Breed-specific news about health, nutrition and genetic advances help breeders, owners and dog enthusiasts learn ways they can benefit in their own operations.

Canine Phenome Project Enhances Genetic Testing

Getting ready for her annual trip to New York to attend the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2006, Kim Daboo of Pitts­burgh became concerned when her Clumber Spaniel, AM/CAN CH Bella Vita The Sandpiper (“Piper”), became ill. She took the 4 ½-year-old female Clumber, who was generally healthy and active in tracking and hunting, to the veterinarian.

The veterinarian referred Daboo and her husband, Cyrus, to a specialist who determined that Piper had a life-threatening, rapid-onset disease, immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA). During the next six days, Piper received a blood transfusion and immunotherapy in an attempt to overcome IMHA, an illness in which a dog’s immune system attacks the red blood cells. Even with aggressive treatment, most dogs die in a short period of time. Some dogs temporarily improve, but relapses are common.