Pituitary Dwarfism test for CsW is available!

[mijke]

The university of Utrecht did validate the pituitary dwarfism test for the CsW breed

And since April 2009 it also possible to test a CsW for pituitary dwarfism!

Unfortunately also in CsW breed several dwarfs (from several lines) are known.

And when 1% is dwarf in a population, 18 % will be carrier of this mutated gen!
And the number of carriers in practice is often much higher than thought




But as of now there is no need that more CsW dwarfs will be born!

Because of a simple test can be established if a dog is carrier of this mutated gene.

And not any dog has to be out of breeding program when he/she is carrier.
The only thing is not to make any crossings between carrier x carrier!(of this mutated gen)


Therefore it makes sense to test as much as possible CsW's to see how this mutation in the breed is spread.
And to prevent another CsW dwarf will be ever born, you have to test all CsW's that will be used for breeding!



How an owner can test his CsW for pituitary dwarfism:

Because not all vets will know the test, it can be useful to give them a copy of the article of dr. H. Kooistra en drs. A. Voorbij: Pituitary dwarfism in German shepherd dogs and Saarloos wolfhounds -Availability of a genetic test-
Here you can download this document as pdf file **

A form blood sample is here to download as pdf file ** .

** A pdf file is to open with program Acrobat Reader. You can download this program for free for example Here

• The owner can fill in all the info about himself and the dog in the form: ”Blood DNA research Pituitary Dwarfism” and sign it.
• Then the owner can go to his own veterinarian with his CsW, the form the pedigree and a copy of the pedigree.
• The vet has to check the chip number, fill in the info and has to sign the form.
• Then he can collect 4ml EDTA blood sample.

The 4 ml blood sample (collected in an EDTA containing tube) can together with the signed form and the copy of the pedigree send by the veterinarian to:

Dr. H.S. Kooistra
Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University
Yalelaan 108
3584 CM Utrecht
The Netherlands

• After the test the university will send a bill to the owner
• The costs of this genetic test is Euro 100 (excl. VAT).
• When the university has received the paying of the owner, they will send him the test result.
• When the dog is free of dwarfism gen, the owner also receives an official certificate.

Here some general info about pituitary dwarfism:



What is pituitary dwarfism:
Dwarfism is a horrible incurable disorder which you don’t wish to any dog. A dwarf has a badly developed pituitary , which means that certain hormones (such as growth hormones) are not produced. Due to the shortage of the production of the thyroid stimulating hormone, they have a slow functioning thyroid. Besides the fact that these dogs stay small, they are also haunted by various horrible side effects (e.g. baldness, itching, inflammations, malfunctioning of the liver and kidneys, slow behaviour) when they are not treated with medicines on a daily basis.



Recognising and existence of dwarfism in a breed:
Dwarfism is not always recognised by a breeder!!
Many dwarfs die in the uterus or die during the birth.
And moreover 90% of the living born dwarfs die in the first week.
Pups behind in growth are often not recognised as dwarfs. After (4 weeks or later) people see that a pup is different in comparison with the other pups. Dwarfism is known in the breeds German Shepherd, Karelische Bearsdog, Saarlooswolfhond and the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog.