Health schemes and tests for the Dobermann:

Whether you’re thinking of buying a puppy, or breeding from your dog, it’s essential that you know what health issues may be found within the breed. To tackle the issues it is advised that the following health tests be conducted for Dobermanns:

vWD type I (von Willebrand disease)

The condition is caused by a quantitative or qualitative deficiency of von Willebrand factor (vWF), a protein that plays a central role in blood clotting, (similar to hemophilia). Von Willebrand's disease vWD usually comes in three types, type I, type II and type III. Type III is a severe bleeding disorder with a high risk of spontaneous bleeding as well as a risk of serious bleeding from trauma and surgery. Type I is a less severe form.

BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia

Hip dysplasia is a complex inherited condition where the hip joint does not develop correctly. As a dog gets older, the joint undergoes wear and tear and deteriorates, leading to a loss of function. This can cause varying degrees of pain, discomfort, stiffness and lameness.

PHPV (Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous)

Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV), also known as persistent hyperplastic tunica vasculosa lentis (PHTVL) or PHPV/PHTVL, is a condition of the vitreous in which the ophthalmic embryologic vascular structures do not regress normally.

PHPV is typically unilateral and non-inherited with sporadic appearance. The underlying cause is not known, but has been suggested to be abnormal lens development, failure of of normal anti-angiogenic vitreal growth factor expression, failure of macrophagic-induced regression of the hyaloid vasculature or abnormal transformation of hyalocytes to phacocytically active cells for a short period of time during normal hyaloid vascular regression.  

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)

DCM is a disease which is likely to have a long pre-clinical phase where there are no clinical signs or symptoms but there may be evidence of heart enlargement, deterioration in heart function and/or abnormal heart rhythms. During the clinical phase of the disease there are signs such as fainting or collapse, weight loss, breathlessness, coughing and/or fluid retention resulting in distension of the abdomen. Sadly Dobermans with DCM can also experience sudden death which is likely to be due to abnormal rapid heart rhythms.

The diagnosis of this disease is made based on the combination of the history, clinical signs suggesting poor heart output, echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart), an ECG to record heart rhythm and also a Holter monitor which is a heart monitor that dogs can wear at home to record heart rate / rhythm over a longer period such as 24 hours.