my little dog has fanconi

[ZinniaZ]

I took my four and a half year old dog, Pippin, to the vet yesterday and they confirmed that he has the genetic disease fanconi. This disease is pretty bad. It is a noncurable kidney disease that basically takes all the nutrients out of the dogs body. The breed JUST finally came up with a genetic test (thanks to the University of Missouri and the canine health endowment) and we knew that his mother was a carreir and his father was a carrier. His litter should have 25% clear, 25% affected, and 50% carriers. He unfortunately is affected. So he had his first round of bloodwork and although he DOES have the disease, the news was better than I expected. His kidneys are not failing at this point, which means we can put him on the treatment protocol and buy some time, maybe several years.

So, if anyone wants to know, his BUN and creatine are at the high end of normal. He is anemic and has developped a very small heart murmur. He is spilling protein in his urine but his blood protein is still maintaining and has not been depleted yet. He has a UTI. And of course, he has fanconi. All of the results are consistent with the very earliest stage of the disease, so we are in fact "lucky". He has time.

I posted a bunch of pix of him on my basenji blog if anyone wants to peek at him:
http://darkskiesbasenjis.blogspot.com/

[frankykeno]

Oh how awful, Zinnia, I'm so sorry to read that he ended up with this genetic issue but glad that you and the vets have caught it in the early stages. Hopefully now that there is genetic screening available responsible breeders can be more careful with this breed and avoid this occurring.

[ZinniaZ]

Yes, the genetic test is a godsend. BEFORE the test, we had to guess at how it was passed, whether it was recessive, dominant, recessive with incomplete penetrance, had environmental factors, etc. That guessing game, combined with some breeders being less than up front about the pedigrees of their dogs, combined with the late onset of the disease (AFTER breeding age), made it really hard to avoid.

I am happy with how breeders have been handling it. Nobody is breeding without testing-- maybe puppy mills but no responsible breeders. And everyone has been publishing their results to the breeder list and in our breeder magazine, which is really great to see.

I bred five litters before the test was available. Of my litters three are carrier to clear, or afflicted to clear, and one we are still not sure. I placed the dam and her owner has not been able to test her.And then there is Pippin's litter, which was carrier to carrier. That's not too bad. At least I don't have the grim responsibility of calling every puppy family I have and telling them their dogs need to be tested. Just Pippin's litter.

It is a big mix of good and bad news-- I am a bit on a rollercoaster.

[frankykeno]

At least you are being upfront and honest with those owners from Pippin's litter. Some less than responsible breeders might not be, so you are to be commended on that and also on your willingness to educate yourself on this disorder and how to selectively breed/test to avoid it. It's too bad in the purebred dog world there aren't more like you.

[ZinniaZ]

Thank you Joanna. It is actually hard to let go of the guilt/ sorrow at having bred this-- even though I tried very hard to do all my research and make the best educated guesses possible. It's been very difficult. So thank you for your kind words.

[frankykeno]

The very fact that you feel that guilt and sorrow speaks volumes. I'm sure that your approach to those that purchased those pups from you will be educated, supportive and caring.