Cerebellar Ataxia in Norwegian Buhunds is caused by a recessive mutation. This means that a dog must inherit two copies of the mutation, one from each parent, to be clinically affected.
Affected dogs can be as young as 12 weeks of age.
Presenting symptoms include uncoordinated movement and head tremors.
The disease is progressive and as there is currently no effective treatment, many animals are euthanised.
DNA testing can identify if an animal is clear, a carrier or affected by the mutation.
When two carriers are crossed, 25% (on average) of the offspring will be affected by the disease, 25% will be clear and the remaining 50% will themselves be carriers.