Health In the Great Dane

by Jill Swedlow

Unfortunately when one trys to fool mother nature, whether it's playing around with size or changing conformation to extremes, she often fights back with problems that affect the health of the animal. Bull Dogs are conformed so that they cannot be whelped naturally due to the breeders insistance on those huge heads. Dachshunds are often affected by back problems due to the unnaturally long back in contrast to the short legs. And then we have the giant breeds who must grow as much in a year as most people do in 18 years. This causes many health problems, usually orthopedic ones. But there are many other health issues affecting Great Danes and any future or current owner needs to be aware of them. To that end we've included the following information.

HEALTH ARTICLES

DEVELOPMENTAL & BONE DISEASES

Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy by Jill Swedlow

Panosteoitis, by Jill Swedlow

Osteochondritis Dessicans

Growing Pains: Growth
Associated Bone Disorders in the Dog
by Pamela A. Davol

Arthritis

Canine Hip Dysplasia: Are Breeders Winning the Battle?

 

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Gastric Dilitation (Bloat)

Bloat Support Group
Emergency financial help for bloat surgery! Fabulous idea.

CANCER

CARDIAC DISEASES

Dilated Cardiomyopathy: a daunting disease of the heart
by D. Caroline Coile, Ph.D.

 

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS

Wobblers Syndrome
This is a FANTASTIC site dealing with alternative treatments that WORK!

Wobblers Syndrome (Spondylolithesis)

Understanding Canine Epilepsy, by Pamela A. Davol

 

MISCELLEANEOUS ISSUES

Their Own Worst Enemy, by Leslie Crane Rugg
Very informative article on Autoimmune Diseases
[This article first appeared in the August 2004
AKC Gazette and is reprinted with permission]
This is a 3.7 mg PDF file. You need Adobe Acrobat to view it.

Vaccines, Infectious Diseases and the Canine Immune System:
The Importance of Weighing the Risk to Benefit Ratio by Pamela A. Davol

Inherited Eye Disorders in the Labrador Retriever
(This article also contains info regarding cataracts, a disorder affecting Danes)

Learn Animal CPR, by Dr. Feldman

Caring For An Older Dane
by Jill Swedlow

 

Canine Health Registries

PennHip method of diagnosing hip dysplasia
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/pennhip1.html

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals Home Page (OFA)
http://www.offa.org/

Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF)
http://www.prodogs.com/chn/cerf/index.htm

Institute for Genetic Disease Control in Animals
http://www.vetnet.ucdavis.edu/gdc/gdc.html

Canine Health Information Center (CHIC)
http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/

LINKS TO OTHER HEALTH INFORMATION

Great Dane Club of America Health Info
www.gdca.org
then click on Health & Welfare link

The American Veterinary Medical Association
http://www.avma.org/

Autoimmune Diseases
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/autoimmn.html

Genetic Diseases
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/genetic1.html

AltVetMed Table of Contents
http://www.altvetmed.com/toc.html

Show Dog Super Site
http://www.showdogsupersite.com/featx.html

AAHA Pet Care Library
http://www.healthypet.com/Library/index.html

Linda Arndts Site - TONS of info on feeding and health issues in Danes