SZULIK KENNEL

TOY MANCHESTER TERRIER

HEALTY

vWD OR VON WILLEBRAND DISEASE

Von Willebrand's disease is a blooding disorder common in a number of breeds, including Manchester Terrier (both Standard and Toy), (Bernese Mountain Dog, Drentsche Patrijshond, German Pinscher, Doberman Pinscher, Kerry Blue Terrier, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Papillon, Poodles, Shetland Sheepdog and Scottish Terrier).

 Affected dog can bleed to death from relatively minor injuries because his blood does not clot properly as a result of a deficiency or dysfonction of von Willebrand factor (vWD), a plasma protein. The prevalence of severty of the discorder depends on the breed of dog. This is a disease which can be elminated through proper selection of sire and dam. 

vWD is a genetic disorder and the responsible gene has recently been identified. Prior to this discovery, vets used to offer a blood test to diagnose the disorder. The blood test (wich is still available) is cheaper, but the resultats can be affected by a number of factors (e.g. hormonal cycles). Now, a genetic test is available from "VETGEN" (VetGen, Veterinaire Genetics Services). 

The test is genetic, only needs to be done once, and is conclusive. The test tells if your dog is affected (has the disorder), is a carrier (does not have the disorder, but does carry the gene and could create affected puppies if breed with another carrier), or clear (does not have the disorder or carry the responsible gene for the discorder). Provided information by "VETGEN" (January 26, 2005) indicated that approximatly 59% of the Manchester Terrier genetically tested to date are clear of vWD, 37% are carriers and 4% are affected with the disorder. 

Little information is available that deals specifically with Manchester Terrier, but they do not appear to be as severly affected as some other breeds.  Only in state we can do the test.