Canine Cyclic Neutropenia (Gray Collie Syndrome) is a genetic disorder that affects the stem cells, which are located in the bone marrow and are responsible for developing all blood cells in the body. This disorder leads to cyclic fluctuation in the number of blood cells, the number of the neutrophil blood cells falls down sharply every 10 to 12 days, and then it returns to normal.
Affected puppies look weaker and smaller than their litter siblings and have a noticeable pale gray, pinkish gray or beige coat colour. Due to the changing number of blood cells, the puppies become susceptible to all sorts of infections and by the age of 10 to 12 weeks they start exhibiting various clinical signs such as fever, diarrhoea, eye and/or respiratory infections.
Affected puppies rarely live beyond the age of 3 years and usually die within few weeks after birth.