Rat Terrier

What is it?

Demodectic mange is a condition where your pup will develop hairless patches on their skin. They also tend to have sores or lesions in those areas. The cause of these patches is an overabundance of the Demodex mite.

Usually, a pup will have some Demodex mites in their hair follicles, but their immune system prevents them from causing too much trouble. When your dog has more mites than usual, their immune system can’t keep up, which makes younger pups particularly susceptible.

Clinical signs:

Dry, hairless skin ,lesions, redness, itchy spots, rash skin thickening, scaling, inflamed lymph nodes in extreme cases, bacterial infections, highly inflamed skin

Treatment:

Mild cases resolve themselves, topical medication, miticidal treatment (oral or topical), antibiotics if a secondary infection occurs.

Health risks:

Secondary skin infections

Ivermectin, a miticidal treatment, can negatively affect dogs with the MDR1 mutation.

What is it?

Epilepsy is a condition that can affect dogs and humans. It causes seizures, but the exact reason is unknown. Brain injuries are believed to be one cause of seizures, but epilepsy seems to be a condition that can be inherited genetically.

It causes abnormal brain waves, but the brain itself seems normal. When seizures occur, there is an electrical surge in brain activity.

Clinical signs:

Seizures: stiffening in legs and neck, trembling and shaking, uncontrollable drooling and/or chewing, uncontrolled bladder, vocalizing.

Pre-seizure: anxious, fearful, dazed. Post-seizure: sleepy, confused, dazed, disoriented.

Treatment:

Anticonvulsants

Health risks:

injury during seizures, seizure clusters, which can lead to status epilepticus, a constant seizure state that is life-threatening, severe/grand mal seizures, which are increasingly violent seizures.

What is it?

Patellar Luxation is a condition affecting the knees of your pup. It occurs when a dog's kneecap slips out of its place. The seriousness of the illness and the treatment are based on how many legs are affected by this condition.

If your dog has only one leg that’s affected, the treatment is much easier. If there are multiple affected kneecaps, your pup may need to undergo surgery to help correct the problem.

Clinical signs:

clinical signs, skipping or hopping, kicking leg out to pop the kneecap into place, intermittent lameness, lifting affected leg when moving, weight shifting.

Treatment:

in less severe cases, arthritis medication, in more severe cases, surgery.

Health risks:

osteoarthritis, kneecap instability, intermittent lameness