You hear frequently that health testing is important for your Wheaten’s continued good health…but may not be sure what it means. Here’s some help including explanations, protocols, and resources.
SCWTCA Board of Directors and SCWTCA Endowment No Longer Recommend Wisdom Panel for the PLN Variant Gene Test
Dear SCWTCA Members and Owners:
We were recently informed that Wisdom Panel has changed the explanation of the PLN Variant Gene that they provide to their customers who purchase their DNA kit. The information that Wisdom Panel provides is as follows under What It Means (Dog's name): "Two copies of the Protein Losing Nephropathy mutation are needed for a dog to be affected with this condition, so XXX should not show disease signs due to this mutation".
We have discussed this with both Paula Henthorn BS Ph.D. and Meryl Littman AB VMD and they both concur that Wisdom Panel's information is incorrect. The original research published in 2012 still stands. Wisdom Panel has been notified of this error as it is dangerous to pet owners who may stop testing their Wheatens. We are waiting for Wisdom Panel to correct their literature.
To refresh everyone's memory or if you were an owner who received this information, the 2012 research information is correct as follows:
Dogs with no copies of the gene (aka “0” or “homozygous negative”) have an exceedingly low chance of getting PLN. Remember that other diseases can cause PLN.
Dogs with 2 copies of the gene (aka “2” or “homozygous positive”) are at the highest risk of developing PLN. This does not mean the dog will get sick. In the research leading to this test, 16 of the 145 Wheaten “2s” lived into their teens (over 13 years of age) with no sign of the disease.
Dogs with 1 copy of the gene (aka “1” or “heterozygous”) are at intermediate risk.
It’s important to remember this: this test does NOT say whether a dog will or will not get PLN. It says whether the dog has an increased risk of getting the disease.
Pending a correction, Meryl and Paula agree that we should not refer people to Wisdom Panel and, until the correction from Wisdom Panel, the SCWTCA Board of Directors and the SCWTCA Endowment no longer recommend Wisdom Panel for the PLN Variant Gene Test based on this erroneous information.
If you have any questions please contact Anna Marzolino, Emily Holden, or Susan Ratliffe. We will keep you updated.
Sincerely,
Anna Marzolino, Chair, SCWTCA Endowment
Emily Holden, President, SCWTCA
Susan Ratliffe, Chair, SCWTCA Health Committee
Annual Testing
Every year, beginning at age 1, a Wheaten’s annual check up should include blood testing and a urinalysis. These can uncover early indications of diseases found in Wheatens — Protein Losing Nephropathy (PLN), Protein Losing Enteropathy (PLE), Renal Dysplasia (RD), and Addison’s Disease — as well as other potential problems.
Suggested Annual Testing includes:
Biochemical Profile aka Chem Screen – includes total protein, albumin, globulin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), SDMA, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, etc.
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Urinalysis – including specific gravity, dipstick, and urinary sediment
Urine Protein/Creatinine Ratio (UPC) or a Microalbuminuria (MA) test. These are add-on tests to the urinalysis and need to be requested.
In tick or heartworm endemic areas, a SNAP-4DxPlus or AccuPlex4 test.
If you are concerned about PLE, consider doing annual Fecal API testing in addition to annual blood and urine screening tests on healthy breeding dogs. See our Fecal API Test Kits page for more information.
If you are concerned about IBD or food allergies, ask your vet about the IBD Assay test offered by Antech.
If your dog has had genetic testing for PLN-associated genes and has either 1 or 2 of the variant alleles, you should have either a UPC or MA done every 6 months starting at age 2. Dr. Meryl Littman, the leading researcher into PLN in Wheatens prior to her retirement, recommends all Wheatens undergo genetic testing for PLN-associated genes. You can learn more about this testing at https://scwtca.org/health/health-testing/dna-testing/.
If your dog shows any abnormal results suggesting PLN, please give this letter to your vet. It was written by Dr. Meryl Littman and provides guidance for treatment.
Genetic Testing
At present, there are genetic tests for a variety of conditions but those of most interest to Wheatens are:
PLN
Degenerative Myelopathy (“DM”)
Microphthalmia
It’s important to understand the limitations of these tests. They are NOT diagnostic or predictive tests; they WON’T tell you if your Wheaten is or will get sick. They will give you an indication whether or not your dog is at risk, based on his genetic makeup. We encourage you to understand what the testing can do for you; the SCWTCA has published an FAQ for Owners that may be helpful.
A number of university and commercial labs offer a variety of testing. Please note: results from labs (other than PennGen) are NOT shared with researchers. To make sure testing helps you as well as researchers, we encourage you to provide the information to the SCWT Database; this insures that researchers searching it will get a more complete picture of our breed.
You can learn more at these testing laboratories’ websites:
