Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy, Acral Mutilation Syndrome, AMS

GDNF-AS, Spaniel and Pointer Variant

Brain and Spinal Cord

This neurologic condition affects how dogs sense pain, especially in the feet. Because pain sensation is reduced, affected dogs may injure themselves without noticing.

Signs and symptoms

Affected dogs display acral analgesia, a failure to feel pain in the toes, and self-mutilation behavior including intense licking, biting, and chewing of the feet.

Signs typically are first seen in puppies.

Diagnosis

Treatment

What to do if your dog is at risk

Talk to your vet about your dog’s AMS result so you can plan ongoing care and monitoring.

Watch for signs such as excessive licking, chewing, or injury to the feet or legs, and contact your vet if you notice any of these.

Use protective coverings or an Elizabethan collar as recommended by your vet to prevent self-injury, and keep any wounds clean and monitored.

Provide mental enrichment and supervision to reduce boredom or stress, such as using puzzle feeders, snuffle mats, or calm training games like “find it,” where your dog searches for hidden treats.

Genetic information

HSAN has been diagnosed in French Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, English Pointers, and German Shorthaired Pointers.

Penetrance: This disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning that affected dogs must have two copies of the mutation to show clinical signs.

Gene: GDNF-AS
Inheritance type: recessive
Clinical category: Neurologic