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 In general the Old English Sheepdog tends to be a very healthy breed but as with any breed of dog there are certain diseases which they seem o be predisposed to.
The Cerebellum is part of the brain that is critical for controlling smooth and effective movement. The most obvious abnormality in dogs with CA is a base-wide rear stance and gait. Typically when dogs walk they should move their paws towards midline. CA dogs tend to stand with their hind limbs far apart and have mild to moderate circumduction. Circumduction is where the paw is carried outside of a line dropped vertically to the ground from the hip joint. The paw also strikes the ground far from the midline and usually outside of a line dropped vertically from the hip joint.
The gait of affected dogs may also appear as "high-stepping". This is best appreciated in the forelegs. While this prancing gait may be considered desirable in other breeds, in the Old English it is not and can be a sign of CA.
In the later stages of the disease, the dogs are extremely wobbly (ataxic) and their gait problem becomes much easier to appreciate. Although the condition has been presented in young adult dogs, there may be subtle changes even in puppies.
CA in the Old English Sheepdog is shown to be transmitted by an autosomal recessive gene with complete penetrance. This means that affected dogs must inherit a defective recessive gene from both parents. Parents of confirmed affected dogs are obligate carriers of the defective recessive gene. Dogs who have one normal (dominant) gene and one defective recessive gene are normal, healthy dogs (regarding CA). Their only difference is that they will pass on the defective gene to approximately half their offspring. Being a recessive disorder, carriers can multiply for many generations without producing affected dogs, if they have not been bred to other carriers.
There is no test to date for CA - only careful scrutiny of pedigrees can lessen the incidence of the disease.
Hip dysplasia results from the abnormal development of the hip joint in the young dog. It may or may not be bilateral, affecting both right and left sides. It is brought about by the laxity of the muscles, connective tissue, and ligaments that should support the joint. Most dysplastic dogs are born with normal hips but due to genetic and possibly other factors, the soft tissues that surround the joint start to develop abnormally as the puppy grows. The most important part of these changes is that the bones are not held in place but actually move apart. Some of the environmental aspects that can affect the observable expression of hip dysplasia are the following:
- Nutrition
There are reports that in puppies a restricted calorie intake could restricted the growth rate, and in turn will lessen the potential for the dog to develop hip dysplasia. We do not recommend restricting caloric intake but we do recommend feeding a diet specially formulated for large breed puppies. The goal is to keep growing pups from becoming OVERWEIGHT and the newer large breed puppy foods have a good protein and fat analysis - plus many include glucosamine or Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) which are believed to improve joint development.
- Physical Activity
In a normal puppy physical activity will not cause hip dysplasia! Physical activity is paramount for ensuring a healthy, normal weigh dog.
- Bedding
There is no scientific proof, but lots of observational conclusions, that pups reared especially during the nursing period on slippery surfaces such as newspapers will be prone to hip difficulties. That is not to say that smooth concrete, wood or newspaper surfaces cause dysplasia, just that they can make a bad situation worse. Better surfaces for newborn pups would be blankets, indoor/outdoor carpeting or towels - something they can get a better grip foothold on.
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