Study on Dobermans & Bull Terriers for Complusive Behavior

[Deb's Tiny Dogs]

I read this today in a dog medical journal and thought this might be of interest to our Doberman and Bull Terrier owners who may see compulsive behaviors in their dogs.

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN A STUDY ON DOBERMANS AND BULL TERRIERS, PLEASE CONTACT THE CUMMINGS VET SCHOOL.

Drs Alice Moon-Fanelli and Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, MRCVs, Director of the Behavior Clinic at the Cummings School, has begun a study of compulsive behaviors in Doberman Pinchers and Bull Terriers. In a collaborative effort with molecular geneticists at the University of Massachusetts and The National Institutes of Health, they'll compare DNA from affected dogs with DNA from a control group of unaffected dogs of the same breeds.

"We anticipate finding genetic variation between the affected dogs and the controls," said Dr. Moon-Fanelli. "Where known, we're following the pedigrees of affected dogs - finding out whether their parents, siblings, or grandparents also exhibited compulsive behavior."

The study is in the funding-seeking and data collection phase. "We're looking to collect blood samples and behavioral data on 100 affected and 100 control dogs for each compulsive disorder," Dr. Moon-Fanelli said. " We still need more dogs of each breed to study."

If you're interested in having your Doberman Pinscher or Bull Terrier participate in the study, please contact Dr. Moon-Fanelli at (508) 839-5395 or alice.moon-fanelli@tufts.edu She will supply a behavior survey to complete and instructions for blood collection. You can have blood drawn at the Cummings School or have your own veterinarian do it and ship the samples to Dr. Moon-Fanelli. The school will reimburse you for the expense of the blood draw and shipping.

The study holds promise for practical applications. "If the genes for a particular compulsive behavior are found in the breed, then we could develop a simple genetic test," said Dr. Moon-Fanelli. "Ultimately, breeders could know whether a particular dog had a genetic predisposition toward developing compulsive behavior, which implies the dog carries a particular gene for that trait. While affected animals should never be bred, certain carrier individuals might be safely bred to non-carriers."

[dobermom]

Interesting...I think I will send a email.

[Dobified]

Dobermom??? Do your dogs do weird things compulsively too ?

Rudy and Jenna both do compulsive / obessive things. Rudy will mouth and chew on his side, Jenna does this too but she also chases her A$$ and then licks compulsively.

[Dobified]

Debbie what do they mean by compulsive?


It doesn't say what they are looking at or for all it says is " Compulsive " but what exactly does that mean ???

[dobermom]

I dont think mine are compulsive.
I guess they could go in the "normal" category.

[Deb's Tiny Dogs]

Originally Posted by Dobified

Debbie what do they mean by compulsive?


It doesn't say what they are looking at or for all it says is " Compulsive " but what exactly does that mean ???

Irresistable impulse to perform an irrational act repetitivly. For a more informed opinion, I'd call the number in the thread.