Rottweiler Juvenile Laryngeal Paralysis & Polyneuropathy
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Rottweiler Juvenile Laryngeal Paralysis & Polyneuropathy

What is is and how to test for it

JLPP is a hereditary disease that occurs in Rottweilers, Black Russian Terriers and Leonbergers (In Leonbergers it is called Leonberger Polyneuropathy (LPN) instead although it looks the same). The Leonberger version is on a different gene and has a different test than the Rottweiler and Black Russian Terrier.
Any info online regarding JLPP in Black Russian Terriers will apply to Rottweilers and vice versa.
Info regarding Leonberger LPN may or may not apply or work for Rottweilers and Black Russian Terriers.

The simplistic bare bones explanation of JLPP is:
Jlpp is a fatal degenerative hereditary disease that kills all affected puppies by a year old (a few may live longer with great dedication and intensive care by their owners but it is not easy and the complications are great)

Here is a shareable JLPP fact sheet

There is a simple DNA test for the disease
Results will be:
N/N which is clear no JLPP gene

N/M which means one clear gene and one JLPP gene.
The dog is totally healthy but if bred must only be bred to clear dogs so no affected pups are born

M/M is JLPP affected and they die by a year usually much younger

JLPP is 100% preventable through testing and breeding only clear to clear OR clear to carrier
If your dog/bitch has produced a JLPP puppy BOTH parents are carriers

This is NOT a new disease. It has been around a long time. In the late 80's and 90's and even early 2000's it was being diagnosed in Rottweilers as neuronal vacuolation and spinocerebellar degeneration (NVSD or NVSCD) or Polyneuropathy, Ocular Abnormalities, and Neuronal Vacuolation (POANV).
Many Vets now use all three disease names for the same disorder.

Often times though it was never given a name.

Social media and the internet just did not exist then so the movement of info and experiences of other was slow to travel if at all. Owners just dealt with the problems and perhaps mentioned them to people they met but that was all.

Additionally many breeders rarely mentioned defects in dogs in regards to breeding as it was rare for people to be open about the flaws of lines. This is still a problem today.

The best place to start is with this video presentation by Dr O'Brien who developed the DNA test for Rottweilers and Black Russian Terriers.

Here is a video of an affected Rottweiler puppy

ALL Rottweiler breeding dogs MUST be tested. Even if your breed club does not require the JLPP testing you must for the well being of the Rottweiler breed, test!
We can eliminate this horrific disease quickly if everyone tests their dogs.

There is no shame in your dog being a carrier. Right now we have a LOT of those. Some very famous and well known dogs are carriers. Some very famous and well known breeders have produced both carriers and affected Rottweilers.

The shame is in the people who refuse to test or whom deny their dog is a carrier.

Breeding is very simple.
If your dog is clear for JLPP N/N (two normal genes) you can breed to any dog clear or carrier.

If your dog is a carrier for JLPP N/M (one normal and one mutant/JLPP gene) you MUST ONLY breed this dog to a clear dog (N/N)
Carriers are perfectly healthy and there is no stigma attached to being a carrier at this point!!!

ANY dog that has produced a JLPP affected puppy IS a Carrier.

click for larger image

MY PERSONAL advice for breeding
Test all dogs you produce even those sold as pets/non breeding and disclose the results publicly.
(here in US check the box on the OFA submission to allow disclosure of carrier and affected test results)

TWO options at this point:
Breed clear to clear
Breed carrier to clear
NEVER breed carrier to a carrier OR to an untested animal.
NEVER breed two untested animals!.

IF you breed carrier to clear, "I" would then test all puppies
(they can be tested anytime after birth as long as you withhold food/milk for a time period if doing cheek swabs or no food withholding time if using a lab that uses blood samples)
and keep the best of the clears and place the carriers then into pet homes.

While we do not wish to eliminate all carriers from the current breeding population, going forward it makes sense to only keep (or sell as breeding/show stock) the clear pups from litters as future breeders. This will be the fastest way to eliminate this terrible, fatal disease from the Rottweiler breed without shrinking the gene pool!!!

CURRENT STATISTICS
March 14, 2017

Current jlpp test results from Laboklin German office
"Our statistics(up to 02/2017)for test jlpp in the breed rottweiler are:
1500dogs
80% Genotype N/N
19,5% Genotype N/JLPP
0,5% Genotype JLPP/JLPP
We dont expect rapid changes to this frequencies in the breed.
Yearly updates are often enough to track the benefit of breeding effort.
Best regards,
Hubert Bauer
Dipl. Biologe
Molekularbiologie"

Antegene's website says 18% carriers (N/m =n/jlpp)
Ofa statistic report as of Dec 2016 was 17% carrier

Frontier's Rottweiler Echo list (where you can also list JLPP results)

American Rottweiler Club JLPP info

ADRK JLPP info

OFA JLPP info and how to order a JLPP cheek swab test from OFA
University of Missouri performs this test for OFA

EMBARK DNA test how to order
(tests for JLPP, Long coat, Furnishings, DM, Malignant hyperthermia, rear dewclaws and other conditions with one sample)

UC Davis Test how to order
They label it as POANV but it the same test

In other countries

Antegene
They have labs in several countries

Laboklin
They have labs in several countries

Orivet
Australia

To arrange to have frozen semen tested for the JLPP gene contact:

University of MO College of Vet Medicine
320 Connaway Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: (573) 884-3712
E-mail: HansenL@missouri.edu

Laboklin in UK and Germany

Information on Leukoencephalomyelopathy (LEMP) in Rottweilers, which produces physical symptoms similar to JLPP minus the laryengeal paralysis see this page. Info on the disease plus info on DNA test