Epilepsy in the German Wirehaired Pointer
Sadly cases of epilepsy are being reported in German Wirehaired Pointers. We as a committee are working very hard in trying to establish exactly how this is impacting on our breed.
Please remember that epilepsy is a complex condition. Not all dogs that experience seizures necessarily have epilepsy – its causes are varied and can include environmental factors. However in some cases of epilepsy there does appear to be a familial link.
To address this awful condition we are:
- Collecting data on reported cases of seizures and dogs with a diagnosis of epilepsy – please see the link to our health survey on the club website www.gwpclub.co.uk
- Working closely with the epilepsy research project at the Animal Health Trust to establish an inheritance mode – but as yet we are someway off being able to confirm any such pattern.
- Before we can confirm the known origins of the familial epilepsy in the breed we need verification from a genetics and/or epilepsy expert – we hope to be doing that very soon.
