What is Ectodermal Dysplasia – Skin Fragility Syndrome? Ectodermal Dysplasia – Skin Fragility Syndrome is a congenital and hereditary skin disease that presents at birth. Puppies are born with very thin and fragile skin that suffers extreme abrasion from maternal licking. Puppies do not survive. The disease is known to occur in humans and was first documented in dogs in several litters of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers that all descend from one common ancestor.
Is is inherited? Yes
How is it inherited? The mode of inheritance is autosomal recessive which means that the disease is inherited when both parents carry the gene mutation associated with the disease.
Can it be prevented? A genetic test allows breeders to screen all breeding animals prior to breeding in order to carefully select pairings that will not produce affected puppies. If both parents are clear of the associated gene mutation, no offspring will be affected.
The breakthrough research that uncovered this gene mutation was published by PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science, in 2012. The full article is linked below.