Dachshunds Health Problems

"Slipped Disc" - The pad of fibrocartilagenous material known as a "disc" situated between vertebra bone of the spine, is subject to degeneration, extrusion, protrusion to cause the disease known in humans as "slipped disc". Disc disease can vary from back pain in a dog to a sudden severe paralysis.

The "slipped disc" syndrome is mostly seen in adult dogs making a diagnosis of puppies in a litter very difficult. The incidence of the disease in Dachshunds is far greater than in any other breeds know to be afflicted (Beagles, Boxers, Cocker Spaniels, Pekingese). All coat varieties and sizes appear to be involved, although the incidence in each category may vary. Dogs do not ordinarily become noticeably afflicted until an approximate age of 2 or 5 years.

Cleft Palate - During the growth of an unborn puppy, there may be some growth failure in the palatal area of the mouth. Cleft palate is a congenital disease of puppies where the left and right halves of the roof of the mouth fail to join together before birth. Such fusion defects are seen in a more severe form as "hare lip", where the split continues up into the nostrils. All puppies' mouths should be examined within 12 hours of birth. Mild fusion defects may not be spotted initially, but will become noticeable in those puppies that fail to suck vigorously and may have milk comaing down their noses. The cause of this defect is believed to be associated with recessive genes. Althought corrective surgery is possible, most breeders agree that euthanasia is indicated in a very young puppy with this defect.

Cryptorchidism - A hidden testes the result of a failure of one or both testes to descend from the abdomen to their adult site in the scrotum. A cryptorchid is a term used to describe a dog with both testes undescended. sometimes a dog has only one testis that can be found in the scrotum, and such a dog is called a "unilateral cryptochid". Some puppies have both testes descended at bith, but in others, the testes may not pass daown into the scrotum until several weeks after birth. In the normal puppies, both testes can be found in the scrotum by 8 to 10 weeks of age. Dachshunds seem to be more susceptible to this genetic failure than other breeds. Bilateral cryptorchids are sterile, but if their sisters are used for breeding, they may produce puppies with the same defect. Castration is advised, as the testis in the abdomen is at a higher temperature and may later become diseased.

Eye and Ear Defects - The beautiful merle coloring so many people associate with dapple Dachshunds, has some hidden dangers within it - eye and ear defects. Most breeders avoid breeding dapples to dapples because odds are that at least one out of four puppies (called double dapples) will have either a vision or hearing defect including microphthalmia (abnormally small eyes), subluxated puppils (pupils off center of the iris), iris colobomas (holes in the iris). Often these defects are accompanied by irregular markings, including excess white markings on the head (especially around the eyes and ears).

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