Degenerative Myelopathy

Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) is an inherited disease with crippling affects. While it is said to not be painful for the dog, it is painful for the owner of our beloved animals to watch them deteriorate. A dog that is strong in body and mind progressively declines to the point of not being able to walk.

At Vom Gildaf, we go to extremes to make sure we breed healthy German Shepherds. We not only test for Hips and Elbows, but also for clear eyes and DM. We have several breeding German Shepherds who have all been tested for Degenerative Myelopathy. All of our breeding dogs are DNA Homozygous N/N CLEAR of this disease. There is ALWAYS the chance that one or more of a breeding potential may come back as a Carrier of DM. Do not mistake this Carrier for a dog that HAS DM! It simply means that they carrier the gene. A dog that is a carrier can still be bred but with careful planning. A breeder should never breed a Carrier/Carrier combination as you are likely to get puppies that will develop DM. If one breeds a Carrier, it should ONLY be bred to a mate that is CLEAR.

The following information is courtesy of DDC Veterinary:Canine Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) is a devastating degenerative disease of the spinal cord that can progress rapidly and cause weakness in the hind limbs and eventually paraplegia among genotypically affected dogs.

This test is available for all dog breeds. Initially, this inherited recessive disorder was thought to only affect German Shepherd Dogs; however, degenerative myelopathy has been recently diagnosed in several other dog breeds including the following:

• Cardigan Welsh Corgi
• Boxer
• Poodle
• Golden Retriever

Carriers of DM (those having 1 copy of the mutation) will not show symptoms; however, if they are used for breeding, they will pass on the mutation 50% of the time. If a carrier-to-carrier mating occurs, it is expected that 25% of the offspring will be at risk (those having 2 copies of the mutation).

DDC Veterinary's DNA test reveals one of the 3 possible genotypes for degenerative myelopathy:

1. CLEAR (those having 2 copies of the normal allele and appear to be normal).
2. CARRIER (those having 1 copy of the normal allele and 1 copy of the mutation but appear to be normal).
3. AT RISK (those having 2 copies of the mutation and will likely show clinical signs.)

It is important to note that although carriers will not show clinical signs for the disease, if used for breeding, they will pass on the mutation 50% of the time, therefore a carrier x carrier mating will likely result in producing at risk pups in 25% of the offspring.


If you are on our website looking for a puppy, DM is not something you will have to worry about in the longevity of your dog. If you are not aware of DM or would like to read more about it, here are some links.

http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/ancmntDM.htm

http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/basicDM.htm

http://www.offa.org/dnatesting/dmexplanation.html

If you are a breeder of the German Shepherd Dog and have found your way to my website…PLEASE test your breeding dogs if you do not do so already. The only way to stop the increase of this disease is to be proactive and test our breeding dogs.

Vom Gildaf is breeding German Shepherds for the true breed itself. The loyalty, companionship, protectiveness and personality of a GSD is like no other. But we all know that our breed is plagued with numerous potential health issues. At Vom Gildaf, we would like to think we are doing our part for the betterment of the breed by going above and beyond to health test, socialize our puppies and breed dogs with sound temperaments.