Breeds That Are Least Prone To Health Problems

[HazyWal]

Oh Diva I'm sorry for your loss Yes a friend lost her greyhound earlier this year although it wasn't the cancer that got him in the end it was complications after the amputation, he wasn't an old dog either. Bloat worries me too, I just do everything I can to try and prevent it.

[Perry's Mum]

Koolies have no known inherent health problems and are also long lived. It is not uncommon for them to live to 20.

[Diva]

Oh Diva I'm sorry for your loss Yes a friend lost her greyhound earlier this year although it wasn't the cancer that got him in the end it was complications after the amputation, he wasn't an old dog either. Bloat worries me too, I just do everything I can to try and prevent it.

Thanks, it was years ago now, but everytime one of my current 2 goes lame, I panic.

[trinabean]

I can't give you a breed-specific answer about cancer. However, if you want some reasonably numbers for cancer mortality for different breeds, you might want to try the Finnish Kennel Club's database. Finland isn't Australia, but it seems to be the only place that tries to make mortality data publically available.

http://jalostus.kenn...x?R=206&Lang=en

find a breed, then go to health statistics, then to cause of death.

Pugs don't appear to be especially bad, although the number of death from unknown causes may hide the true numbers. If you're looking for a toy breed, looks like the Japanese Chin would be a good bet.

I think you may do better doing pedigree research within a chosen breed, if you can find breeders who are honest and knowledgeable. I sense that in my breed (Labradors), some lines are much more prone to cancer than others.

And that's part of the problem isn't it? Health tests aside (and those are important, obviously) you need to know that the breeder is being open and honest too. Information on dogs in a pedigree can be hard to find out until you have the dog and it's papers. I didn't recieve my dog's pedigree until after I bought him. It's not comforting to know after the fact that there are 'drop-dead dogs' in a pedigree. Or for the breeder to admit that your dog's dam had health problems.

I get where you are coming from, a few years ago after loseing another of my BT'S to health issue's I vowed I wouldn't own one again, they do seem to be a health nightmare.

However after I fostered , ( and then kept, as he was terminally ill), a beautiful BT boy I remembered why I loved them so much.

I decided instead of getting a rescue one, whose health was unknown I would go the breeder route, I did all my research ,and yet here I am with one that arrived with health issue's.

Over the years I have owned working breeds alongside, and have to say they rarely go to the vet.

Juice, I get where you're coming from with doing the research, and still ending up with a dog with health issues. Ditto.

You will find a lot of people are "breed blind", I know my breed has issue's, its upto me wether I decide to take it on each time.

perhaps its all too raw for you atm, if you love the breed its the price we pay.

Maeby, the Animal Health Trust in the UK is a highly respected centre for reviewing & initiating research and also treatments.

They have a neat summary on current knowledge about Mast Cell Tumours.

http://www.aht.org.u...e_oncolres.html

Interesting link Mita. Boxers are listed as highly susceptible to 4/9 cancers on the website.

Pugs look like a safer bet Maeby Funke. I'm sorry for the crap hand you've been dealt, and I hope your little guy is going to be ok. If you love Pugs, don't give up on them. I'm not giving up on Boxers, I love the big doofuses too much. Next time I search for a breeder I have a huge list of health questions I'll be grilling them on (and then I just have to convince them that I'm not a nutter :laugh: ). I don't want own another heartbreak billion dollar baby! Best of luck with your dog MF. :)

Edited: Went a little crazy with the colouring in.

Edited October 17, 2013 by trinabean

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

Interesting link Mita. Boxers are listed as highly susceptible to 4/9 cancers on the website.

Pugs look like a safer bet Maeby Funke. I'm sorry for the crap hand you've been dealt, and I hope your little guy is going to be ok. If you love Pugs, don't give up on them. I'm not giving up on Boxers, I love the big doofuses too much. Next time I search for a breeder I have a huge list of health questions I'll be grilling them on (and then I just have to convince them that I'm not a nutter :laugh: ). I don't want own another heartbreak billion dollar baby! Best of luck with your dog MF. :)

Edited: Went a little crazy with the colouring in.

Thanks very much for your kind words. It means a lot :)

[Staffyluv]

My old stafford had many tumours and a toe removed thanks to MCT over a period of 6 years. After his first operation, over 50 stitches later, he had to go back in 3 days later, as they didn't get clear margins on the removal of the biggest one (which took most of his right rump/hip muscle)..

Based on all the research I did, MCT is closely related to allergies (histamine release is a big thing with MCT - the more you can control that, the less the tumours seem to appear). Things like itchiness, sore eyes and ears that are related to change of season etc - all these things are mostly allergy based and will cause release of histamine in the body.

Ollie had polarmine every single day, from the day we found out about his cancer. High doses of vit C and fish oil were a couple more supplements.

There are three good holistic supplements we used as well Anti-Ox and Lymphodran, as well as Five Mushroom Drops.

If pugs are your preferred breed, you could always just ask around for breeders who don't seem to have any of these issues in their lines - however, I still don't think that would make your dog 100% free of any chance of problems.

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

My old stafford had many tumours and a toe removed thanks to MCT over a period of 6 years. After his first operation, over 50 stitches later, he had to go back in 3 days later, as they didn't get clear margins on the removal of the biggest one (which took most of his right rump/hip muscle)..

Based on all the research I did, MCT is closely related to allergies (histamine release is a big thing with MCT - the more you can control that, the less the tumours seem to appear). Things like itchiness, sore eyes and ears that are related to change of season etc - all these things are mostly allergy based and will cause release of histamine in the body.

Ollie had polarmine every single day, from the day we found out about his cancer. High doses of vit C and fish oil were a couple more supplements.

There are three good holistic supplements we used as well Anti-Ox and Lymphodran, as well as Five Mushroom Drops.

If pugs are your preferred breed, you could always just ask around for breeders who don't seem to have any of these issues in their lines - however, I still don't think that would make your dog 100% free of any chance of problems.

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge/experience with me :)

This is what my Pug is having:

Liquid herbal formula – 1 ml three times a day:

Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus root)

Burdock (Arctium lappa root)

Cleavers (Galium aparine herb)

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum seed)

Tablets – One a day:

Blackmores Echinacea ACE plus Zinc

Blackmores Professional PCIP (Potassium Chloride; Iron Phosphate)

Capsules – One a day:

Blackmores Acidophilus Bifidis

Mushroom Science Super Strength Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum fungus)

I agree that asking around, researching etc wouldn't necessarily make my dog 100% free of problems.

[Steph M]

I really ummed and ahhed with our current dog, Gus. Being a Flat Coat he’s prone to eeeveryhing.

Osteosarcoma, bloat, assorted cancers in high prevalence and a sea of other baddies.

I debated and debated and tried to talk myself into something longer lived and more sound but the absolute joy that is owning him is worth every ounce of pain his (likely untimely) demise.

Every day he cracks me up and makes me smile and I hope I make his life just as rapturously happy. I know I sound gushy but he’s just such a cool dog, just the picture of everything I wanted in the breed. I do wish he’d stop waking me up at 5am for breakfast though….

I guess what I’m saying is it totally sucks a billion fiery balls they don’t live as long as we do, but the love in the meantime is payment in advance for the ultimate ass-kicking pain that’s inevitable.

And something’s gotta get us all, right? 

[mita]

Edited: Went a little crazy with the colouring in.

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Brought a little colour into our drab black & white lives, Trina. :)

[DesertDobes]

I'll see how my two current dogs go health wise, however my thoughts of importing a Beauceron were primarily due to the rustic good health of this breed and thats a more primitive herding breed

[trinabean]

Edited: Went a little crazy with the colouring in.

[/color]

Brought a little colour into our drab black & white lives, Trina. :)

Haha Mita! It's the only way my simple brain can keep track of who said what bits in a multiquote reply! :laugh:

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

Edited: Went a little crazy with the colouring in.

[/color]

Brought a little colour into our drab black & white lives, Trina. :)

Haha Mita! It's the only way my simple brain can keep track of who said what bits in a multiquote reply! :laugh:

I know what you mean. I still haven't got the hang of those multiquote replies :laugh:

[LisaCC]

One reason I went for an Aussie is their comparatively good health. I've heard of them living into their late teens too.

There are so so many breeds that I would love but would not touch due to some of the health problems or longevity.

I'm holding out for LUA dallies.

Edited October 17, 2013 by LisaCC

[megan_]

It is also worth remembering that, with genetics, sometimes sh*t happens. A condition may be genetic and there may be nothing that the breeder could have done to prevent it as it has never, ever showed up in their lines. My brother has a rare genetic disorder that no-one in our family tree for generations has ever shown symptoms of.

It is the price that we pay for loving living creatures.

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

It is also worth remembering that, with genetics, sometimes sh*t happens. A condition may be genetic and there may be nothing that the breeder could have done to prevent it as it has never, ever showed up in their lines. My brother has a rare genetic disorder that no-one in our family tree for generations has ever shown symptoms of.

It is the price that we pay for loving living creatures.

Yes I understand. Genetics is a complicated thing. And I'm really sorry if I came across like I was blaming the breeder. I was just having a vent; it wasn't personal to anyone :)

[Jumabaar]

Widely used working breeds would be a reasonable bet. Obviously no breed is immune to health issues but kelpies from sound lines are very robust. I honestly could count on one hand the number of times in her 9 years that my kelpie has been to the vet for anything other than a vaccination. That said my 5yr old basset hasn't been for any reason other than vacs either, she was very carefully chosen from lines I felt would offer the least health issues.

Kelpies have Cerebella Aboitrophy, heart disease (overseas), epilepsy, Hip Dysplasia and elbow displasia- in both working, farm bred and show lines.

I do think lines are more important than breeds.

[sandgrubber]

One thing you can check for is inbreeding (including line breeding). Look for low COI, no matter what breed you choose. Heterozygosity in the genetic regions controlling the immune system provides some defense against cancer.

For a breed-specific review on cancer occurrence, see link below. I've copied the abstract.

http://www.hindawi.c...ce/2013/941275/

Review Article

Breed-Predispositions to Cancer in Pedigree Dogs

Jane M. Dobson

Queen's Veterinary School Hospital, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OES, UK

Received 1 October 2012; Accepted 22 October 2012

Academic Editors: F. Napolitano and R. L. Page

Copyright © 2013 Jane M. Dobson. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Cancer is a common problem in dogs and although all breeds of dog and crossbred dogs may be affected, it is notable that some breeds of pedigree dogs appear to be at increased risk of certain types of cancer suggesting underlying genetic predisposition to cancer susceptibility. Although the aetiology of most cancers is likely to be multifactorial, the limited genetic diversity seen in purebred dogs facilitates genetic linkage or association studies on relatively small populations as compared to humans, and by using newly developed resources, genome-wide association studies in dog breeds are proving to be a powerful tool for unravelling complex disorders. This paper will review the literature on canine breed susceptibility to histiocytic sarcoma, osteosarcoma, haemangiosarcoma, mast cell tumours, lymphoma, melanoma, and mammary tumours including the recent advances in knowledge through molecular genetic, cytogenetic, and genome wide association studies.

Edited October 17, 2013 by sandgrubber

[mita]

[ Genetics is a complicated thing. And I'm really sorry if I came across like I was blaming the breeder. I was just having a vent; it wasn't personal to anyone :)

You didn't blame the breeder. Nor did you give that impression. The point was made earlier in the thread that breeders can't be God-like. Even with the best efforts, Nature throws curly ones. And you had no problem with that, at all.

[Guest Maeby Fünke]

Genetics is a complicated thing. And I'm really sorry if I came across like I was blaming the breeder. I was just having a vent; it wasn't personal to anyone :)

You didn't blame the breeder. Nor did you give that impression. The point was made earlier in the thread that breeders can't be God-like. Even with the best efforts, Nature throws curly ones. And you had no problem with that, at all.

Oh good, thanks :)

[Blackdogs]

Schipperkes are generally quite healthy and long lived. Just watch for allergies in some lines. They tend to be more active then pugs, but they are great, fun, intelligent dogs; and you don't have to forgo the curly tail!