1) Hip Dysplasia Hip dysplasia literally means an abnormality in the development of the hip joint. It is characterized by a shallow acetabulum (the "cup" of the hip joint) and changes in the shape of the femoral head (the "ball" of the hip joint). These changes may occur due to excessive laxity in the hip joint. Hip dysplasia can exist with or without clinical signs. When dogs exhibit clinical signs of this problem they usually are lame on one or both rear limbs. Severe arthritis can develop as a result of the malformation of the hip joint and this results in pain as the disease progresses. Many young dogs exhibit pain during or shortly after the growth period, often before arthritic changes appear to be present. It is not unusual for this pain to appear to disappear for several years and then to return when arthritic changes become obvious.
2) CLAD - blood disease Canine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency is a rare inherited fatal immunodeficiency disease. Pups that inherit two recessive genes for CLAD usually die early in life from multiple severe infections that do not respond to treatment. So far, CLAD has been found only in Irish Red and White Setters. The CLAD gene is recessive, so unaffected dogs may still be carriers for the disease. A DNA test is available to screen for it before breeding.
3) vWD - von Willebrands disease (bleeding disease) Von Willebrand's is an inherited disease that decreases the blood clotting ability in dogs. The symptoms of von Willebrand's disease in dogs are somewhat similar to the symptoms displayed by humans suffering from haemophilia A. The best way of preventing von Willebrand's disease is to never allow any dogs with von Willebrand's disease to breed. In order to achieve this, all dogs need to be tested for von Willebrand's disease prior to breeding. Since this is a congenital disease, it will become much less common if all breeders test their dogs.
shadow dog kennel, irish red and white setter, english setter