Scientists have now discovered that some dogs have a gene found in humans. this gene is the one that causes albinism in both dogs and humans. The dog that they have been studying is the albino Doberman Pinscher, which doesn't happen very often, and is not allowed to be registered in the AKC Doberman registry, due to the color.
Sometimes, these dogs can have vision problems, and are more apt to contract skin cancer; as is also the case with albino people.
Even though other animals also produce albinos, apparently this gene is different than the one usually found in horses, deer, or other animals that can produce albinism. Or perhaps, it is the same type of gene; but the research simply has not been done enough to determine this yet.
This is really cool. It's nice to know that science is really doing it's best to figure out how to make reason with humans and animals as a whole. However, even though the result may be great, the experience for the animal when going through it all must be terrifying. Granted, he may not be hurt at all, but to get blood tests and more with needles and being in a cage must be a horrifying experience.
Still, it's great information that you've shared. Thanks!
I know there are Albino dogs with vision problems. Some friends of mine had a Great Dane that was albino, and had pink eyes. He also was born deaf. He could see well enough for some hand signals. They lived out of town in a rural area of North Idaho. The dog would sometimes sleep out on their porch. One night some Coyotees snuck up on him and chewed him up really bad. They had to put him down after that. I am not sure but think being deaf went with the birth defect from being albino.
There are DNA tests you can get for your dogs. You can order the kit online from different places. You send in your dogs poop and after a few weeks they will send you back a chart with your dogs DNA lineage. It even has pictures of the dogs going back as far as it can which is a really neat feature. It is a bit costly but worth it if you aren't sure what you've got. It may not show if it has the human gene but it's still fun.
The albino gene can cause deafness, and i have heard about cats and dogs both that had this problem. It is also showing up in Australian Shepards when they breed two merle-gene dogs together. This can produce what they calla double-merle, and they have a lot of white from the merle/albino gene, along with the Aussie markings, and usually the white or light blue eyes. some of these dogs are also born deaf, and I think that the Aussie association has stopped them from breeding merle to merle now.
Merles have become a popular color in several breeds, including the Dachshund and the Pomeranian, as well as chihuahuas; so there are still a lot of breeders who are not aware of the dangers of breeding the merles together.
