|
|
Health Problems in the German Shepherd Dog
As with most pedigree breeds, there are certain hereditary
conditions that can be a problem in the
href="http://www.germanshepherdrescue.co.uk/">German Shepherd
Dog as well as other health issues that are more prevalent
in this breed which need to be considered if you are thinking
acquiring a GSD.
If you are buying a German Shepherd puppy it is important to
ensure that you only purchase a healthy dog from a reputable
breeder and a good idea would be to contact the breed council
who should be able to provide you with a list of such breeders.
Most reputable breeders don't need to advertise but if they do
they tend not to use free papers or other general advertising
media but will usually place their advert in a specialist dog
magazine or paper. The Kennel Club will provide a list of
breeders but this does not signify that they are reputable only
that they register their puppies with the KC. There are a number
of common conditions seen in this breed, some of which have a
better prognosis than others but all of which are expensive to
treat - so insure your German Shepherd Dog as soon as you get it.
Inherited conditions such as hip dysplasia are becoming more
common largely because of irresponsible breeding so you should
look for a puppy whose parents are both hip scored and the lower
the score the better - ideally less than ten. This is a
distressing and painful condition for a GSD as well as the costs
for treating being prohibitive if the animal is not insured.
Elbow dysplasia is also a common hereditary condition.
Bloat or gastric torsion is a real emergency and a life
threatening condition, which has become more common in deep
chested dogs over the years. Experts are divided but good tips
for reducing the risk are that it is best to feed 2 small meals
rather than one large meal a day and to avoid feeding your GSD
before strenuous exercise.
Anal furunculosis is a distressing auto immune condition which
can be controlled with expensive drugs for a while but will
inevitably progress as is the condition CDRM which is a
degenerative disease which will ultimately lead to the loss of
use of the dogs back legs and then bowel/urinary incontinence.
For whatever reason there seems to be an increasing number of
GSD's suffering from PI - pancreatic insufficiency, which
presents as chronic watery diarrhoea and failure to thrive. This
condition is treatable with expensive pancreatic enzymes and a
low fat diet but the regime must be strictly adhered to.
Epilepsy is also more common these days and although it can be
controlled by drugs, usually tolerance eventually occurs which
will often result in the loss of control of the fits and the
likelihood of brain damage as a result of prolonged uncontrolled
fitting.
To protect your new puppy and in order to try to minimise long
term or future health problems, it is vital that a high quality
feeding regime is adopted from the start. German shepherds often
have digestive problems so it is important to find a quality
food that your dog likes and one that doesn't upset the
digestion. If in doubt ask your vet for advice or contact German
Shepherd Rescue UK.
About the author:
German Shepherd
Dog Health Problems. Written by Jayne Shenstone who runs
German Shepherd Rescue UK which helps rescue and rehome GSD's
across the UK
Learn about...
Puppy Training - How to Train Your New Puppy to Sit
Training your dog to "sit" is probably the first thing you willtrain your puppy to do. You can start the training as soon asthe puppy has settled in his new home. You might think thistraining isn't that important. A dog knows how to sit. Well, Ithink it is very important. Read on and you will fou. . .
|
