Immunodeficiency in the Weimaraner is well established, although the cause is poorly understood. Low immunoglobulin levels are the consistent feature, and have been associated with chronic, recurrent disease involving a variety of tissues including the bowel, skin, and central nervous system.

Steroid-responsive aseptic meningitis is another relatively rare disease syndrome in Weimaraners. At least 15 cases have been documented. All of these dogs were presented to veterinarians for fever and neck/back pain. The age of onset is typically between 16-30 weeks of life, older than for puppies with HOD. Males are more frequently affected than females. The diagnosis is confirmed by spinal tap and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. Many of these dogs require long term treatment with corticosteroids and azathioprine to control the disease, with recurrence seen when doses of these immunosuppressive drugs are lowered.

An important finding has been the association of HOD disease with recent vaccination. About 70% of Weimaraners diagnosed with HOD have received a multivalent vaccine within 1-2 weeks of the disease onset. There has been no association with a particular brand or type of vaccine, and most brands have been implicated. An important point is the occasional case of a Weimaraner puppy with HOD that had not received vaccines within the previous 3 weeks. This indicates that vaccination is but one trigger for HOD in dogs with a susceptible genetic background.

Core vaccine components including parvovirus, distemper, and adenovirus-2 are recommended for all Weimaraner puppies. Killed rabies vaccination is recommended as per regulatory requirements, usually at 16 Ð24 weeks of age.

Non-core vaccines should remain at the discretion of the local veterinarian, and vaccination for Lyme disease or leptospirosis should be considered in endemic regions. However, these non-core vaccines should be avoided or delayed in bloodlines known to be at high risk for vaccine reactions. Coronavirus and Giardia vaccination are not recommended.

References: Couto, Krakowka, Johnson et al, Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 23: 103-112, 1989; Hansen, Clercx, Henroteaux et al, J Sm An Pract, 36: 128-131, 1995; Day, Power, Oleshenko et al, J Sm An Pract, 38: 311-315, 1997; Abeles, Harrus, Angles JM et al, Vet Rec, 145:130-134, 1999; Dodds, JAAHA 38: 1-4, 2001; Harrus, Waner, Aizenberg et al, J Sm An Pract, 43: 27-31, 2002; Foale, Herrtage, Day, Vet Rec, 153:553-8, 2003.
[Excerpted from Dr. John Angles in "The Weimaraner Manual"— Weimaraner Club of America, June 2004.]

The Weimaraner is among those breeds documented to be hypersensitive to sulfonamides. Other affected breeds include: Doberman pinschers, samoyeds and other white-coated breeds, miniature schnauzers, and breeds having a dilute coat color.

Sulfonamides are known to cause thrombocytopenia, and do so by either increasing platelet destruction or by bone marrow suppression. They also inhibit platelet function. Other documented side-effects of sulfonamides include fever, hepatopathy, neutropenia, keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), hemolytic anemia, arthropathy, uveitis, skin and mucocutaneous lesions, proteinuria, facial palsy, suspected meningitis, hypothyroidism, pancreatitis, facial edema, and pneumonitis. Dogs with sulfonamide-induced hepatopathy have a generally poor prognosis.

References Cribb, JAVMA 195:1612-1614, 1989; Dodds, JAVMA 196:681-682, 1990; Cribb, Lee, Trepanier et al, Adv Drug React Toxicol Rev 15:9-50, 1996; Trepanier, Vet Dermatol, 10: 241-248, 1999; Trepanier, JVIM 17:647-652, 2003; Trepanier, J Vet Phamacol Ther 27: 129-138, 2004.