies indicate 40 percent of fear behavior is genetic. For more on the topic of how genetics impact fear behavior, listen to Pure Dog Talk Episode 221.
“People go to breeders for consistency,” Liu said. “The better we get at it, the better it is for everyone.”
232 – Veterinary Voice: Nutritionally Mediated Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Dog Food and Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
The UC Davis Cardiology Service has developed this document in response to the alerts from the FDA. These alerts identify an associated risk for some grain-free diets containing certain ingredients (legumes like peas, pea components, lentils; white potatoes, sweet potatoes) and a diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
Taurine Test Results Are IN – and It’s Frightful
https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm616279.htm
What is Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)?
DCM is a heart muscle disorder that results in weak pump function and heart chamber enlargement. In the early stages of this disease, pets may appear totally healthy with no apparent clinical signs. Later in the course of this disease, dogs may have a heart murmur, an arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), collapse episodes, weakness or tiredness with exercise, and even trouble breathing from congestive heart failure. While there are some breeds of dogs (like Dobermans) that have a genetic predisposition to the development of DCM, there are also nutritional factors that may result in this disease.
What should I do?
If you are feeding a diet of concern based upon the FDA alert we recommend that you consult with us or a veterinary cardiologist. UC Davis provides 4 general points for guidance below:
- An initial step is to consider whether you are willing or interested in performing additional testing to assess whether your pet is affected with DCM. If you believe your dog is at risk, showing any of the aforementioned clinical signs or would prefer to simply rule out any heart disease, we recommend that you first have your pet’s taurine levels tested as well as seek an echocardiogram by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist. Low taurine levels are associated with development of DCM in dogs and are sometimes a component of this current issue. Test results from dogs in our practice range from 181-347 nMol/ml. The low end is close enough to “at risk” to have us start taking action – changing diets and adding taurine.
Information on taurine testing can be found here: https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/labs/amino-acid-laboratory
- At this time, diet change is recommended when possible and should be considered regardless of the results obtained from any testing. You can consult with us in selecting a new diet that avoids the ingredients of concern listed by the FDA. When selecting this diet, we recommend that you choose a diet that is manufactured with rigorous quality control measures and research behind the formulation. A way to ensure that your diet meets these recommendations is to follow the following guidelines that were generated by a large number of the world’s leading experts in veterinary nutrition. We recommend Hill’s Science Diet, Royal Canin/Iams and Purina. These companies have been producing dog food since the 1940s and do feeding trials on their food. Many newer companies only do AAFCO testing and don’t have a track record of successfully feeding dogs and cats for 70 years.
Food selection guidelines found here:
https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Arpita-and-Emma-editorial/Selecting-the-Best-Food-for-your-Pet.pdf
- If your pet is identified through testing to have a low blood taurine level or evidence of DCM by echocardiogram, we urge you to report this information to the FDA.
FDA reporting guidelines found here: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm
- Work with us to determine the best course of action and medical treatments if indicated. In the case of a DCM diagnosis, diet change alone may not be sufficient and additional medications may be prescribed. The current recommendation is to add GNC’s Taurine 500 mg tablets – at a dose of 1 tablet twice a day – for the next 3 to 6 months or 1000 mg twice a day for giant breed dogs.
Please continue to monitor the FDA website, www.veterinaryvillage.com and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Newsfeeds for updates and recommendations regarding this issue.
| Whole Blood nMol/ml | Whole Blood nMol/ml | |
| Normal Range | No known risk for deficiency | |
| Dog | 200-350 | >150 * |
| Cat | 300-600 | >200 * |
*Please note with recent increase in the number of dogs screened for taurine deficiency, we are seeing dogs with values within the reference ranges (or above the “no known risk for deficiency range”) yet are still exhibiting signs of cardiac disease.