Known medical "problems" with Shikoku
I wanted to know all the known medical problems anyone has ever experienced with Shikokus. I am trying to see if it could be used as a model system/precedence for human diseases. Thanks everyone!
Comments
Sandra
Jesse
I've seen another young male Shikoku with cataracts, and another young Shikoku with 'mystery leg pain' that usually presents after exercise. This mystery leg pain has been described as something wrong with the nervous system by several NIPPO members, and at least one vet, but I'm leaning more toward something in the joints (LP/HD).
I've also seen and heard of Shikoku with entropion, and at least two with severe spinal deformation.
When I travel with my dogs, I always bring bottled water. Both my Akita and Chinook seem to have iron stomachs, but I give them probiotics.
So, are leg and bowel/digestion problems common in Shikoku, would you say, or is it just that people are more inclined to speak up about it when it happens on the forum?
I do notice that Mura, the Shikoku that I see at work, has a strange way of moving. It doesn't quite remind me of HD dogs, but she seems a bit... "stiff", I guess, in her rear. It could be nothing, but I'm a bit dubious after seeing the discussions on Shikoku hips/leg pains. I know she came in with medication on her first stay for impacted glands(?)/infection, I think. Is this a problem anyone else has seen/is it more prevalent in the Shikoku or is it more of a unlucky strike kind of thing?
With the Shikoku Preservation coming up, I've been seriously reconsidering my lean towards a Kishu (which appears to be doing fairly well as a breed) in the last month and started leaning back towards the Shikoku as my first choice and I'd like to know a little more about the possible health issues - so I hope more discussion like this happens.
Shoushuu has an allergy to Chicken.
I've been told that Shikoku are prone to skin allergies as well.
Usually that requires a Genetics and Health Committee to legitimize the research in Universities and scholars' eyes.
OOPS, I don't own a Shikoku. I'll go back to my rock now! But organizing and cataloging is my forte since I am a photographer:-)
That said, I think one of the bigger issues of all seems to be fertility, as Britain asked about. I mean, even if the breed was perfectly healthy, outside the fertility issues, it's sort of a moot point when you have difficulty creating more of the breed!
That's just my two cents.
[ FTR, our shikoku male doesn't have any HEALTH issues, that we know of. But I have not had his hips / knees done yet. He doesn't even have the famous shikoku car-sickness or even the stomach sensitivity / allregies, Thank God, & knock on wood! We've been lucky thus far. Now, temperament "issues"....that's a different story lol ] ~
Her only issue would be that she is a button pushing punk ass.
I am a vocal idealist and I always give back to the breeder ALL health elbows, hips and another health tests which have been several. Whether pet or show, I think following all progeny is crucial. I had suggested to the Akita Club a a committee member of the genetics and health committee that incentives, money back, something for each health test of any adopter of a litter. This would raise the price per well bred dog with the serious pet owners or otherwise more likely to adhere to a COE.
They thought I was nuts:-)
That's one thing about Akitas, all of mine have been calm and laid back until, of course, they see a horse or dog. Fenikkusu has what I call reverse prey drive. When with dogs she is a little tease and outruns anyone but maybe a whippet, but when she's in the car driving past dogs make her a vocal girl shouting at prey. They are not running, but we are in the car. She really sounds nasty:-), but she's a gentle little thing and teases, animal or human.
Tomorrow I return to NH and even in a week, I miss the dogs.
can follow the diversity of your dogs and lines and use this information
while planning new breedings. It is useful to have a DLA-profile from your
breed in differnet countries since the frequency of the alleles in the MHC
genes may vary a lot between populations. Once the DLA-profile is
established you could compare your dog's profile for the overall breed' or
line's profile and take it into account while planning new breedings. The
aim is to maintain the heterozygosity of the MHC region as much as
possible in the breeding lines. This should reduce the risk for autoimmune
or other diseases.
As a general rule it may be wise to avoid increasing homozygosity in the
MHC locus containing a large number of important genes. There is a growing
body of evidence that homozygosity in the MHC locus increases the risk for
autoimmune disorders. Many of the published studies include rather small
sample numbers. This has effects on the strength of the risk factors and
significance levels. Larger studies in future should give more accurate
risk estimates not available yet. However, it may be wise to choose a
breeding partner that has different haplotypes to maintain heterozygosity
and diversity in your litters and lines."
http://www.genoscoper.com/in_english2/gene_tests/gene_tests/dla_diversity/
BTW, the MHC was a pilot study in Akitas by Center for Companion Animal Health at UC Davis.
I think the research may have been done by Dr Mark Neff or Dr Neils Pederson.
But then there's high strung, for lack of a better phrase and then there's calm.
Regarding the stomach, Argos seems to have a stomach of iron. We can switch between raw and kibble without any problems, between wet foods and treats, and he's fine. Glad for that.
My male is 4 1/2 and outside of a single month of car sickness as a puppy, he has been very healthy and also has a stomach like iron like BradnJess mentioned. He had very good hip, elbows, knees on evaluation and has never seemed to have any movement issues, joint isssues, pain of any kind for that matter. He is a very athletic dog.
My female definitely has car sickness that was anxiety related as Brad and BradnJess mention. She is much better now, but still gets sick on occasion. She rides better in the truck than car. She also is very healthy and has zero signs of pain of any kind. Her knees were rated "normal" and her hips/elbows looked good on exray too (per my vet, waiting on OFA ratings). She also has a stomach of steel and can eat anything, never gets sick from food.
New things in the house that make noise or are large? Spooky.
What's not spooky? Snakes. He's had a run-in with a couple Eastern Banded Kings and he still tries to 'play' with them. My fear is that one day, it'll be a Copperhead. Opossums are fair game, too. He's killed one and made another play dead. The one he killed was huge! And somehow, he escaped the skirmish without a single bite.
But anxiety is definitely Ronan's problem.
Of course, there's the car-sickness. I've also wondered if it's anxiety-related. I notice that she tends to throw up when I'm slightly lost or pressed for time driving somewhere, and I've wondered if she's just mirroring my stress.
Kitsu seems to have really itchy skin when she's blowing out her coat - to the point where she chews herself raw. But aside from that I don't suspect any allergies or skin problems. Overall, she seems to be a very physically healthy dog.