Lakeland Terrier
Only 8 Lakeland Terriers have been tested for disease variants (Donner 2023), too few to say which variants the breed has.
Which disease variants turn up in Lakeland Terriers?
From a panel of 250 Mendelian-disease variants screened in 1,054,293 dogs (Donner et al. 2023), 4 turn up in Lakeland Terriers at observable frequency. The figure beside each is its allele frequency. Of the gene copies tested in this breed, the share that carry the variant. Every dog carries two copies, so this is not the share of dogs. It is not clinical risk. Most recessive variants require two copies for disease expression; many dominant variants show incomplete penetrance. Read this as a population fingerprint of what's in the gene pool, not a per-dog prediction.
SLC3A1what this gene does
SLC3A1 is a gene that helps transport certain amino acids in the kidneys. It plays a key role in preventing the buildup of cystine, which can form stones.
For your dog: If your dog is from a breed known to carry SLC3A1 variants, it’s worth discussing cystinuria risks with your vet, especially if urinary issues arise.
SOD1what this gene does
SOD1 is a gene that helps protect cells from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals.
For your dog: If your dog is a carrier of SOD1 variants, it's worth discussing with your vet, but remember carrier status doesn't mean your dog will get the disease.
PDK4what this gene does
PDK4 helps regulate how cells use energy, especially in the heart muscle.
For your dog: If your dog is one of the breeds known to carry this gene, it’s worth discussing heart health with your vet, but being a carrier doesn’t mean your dog will develop disease.
What these results mean for a Lakeland Terrier
31.3% of Lakeland Terriers in the Donner 2023 cohort carried it (n=8).
- The kidneys fail to reclaim an amino acid called cystine, which can form crystals and stones in the urine and block the urinary tract.
OMIA 000256-9615
“Cystinuria, type 1 - A is an inherited defect that causes failure of reabsorption of cystine in the proximal renal tubule, leading to cystine precipitation in the urine. Formation of crystals and calculi lead to urolithiasis and urinary tract obstruction.” OMIA 000256-9615
What to do
Straining to urinate, or passing little or no urine, needs a veterinarian the same day.
No test, or a mix
Without a test nobody can say how many copies a dog has.
12.5% of Lakeland Terriers in the Donner 2023 cohort carried it (n=8).
- DM is a loss of function in the spinal cord that begins in adulthood and progresses to paralysis of the back legs. There is no treatment that stops it.
OMIA 000263-9615
“This is an adult onset degeneration of the spinal cord that progresses to paraplegia and tetraparesis. There is no successful treatment. A genetic test is available.” OMIA 000263-9615
- Two copies of the SOD1 variant mean at risk, not affected. Some dogs with two copies never show signs.
OMIA 000263-9615
“some homozygous mutant dogs had no signs of degenerative myelopathy, which suggests incomplete penetrance or other causative loci” OMIA 000263-9615
- One copy makes a dog a carrier. In the study that found the variant, every affected dog tested had two copies.
OMIA 000263-9615
“All affected dogs tested were homozygous mutant.” OMIA 000263-9615
What to do
A DNA result is not a diagnosis. Take the result, and any change in how the dog walks, to a veterinarian.
No test, or a mix
Without a test nobody can say how many copies a dog has. A breed's allele frequency describes the breed, not this dog.
12.5% of Lakeland Terriers in the Donner 2023 cohort carried it (n=8).
- This is a marker, not an established cause. The curated record says a test based on it is not a good indicator of heart disease risk even in Dobermans, the breed it was found in.
OMIA 000162-9615
“it is evident that any DNA test based on this marker will not be a good indicator of liability to this disorder in Dobermans” OMIA 000162-9615
What to do
A carrier result for this marker is not, on its own, a reason for heart screening. Heart screening is a conversation with your veterinarian about the breed and the dog.
No test, or a mix
What this marker means in breeds other than the Doberman is not established in the sources this page draws on.
For researchers Population genetics, disease models and every recorded condition Open the research detail for the Lakeland Terrier
Where every number on this page came from.
This page draws on one primary data source. Allele frequencies and sample sizes come from Donner et al. 2023 (CC-BY-4.0), a direct-to-consumer screening cohort, graded Limited as a study design because the dogs were tested at their owners' choice. No genotyped research dogs of this breed are in the three open releases the atlas reads, so the population-genetic sections other breed pages carry are absent here for that reason, not hidden. Conditions recorded for the breed come from OMIA.
What this page does not yet have. Inheritance modes and per-disease penetrance evidence from Donner 2023 are in the structured data for every variant the panel covers. Mondo, OMIM, Ensembl, and HGNC cross-references live on the gene and disease pages this page links to, rather than being repeated here. What is still absent from this breed page is anything not in the cited panel, and each such gap carries its cause where it appears.
How to cite this page. Cite Donner et al. 2023 (doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1010651) for every frequency on this page, and OMIA for each condition, with the sample size shown beside the figure.
Some things about living with a lakeland terrier never make it into a database. Add what you know as a Keeper, in your words →
Lived experience, kept beside the science.No lakeland terriers are in the atlas yet. Yours would be the first star for the breed.
Every lakeland terrier added sharpens the breed's genetic neighborhood. Enrollment is free. The data stays open. The star is permanent.
- Donner J, Freyer J, Davison S, Anderson H, Blades M, Honkanen L, et al. (2023). Genetic prevalence and clinical relevance of canine Mendelian disease variants in over one million dogs. PLOS Genetics 19(2):e1010651. doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1010651
- Brundage DM (2026). CanVAS: A Harmonized and Imputed Canine Variant Atlas. bioRxiv. doi:10.64898/2026.04.13.718238
- Nicholas, F.W., Tammen, I., & Sydney Informatics Hub. (2026). Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) [dataset]. The University of Sydney. https://omia.org. doi:10.25910/2AMR-PV70 (retrieved April 2026).