Down Syndrome Dog
Do Dogs Get Down Syndrome? There is no firm answer about this matter until now. A lot of people also wonder that tigers, dogs, apes and other animal kinds could have a set of genetic deformities which are the same as with Down Syndrome.
According to some veterinary experts, Down Syndrome is also present in dogs. However, it is somehow need to be different from human Down Syndrome. A dog actually has a specific amount of chromosomes that is different with humans.
In fact, dogs have 21pair of chromosome that does not contain identical information as the 21 pairs in humans. Therefore, trisomy 21 in a dog will not result to Down Syndrome. On the other hand, the information in human chromosomes does appear in other living things that include dogs.
Studies regarding the genes of dogs are not as updated and recent as compared to studies involving the human genes.
Even if the signs of Down syndrome are just evident after 1 to 2 years, the dog starts to show some physical abnormalities like mental slowness. If the disorder does not affect the survival rate of the dog, it still causes poor growth on the body organs and the body parts.
A puppy may also die after a couple of days as it is not able to feed itself or move around to feed itself. One good reason why dogs experience Down syndrome and die prematurely is that their mothers take them for granted.
In addition to that, it could lead to the death of dogs. The mother usually tries to get rid of the ill puppy to separate it from others. Dogs with DS could only live for five years than the healthy ones with a lifespan of about 10 years.