KIDNEYS

Bull Terriers like many other breeds suffer with inherited Kidney diseases, these can almost be avoided by having the Dam and Sire tested regularly.

This is done by a urine sample being tested (not a blood test) and a protein/creatinine ratio level being given, in all breeds anything under 1. is classed as normal but not for a Bull Terrier. A Bull Terrier needs to have a ratio of under 0.3 anything above that is not good and can indicate possible future Kidney disease. So a dog or bitch with a score of over 0.3 should not be bred from. The lower the reading is the better

HOW TO DO THE URINE TEST

GET SAMPLE BOTTLES FROM YOUR VET, THEN FAST YOUR DOG THE NIGHT BEFORE. YOU NEED TO GET A MID FLOW SAMPLE FROM FIRST PEE IN THE MORNING, YOU DON'T NEED A BOTTLE FULL SO DON'T WORRY IF IT DOESN'T LOOK ENOUGH. THEY ONLY NEED A SMALL SAMPLE ,

 TAKE IT TO YOUR VETS ASAP  & ASK THEM TO DO THE KIDNEY UPC TEST  AND YOU SHOULD GET RESULTS WITHIN 4 DAYS USUALL COST IS ROUGHLY £18 -£35

ASK YOUR LOCAL VET ABOUT THESE TESTS THEY DONT COST MUCH & CAN SAVE LIFES

What is a luxating patella?

What causes this to occur?

The muscles of the thigh attach directly or indirectly to the top of the knee cap. There is a ligament, called the patellar ligament, which runs from the bottom of the knee cap to a point on the tibia (shin bone) just below the knee joint. When the thigh muscles contract, the force is transmitted through the patella and through the patellar ligament and results in extension (straightening) of the knee joint. The patella stays in the center of the leg because the point of attachment of the patellar ligament is on the midline and because the patella slides in a groove on the lower end of the femur (the thigh bone).

The patella luxates because the point of attachment of the patellar ligament is not on the midline of the tibia. It is almost always located too far medial (toward the middle of the body). As the thigh muscles contract, the force is pulled against the groove on the inner side of the femur. After several months or years of this abnormal movement, the inner side of the groove wears down and the patella is free to move out of the groove or dislocate. When this occurs, the dog has difficulty bearing weight on the leg. It may learn how to kick the leg and snap the patella back into its normal location. However, because the side of the groove is gone, it dislocates again easily. The degree of patella luxation is graded from I to IV depending on the relative ease with which the patella luxates.

Medially Luxating Patellas, the patella dislocates to the inside of the knee. Laterally Luxating Patellas dislocate to the out side of the knee, in some cases the patella can luxate both medially and laterally.

Luxated patellas are a congenital (present at birth) condition. The actual luxation may not be present at birth, but the structural changes that lead to luxation are present.

Most research suggests that patella Luxation is an inherited problem, though the exact mode of inheritance is not known. It is advisable not to breed from dogs that have the deformity.

Signs include intermittent rear leg lameness, often shifting from one leg to the other, and an inability to fully extend the stifle. The leg may be carried for variable periods of time. Early in the course of the disease, or in mildly affected animals, a hopping or skipping action occurs. This is due to the patella luxating while the dog is moving and by giving an extra hop or skip the dog extends its stifle and is often able to replace the patella until the next luxation, when the cycle repeats.

GRADE I

The patella luxates only when pushed out of the socket.

GRADE II

The patella luxates upon flexion of the joint and remains luxated until returned by manual pressure.

GRADE III

The patella is permanently dislocated but can be reduced manually with the limb extended.

GRADE IV

The patella is permanently dislocated and cannot be manually reduced.

Does a luxating patella cause any long-term problems for my dog?

Some dogs can tolerate this problem for many years, some for all of their lives. Since the joint surfaces are very slick and bathed in a slippery joint fluid, there is usually little or no discomfort early in the process. However, this abnormality predisposes the knee to other injuries, especially torn cruciate ligaments. Also, with advancing age, the joint may become arthritic and painful. The bones may actually curve in response to the abnormal location of the kneecap..

Can a luxating patella be corrected?

Surgery should be performed if your dog has a persistent lameness or if other knee injuries occur secondary to the luxation.

Treatment involves surgical correction of the deformity. The methods used for surgical repair depend on how far the process has gone before intervention. Surgical repair may include any or all of the following:

1) The point of attachment of the patellar ligament is cut from the tibia and transplanted to its proper location to correct the in correct alignment.
2) The groove in the femur is deepened so the patella will stay in place.
3) The capsule around the joint is tightened. This last step is important because the joint capsule will have stretched during the period of luxation.

If the surgery is performed before arthritis occurs, the prognosis is excellent. Your dog should regain full use of its leg. However, if arthritis has already occurred, the joint will still be somewhat painful, especially in cold weather.
Once the surgery has repaired, most affected individuals make a satisfactory recovery although some do still suffer from arthritis

HEART MURMUR

A heart murmur indicates abnormal blood flow within the heart, which is usually due to a change in the function of the heart valves, but also may be caused by abnormal communications between the right and left sides of the heart. These problems may be congenital (i.e., present from birth) or acquired (i.e., associated with diseases or age changes affecting the heart after birth). Murmurs may be benign (i.e., of no concern to your pet’s health) or they may be more serious and progressive, resulting in heart failure over time.

Heart murmur test !! MUST only be done by a cardiologist,(A vet letter is not acceptable)if a murmur is detected the animal should not be used for Stud/Breeding). Two heart tested parents can still produce affected pups but it significantly reduces the chances! A puppy that is checked at the puppy vet check is not cleared of a heart murmur and isn’t heart tested as some owner think, the mitral valve problem usually doesn't begin to show outward signs until the puppy is 6 months or over, it's almost like they grow out of their heart valves.

THE BULL TERRIER HEART

There are several different heart defects in Bull Terriers, one being mitral dysplasia.
This is a congenital defect(present at birth) as a result of genetical problems.

WHAT IS IT?
Mitral dysplasia is caused by faulty heart valves.
When the valves do not work as they should some of the blood goes into the atrium when the ventricle contracts instead of leaving the heart, leaving the body with less blood.
The heart tries to compensate by working harder and increasing the function. As this happens the valves get worse and the body gets less blood.
As a result the heart can get enlarged from being overworked.
The end result being the animal dies.
This condition (commonly picked up as a heart murmur) can very from mild to severe.
You may never notice if your dog has a mild case, however should these dogs be bred from their offspring have a good chance of being effected and are often more severely effected.

Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of heart disease often include one or all of the following symptoms: coughing, labored breathing, poor exercise ability, fainting, and a bluish tinge to the tongue or gums.

DETECTION AND PREVENTION
Breeding animals should be tested by a vet with a certificate in cardiology and can be detected on auscultation (listening to the sounds made by the heart using a special stethoscope)
or performing a Doppler ultrasound scan if the results are unclear.
The results are given either as clear or a murmur graded from 1 - 6, six being the most severe.
A uaual vet can normally only detect murmurs from grade 2 - 3 upwards and as the mode of inheritance is still unknown animals with murmurs should not be bred from. The heart test result is given as the Grade of any heart murmur detected by the cardiologist. Murmurs are graded as 1 to 6 out of 6. Very quiet murmurs are graded 1/6 and the loudest murmur is a 6/6.

An experienced cardiologist may be able to make an educated guess based on the characteristics of the heart murmur and the point of maximal intensity on the chest wall, but echo-Doppler is required to confirm the reason for the murmur. Heart murmurs may be due to:

1. Narrowed valves (offering increased resistance to flow, so flow velocity (speed) has to increase to get through the obstruction. Think of a narrow part of a river compared to a wider part. The flow is fast and turbulent in the narrow part. This results in a heart murmur). Examples are aortic or sub-aortic stenosis or pulmonic stenosis.

2. Leaky valves. As a leak of blood jets through the incompetent valve, it results in a murmur, since the abnormal flow (regurgitation) is fast and turbulent. Most murmurs associated with leaky valves are due to mitral or tricuspid regurgitation.

3. Abnormal shunts. If there is a defect in the heart, such as a ventricular septal defect (VSD; a hole between the left and right ventricles) or a Patent Ductus Arteriousus (PDA), blood passes through these areas resulting in a heart murmur.

we have our bullies tested at

IES HOUSE

MISSION STREET,

BRIGHOUSE,

WEST YORKSHIRE

HD6 1NQ

sue Robert [ CARDIOLOGIST ] tell 07850 74O356

SHE IS ALSO ABLE TO DO IT AT OTHER CENTRES

PLEASE RING & CHECK WITH HER  £30 PER BULLIE, OR LESS FOR GROOP BOOKING

HEARING

The only way in telling the exact state of a dogs hearing is to BAER test (brainstem auditory evoked response). This method can distinguish between a totally deaf dog, a dog that is unilaterally deaf or a dog that can hear normally.

When a sound enters the ear, tiny electrical impulses are generated by components of the auditory pathway in the inner ear and brain. These signals can be picked up by recording electrodes positioned on the head, and are in turn passed into a specialised electro diagnostic machine. A series of approximately 500 stimuli, usually clicks, are passed into the ear through a headphone. In a normal-hearing dog a series of peaks and troughs is produced which is displayed on a small TV-type screen. Thus, the BAER can be defined as the electrical response of the brain to a series of auditory stimuli.

The test can be carried out on puppies from 5 weeks old without any sedation, adult dogs usually need to be lightly sedated.

Some but not all breeders can offer their pups as BAER tested, this guarantee's the pup can hear, parents that test clear can still produce deafness (although it's a lot less frequent)

BELOW IS A LIST OF BEAR TESTING CENTRES

Animal Health Trust, Newmarket - 01638 552700

Animal Medical Centre, Manchester - 0161 8813329

Hearing Assessment Clinic (mobile), Hampshire - 01962 713155

Vale Vets, Gloucester - 01453 542092

Small Animal Clinic, Midlothian, Edinburgh - 0131 6501000

Church Farm Veterinary hospital, Liverpool - 0151 3271885/ now done at Cheshire  referral hospital

WE HAVE OUR BULLIES TESTED AT THE BELOW CENTRE

SKIN AND COAT DISORDERS

Possibly the most commonly seen ailment in Bull Terriers, skin problems often appear to be allergy related and can be seasonal. They can vary from small rashes, blotches & spots, to mange and other conditions, which in extreme cases and left untreated can cause complete loss of hair or very hard skin. Though not fatal, affected dogs can suffer extreme discomfort and itchiness, and there have been cases of pets that have been put to sleep, to save them from further suffering. Why Bull Terriers are particularly susceptible to skin complaints is not proven, but it is believed that their immune system may not be strong enough to cope with problems that they should to be able to overcome quite quickly. Skin rashes can easily become infected and for that reason they should be treated early and veterinary advice sought.
Skin parasites are the most common cause for skin trouble. They can be ticks, fleas or mites. Ticks are easy to spot as they are attached to the dog's coat. In most cases the irritation caused by the ticks make the dog scratch itself and the traumatised skin is prone to secondary bacterial infections. Fleas are more difficult to spot as they are very fast and move from part to part on the dog's skin. But they often leave behind black debris on the dog's coat that is an excellent diagnostic clue. Mites are the third major group of parasites that afflict dogs. They can be either Demodex or Sarcoptes. The lesions from each of these mites are characteristic but as a general rule Demodectic Mange is restricted to animals below one year. The itching sensation caused by Sarcoptic mange is unparalleled and is also seen to be a diagnostic clue.

The other cause of skin disorders could be hormonal, allergy, contact dermatitis or autoimmune disease. The hormonal causes of disease are very common but rarely diagnosed accurately.
some new disinfectant used to mop the house or a different pesticide in the garden. As far as autoimmune diseases are concerned the causes are debatable and the main idea the owner should have is that the body reacts to itself and that the prognosis is guarded.

Eczema's are very common in dogs and the causes may be external or internal. Any chronic allergen may precipitate eczema while internal causes could well include kidney diseases. Varied hormonal levels in pups may cause clinical signs similar to 'pimples' and these are self-limiting.