Amer Bulldog & NCL

I have a half American Bulldog half Standard Poodle, would he possibly be able to have Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, or would both his parents have to be American Bulldogs in order to possibly have NCL?

Interesting mix!

I am not a genetics expert but I would think that, depending on which breed your dog takes after more, it would be possible.

Here is a link which provides some information for you.

http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/CL_site/mainCL.htm

Thank you, it didn't answer the question if, since it is inherited, would both his parents have to have had the trait, but it is a good source. Thank you.

NCL appears to most often be due to an autosomal recessive. This means that if each parent has one 'bad' copy of the gene and one 'good' copy of the gene they do not show evidence of the disease. However, on average, one quarter of their offspring will inherit two 'bad' copies, and that's when the disease manifests.

It looks like a fairly frequent type of mutation--NCL is found across many breeds and species, and not always from the same mutation. But if both parents have that same recessive 'bad' copy, offspring are at risk to inherit the genes that result in disease.

Has your dog been diagnosed with NCL?

No, my dog hasn't been diagnosed, I was wondering if he should be, & will talk to the vet, just wanted to get an idea asap. I stumbled upon NCL info by accident & sorry, this will be a long post.

My dog will turn 2 years shortly & he has always been shy/nervous even though I have always socialized him. I got him from a rescue group when he was 5 months old. They said they got him from a breeder who had an accident between an English Bulldog & Standard Poodle. When my dog grew to be very tall and 100 lbs I called the rescue group & asked if the mother really was an English or American Bulldog & they said the mother looked like she was a mix of both (I then saw a picture of her & she does look like a mix of the 2). I then found out that breeders are trying to recreate the Old English Bulldog by mixing English Bulldogs with American Bulldogs, Bull Mastiffs or Mastiffs. I don't care what he is mixed with, I've always had mixed breed dogs growing up but know that English and American Bulldogs have different temperaments & started doing research to help him overcome his nervousness.

I thought I might get a dna test to see what he really is but found out they don't test for American Bulldog and then stumbled on the NCL info & test.

I had recently started to wonder about his eye sight and noticed he's starting to pace. I also started to think he was standing with his back legs spread farther apart but just thought that was part of his growing. Those, and nervousness, are NCL symptoms and his age is right for displaying them. So I am concerned but don't know if it's just coincidence, especially if both parents have to have the trait/gene, if that's the case, since his parents were different breeds (& his mother may be mixed) it wouldn't be possible to have NCL.

I will talk to my vet about this, I just didn't want to worry if it wasn't possible for him to have it.

I do thank all of you for helping.

There is a test available for NCL in bulldogs, as I recall. So if you want to know for sure, you could probably have your vet submit a genetic sample or perhaps you can order a collection kit on your own. I'm not sure how expensive it would be, though. :o

I'm hoping it's not NCL, though :fingerscr It does appear to be a relatively rare condition!

:goodvibes: that all turns out to be wll with your boy!