Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Health Problems and Raising a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Puppy to be Healthy

How To Raise a Healthy Dog
Feeding the Best Dog Foods
Vaccinations: Needed or Not?
Spaying and Neutering: Pros and Cons

The most common health problems in Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs:

The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club conducted a health survey that included nearly 850 dogs. They found the typical lifespan for their breed to be just under 7 years old. That's pretty sad for a companion dog.

The three most common causes of death, accounting for approximately 70% of the deaths reported in the survey, were: cancer (27%), bloat (21%), and epilepsy (21%).

The most common orthopedic diseases in Swissies (not in any particular order) are osteochondritis, panosteitis, hip dysplasia, and elbow dysplasia. The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the hip X-rays of 1570 Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and found 19% dysplastic. That's bad, and the true rate is even higher because most of the obviously bad X-rays were not sent in for official evaluation. Similarly, 1175 elbow X-rays were evaluated and 12% were dysplastic. Again, the true rate is higher.

The most common eye diseases were eyelash abnormalities (with up to 20% of the breed affected), eyelid abnormalities (entropion and ectropion), and cataracts.

Allergies cause itchy skin and can lead to bacterial skin infections (pyoderma).

Colitis (inflammatory bowel syndrome) occurs regularly in Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, as do urinary infections.

Heart disease is a growing concern in the breed.

Blood-clotting diseases (von Willebrand's, thrombocytopenia, and thrombocytopathia) also occur in Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs.

Can you prevent health problems from happening to YOUR Greater Swiss Mountain Dog?

Yes, often you can.

1. Some health problems are genetic, which means inherited from parents. Genetic health issues are common in Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs today because of unwise breeding practices. My book, Dog Quest: Find The Dog Of Your Dreams, shows you how to find a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy who is genetically healthy.
2. Other health problems are environmental – caused by the way you raise your dog. My best-selling dog health book, 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy shows you how to prevent environmental health problems by raising your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy (or adult dog) in all the right ways.

Here are my dog health tips for raising a healthy Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy or adult dog:

How To Raise a Healthy Dog – My Philosophies
Read my advice on sensible feeding and health care so that your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog lives a long, healthy life and seldom needs to see the vet. An excellent goal, yes?

The Best Dog Food For Feeding Your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
The best diet for feeding your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is real food. Real chicken, turkey, beef, bison, venison, fish....This is not "people food" and I'll tell you why.

The Second-Best Dog Food For Your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
If you can't (or won't) feed what your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog really needs, the best I can do is to point out what to look for – and look out for – when choosing a brand of kibble or canned dog food.

Vaccinations and Booster Shots: Needed or Not?
How many vaccinations does your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy really need? Does your adult Greater Swiss Mountain Dog need yearly booster shots? The vaccination guidelines have changed. Find out what many vets aren't telling you.

The Type of Veterinarian I Recommend
Does your veterinarian belong to the AVMA or the AHVMA? They're not the same at all, and which one you choose can make a world of difference to the future health of your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.

Spaying and Neutering: Pros and Cons
Advantages and disadvantages of spaying your female Greater Swiss Mountain Dog or neutering your male.

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