Dog hereditary diseases

Description
Dermatomyositis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by skin and muscle lesions. Usually associated with an immune disorder and is provoked by infectious diseases. The most susceptible breeds are Sheltie and Collie, and the disease can also affect the Welsh Corgi, Boucheron, Belgian Tervuren and Portuguese Water Dog.

Dermatomyositis is a multifactorial immune disease in which both genetic and environmental factors play a role.

The onset of the disease, as a rule, occurs at the age of up to 6 months, the first signs may appear as early as 7-11 weeks. The disease progresses after the first manifestations, but, regardless of the severity of the course, after the animals reach the age of 1 year, as a rule, the severity of the lesions decreases.

3 loci were found in the dog's genome that determine the predisposition to the development of dermatomyositis in collies and shelties. Certain combinations of alleles of these loci are associated with an increased risk of developing this disease, however, due to complex inheritance and significant influence of external factors, even with an unfavorable genotype, the disease may not develop.

Autosomal dominant inheritance, incomplete penetrance.

In terms of genetic testing, the dermatomyositis test is complex, consisting of three independent tests.

Symptoms
primary lesion in the form of vesicles and nodules, redness, baldness and scaling in areas of possible mechanical damage (areas around the nose, mouth, eyes, ears, limbs), in severe form - muscle damage, including atrophy of the masticatory muscles (rare). Also, the disease can affect the muscles of the limbs, and the consequences will be a stiffness in gait and decreased physical activity.

Diagnostics
Characteristic changes in the behavior and physiology of the dog.