Dwarfs in Holland and important questions!

mijke · 20-11-2011, 00:01

About the project of the Dutch uni:
The Dutch veterinary university of Utrecht did discover the mutation for pituitary dwarfism and did develop the dwarfism test. Later on we could validate the test for the CsW breed.
The uni is now doing more research about the function and working of pituitary in this form of dwarfism.
That is why they treat now several dogs (SWH, CsW and GSD) with porcine GH and thyroxin. And in future they also can do more research in the pituitary’s of these dwarfs.
For this project they have now enough living dwarfs. But they still also need pituitary’s of not treated dwarfs. So they hope more dwarf owners/breeders will donate the pituitary of their dwarf when they passed away .

About the CsW dwarfs living in Holland
In the past I did import 5 dwarfs (2 from Poland, 3 from Slovakia) for the pituitary dwarfism research project of the uni in Utrecht.
One of the dwarfs was already dead by importing, but thanks to the breeder the uni could still do research on her pituitary.
All these dwarfs get every week Porcine grow hormones and daily thyroxin tablets. So their organs can/could develop in a normal way.

About health of Faith and Coco
This summer locomotion problems did start with one of dwarfs from SK (Coco) and very soon the second one Faith (from the same litter) did get similar problems.

About Faith
With Faith the locomotion problems did progress in a very fast way and at the end she lacked the control of her locomotion and coordination and did become very weak. So she did get a lot of investigations and MRI scan. And based on all these research results, it was clear this dwarf could not have a normal life and would only suffer ……
So the owner had to make a hard and brave decision for the best of this dwarf to to euthanize her....

Here you can find the report of her owner Arnolda:

Faith R.I.P. *19-12-2010 +25-08-2011

Faith was born with dwarfism. That's why she lived with us. She came to the Netherlands to get medications. Faith had a MRI scan on 25-08-2011 because she was very weak and didn't have the coordination over her body. At the same time they did a CT scanned X-rays. They found two major problems at the cervical vertebrae and the cartilage . The first one: When Faith grew this part didn't develop very well and it has not grown together. Because of the space between it, tissue started to grow. This tissue was now big enough to push on her skull and small brains. She had too much pressure in her brains. They could not remove this tissue because it was too dangerous and risky. In that area is also the nerve part that arranges the breathing. The chance that they damage nerves during such an operation is very big and there was no guarantee at all that she could recover. The second problem: Every dog has two cervical with two hooks on it. That hooks didn't not grown in a normal way at Faith. They pushed on her spinal marrow at two places. That's why her muscles received wrong information. The nerves in the spinal marrow were under pressure also. We had to make the hardest decision.

About Coco
The uni did also make a lot of investigations and MRI scan of the second dwarf of this litter Coco.
She also has formed tissue between the vertebrae, but not in such a worse way as her sister Faith. Coco did develop slow, but progressed since this summer! And now has less problems with moving! So she is a happy and active dog and can do everything like a normal CsW. And she can become old with this problem

About Chico
The last month the owners of Chico (the dwarf from Poland) did notice that he sometimes was walking very strange when he was running .. (putting his feed in a strange way) Than they also did notice a strange way of holding his head when running.
And sometimes when he was running he stumbled and fell. Then it seems he could not stand up and was only moving his legs when he laid down.
Also Chico did get a lot of investigations of a neurologist and prof. Kooistra to see if it is a problem of the small brains, or if it is the same problem of Faith and Coco. Last Friday he did also get a MRI scan.
It was visible that the second vertebra was not closed at 3 places. And the spinal cord has small indentations on those places. This is not a problem with normal movement . Only with hard or “suddenly” movements it can result in temporary or complete paralysing.
But also Chico can become old with this defect!

About Yazhi:
This month Yazhi will becomes 2 years old. She never did have any moving problems like the other CsW dwarfs in the research project. She is extremely agile and fast and secure in all her movements.
She only did have coat problems (strange fur with bald spots) In spring the uni did change the doses PGH and in June she was castrated. This did result in total changing of her coat. Now she has a full and thick coat on most places and only 2 small bald spots on the hind legs.

Important Questions for all owners and breeders of dwarfs

Because maybe the physical problems of Faith, Coco and Chico are dwarf related we need your help!!!

Did you see any special things in “movement” or in “coordination of movement/ body control” in your dwarf
Did you ever see something like that with littermates or pups in other litters?
Which other specific things did you notice about your dwarf comparing with other pups?

Also other reactions of other (not dwarf) owners and breeders who did see such locomotion (movement or coordination) problems of puppies are very welcome!

Please send me a PM or email.
We are not interested in names of the dogs, only in your experiences!

And when you have a dwarf and want to cooperate in future the research project with sending the pituitary, please send me also a PM or mail .

Thanks in advance for your cooperation!!

20-11-2011, 00:01	#1
mijke Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Warnsveld Posts: 2,033	Dwarfs in Holland and important questions! About the project of the Dutch uni: The Dutch veterinary university of Utrecht did discover the mutation for pituitary dwarfism and did develop the dwarfism test. Later on we could validate the test for the CsW breed. The uni is now doing more research about the function and working of pituitary in this form of dwarfism. That is why they treat now several dogs (SWH, CsW and GSD) with porcine GH and thyroxin. And in future they also can do more research in the pituitary’s of these dwarfs. For this project they have now enough living dwarfs. But they still also need pituitary’s of not treated dwarfs. So they hope more dwarf owners/breeders will donate the pituitary of their dwarf when they passed away . About the CsW dwarfs living in Holland In the past I did import 5 dwarfs (2 from Poland, 3 from Slovakia) for the pituitary dwarfism research project of the uni in Utrecht. One of the dwarfs was already dead by importing, but thanks to the breeder the uni could still do research on her pituitary. All these dwarfs get every week Porcine grow hormones and daily thyroxin tablets. So their organs can/could develop in a normal way. About health of Faith and Coco This summer locomotion problems did start with one of dwarfs from SK (Coco) and very soon the second one Faith (from the same litter) did get similar problems. About Faith With Faith the locomotion problems did progress in a very fast way and at the end she lacked the control of her locomotion and coordination and did become very weak. So she did get a lot of investigations and MRI scan. And based on all these research results, it was clear this dwarf could not have a normal life and would only suffer …… So the owner had to make a hard and brave decision for the best of this dwarf to to euthanize her.... Here you can find the report of her owner Arnolda: *Faith R.I.P. 19-12-2010 +25-08-2011 Faith was born with dwarfism. That's why she lived with us. She came to the Netherlands to get medications. Faith had a MRI scan on 25-08-2011 because she was very weak and didn't have the coordination over her body. At the same time they did a CT scanned X-rays. They found two major problems at the cervical vertebrae and the cartilage . The first one: When Faith grew this part didn't develop very well and it has not grown together. Because of the space between it, tissue started to grow. This tissue was now big enough to push on her skull and small brains. She had too much pressure in her brains. They could not remove this tissue because it was too dangerous and risky. In that area is also the nerve part that arranges the breathing. The chance that they damage nerves during such an operation is very big and there was no guarantee at all that she could recover. The second problem: Every dog has two cervical with two hooks on it. That hooks didn't not grown in a normal way at Faith. They pushed on her spinal marrow at two places. That's why her muscles received wrong information. The nerves in the spinal marrow were under pressure also. We had to make the hardest decision. About Coco The uni did also make a lot of investigations and MRI scan of the second dwarf of this litter Coco. She also has formed tissue between the vertebrae, but not in such a worse way as her sister Faith. Coco did develop slow, but progressed since this summer! And now has less problems with moving! So she is a happy and active dog and can do everything like a normal CsW. And she can become old with this problem About Chico The last month the owners of Chico (the dwarf from Poland) did notice that he sometimes was walking very strange when he was running .. (putting his feed in a strange way) Than they also did notice a strange way of holding his head when running. And sometimes when he was running he stumbled and fell. Then it seems he could not stand up and was only moving his legs when he laid down. Also Chico did get a lot of investigations of a neurologist and prof. Kooistra to see if it is a problem of the small brains, or if it is the same problem of Faith and Coco. Last Friday he did also get a MRI scan. It was visible that the second vertebra was not closed at 3 places. And the spinal cord has small indentations on those places. This is not a problem with normal movement . Only with hard or “suddenly” movements it can result in temporary or complete paralysing. But also Chico can become old with this defect! About Yazhi: This month Yazhi will becomes 2 years old. She never did have any moving problems like the other CsW dwarfs in the research project. She is extremely agile and fast and secure in all her movements. She only did have coat problems (strange fur with bald spots) In spring the uni did change the doses PGH and in June she was castrated. This did result in total changing of her coat. Now she has a full and thick coat on most places and only 2 small bald spots on the hind legs. Important Questions for all owners and breeders of dwarfs Because maybe the physical problems of Faith, Coco and Chico are dwarf related we need your help!!! Did you see any special things in “movement” or in “coordination of movement/ body control” in your dwarf Did you ever see something like that with littermates or pups in other litters? Which other specific things did you notice about your dwarf comparing with other pups? Also other reactions of other (not dwarf) owners and breeders who did see such locomotion (movement or coordination) problems of puppies are very welcome! Please send me a PM or email. We are not interested in names of the dogs, only in your experiences! And when you have a dwarf and want to cooperate in future the research project with sending the pituitary, please send me also a PM or mail . Thanks in advance for your cooperation!!** __________________ Vriendelijke groeten, Mijke PS: I am not a moderator anymore!!