Zoye's Mom Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I am new to the board and have a couple of questions. I had Jazz (5 year old BC) spayed a couple of months ago. Imagine my suprise Saturday morning when the vet called and said that she had passed away. The vet claimed that she bled more than normal during the surgery but not enough to worry him. She literally bled out during the night (the vet requires overnight stays). He ran all kinds of tests on her but no results were found. He suspected Von Wildebrant (SP??). I think he screwed up but can't confirm it. I have since got a new BC (Zoye) that is a cousin to Jazz. Is Von Wildebrand heriditary? Is this feasible? I am taking Zoye to be spayed tomorrow and will be a nervous wreck all day. She will be coming home with me so that I can watch her all night. Also, I am taking her to another vet. Has anyone heard of this problem or had any similar problems? Thanks for any comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racey Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 From what I see that disease does appear to be genetic. Good luck to you tomorrow...I know that surgery is stressful even under "normal" circumstances. This is from a story posted on www.tlcanimalaid.com (I have never seen the site before): "Van Willebrands Disease is a defect, which affects the blood clotting ability of dogs, similar to hemophilia in humans. It is the most commonly inherited bleeding disorder in dogs; especially Doberman Pinschers. Animals with this disease are at risk of bleeding to death with a minor injury or surgery depending on the severity of the disease (type 1, 2, or 3)." Everything else I saw was very scientific and pertained to both canines and humans as well as other animals. Again...Good luck. KR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Wall Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. von Willebrand's Disease is a heritable bleeding disorder seen in several dog breeds (and humans). Border collies are not one of the breeds it's commonly found in. I'm not saying it's impossible for your dog to have had this, just that it's not a known problem in the breed. Good luck tomorrow. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoye's Mom Posted July 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I talked to the breeder after this happened. She gave me names and numbers of all the people that had Jazz's brother and sisters. I called several of them and several of them had their dogs spayed with no problems. The breeder also at a later date spayed/neutered the mother and father of Jazz with no problems. The dog I have now is from Jazz's aunt. I talked to her and she had never had any problems also. I tend to think that it is something else. Thanks for the reassurance. Keep Zoye in your prayers tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen Stein Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Von Willebrand's disease is certainly hereditary, and is prevalent in some breeds, but I've never heard of a border collie having it. Has anyone else? Try not to worry. I'm betting Zoye will come through it with flying colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 will this disease show up in a blood test? if so, might be worth running bloodwork prior to surgery for peace of mind. -laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 This information is probably too late for you, but it may help others. Vets can do clotting tests (had to have it done for Farleigh after he ate rat poison), so I suppose that could be done before surgery to make sure a dog's blood clots normally. The best approach would be to talk to the vet and report the previous vet's story and the relationship between Zoye and Jazz, and then the new vet can offer options/suggestions for ensuring that Zoye's spay doesn't go badly. The main breed I have heard associated with von Willebrand's is dobermans (and especially blue dobermans), though I am sure there are others. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Von Willebrand's disease is certainly hereditary, and is prevalent in some breeds, but I've never heard of a border collie having it. Has anyone else? ________________________________________________ About three years ago I received confirmation of two Border Collies diagnosed with VW out of an Amish farm in Pennsylvania. Same Sire and Dam but two breedings. I didn't realize they were related until I got the pedigrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Wall Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 As with most diseases of this nature, there are several different mutations, any of which can cause what appears to be the same disease. The mutation for vWD is probably different in every breed. It's reasonable to assume that the occasional border collie would have this mutation. Inbreeding would bring it out more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northof49 Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Those were the first that I had every heard of, and I haven't come across any since. If memory serves me right, the dam and sire were littermates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Having owned a BC with Wobbler's (CVI), I can attest there are diseases/conditions BC's get that are not at all common in the breed. It takes a vet with an open mind to look beyond the "norm" to reach a correct diagnosis. -laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoye's Mom Posted July 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Zoye had a blood clotting test and all pre-surgery tests before her surgery. All came out ok. Surgery went fine. She's home and resting. I'll probably check her off and on all night (because of what happened to Jazz). Neither she or I will get any sleep. Oh Well - what we do for our dogs!!!!! Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK dog doc Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Just as a general comment, as of 1990 there had been vWD diagnosed in over 50 different breeds of dogs; and Denise is right that the mutation is not the same genetically (although the result is the same) in each breed. Dobes are certainly the poster child, but that doesn't rule out the possibilty of other breeds showing it, as several have pointed out. And this is all to say nothing of all the OTHER types of coagulopathies dogs can get. It can get to be a pretty complicated picture, when all is said and done. Glad Zoye's surgery went well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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