About the Authors

Susan P. Knowler

cmsmindicators@gmail.com

Affiliation Neurology Department, Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom

Angus K. McFadyen

Affiliation akm-stats, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Courtenay Freeman

Affiliation Department of Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America

Marc Kent

Affiliation Department of Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America

Simon R. Platt

Affiliation Department of Small Animal Medicine & Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America

Zoha Kibar

Affiliation Department of Neurosciences, Justine University Hospital Research Center, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Clare Rusbridge

Affiliations Neurology Department, Fitzpatrick Referrals, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

Competing Interests

We have the following interests: Clare Rusbridge is employed by Fitzpatrick Referrals and the University of Surrey and Susan P Knowler works voluntarily and is affiliated with Fitzpatrick Referrals. Angus K McFadyen is an independent statistical consultant operating professionally as a sole trader under the company name of akm-stats. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter our adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, as detailed online in the guide for authors.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: SPK CR. Performed the experiments: SPK CR. Analyzed the data: SPK AKM. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: ZK CF MK SRP AKM SPK CR. Wrote the paper: SPK CR AKM. Contributed to the original concept of a QTL analysis: ZK.