Runt or Dwarf? What's the difference? - Page 2

Okay, I'm back.

Tiny one weighted 2.2 pds. I'm not exactly sure of the correct term for her....but translated it mean mental retardation. She has a huge dome shape to her head. Her eyes do not respond to the test very fast. She wobbles when she walks a little. He said that some forms of mental retardation were very severe and some not that severe.....but he did tell me about the risk. About the future problems that might arise. He told me that he was almost positive that she was middle range. He said we could do an MRI to see how bad it was but he thought I should go home and talk with my husband. He warned me about possible seizures.

Otherwise, he said her heart sounded beautiful. She breaths good. No heart murmurs.

Here's 2 pictures. Sorry they are not very good. One is a close up of her...and the other is a side by side of her litter mate.
http://tinypic.com/r/rhl7oh/7

 

http://i52.tinypic.com/2l9pset.jpg 

Rollinginit,

Well, at least you got a name for it...

I think you are in for a tough decision as not sure what kind of quality of life that pup will have. You will have to screen carefully if you decide to keep going with her and hope that her home stays a forever home. But, it sounds like you should probably think strongly about putting her down. I know that sounds awful. I know it's hard. We faced a similar experience with one of the foals we bred and made the hard decision to put her down.  It's a lot easier if they are already trying to die on you than if there heart is normal and you have to stop it. Trust me..I know.

Good luck with whatever you decide and my heart goes out to you.

Here is a link of the condition at the bottom of my post. It's been a little crazy around here today. All I could remember was "water on the brain" and "huge soft spot"

My daughter's Boyfriends family was going to take her. I am going to call them in a bit to explain everything. It will be an expensive undertaking if they decide they still want her. The vet even offered to talk with them and explain all the pro's and con's. The secretary at the vet's office told me to contact her if the BF's family didn't want her. That she knows of somebody that takes in "health issue" dogs. I don't know.

Other than that.....I will have a long talk with my husband tonight.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2105&aid=448 

 

Hydrocephalic.

Thanks. Yes, I think that is the big word the vet used. My brain was trying to absorb everything being told but I probably missed some things. I do remember water on the brain and soft spot....and about a possible surgery to help.

We still haven't decided on what we should do yet. My husband wants to get her a full workup to see exactly the full picture of what we are looking at.

I have another question.

The other littermates......should I tell their soon to be new owners about the tiny one?

Hydrocephalus is a congenital disease and dogs with this condition should be removed from any breeding program.


First, I would ask my vet if the other pups could carry the condition as a hidden (recessive) gene. If he says 'yes', then I feel it is your duty to warn the new owners, especially if they are buying the pups as potential breeding stock and not just pets. This is a fairly rare condition, and any pups the other littermates produce should be okay, as long as the their owners don't inbreed on these lines.

If they are NOT planning to breed, there should be no problem. Recessive genes don't harm the dogs that carry them, and only pose a risk to their offspring.

Of course, there is always the chance that some of the potential owners will be frightened off by this, and change their minds about buying a pup.

Maybe it would help for your veterinarian to prepare an information sheet for the new owners, explaining that the risk is minimal, as long as they don't inbreed on the sire and dam of the affected pup?

Of course, if the vet says your other pups aren't carriers, then you have nothing to worry about!

 

sUNSILVER, If the vet says the other litter mates could be potential carriers than they should not be bred either. You may not see the condition in the offspring of the littermates but you are continueing the passing of these defective genes in the population. Without a doubt the new owners should be notified rather they are being sold as pets or whatever. if the the littermates are potential carriers of the recessive gene, I would sale them with a limited registration. With a condition this serious I would probably spay and neuter the parents. I wish you and your puppies the best.

The research I did only said there was 'a genetic component' to the condition. It did not say that littermates would be carriers, but it did say that a dog with hydrocephalus was more likely to produce pups with the condition.

So, are you going to spay/neuter the littermates of pups with hip dysplasia, too? This is not a condition that has a simple dominant/recessive mode of inheritance, and neither does hip dysplasia.

Do we all know that congenital is different than genetic?

I'm not sure if it's in the genes. I haven't had this problem before.  The vet gave the okay for the rest of this litter. He said it "could" have been caused in the stomach, or during birth, and sometimes it happens after birth. Some dogs have it and are never diagnosed b/c they show no signs. I asked him if tiny one could be end up being normal. He told me it depends on what your definition of "normal" is. He said every body's opinion on a normal dog and how dog's should act/be are different.

I plan on fixing the dam and sire as soon as I can. I don't ever want to be in this situation again.

All soon-to-be families were told yesterday. Two families called my vet. I  know he talked to both of them.  None have pulled out so far but that option is open if they change their minds.

I decided to tell all the families b/c I would hate myself if something happened later on.

We still haven't made any decision on the tiny one. At this point, we are just trying to get all loose ends tied up...then I plan on getting her a full exam with the whole 9 yards. Then that way I can make a final decision on just what I would be looking at.....and what she would be looking at. I will admit.....I know absolutely nothing about this condition (except what I've read in the last couple of days)