It’s difficult to accept that your cute little Goldendoodle puppy will one day grow up and experience health issues. Taking extra good care of your pup will help prolong their life but it doesn’t mean they won’t have health problems they inherit from their parents and ancestors. The following list contains common health problems in Goldendoodles.
Before scrolling down this list, you might like: 7 Common Goldendoodle Food Allergies and Goldendoodle Generations.
Skin Disease
A common skin disease that Goldendoodles experience is called Sebaceous Adenitis. This occurs when the sebaceous glands get inflamed which results in loss of hair. Researchers are looking into the cause of the condition but they have only been able to determine its inherited and a recessive gene.
The gene is found in standard size Poodles which gets passed down to their future generations. The loss of hair is usually found on the back, neck, and head. Thinning hair, matted hair, and scaly skin are signs the gland is malfunctioning.
Symptoms include musty odor along the hairline, white scaly skin, lesions, hot spots, sores, scabs, matted hair that appears waxy, patches of missing hair, and itching.
The veterinarian will conduct a skin biopsy to diagnose the condition and offer topical treatment such as shampoo and specialty ointments to reduce the symptoms. Sometimes an improved diet and supplements are recommended to treat the gland.
Hip Dysplasia
Hip Dysplasia is commonly found in a wide range of dog breeds and Goldendoodles are involved in this grouping. This genetic disease causes changes to the workings of the hip joint that range from mild to severe.
The medical explanation is a bit complicated but in simpler terms, the ball of the femur aligns poorly with the pelvis hip socket. As a dog ages, the wear and tear of the area become painful, inflamed, and causes discomfort.
Common symptoms of hip dysplasia in dogs include slow getting up or sitting down, difficulty jumping, hopping like a bunny, keeping both legs together while running, sensitivity in the rear area, and muscle atrophy.
Most Goldendoodle breeders have a carefully researched and planned genetic program that helps reduce the risk of this condition existing in future generations. However, the breeders are not able to control recessive genes that can pop up in future generations.
Veterinarian care, surgery, and medications are popular treatments for this condition. Also, feeding your dog a well-balanced and complete diet that includes nutritional supplements will help joints deal with the condition better.
Sub Valvular Aortic Stenosis Heart Condition
This inherited condition is a cardiovascular disease that causes the aorta to become too narrow. The condition causes the heart to work harder to pump the blood through the constricted area.
The severity of the disease ranged from mild to severe. Some dogs might have inherited the condition but don’t have any symptoms while others can experience serious issues with the outflow of blood.
Common symptoms include sluggishness, slow or poor growth rate, intolerance to long walks and exercise, and sudden fainting.
A veterinarian’s heart exam identifies the disease and involves an EKG and X-ray of the heart. Current treatment for this disease includes beta-blockers and exercise restrictions.
Professionals advise dog owners to spay or neuter their dog if they have this heart condition to prevent the disease from going further down the genetic line. Breeders are working diligently to design their breeding program to help reduce the disease in genetic lines.
Cataracts
This health condition affects the eyes and sight as a dog ages. Cataracts create an opacity of the ocular lens that interferes with proper sight. Typically the cataract is located behind the pupil in front of the retina and bounded by the iris.
The cataract doesn’t allow a dog to see through the opacity unless it doesn’t involve the lens completely. If this is the case, partial vision remains and allows the dog to see to some degree. It’s common for Goldendoodles to have cataracts in both eyes but at different severities which determines if they are completely blind or partially blind.
Common symptoms include visibly cloudy eyes, hesitation jumping up onto surfaces such as a bed or sofa, bumping into things, and not noticing things that are in front of their face.
Current Veterinarian treatment includes a special technique called Phacoemulsification that uses sound waves to destroy the structure and remove the cataract in bits. However, severe conditions usually require surgery.
Addison’s Disease
This disease is also known as Hypoadrenocorticism or Addison’s Disease. It’s common in all dog breeds including Goldendoodles. The disease involves the outer layer of the adrenal glands. The immune system is the cause of the destruction of the endocrine tissue.
Medications and cancer also breakdown the cortex of the adrenal glands which makes some dogs prone to having the condition.
Research has revealed this is an inherited condition but the condition tends to worsen when the dog is experiencing extreme stress. Common symptoms of this disease include depression, diarrhea, vomiting, extreme urination, increased thirst, shivering, shaking, loss of appetite, weakness, and collapsing. These symptoms can range from mild to severe depending on the severity of the condition in that particular dog.
This disease causes electrolyte and dehydration imbalances that often require veterinarian treatment. Intensive care is often needed to reverse the symptoms by using fluid therapy, stabilizing drugs, and corticosteroids.
While these health conditions are often inherited any dog can experience other issues throughout their lifetime. The diseases mentioned on this list are the most common found in Goldendoodles and their ancestors.
Most of these conditions are inherited and passed down through DNA lines. Some conditions are recessive which means the parents of the puppy might not have the condition but could pass it down to their entire litter.
Improved breeding programs are being developed to help reduce the diseases in the adorable breed so somewhere down the line, these amazing dogs won’t need to suffer from genetic diseases any longer.
Conclusion for Goldendoodle Health Issues
If you suspect your dog has any of the health issues mentioned above contact a veterinarian immediately. A health exam will determine if your dog has these health issues or if the symptoms are due to another reason.
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Garrett loves animals and is a huge advocate for all Doodle dog breeds. He owns his own Goldendoodle named Kona. In addition, he volunteers at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where he fosters dogs and helps animals. Garrett enjoys writing about Doodles and believes that dogs can teach humans more about how to live than humans can teach a dog.
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