Health Matters

Everything you need to know

Joint Newfoundland Club's Health Database


The Northern Newfoundland Club, The Newfoundland Club and the Southern Newfoundland Club have created and are maintaining a single joint health data database which was launched in 2010


The database has it's own web site and the data presented here is directly mirrored from that site. It is intended to provide a useful resource for persons considering the purchase of a Newfoundland puppy and for selecting stud dogs or females for breeding. 

Much of the above information is reproduced from the excellent article by Sue Benyon which appeared in the February 2009 issue of The Newfoundland Club Newfletter.


We strongly recommend that you download and read the article carefully, it contains much more information than we have included here.


CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE ON HEALTH MATTERS BY SUE BENYON


CLICK HERE TO FOR THE NEWFOUNDLAND CLUB'S HEALTH DATABASE

Bloat

Bloat (Gastric Torsion)
Of all health problems this is the one which owners of large, deep chested breeds of dog should be very aware of. When Bloat occurs untreated dogs usually DIE very quickly, sometimes in as little as six hours from the appearance of the very first minor signs.

VETERINARY HELP SHOULD BE OBTAINED WITHOUT DELAY, EVEN IF YOU ONLY THINK IT MAY BE BLOAT

Orthopaedic

Elbow Dysplasia

Elbow dysplasia is characterised by varying degrees of elbow incongruity, bony fragments (bone chips), and ultimately, severe arthritic change. The term was introduced to describe generalised osteoarthritis (arthritis) of the elbow joint.


Hip Dysplasia

A congenital disease that causes the hip joints in affected dogs to grow abnormally. This causes the joint to become loose and wobbly and eventually leads to a form of arthritis which is commonly referred to as degenerative joint disease (DJD).

Heart

DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy)
A disease of the heart muscle that results in weakened contractions and poor pumping ability. As the disease progresses the heart chambers become enlarged, one or more valves may leak, and signs of congestive heart failure develop.

SAS (Subvalvular aortic stenosis)
Also referred to as subaortic stenosis. Anatomically, the heart is divided into four chambers separated by four valves. The heart valves ensure that blood only flows in one direction through the heart. The aortic valve separates the main pumping chamber (left ventricle) from the aorta, a large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body. With SAS, there is added tissue below the aortic valve (hence subaortic). This abnormal tissue creates an obstruction (stenosis) that the heart has to overcome to pump blood to the body. This stenosis makes the heart work harder than normal. A heart murmur is created by blood being pumped across the stenosis into the aorta.

The Newfoundland Club publishes annually a report which includes the disclosed results of Heart Tests for Newfoundlands. 

Cystinuria

An inherited disorder caused by a defect in the transport of cystine, an amino acid, in the kidney tubules. Normally, cystine that is filtered in the kidney is reabsorbed within the tubules, resulting in little cystine in the urine. Dogs with cystinuria do not properly reabsorb cystine (and a few other amino acids) in the kidney tubules, causing the urine to contain abnormally high levels of cystine. Cystine is insoluble in neutral pH or acidic urine, so excess urinary cystine results in formation of cystine crystals, which in turn can lead to formation of cystine calculi (stones) in the kidney and/or bladder.

For more information on Newfoundland Dog Health Matters please visit: