MIDDLEFORK ASPENS ADVENTURE (ASPEN)

DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY INFO

We always want to open and honest about our dogs, and when he got the results back from Aspen, we saw he was a carrier for the Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), which sounded scary for us, because no one wants to hear something is wrong with their pet, but the more we researched about it, the more relief we felt. And now we are even more careful to make sure his litters are as healthy as can be!

Taken directly from https://kickingkaussies.com

A Normal "normal" result means that your dog does not have the mutation that causes the associated genetic disease. A Carrier "carrier" result indicates that your dog has inherited one copy of the mutation that has been reported to cause this genetic disease. Your dog may not be clinically affected by this mutation because two copies of the mutation are usually required to cause disease. An At-Risk "at-risk" result indicates that your dog may have inherited one or two copies of the mutation that has been reported to cause this genetic disease. Depending on the mode of genetic inheritance for this particular disease, inheriting one or two mutant copies of the gene may result in the disease.

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Each genetic test from Paw Print Genetics can have 1 of 3 results. 

• Normal (clear): also seen as n/n

  • Indicates the dog is neither affected nor a carrier for the disease and have no increased risk of having affected pups. 

• Carrier: also seen as "n/m" or "m/n" or "one mutant copy"

  • Indicates the dog carries one copy of the mutation for this disease. Although this dog will not be clinically affected, if bred with another "carrier" for this disease the pairing produce affected puppies. To avoid producing "affected" puppies, this dog should only be bred with dogs that are "normal (clear)" of this disease. 

• Affected: also seen as "m/m" or "two copies" or "two mutant copies"

  • Indicates this dog carries two copies of the mutation for this disease and is at high risk for having clinical symptoms of this disease. This dog should not be bred as the offspring are at high risk for being carriers or being affected by this disease. 

A disease of mature dogs,

Per Embark Vet's Website;

Degenerative Myelopathy(DM) is a progressive, degenerative disorder of the spinal cord that causes muscle wasting and gait abnormalities. Affected dogs do not usually show signs until they are at least 8 years old when the nerves that supply the hind limbs begin degenerating.  At first, an affected dog may scuff the tops of their hind paws or walk with a hesitant, exaggerated gait. In its advanced stages, DM can lead to profound weakness and gait abnormalities in all four limbs.

As DM has an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance, dogs with one copy of the variant would be termed “carriers” and not be expected to be at increased clinical risk. However, in breeds where the SOD1A variant is associated with DM risk, carriers should not be bred to other carriers (or at-risk dogs) as this will lead to the production of at-risk puppies. For all other breeds, while it is still important to track the incidence of the variant and clinical disease within lines to inform future research, it is not recommended that this variant be used as the primary factor in breeding decisions at this time.