Sovrana Cane Corso | Blue Cane Corsos

Why you should think twice before getting a blue Corso.... it's not just Corsos, its the color. It's gorgeous but it has more health and skin problems than any other color. Blues are beautiful but are a diluted form of black and as such are a recessive gene that can cause life long skin and health conditions. It is the same as blue Doberman syndrome, white boxers, etc. The less blue in a line the less likely you are to have problems but it's always a significant risk with any blue dog. Below is an explanation of why this color causes a problem.

Color-dilution alopecia appears to be the same disorder as Black Hair Follicular Dysplasia but covers a wider range of coat colors. It is also called Blue Doberman Syndrome, Fawn Irish Setter Syndrome, and Blue Dog disease.

Blue coat color appears to be caused by at least two different mutations in the MLPH gene in the 30 breeds we studied. The commmon mutation causes dilute coat color in most dogs that are born blue or grey. The symptoms of this disorder vary widely among individuals for reasons that are not clear at this time. The symptoms seem worst in Large Munsterlanders but Newfoundlands, Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes, Weimaraners, and Italian Greyhounds can all have symptoms. Patchy hair loss on the ears, head and along the spinal column seems to be the most common symptom. Dermatitis, wrinkled skin, allergic skin reactions, etc. all occur. Some dogs are free of symptoms early in life and then develop them later.

We have collected DNA samples from blue dogs with and without symptoms to try to understand if the groups in each group had a different mutation. However some dogs with the common mutation and some without it had CDA symptoms and others did not. There may be a slightly higher chance that males may suffer more severe symptoms than females.

http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/dogconditions.html
Schmutz, S. M. , J. S. Moker, E. G. Clark, and R. Shewfelt. 1998. Black hair follicular dysplasia: an autosomal recessive. Can. Vet. J. 39:644-646. Lewis, C. J. 1995. Black hair follicular dysplasia in UK bred salukis. Vet. Record 137:294-295. Philipp U, Hamann H, Mecklenburg L, Nishino S, Mignot E, Schmutz SM, Leeb T. 2005. Polymorphisms within the canine MLPH gene are associated with dilute coat color in dogs . BMC Genetics 6:34-. (This article is published in a publicly accessible online journal at http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/6/34) Von Bomhard W., Mauldin E.A., Schmutz S.M., Leeb T., Casal, M.L. 2006. Black Hair Follicular Dysplasia in Large Munsterlander dogs resembles cutaneous lesions in human Griscelli syndrome. Clinical, histological and ultrastructural aspects of the disease. Veterinary Deramatology 17:182-188. Color Dilution Alopecia by Teri Dickinson, DVM Special Care for a Blue Doberman by Jim Anable. (See bottom for melatonin as a possible treatment.)

Sovrana Cane Corso is located outside Athens, Georgia.

Please call for more information: 404-386-4700 between 9am and 11pm EST. Or email gowskistuff@yahoo.com