Health News Archive

The breed is still strong, robust and healthy. Many dogs live a very long and active life with some living in to their teens. This doesn’t mean that some dogs will not succumb to ailments due to old age. Just like us humans they can slow down, develop arthritis, lose teeth or develop cataracts.

My annual reports have tended to be rather repetitive over the years and this year is no different. Apart from the conditions highlighted regularly in the past, none of them at all prevalent, there are very few health issues associated with the Schipperke. While individual animals can, in common with all living creatures, develop health problems, the breed is free of any constructional exaggerations leading to health complications and most dogs remain fit and well in to a ripe old age.

The year 2014 has been very quiet on the health front which, since my lap-top died, taking much of my data to the grave with it, was no bad thing! As ever, of course, the Schipperke still presents as a breed which is fundamentally sound and healthy, with no structural exaggerations.

At the request of the Schipperke breed club, the Kennel Club has recently approved a new official DNA testing scheme for Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB (MPS111B) in this breed.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder in the Schipperke breed world-wide, and there is evidence of genes playing a major role in the disease predisposition.