Blood samples are out!
At the Pacific Coast Rottweiler Performance Club (PCRPC) American Rottweiler Club (ARC) Regional Specialty show in Chehalis, WA we ran a blood drive for Dr. Josh Stern’s research in Rottweiler subaortic stenosis (SAS). Dr. Stern at UC Davis is working on finding the genetic markers for the disease so we can have a simple DNA test when choosing breeding pairs. Currently, our only defense against this horrific disease is to have all breeding dogs echocardiogramed (heart ultrasound) by a board certified cardiologist to look for abnormalities or the presence of a fibrous ridge in the aorta. SAS can and does get missed on ausciltation (listening) only heart clearances. Breeding dogs need to be echocardiogramed to rule out that they are not affected by this disease! Current research is showing that this is most likely a simple recessive trait that with a DNA test can be easily avoided. Dr. Stern needs more samples of normal and affected dogs to complete his research!
Thank you to everyone that donated blood toward Dr. Stern’s Rottweiler SAS Research at the PCRPC ARC Regional Specialty in Chehalis, WA. We collected 11 samples to send off for research!
Thank you Teresa Bradley (Neu-Rodes Rottweilers) for the fabulous idea and reaching out to people to donate. Thank you Christina Ulberg (2Infinity Rottweilers) for providing the purple top tubes. And a huge thank you to Katie Rose Cochran (Liberty Rottweilers) for providing syringes and donating your time and skills as an LVT to draw blood on all of the fabulous rottweilers!!
If anyone is interested in sending blood samples to Dr. Stern’s SAS research, the information is in the photo below. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or need any help!
For additional information about SAS in rottweilers, Diane Richardson (Frontier Rottweilers) has a very comprehensive write up on the subject: