Raising Awareness
Join us in raising awareness of idiopathic seizures in Rottweilers.
After losing Savvy, I wanted - I needed - to know why this had happened. Why was my sweet dog dead? In the flash of an eye one night that I'll never forget, she went from a vibrant and loyal member of our pack, to a scared, confused, and isolated dog. In almost 40 years of breeding, owning, and showing champion Rottweilers, I had never experienced seizures in one of my dogs. She hadn't been sick, she had no health problems, and (as far as I knew) there was no history of seizures in her bloodlines. So, why in the world was my dog dead? I asked that question over and over. I asked God; I asked my vet; I asked my husband; and, I asked my fellow Rottweiler people. Finally, I started asking questions about the history of seizures in her bloodlines. I thought I knew the history of her dam, because she was my heart dog and the result of my own breeding program of over three decades. So, I started asking questions about seizures in the line of her sire. As I asked more and more questions, I soon came to learn that many Rottweiler breeders and owners have "kept quiet" about the existence of seizures in their bloodlines - for whatever reasons. Maybe they didn't think it was important to let others know? Maybe they feared losing money from potential breedings? Maybe they didn't want the reputation of their dogs or their breeding programs to suffer? Whatever their reasons were, the result of their collective silence is that we keep breeding Rottweilers who obviously carry some sort of genetic predisposition for developing idiopathic seizures. This "knowledge" transformed my sadness into anger, because this didn't have to happen. Whatever reasons people have for staying silent about this in the past - we're now on a mission to change that.
One part of Project SAV's mission is to raise awareness. We want to raise awareness in terms of the existence of idiopathic seizures in Rottweilers, because otherwise we can't take action to eradicate it. As the saying goes, the first step is collectively admitting that we have a problem. If we all just keep our heads in the sand and avoid talking about this disorder in our dogs, the problem will only continue. Following Savvy's first seizures, two of her littermates also developed seizures; and, one puppy out of a completely different dog of mine has developed seizures. I'm not out to embarrass anyone, or cause trouble for anyone. I simply don't want anyone else having to go through what I have. Rather than shaming or ostracizing someone because their dog has experienced seizures, we should all be willing to speak up so that we can make something good come out of these horrible experiences.
Owners need to be encouraged to share the fact that their dog has experienced seizures. Breeders need to remain informed about the health of every dog they have ever bred, whether they have any ownership of the dog or not. Breeders need to be encouraged to share information about dogs in their lines that have developed seizures. Potential owners should also be educated to ask the right questions before acquiring a Rottweiler. Most importantly, once these facts are shared, they need to be considered in every breeding decision. After all, the point of sharing this information is so that breeders can make the responsible choice to NOT breed certain dogs, and to NOT breed to certain dogs.
The silence and the secrecy has to stop. We encourage breeders and owners of Rottweilers who have experienced idiopathic seizures to join the discussion. We can only hope to eradicate this devastating disorder by speaking out and leaving no stone unturned.
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Contact Us
Reach out to us for inquiries about idiopathic seizures in Rottweilers, how you can participate in or support the genetic research, or with questions about ethical breeding aimed at eradicating this disorder. You can also join a public Facebook discussion group that addresses this topic by clicking the Facebook symbol below.