Standard and Toy Manchester Terrier Health Care & Feeding

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Manchester Terrier Health Problems

Or check out my advice for raising a healthy Manchester Terrier puppy or adult dog:

Complete list of Manchester Terrier health problems

The Manchester Terrier Club conducted a health survey that included over 1300 dogs.

The club reports that the most common cause of death in the Manchester Terrier is old age (at 14-17 years old – a long-lived breed!) and cancer (at about 12 years old).

The most significant eye disease in the breed is cataracts, appearing at 3-7 years old and often progressing to blindness. Lens luxation (leading to secondary glaucoma) can also, along with progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), which always leads to blindness.

von Willebrand's blood-clotting disease is common in Manchester Terriers.

Fortunately, it's usually a mild form and a simple DNA test is available so you can find out at any time whether your Manchester has the disease, carries it, or is completely clear of it. Thus far, test results show that about 5% of Manchesters are affected and another 35% are carriers.

The most serious orthopedic disease in Manchester Terriers is Legg-Calve-Perthes,  a degenerative hip disease. Fortunately, good breeders are testing their breeding stock for it, so it's being kept under control.

Luxating patella (loose knees), elbow dysplasia, and hip dysplasia can also occur in Manchesters, but the affected rate isn't very high.

Thyroid disease.... according to the Michigan State University Thyroid Database, up to 16% of Manchester Terriers have low thyroid levels.

The most common skin diseases are demodectic mange (which occurs in Manchester Terrier puppies and adolescents) and allergies (which cause itchy skin and can lead to bacterial skin infections.

Other serious health issues in Manchester Terriers are epilepsy, diabetes, urinary stones, and heart disease.

Especially in Toy Manchester Terriers

Toy Manchesters are prone to dental disease and can easily fracture one of their slender legs from leaping off furniture.

Some Toy Manchesters have pattern baldness, a gradual thinning or loss of hair around their temples and ears, underneath their neck and abdomen, and on their thighs. It's not itchy and the skin and coat are otherwise normal. Since it's a cosmetic condition, there's no treatment required other than adding natural fatty-acid supplements that are good for the skin and coat.

Toy Manchester Terriers have slender legs that can be easily broken from jumping off furniture, or falling or leaping from your arms.

Toy Manchester Terriers can choke on the tiniest object and it takes very little to overdose them with anything toxic. They can squeeze through the smallest crack of a door or fence and be gone.

If you allow them to act foolishly aggressive toward larger dogs, their neck can be broken with a single grab. If you let them off-leash, their excitable chasing instincts may send them under the wheels of a car.

You must keep toy-sized dogs under constant surveillance and leash/arm control. Too much can happen to these small creatures in the blink of an eye.

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 Manchester Terrier in all the right ways that help prevent health problems. Become your dog's health care champion!