Is This The Breed For You?

Belgian Sheepdogs are GREAT dogs they are loyal, loving, agile, outgoing, sweet,  thoughtful and always glad to see you.  But, every breed has health concerns that owners (both new and experienced) need to be aware of in order to make the best decision about ownership. 

In this breed, the common problems that we experience are epilepsy, hip and elbow dysplaysia, PRA and cataracts.  Hypothroidism and retained testicles are common also.  Each of these health issues are commonly found across pedigree lines.  A breeder that subscribes to Ethics and Codes of Conduct will try to reduce the likelihood that these health issues will occur in the dogs that they produce but most of the health issues detailed below are polygenetic and come from more than one gene pair.    These traits are more complex than the typical dominant or recessive genetic trait and therefore, much more difficult to identify in breeding stock unless the dog is symptomatically affected. 

The information provided below is designed to provide general information about health issues that are realized in the Belgian Breed.  This page is included to assist potential Belgian owners in making an educated decision as to whether this is the breed for them - not to deter potential owners from selecting this breed.  I would prefer that every dog owner make an educated decision BEFORE they purchase a puppy or a dog and be ready to make a life long commitment to that pet.   There are links to additional health related sites on the Links page of this site. 

Another point that I'd like to make is that each of the health concerns addressed below are very rarely unmanageable - or result in the death of a pet.  Many times, the health concerns referenced below are much more of an inconvenience to the owners than they are to the dogs - who learn to compensate quickly.   

Hip Dysplasia is a genetic disease because of the various degrees of arthritis (also called degenerative joint disease, arthrosis, osteoarthrosis) it can eventually produce, leading to pain and debilitation.

The very first step in the development of arthritis is articular cartilage (the type of cartilage lining the joint) damage due to the inherited bad biomechanics of an abnormally developed hip joint. Traumatic articular fracture through the joint surface is another way cartilage is damaged. With cartilage damage, lots of degradative enzymes are released into the joint. These enzymes degrade and decrease the synthesis of important constituent molecules that form hyaline cartilage called proteoglycans. This causes the cartilage to lose its thickness and elasticity, which are important in absorbing mechanical loads placed across the joint during movement. Eventually, more debris and enzymes spill into the joint fluid and destroy molecules called glycosaminoglycan and hyaluronate which are important precursors that form the cartilage proteoglycans. The joint's lubrication and ability to block inflammatory cells are lost and the debris-tainted joint fluid loses its ability to properly nourish the cartilage through impairment of nutrient-waste exchange across the joint cartilage cells. The damage then spreads to the synovial membrane lining the joint capsule and more degradative enzymes and inflammatory cells stream into the joint. Full thickness loss of cartilage allows the synovial fluid to contact nerve endings in the subchondral bone, resulting in pain. In an attempt to stabilize the joint to decrease the pain, the animal's body produces new bone at the edges of the joint surface, joint capsule, ligament and muscle attachments (bone spurs). The joint capsule also eventually thickens and the joint's range of motion decreases.

No one can predict when or even if a dysplastic dog will start showing clinical signs of lameness due to pain. There are multiple environmental factors such as caloric intake, level of exercise, and weather that can affect the severity of clinical signs and phenotypic expression (radiographic changes). There is no rhyme or reason to the severity of radiographic changes correlated with the clinical findings. There are a number of dysplastic dogs with severe arthritis that run, jump, and play as if nothing is wrong and some dogs with barely any arthritic radiographic changes that are severely lame.

Elbow dysplasia is a general term used to identify an inherited polygenic disease in the elbow of dogs. Three specific etiologies make up this disease and they can occur independently or in conjunction with one another. These etiologies include:

Pathology involving the medial coronoid of the ulna (FCP)

Osteochondritis of the medial humeral condyle in the elbow joint (OCD)

Ununited anconeal process (UAP)

Studies have shown the inherited polygenic traits causing these etiologies are independent of one another. Clinical signs involve lameness which may remain subtle for long periods of time. No one can predict at what age lameness will occur in a dog due to a large number of genetic and environmental factors such as degree of severity of changes, rate of weight gain, amount of exercise, etc. Subtle changes in gait may be characterized by excessive inward deviation of the paw which raises the outside of the paw so that it receives less weight and distributes more mechanical weight on the outside (lateral) aspect of the elbow joint away from the lesions located on the inside of the joint. Range of motion in the elbow is also decreased.

Canine Epilepsy is a chronic condition characterized by recurrent seizures.  Although seizures are always abnormal events, not all seizures in dogs are caused by canine epilepsy.

Canine Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain where abnormal electrical activity triggers further uncoordinated nerve transmission.  This uncoordinated and haphazard nerve tissue activity scrambles messages to the muscles of your dog's body and the coordinated use of the muscles is then inhibited. 

Because there are many causes of chronic recurrent seizures in dogs, canine epilepsy is not a specific disease or even a single syndrome, but rather a diverse category of disorders.  Canine Epilepsy is broadly divided into idiopathic and symptomatic disorders.  Idiopathic Epilepsy, also called primary epilepsy, means that there is no identifiable brain abnormality other than seizures.  Symptomatic epilepsy (also called secondary epilepsy) is seizures that are the consequence of an identifiable lesion or other specific cause.    

Most dogs with idiopathic epilepsy suffer their first seizure between the ages of one and five years of age.  A genetic basis for idiopathic epilepsy is strongly suspected in several breeds including the Beagle, Belgian Tervuren, Keeshond, Dachshund, British Alsatian, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever and Collie.  Idiopathic canine epilepsy may have an inherited basis in other breeds also.

Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is a hereditary disease of the eye that causes blindness.  The retina is the tissue lining the back wall of the inside of the eye and is composed of two classes of photoreceptor cells called rods and cones; the rods function in dim light, and the cones in bright light.  A PRA affected dog begins to have difficulty seeing in dim light, then gradually loses the ability to see in bright light, eventually becoming completely blind.  As the vision fails, the pupils become increasingly dilated, and may take on a shiny or iridescent quality.  When properly trained and managed most dogs can adjust to blindness well.

PRA is a blanket term for many types of retinal diseases, all of which result in blindness.  There are two groupings of PRA - early onset, and late onset.  In early onset PRA poor vision in low light may be detectable shortly after birth, with total blindness occurring from 1 to 5 years.  In late onset forms, night blindness occurs from 1 to 5 years, progressing to total blindness anytime after 3 years of age. 

PRA is diagnosed by ophthalmoscopic examination by a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, or ACVO.  The pupils are dilated with eyedrops and the eyes examined.  The exam takes less than five minutes and the cost is variable, depending on whether the exam is performed at a public eye clinic or through private practice or a teaching hospital. Eye exams at these clinics, often referred to as CERF clinics, are generally the most affordable.  (The Canine Eye Registry Foundation is a non-profit closed registry that was founded to help combat hereditary eye diseases in dogs.) 

If an eye exam diagnoses retinal changes potentially associated with PRA, a more sensitive test may be needed in order to confirm that the dog has PRA.   The electroretinograph (ERG) measures the response of the rods and cones to specific colors of light.  Some ophthalmologists will do the ERG procedure without anesthetizing the dog, but the rigorous demands for accuracy in the research program we are following dictate that the ERG be performed while the dog is anesthetized.  When properly performed, an ERG provides the most definitive diagnosis, and is so sensitive that it can detect the presence of disease long before it can be seen by clinical examination.

PRA is hereditary and is always assumed to be an autosomal recessive trait until proven otherwise.  (A recessive trait requires two copies of the defective gene.  An autosomal recessive trait is one in which a recessive trait is carried on a chromosome pair other than the XY sex pair.) The Siberian Husky is the only breed as yet proven to have a different mode of inheritance, and it is sex-linked.   As a result, most of the PRA affected Siberian Huskies are male. 

Cataract is a common term used to describe changes in the lens of the eye that we usually attribute to older age, and call an "aging change." Many people have surgery to remove cataracts and we all know someone who has had cataract surgery, if we haven't had to undergo the procedure ourselves. It has a very high success rate in people, has few complications and is even an outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia. This disease also occurs as an aging change in the eyes of dogs. Cataracts diagnosed in younger dogs are from genetic causes. This means that dogs can inherit cataracts as a "disease" from their parents. First, let's explain where the lens is, what it does, and what a cataract looks like when it forms in the lens.

The lens in located inside the eye and is a soft, transparent structure without blood vessels (see picture below). It changes shape when small muscles pull on the lens and thus allows the eye to focus on views both near and far away. A capsule surrounds the lens and is necessary to supply shape and nutrition for the lens, as well as providing an anchor for the small muscles. A typical change that occurs in the lenses of dogs and people when they are older is called nuclear or lenticular sclerosis. This change occurs before cataracts form and typically is seen in dogs after they are 8 to 10 years old. The eyes will look gray, silver or bluish to the owner. The silver appearing color should come from the "inside" of the eye, not the surface. The surface or cornea should still appear clear and the iris or colored part of the eye should still be clearly visible (see picture).

A cataract is defined in the CERF book as "a partial or complete opacity of the lens and/or its capsule. In cases where cataracts are complete and affect both eyes, blindness results." Cataracts are among the most common intraocular lesions and a leading cause of vision loss in the dog. Cataracts may be caused by genetics, trauma, ocular inflammation, diabetes mellitus, genetic retinal atrophy, persistent pupillary membranes, persistent hyaloid remnants, specific nutritional deficiencies, congenital abnormalities and uncommonly by other specific metabolic diseases. The size of cataracts is also highly variable. They may be very small and not affect vision, or complete and cause blindness. If they are incomplete, they may only be present in the cortex or outside layers of the lens, or in the nucleus or center of the lens. Some types of cataracts only affect the capsule, which covers the lens. In every case, however, the cataract is an opaque place in the lens. It doesn't affect vision when it is small because the dog can see around it. Recommendations published in the CERF book include, "breeding is not recommended for any dog demonstrating partial or complete opacity of the lens or its capsule unless the examiner has also checked the space for significance of the above punctate cataract unknown. The prudent approach is to assume cataracts to be hereditary except in unusual cases specifically known to be associated with other causes."

Some of the cataracts that are small at the time of diagnosis will progress until they cause complete blindness. This prediction of the behavior or progression of a disease is termed "prognosis." It is important to discuss the prognosis for the cataract diagnosed in your dog with the veterinary ophthalmologist so that you know what to expect. Some cataracts that are genetic will progress and some will not. This is dependent on the breed and where the cataract is located within the lens.

Treatment for cataracts is recommended for one of two reasons. Some cataracts will cause inflammation in the eye. This type of inflammation will cause squinting, tearing or watering of the eye, increased redness of the white of the eye, and sometimes increased squinting in the light. Your veterinarian or veterinary ophthalmologist should examine your dog as soon as possible because inflammation caused by cataracts can damage the eye. In some cases the damage will lead to glaucoma or retinal detachment, especially if not treated correctly. The other treatment is for blindness from cataracts. The surgery to remove cataracts is called phacoemulsification. An instrument inserted into the eye during surgery produces ultrasonic waves. The cataract is emulsified by the ultrasound and removed by aspiration. Many times a plastic lens can be placed into the eye after the cataractous lens has been removed. This replacement lens improves near vision for the dog. Surgery for cataracts can only be performed if the rest of the eye is healthy and if the dog can undergo general anesthesia. Unlike the same surgery for people, dogs must have general anesthesia for this procedure. Success rates quoted in the literature range from 90-95% restoration of functional vision 6 months after surgery.

Genetic cataracts are diagnosed in many breeds of dogs and are initially diagnosed from 2 months up to 7 years of age. The size of the cataract, whether blindness results from the cataract and the age of first diagnosis is breed dependent.