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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Question re color
| As some of you know we lost our precious little girl Sadie to AIHA this weekend. It has been a horrible week for us and of course we are searching for a reason why this happened to a perfectly healthy 3 yr old dog. We know we will probably never know why and yet we continue to search. After talking with a few friends about this dreadful disorder - we have learned that 3 of the cockers that died were black. We have had 4 other cockers (all buff) and never even heard of this autoimmune disorder. THey all lived to be 12-16 yrs old. Does anyone know if the color of the cocker spaniel predisposes the dog even more than other colors? We were wondering if the genetic makeup of the color plays a role in the dogs ability to rebound or even protect against the disorder. I have seen on the site where other colors have been affected - just wondering. If anyone has any information or knows a particular web site that may answer this question let us know. It's probably just a shot in the dark. Again thanks for all the support you have all given us during this extremely sad and difficult time. |
| Sherie Saranac |
| Sherie, I am so sorry to hear about Sadie. My buff colored cocker spaniel was diagnosed in Nov./Dec. 07 and died in March. Know of my thoughts and prayers at this time of grief and sadness. I am sure Molson and Sadie are having a great time running and playing in fields of daisies. Ann Marie |
| Ann Marie FL |
| Sherie, I know that Cockers are more predisposed genetically to this in general but I don't know why the color would play into it. Unfortunately there are so many things we don't know but with the support to Meisha's Hope anything is possible. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Sherie, I am so sorry about Sadie. She was far too young for this to happen. Please accept my deepest condolences. You are indeed on the right track. There is a strong connection with coat color and genetic inheritance. It is really far more complicated than I can present here in a few sentences. However, one of the most striking breeds that is affected by this is the Dalmatian. Very high numbers of this breed are born deaf and that is due to the lack of melanin in the ear development that produce the correct "ear parts" for hearing. It is directly related to the "whiteness" of the coat. In fact, Temple Grandin in her book "Animals in Translation" talks about how white animals are at a genetic disadvantage. It's probably not the most scientific look but is where I started to explore coat color and diseases (and behavior). And recent research is showing that black dogs may have an inherited ability to resist infection better. Here are a few links I found for you to check out. Canine coat color genetics is very complicated to understand. But note this first link, I was surprised to see that American Cocker Spaniels have AIHA listed as a breed disposition but English Cocker Spaniels do not. I am not sure what coat colors are involved here. http://www.upei.ca/~cidd/intro.htm Check both English and American Cocker. http://bowlingsite.mcf.com/Genetics/Genetics.html http://sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5855/1418/DC2 http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/dogcolors.html Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Patrice Thank you for the links - what a complicated process - I found it interesting about the American Cocker being more predisposed for AIHA. Sadie was an American Cocker - so maybe that had more to do with it than her color. This is very informative (and difficult) reading. THanks again - Sherie |
| Sherie Saranac |
This thread was discussed on 16/05/2008
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