Dogs Monthly Aiming to combat Leukoencephalomyelopathy (LEMP), an inherited disease in the Rottweiler, The Kennel Club has approved a new official DNA test reporting scheme. LEMP is a neurological disorder that affects the white matter of the central nervous system. The condition usually appears when dogs are around one to four years old; signs of LEMP include “slowly worsening problems walking, not walking in a straight line, spontaneous knuckling and dragging of the paws”. Dogs may become “increasingly immobile over a few months and their quality of life can quickly decrease”. For the dog’s health to be affected, they must inherit two copies of an abnormal gene, one from the mother and one from the father. In some cases, a Rottweiler may have two copies of the mutation, but may never develop the condition.