Rhodesian Ridgeback Puppies for sale
Preparing for your Rhodesian Ridgeback Puppy
Love Your Ridgeback

"Ridgeback Health Issues"

Plan for the future
Accidents and illnesses can happen to your dog. They cannot be anticipated, are always unexpected, and can wind up costing you a lot of money. Although many people want to avoid thinking about their dog getting sick or having an accident until it actually happens – the time to think about it is definitely now!
Feel free to email: diana@loveyourridgeback.com for additional information about puppies and dogs.
 
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Hip Dysplasia and
Degenerative Joint Disease

 
Love Your Ridgeback
 
Hip dysplasia is considered a genetic disease. If a parent dog has hip dysplasia, then the dog's offspring are at a greater risk for developing hip dysplasia. Researches agree that if there are no carriers of hip dysplasia in a dog's lineage, then it is highly unlikely that the dog will contract the disease. If there are genetic carriers of dysplasia in a dog's lineage, then the dog may contract the disease. We can greatly reduce the incidence of hip dysplasia through selective breeding. With today's technology, the incidence of the disease is dramatically decreasing and the vast majority of affected animals can live quite comfortable lives.
 
There are some breeds of dogs that you can pretty much be assured that when your dog grows older he or she will need to have surgery and/or pain medication for dysplasia, however the OFA reports that Rhodesian Ridgeback's have a very low percentage (only 5.1 %) within the breed, so with a proper lifestyle, they are very unlikely to acquire dysplasia in their older years.
 
You do have the best odds of not ever acquiring any degenerative joint disease (DJD) in your dog when every dog upward in your dog's pedigree has been x-rayed and has the outcome results of Good to Excellent.
 
All of our dogs are OFA and/or PennHip Good to Excellent. That is the ultimate best odds that any one can ever have as far as their puppydog not ever developing any type of dysplasia when they reach a ripe old age. One buys his tickets and takes his chances in life and with one of our Rhodesian Ridgebacks the odds are in your favor of not acquiring these types of diseases.
 
Here is a link to an excellent site that has many answers about Hip Dysplasia.
 
 

Dermoid Sinus in the Rhodesian Ridgeback

 
Love Your Ridgeback
 
Ridgebacks in general are a very hardy breed, as they were originally bred in Africa to hunt down and hold Lions at bay for the hunters. They would go for days over the African terrain with little food or water. The only real concern that is specific to the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed would be a dermoid sinus. The dermoid sinus (D.S.) has been known by many names, a few of which are dermoid cyst, hair cyst, and African cyst. It is a sinus, in that it is tubelike and does drain, and dermoid because it is skinlike. It may or may not contain hair follicles or be lined with hair. As the hair sheds on the outer coat of the pup, so does the hair inside this tube. The body's natural response to dead material is to flush it out and thus the serum builds up and expels the debris. Not all of the dermoid sinuses are true tubes. Some are not hollow and the serum and debris cannot drain. In these cases an abscess forms and the resulting swelling that accompanies can rupture the skin. This can result in a painful situation for the pup. The D.S. is a congenital condition, meaning that it is present at birth. All our puppies are always checked by two breeders and two or three vets to make sure that they do not have D.S.
 
D.S. is likened to spinal bifida in humans where if the mother makes sure she takes folic acid and good vitamins before and during the pregnancy, then odds of having a baby with spinal bifida are extremely remote. It's the same with Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and consequently we guarantee that your puppy will not have a dermoid sinus.
 
 
Here is a link to an excellent site that has questions, answers, and even lots of pictures of dermoids and pictures of surgical removal of dermoids:  http://www.dermoids.org/
 
Love Your Ridgeback