Cerebellar Hypoplasia

Clinical signs of cerebellar hypoplasia include ataxia of varying severity, from mild truncal sway and subtly uncoordinated gait to severe cerebellar ataxia and falling or rolling. Some dogs may exhibit epileptic seizures, nystagmus, or tremors. Clinical signs are present from birth and are typically noticed when puppies start to walk. Affected dogs will lack a menace reflex. The most severely affected puppies are usually euthanized. Some dogs exhibit only minor ataxia in adulthood.

Treatment is supportive care and symptomatic depending on the severity of the dog's ataxia.

There are many responsibilities to consider when breeding dogs. Regardless of test results it is important that your dog is in good general health and that you are in a position to care for the puppies if new responsible owners are not found. For first time or novice breeders, advice can be found at most kennel club websites.

This disease is autosomal recessive meaning that two copies of the mutation are needed for disease signs to develop. A carrier dog with one copy of the Cerebellar Hypoplasia mutation can be safely bred with a clear dog with no copies of the Cerebellar Hypoplasia mutation. About half of the puppies will have one copy (carriers) and half will have no copies of the Cerebellar Hypoplasia mutation. Puppies in a litter which is expected to contain carriers should be tested prior to breeding. Please note: It is possible that disease signs similar to the ones caused by the Cerebellar Hypoplasia mutation could develop due to a different genetic or clinical cause.