Are Rhodesian Ridgebacks healthy?

• Hip and/or elbow dysplasia: Hip and elbow dysplasia are two of the most common skeletal diseases seen in dogs. They are similar diseases in which either the hip or elbow joint has grown abnormally or is misshapen. The abnormal shape prevents the joints and sockets from adequately meeting one another, resulting in rubbing and grinding instead of sliding smoothly. Though the main complication with hip dysplasia is joint instability, the abnormalities present in elbow dysplasia often result in pieces of bone and/or cartilage breaking loose and irritating the joint tissues. Over time, the rubbing from dysplasia can cause a variety of issues, such as pain, lameness, and secondary osteoarthritis. Surgery can be done to fix the joint if diagnosed before the onset of arthritis.

• Eye problems: Rhodesian Ridgebacks may experience cataracts, a common eye condition that causes cloudiness in the eye and obstructs vision, and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), a progressive degenerative disease affecting the retina that eventually leads to blindness.

• Hypothyroidism: Hypothyroidism is a thyroid malfunction that results in low hormone production and could cause obesity, low energy, and a brittle coat.

• Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL): This family of inherited degenerative nervous system disorders affects how the body breaks down certain types of fat or proteins within the body’s cells. The body’s inability to break down these proteins eventually causes the cells to stop working properly and leads to a decline in mental and motor functions.

• Others: Rhodesian Ridgebacks may also experience gastric dilatation-volvulus, a sudden, painful, and life-threatening swelling and twisting of the abdomen; and degenerative myelopathy, a degenerative genetic disorder that causes progressive paralysis in the hind legs. To identify some of these issues, a veterinarian may recommend hip, eye, and imaging tests for the dog.