Doberman Congenital Deafness Study

***This fund does not support just one person, or one pet. This

fundraiser supports thousands of individuals, breeders, families and

friends in the doberman community, as well as could pioneer this dna

test for other breeds and for possibly our children. ***

In

2010, A group of breeders sought out Dr. Aubrey Webb with concerns

about vestibular disease in the doberman breed. These breeders

were seeking attention to finding the gene that was responsible for

causing vestibular deafness in dobermans and creating a dna test to

make it available to the doberman community. The vestibular disorder

was thought to be an inherited condition. Dr. Aubrey Webb asked Mark

Neff, Ph.D., head of the Laboratory of Canine Genetics &

Genomics would soon collaberate to identify the mode of inheritance of

the disorder in dobermans. Together Webb and Neff coordinated with

Projectdog.org research labs in search for the gene responsible for

this disease. In 2012 a collection of dna provided by doberman breeders

proved to find one specific causative marker that determined dogs clear

(no mutation), affected (2 copies of the mutation) and carrier dogs

(one copy of the mutation) within the doberman population. However by

September 30th, 2014, research had been halted due to lack of funding.

Vestibular disease has been around in dobermans since the creation of

the breed. For decades breeders who produce these animals in their

litters would euthanize symptomatic puppies. These puppies often are

born deaf in one ear, or both, and will continually circle, roll, thrash

around, stagger, cry, and nurse on their backs. Mothers become

unsettled, and worried because they can not console the crying puppy,

which often times creates complications with stomping and laying

on normally reared babies. Many of these puppies end up fading for

they are unable to latch on and nurse properly, and vigerous mothers

attempting to over stimulate them. Therefore, these Puppies require

continued support from the breeder in order to survive. Puppies that are

raised by the breeder eventually learn how to compensate for the lack

of coordination and can eventually walk normally without staggering ,

and falling to the floor rolling, but often times will have a slight

tilt to on the affected side of the head. These puppies require the

right homes, that accept that their new puppy is unique and will need

special training with sign language, body language and viberation. .

With the right home, these dogs will flourish and make great companions.

However, many of these puppies struggle with engagement not only with

humans, but also with other animals that they go to live with. This in

itself makes finding homes for these special puppies extremely

difficult. Therefore, many of these puppies are turned into rescues, or

live in unsafe environments. Many juggle from home to home as they

age, and quite often do not make it into their senior years unless there

is breeder intervention.
Today, most breeders feel this disease

is particular to certian bloodlines within the breed. However at this

point the disorder has not been proven to be bloodline base, gender

base, color base, or if the disorder is directly involved with any

other known disorder. Nor has it been determined how much of the

doberman population is clear, carrier or affected. It however has been

determined that carrier dogs are with one copy of the gene are NOT

symptomatic. Further research is required to assist breeders in the

irradication of this disease with in the doberman breed.
Please

assist the doberman breed on the quest for further research and

preservation of this very important genetic test. Donations from 1200

individuals, at $20 each, will move this research forward with

Projectdog Labs in Davis California to finalization , save countless

lives, and increase genetic diversity in our gene pool.

You can find additional reading about vestibular disease in the following links;

Projectdog.org
PubMed.Gov
Purina Pro Club

Direct Donations can be mailed with check to:

Yvonne Nguyen
2964 Milbro Street
Costa Mesa
CA, 92626