Degenerative Encephalopathy (DEN) (External Lab)

Dogs with the disorder show neurologic signs beginning at a young age. These signs become progressively worse with age and most affected dogs have been euthanized due to poor quality of life by 3-5 years of age. Some observed symptoms include: increased anxiety at a young age and difficulty in learning as the dog gets older, loss of coordination (difficulty jumping, abnormal gait, and falling during turns), abnormal tail carriage, difficult to wake up and high degree of movement during dreams. Furthermore the dog can show excessive focus on food and hypervigilance (excessive alertness in various situations) including obsessive barking at moving or unfamiliar objects such as vehicles and aggression towards people and other dogs.