Dog Health: Things That Every Dog Owner Ought To Understand About Congenital, Inherited, & Contaminated Dog Diseases

The key goal of this article is to introduce you to a few fundamentals of genetics and talk about some of the standard diseases where these fundamentals apply towards dog health.

There are possibly 400 hereditary diseases in dogs that have been documented. Many dog diseases are rare, while the rest are so common they are believed to be normal day-to-day dog health problems. In many cases, current information of canine hereditary diseases is based on minimal information. Because of this there are so many distinctions in literature regarding genetic diseases.

There are cases where a small group of closely related dogs had been researched In this group, it looked like a disease had a clear-cut genetic factor but when this information was applied to a big group, the results were not the same. This is not the problem of dog health scientists, but relates to the fact that the initial group of dogs was not large enough to make true genetic interpretations.

To help you better understand genetics in dog disease, let's discuss some of the terminology used in dog health.:

Congenital Dog Conditions

This is a disease that is found at birth. It may be born or the result of intrauterine factors. The intrauterine factors typically involved are systematic disease of the female, nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, or the effect on dog health from a drug consumed during the dog's pregnancy. Physical factors can also cause congenital diseases.

Inherited Dog Illnesses

Many dog health issues are because of an inherited disease, which is a disease that is transferred on the genes. For instance, hairlip and cleft palate can be inherited and are apparent at birth. Unfortunately, not all inherited diseases are obvious at birth. A dog with progressive retinal atrophy may be normal at weaning and develop clinical blindness by six months of age. Other dogs may not develop indications of decreased vision until they are 6 years of age. Congenital diseases appear later in life are referred to as "latent".

Acquired Dog Diseases

An acquired disease is one that is caused by exogenous factors (those which are external to the body). In some occurrences of dog health problems, acquired diseases may appear similar to inherited ones, such as cataracts, for example. Some are acquired as a result of metabolic, toxic, or contagious diseases. And others are due to inheritance. When examining the individual dog health of the animal in question, it is not possible to tell which was the cause.

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