Kerry Blue Terrier Health Care & Feeding

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Kerry Blue Terrier Health Problems

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Complete list of Kerry Blue Terrier health problems

In Kerries, it all starts with their skin:

• Chronic allergies cause itchy skin and often lead to pyoderma
• Growths and tumors, especially hair follicle tumors.
• Growths on their nose, or on the pads of the feet. Footpad keratoses are deep circular plaques (corns) that develop on hard dry footpads. They often become ulcerated, causing pain when the dog tries to walk. Softening the affected pads with vitamin E, aloe vera, and other natural lubricants helps. Nasodigital keratoses result in a hard, dry, rough nose with possible fissures and ulcers.
• Spiculosis – abnormal spike-like hairs that feel like stiff bristles. They're most numerous in young adult males, with some dogs having over a hundred of them, especially on their legs. Sometimes you can pull them out with your fingers. Otherwise you may need to soak the dog in warm water and epsom salts, then scrub them off with a rubber brush.

Along with skin problems, the eyes are a problem spot for Kerry Blue Terriers.

• The most common eye diseases are dry eye, and cataracts that can progress to blindness. These cataracts appear before 2 years old; in fact, usually by 6 months old.
• Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) also occurs in Kerries and always progresses to blindness.
• Also there are eyelid/eyelash abnormalities.

Heart disease (patent ductus arteriosus) is becoming a concern in the breed.

Blood-clotting diseases (von Willebrand's and occasionally Factor XI deficiency) occur in Kerry Blue Terriers. Fortunately, a simple DNA test is available for von Willebrand's disease in Kerries, so you can find out at any time whether your dog has the disease, carries the disease, or is completely clear of it.

The most common orthopedic diseases in Kerries are luxating patella, elbow dysplasia, and hip dysplasia.

The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the hip X-rays of 1600 Kerry Blues and found 6% dysplastic. Similarly, of 200 elbow x-rays, 6% were dysplastic.

A fatal neurological disease in Kerry Blue Terriers is cerebellar ataxia (specifically, a form called progressive neuronal abiotrophy).

Other health issues in Kerry Blue Terriers include colitis, urinary stones, hypothyroidism, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, myasthenia gravis, and lupus.

Preventing health problems

Some health problems are inherited. For example, if your dog inherits from his parents the genes for an eye disease called PRA, he will go blind and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

But most health problems can be prevented by the ways you raise your dog.

FREE eBOOK! My free online health care program, 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy shows you how to raise your Kerry Blue Terrier in all the right ways that help prevent health problems. Become your dog's health care champion!