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we need YOU!! Sebaceous Adenitis study

35K views 85 replies 31 participants last post by  Sheri 
#1 ·
Cross posted with permission:
As you may know, funding for the research project to identify the mode of inheritance and gene or genes associated with Sebaceous Adenitis in the Havanese breed has been approved! We have started to enroll dogs into the study and we need your help. We are looking for dogs of any age with suspected or diagnosed sebaceous adenitis and dogs that are 7 yrs of age or older without sebaceous adenitis.

If you volunteer your dog, you will need to make a vet visit, have 5 ml of blood drawn and have a skin punch biopsy taken. The funding for the study will cover the costs of the vet visit, blood sample and biopsy. In addition, the participating clients will receive $12 for the blood sample and $40 for the skin punch biopsy for each dog enrolled in the study as compensation for your dog's participation.

To apply for enrollment, please complete the attached information sheet and return it to me. I will build a pedigree for your volunteered dog, do pedigree research as it relates to SA to see how closely related your dog is to known SA affected dogs (we need dogs that are closely related and some that are not closely related to SA affected dogs) and I will submit the documentation to Dr Koch and her research team at the U of MN. They will evaluate the information, select the dogs that they want to include in the project and will contact the owners for participation and next steps. Although I will know the dogs that are volunteered for the project, I will not know the dogs that were actually selected to participate. From this point on, it will be totally confidential. Only the project leads at the U of MN will know the identity of the dogs participating in the project.

If you have a dog or dogs that fit the criteria for the study and you are willing to allow them to participate, please complete the attached information form and return it to me. If your dog is symptomatic for SA, PLEASE INDICATE THIS IN THE NOTES SECTION OF THE FORM. We are in desperate need of additional SA affected dogs.(regardless of age) If you have or know of a dog that is or may be SA affected, I encourage you to volunteer this dog for the study. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. You are welcome to call me a 763-213-1498 if you prefer a conversation vs email. Thank you all for your support of this effort and for your willingness to participate. I hope I have the opportunity to work with you.

. . . . .permission to cross-post

MaryEllen Vickery


This study is so important to the future of our breed! PLEASE consider participating if you have a dog that meets the criteria. :help:

Any questions, just let me know or contact MaryEllen at dejas1@msn.com

You can find more information on SA (sorry it's not been updated yet) at: http://janizonahavanese.com/SA.html
I will be putting the link for the submission form on the website as I'm unable to attach it here. You can also write me direct for it until I get it on my site.

Thank you!:hail:
 
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#2 ·
What a wonderful study for the betterment of our breed! Tucker doesn't have SA, but we'd be applying if he did. (And, he's only 2-1/2.) I can't help but think that the more that is known about any area of genetics in the havanese, the better it will flow over into other areas to be beneficial, too.
 
#3 ·
Thanks Sheri.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyone reading or replying to this post. I don't know how to get this message out the the Havanese owners. WE NEED HELP from pet owners of Havs with AND without SA for this study!!
 
#4 ·
Not everyone reads the Forum every day, (unlike some rather addicted folks like myself. ;) ) I'd keep bumping this up every day or so. It seems like there was at least one person I've seen on here whose dog may have had SA, but they don't post often. And, there aren't many whose dogs are 7 years or older, but even those may have missed the request for samples from that age bracket NOT diagnosed with SA.

I hope there are good responses from somewhere...could there be something printed up and handed out at the big Havanese National coming up?
 
#6 ·
Is it painful?

Our Daisy continues to itch despite what we do, it gets worse each year now that she is five. I have shaved her down to the skin to see if she has fleas, and she does not. She has some dry skin close to her rear, probably from constant scratching.

Her eyes do run a lot, but I don't notice a waxy residue in the ear.

Allergy meds aren't working...she eats a raw diet. Could she have it? She has always had a thin coat, almost as if she has no undercoat.
 
#8 ·
Janet, "bumping it up" means simply adding another Quick Reply to the thread, and often just by inserting one of the Smilies like :bump: . This boosts it up to the top of the posts again, until it eventually works it's way down the list again. Then, after a day or two you can bump it up again.

Linda, I'd sure be checking it out! Poor Daisy! And, how hard for you to have to see her itching all the time. That is SO tiring and stressful for both of you.
 
#11 ·
Thanks everyone for chatting on this topic. AManda, they are not just looking for dogs WITH SA but dogs without it also. THose are almost more important. SO if anyone knows of a Havy that is 7 years or older, please ask them to participate!
 
#12 ·
The hardest thing about the disease of SA is that the symptoms and age of onset are so variable. My boy Rocket was misdiagnosed for several years before I got him back and had a skin biopsy done. He was diagnosed with allergies and sensitivities to every day things. He had ear infections over and over but wasn't extremely itchy. It does seem that stress makes it flair up for HIM. Dogs can be so very mild that the owner barely notices, to severe and painful. Rocket is very uncomfortable when he's going thru a cycle and if you looked at my website you can see why. He's the black and white boy with very red skin. When he's in "remission" (for lack of a better word) you can see his coat grows back and he's much better. One thing I noticed on several SA dogs that I've met is that the end of their ear leather feels crack and is very tender. I have no idea if that is a classic symptom or not. There just isn't a cut and dried way to tell. Unfortunately with a skin biopsy you must have it done while they are in a cycle or it will come back negative.

I guess I really can't tell you if your girl has it or not. I would suggest you talk to the expert in our breed, Mary Ellen Vickery. I am assisting her with getting dogs into the study and tracking down dogs and owners that have already committed to participating.

As a breeder I would love to be able to run a simple test on my dogs before I breed them to make sure they are not going to produce another puppy with SA. Its a heartbreak for the owner to watch their dog go from gorgeous to scruffy and to sink a bunch of money into trying to find out what is wrong and with treatments.

Oh another thing about Rocket is that when I get him wet, he has such a musty odor about him. Again, I don't know that all dogs have that smell but eeeewwweee he sure does!

Mary Ellen can be reached at dejas1@msn.com
 
#13 · (Edited)
Molly & Me was one Forum member who had an SA positive dog but I know there are more, just not any that are really active. Several have talked about symptoms sounding similar and I am always referring them to Janet's website for more information to try and avoid wasting time thinking it's allergies.

I wish I could help out some how with the study but none of my dogs are old enough yet.

We'll keep :bump: this thread so more people can see it. I hope there is information on the study at Nationals.

As I understand it, the odor is a common symptom.
Beverly
 
#16 ·
Janet I saw you posted to one of the members who is struggling with an "itchy" dog.

I had suggested to him earlier he read about SA and go to your site but he seems confident it's not SA. I'm not sure where he lives, but I know the vets around my area just aren't familiar with it at all.

It is so important that we do the research now, to try and find out how to stop this disease from becoming a problem for our breed.

We'll keep spreading the word!
Beverly
 
#17 ·
SA can NOT be diagnosed by a vet. It can be suspected or not suspected but absolutely NO VET can say for sure without a biopsy of the skin. The lab looks at the sebaceous glands that are in the skin punch to see if they are affected.
 
#19 ·
Can you please link??

The page has been updated!

http://www.janizonahavanese.com/SA.html

Attention breeders/owners/anyone with websites!! - Please link to this page! The more links we have the better ranking we will get on searches. We need help from the Havanese community to get this information out.

If you have been breeding over 7 years that means YOU have bred dogs that meet the criteria of being 7 years old. Breeders, please contact all your puppy owners!

Thank you for your help and please cross post over and over again.
 
#20 ·
First hand experience on a skin punch for SA

Here are some messages on another list about what a bunch biopsy is like for 2 folks that have had it done:

I have had several dogs tested for SA and all did get a local anesthetic - which made it less painful that a microchip. Two of the dogs had no stitches, all the rest had one stitch - none had more than one. There are always risks for any procedure - from annual shots, to microchips, to this procedure - although I have heard of more complications with annual shots than I have with the skin punch biopsy procedure. Each person has to weigh the risks to the benefits. The benefits of this study could save many dogs the suffering of SA, many owners the heart ache of dealing with it and many breeders the agony of producing it. Is it worth it??? It's up to you.

In an effort to help you know what to expect, this has been my experience:

1. The dog is giving a local anesthetic to avoid any discomfort
2. A small skin sample, about the size of the very tip of your pinky finger, is taken - usually from two different locations - usually at the base of the neck and an area on the back, near the rump.
3. In some cases, the vet applies a stitch - in some cases they don't
4. The dog doesn't cry or complain one bit

MaryEllen

_________________________________________________
Years ago, I had 2 of my Havs skin punched for test for SA. Thankfully, all was well. You can search my dogs on OFA to see who was tested. For this study, I will have them punched again, and gladly do so. Anyway, there were no stitches, and there is usually only one punch done in the most likely spot to show SA. My girls didn't care, they went right on with their daily lives, 1 inch equals 2.54 centimeters. So 6 centimeters is around 2 3/8 inches. Now, divide the 2 3/8 by 10 to get the millimeters, and you get less than a quarter inch. It is not an incision, it is a punch biopsy, much like many of us have had done to our cervix (sorry guys) without antibiotics afterwards, and without subsequent problems (and for us humans, not a lot of anesthetic, either). As in the test of the cervix, the answers you get from the test far outweigh any slight discomfort. IMO nona
 
#21 ·
What is it?

I am new to the breed I have a 6 mo old puppy who scratches all the time (I cannot find anything) and he has a scab on his penis since i got him that falls off and goes back on the vet knows its not bacteria but thats all we know unless he biopsys it. SO what is SA?
 
#22 ·
Congrats on your new puppy! Have you talked to your breeder about the itchy problem?

SA usually shows its ugly head from the age of 2 and up to the age of 10. Here's a page that explains it:
http://janizonahavanese.com/SA.html

I would look into the shampoo you are using and make sure you rinse extra extra well. Condition the coat too. Also look at the food he's eating - is it the same as what your breeder recommends? I'd really look at shampoo and food before anything else, or possibly where you live there are lots of things in bloom. Some dogs scratch out of habit or stress. There are so many reasons but I'd not suspect SA at this age.
 
#24 ·
Neither of my dogs is over 7 so I can't participate. But I do see my dog's grandpa who has had it done is on offa already :)

I have a question- why haven't any of the dogs who haven't passed it been registered on offa or am I looking wrong? I looked to see how often it is found and it appears never.

http://offa.org/results.html?num=&registrar=&namecontains=N&part=&breed[]=HAV&breedlist=ALL&variety[]=&sex=&birthday_start_month=&birthday_start_year=&birthday_end_month=&birthday_end_year=&birthday=&regand=N&regcode[]=GSA&regcode[]=SA&rptdte_start_month=&rptdte_start_year=&rptdte_end_month=&rptdte_end_year=&rptdte=&submit=Begin+Search
 
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