Scottish Terrier Health

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Click on the symptom to view more about a possible sickness or choose to view Scottish terrier health information by topic.

SYMPTOMS:

Absence of appetite / refusing favorite food
Bleeding Scottish terrier
Bloody feces / Scottish terrier blood stool
Bloody or strange color urine
Coughing Scottish terrier
Diarrhea / vomiting
Drinking excessively
Eating grass
Excessively runny nose
Fever
Irritated or itching a lot
Lethargic Scottish terrier
Limping Scottish terrier
Parasites (worms, fleas, ticks, etc.)
Poisoned Scottish terrier
Shortness of breath / panting
Smelly breath

Overview of serious health conditions in Scottish terrier breed:

Von Willebrand's Disease is a serious, often fatal, hereditary bleeding disorder, similar to haemophilia in humans. For many years a major concern in the breed, research has found a genetic marker for the condition and conscientious breeders are testing their dogs and working hard to eradicate the disease from the breed. Please test your Scottish terrier for VWD before breeding it.

Cushing's Syndrome is a condition caused by an excess of the hormone cortisol and manifests itself in the dog's considerable increase in consumption of water and a corresponding increase in the amount and frequency of urine production. The affected dog gradually gains weight and looses coat, combined with a darkening and thickening of the skin. Caused usually by a tumor on the pituitary gland, it is treatable with drugs and, in the rare case, surgery.

Cancer. Scotties are at high risk for some cancers, particularly lymphosarcoma, bladder and urinary tract cancers, malignant melanoma and gastric carcinoma. Research into cancers is ongoing and early detection is critical in affecting a cure.

Scottish Terrier Cramp is a widespread but fortunately benign neurological disorder which affects the dog's ability to coordinate movement. Not apparent under normal conditions, an affected dog, when stimulated by exercise, fear or prey will show a stiffening or cramping of the hind legs, an arching of the spine, a goose-stepping gait and an eventual fall. The dog is not in pain as the "cramping" appearance of the disorder is really an inability of the dog to coordinate his movements. As the dog calms down, the symptoms disappear completely. As mentioned, the condition is benign and affected dogs live long and happy lives with the disorder. Sometimes apparent as early as 6-8 weeks old, dogs learn rapidly to adjust to the condition and some affected dogs never exhibit the disorder. Treatment can serve to lessen the severity of the episodes but there is no cure, nor has research yet discovered a genetic marker to assist breeders eradicate the condition.

Craniomandibular Osteopathy is a disorder of the mouth which usually sees an abnormal growth of the lower jaw in the puppy. It usually appears in puppies around four months of age and is a painful condition which, fortunately, is both treatable in the young and is one which the pup "grows out of" with little or no effect on the adult dog.

Hypothyroidism is an underproduction of the hormones of the thyroid gland. Symptoms include poor coat condition, loss of coat and fading color, chronic skin conditions, weight gain, fatigue and lethargy. Causes may range from failures in the endocrine system to liver malfunction to inadequate diet. Treatment of the condition is effective but determining the exact cause of the problem is critical to the type of treatment.

Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures, which involve excessive salivation, dilation of the pupils, stiffening of the limbs and arching of the back and sometimes the loss of consciousness. The seizures may be caused by a number of conditions ranging from brain tumors to low blood sugar and heatstroke. Diagnosis and treatment of seizures is complicated and the dog should be taken to vet immediately.

Skin Problems. There are many conditions which affect the skin and coats of dogs, ranging from true hereditary conditions to diet to parasites to symptoms of more serious underlying medical conditions. Diagnosis and treatment of parasites such as fleas, demodetic and sarcoptic mange are fairly simple but some skin conditions are chronic and require careful attention by your vet. Diet is a big factor in the health of the skin and coat and many problems are caused by improper feeding.

Eye Problems. As Scotties age they are susceptible to many of the eye problems associated with growing age. They can be affected with cataracts, glaucoma, PPM (persistent papillary membranes), and PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) and all of these conditions can be treated through your vet.

Portosystemic Shunt. This condition, also known as liver shunt, occurs when the blood cannot enter the liver in sufficient quantities for the liver to perform it's cleansing. Present at birth, the condition becomes apparent between 8-10 weeks of age when the pup appears lethargic, the coat becomes dull and there are periodic staggering episodes. Difficult to diagnose at this early stage, the condition requires extensive blood testing for confirmation and is difficult and expensive to treat, usually requiring a number of surgeries with little guarantee of success. Fortunately, this serious condition is still quite rare in the Scottish Terrier.

References
There is a wealth of information on dogs in general and the Scottie in particular available both in book form and on the internet. The references and websites used to prepare this article, and some additional sites which are related, are shown below.

The Canadian Kennel Club www.ckc.ca
The American Kennel Club www.akc.org
The Canadian Scottish Terrier Club www.canadianscottishterrierclub.org
The Scottish Terrier Club of America http://clubs.akc.org/stca/
Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) www.vmdb.org/cerf.html
Healthgene Corporation www.healthgene.com
The New Scottish Terrier, Cindy Cooke, Howell Book House, 1996.
The Kennelgarth Scottish Terrier Book, 2nd Ed, Betty Penn-Bull, Axxent Limited, 1995
Control of Canine Genetic Diseases, George A Padgett, Howell Book House, 1998