Today, we have a guest post from Dr. Rex Riggs, owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is a veterinarian, and an Advisory Board member of Embrace Pet Insurance. Dr. Riggs writes about hereditary issues from a small animal practioner's perspective.
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Hereditary problems, and their consequences, are something we deal with everyday in our practice. We see a number of purebred animals, each with its own great traits.
Labrador Retrievers are happy go lucky souls. Golden Retrievers are the owner’s loyal best friends. Then, there are the adorable King Charles Spaniels with their doll like faces. Who could resist the wrinkled faces of the Shar Pei? When you talk about majestic animals, who could deny the beautiful German shepherd?
Each breed has been bred to accentuate specific desirable traits. This is done by carefully breeding a male to a female with the same characteristics, so hopefully we get a litter of puppies that are similar to the parents. When done by conscientious breeders, this can be a very successful and everyone is happy. All too common though, we see the unwanted consequences of these breedings. Along with the good genes, often times the bad, often recessive genes, are expressed. This becomes more and more common the closer related the animals.
When a particular breed becomes popular, the more likely the two dogs are related, due to the intensive breeding. The five breeds were mentioned above, not only because they are fantastic dog breeds, but also because they are the breeds we see with the most genetic problems.
- The retrievers often have hip dysplasia, eye problems, allergies and seizures.
- The King Charles Spaniels have a high incidence of heart valve problems and neurologic defects, and
- the Shar Pei and German Shepards have enough hereditary problems to fill this page.
The reason; they are just too popular for their own good.
When a breed becomes popular, greed becomes involved and people often see a way a profit can be made. The pet stores and nontraditional breeders start mating dogs.
Then there are the puppy mills.
We have a real problem in this country with puppy mills. They use the dogs as money making machines by breeding them over and over until they can’t breed anymore. Often times this results in dogs that have lost any resemblance to the original breed.
Unfortunately, the state where I live, Ohio, is one of the worst in the nation, in the number of these businesses. All too often I see an excited family bringing in their new puppy, only to have me tell them that the dogs has a life threatening problem. The owners are devastated. It is a sad part of my job.
We can and need to do a better job. The animals and the families who adopt them deserve it. Contact you legislator and get involved.
And please read the article in this blog about the 8 tips to bring home a healthy dog free of genetic conditions to help you in choosing a new puppy.
_____________________________ Dr. Rex Riggs grew up in Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron. Dr Riggs is co-owner of Best Friends Veterinary Hospital in Powell, Ohio. He is also on the board of the North Central Region of Canine Companions of Independence, a board member of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and Small Animal Practitioner Advancement Board at The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Riggs lives in Lewis Center with his wife Nancy, their two dogs Boo and Maggie, and two cats Franklin and Speeder. Outside of work, Dr. Riggs is an avid golfer and enjoys travel and photography.
