The rhodesian ridgeback have an inborn, inheritable defect called dermoid sinus. This defect can occur in any animal and even man.

You find the dermoid sinus normaly between the base of the skull to the front of the ridge along the spine and you may find it from the end of the ridge out on the tail along the spine. It can also be inside the ridgearea but these are rare. A dermoid sinus is a tube of skin which opens onto the midline of the back. The tube is like the rest of the skin, hair and related glands. In the embryo then the spinalcord is formed it can happen that part of the skin folds in and a tube is created. Normaly the spinal cord is covered and not affected but it can be included. If the spinal cord is connected with the tube an infection of the cord will be a result. The animal will be paralysed and certainly die. The hereditary disposition is not clear.

The defecte can be hard to very hard to detect. The sinus can be thick and it can thin as strand of cotton. To check for dermoid sinus pick up a fold of skin and use your fingertips gently against each other through the skin. Start at the base of the skull and work your way down to the base of the tail along the spine. If you press to hard you may chrush the tube, so do it gently. The tube or sinus will feel like thin string and it donīt have to go straight down to spine. It can whorl forward or backwards. On the tail you cab use your thumb and drag it along the skin. If a sinus is current the skin will not follow or you may feel a dimple or that the hair form a small brush. In these cases shave the tail and you me be able to see a dimple. Open sinuses use be located in the pelvis area. In front of the ridge the sinuses can be connective tissue. The tube consist of hair, skin, skintallow and dropped pieces of skin and hair.

A not infected dermoid sinus usually do not disturb the animal but you must always count on an infection will occur because of the hair and the pieces of skin that will fall of and has nowhere to go but to stay in the tube. And since the body can not get rid of it the only alternativ left is an infection. Once this start it will continue and there is no hope it will fix itself. Operation is the only safe cure but there is no guarentee. An operation can be very difficult since the sinus can be whorling away and be like a trees root inside. If the sinus is in the pelvis area and an operation is at hand the possibility is that the spinal cord is open to the sinus. Puppies with a detected sinus is culled at birth and only when you have a older puppy a operation is considered.

The dermoid sinus. The hair is shaved off so the sinus can be observed.
Click on the picture to get a larger picture

The rhodesian ridgeback is a healhty dog but since it is a living animal it can get differnt diseases and defects. Some of them is inheretid and others are caused by enviroment or coincidence.

Hip dysplasia (HD) When the hip joint are not completely developed or malformed. The joint and the joint hollow does not fit. The edges rake in each other which result in a jointinflammation. Hip joints are x-rayed on the dogs and not before 18 months of age. The result goes to the Swedish Kennel Club which rank the degree of HD in Excellenta, Ua, I, II, III, IV. "IV" means very hard changes on the hips. The ranking "excellenta" are very rare given. The number of dogs who are ranked Ua (HD-free) goes between 95-90 % of the total x-rayed dogs. Animals used to breeding should be x-rayed with "Ua" as a resultat. As from january 2000 the classification is A,B,C,D and E. A and B is equal to ua, C to I, D to II and E to III and IV.

Kinked tail (vertebra grown together). This is not very common defect but the ridgeback can be born with two or more vertebra grown together in the tail which can not be bent. It can be straight or with a degree. This defect can be found in many breeds.

Ridgeback like any other large breeding can suffer from osteochondrosis which is a joint disease where a fragment let go from the joint ball and there after incapsulate. This leads to a painful jointinflammatiion and the dog beacme limp. The symptom usaully starts at 8-9 months. It happens mostly to the elbow joints. There after the shoulder joint, the knee joint and the hock joint in this order. Inhereditay, to fast growing and to much force on joints are bad reason (for exampel high jumps or jumping down from high places).

Artros is a chronic joint disease. The joints bone and cartilage changes. Around the surface of the joints edges it will develop embankments and the joint capsule will get thicker. Artros often leads to limpness, specially when the animal has been resting. Artros is part of the naturell growing old but can hit even young animal of certain breeds. The changes are in the elbow joints an also in the knee joint. Reason for elbow artros is not known but inhereditay means much.

Even spondylos can get to the ridgeback but is very rare. It is a spine change which causes of a inflammation in the discs outer zone. It gives the bone more superstructure on the vertebre which make a bridge between two vertebres on the underside. It does have to give pain. When it is placed in the rear part of pelvis area it can give some symptom.

The ridgeback can be born with entropin which is when upper and/or under eyelids rim turn inwards and causes discomfort as the eyelashes rub on the eye. It has to be operated otherwise blindness will follow

Thyroidea are in two version an can get to most bigger breeds. One is autoimmun thyroidea and this is belived to be inheredit. The other is idiopatic and can just appear out of nothing to any idividual with no sign of ineheredity. The symptom start by 2 years age showing tiredness, depressed and very low activity. Lifelong medication with pills will bring back your dog to you.

Cryptorchids meaning that one testicle or both are missing. The testicles should be in place some days after the puppy has been born. Most dogs have the testicles in place then they are 6-8 weeks of age. The diagnos cryptorchids can not always be decided before 6 months of age, since some dogs have slow wandering of testicles. 6-10% of the ridgebacks has cryptorchids. Cryptorchids have a high degree of inheredity. The chance of cancer is low but a dog with cryptorchids should be observed on changes as smell, pigment or skinchanges which can be signs of cancer in the testicle. It can happen that the cryptorchids dogs testicle will twist around its axle and cause the dog great pain.

Top of page
Main swedish page	Photogallery	Puppyphotos	Puppylitter	Links

Siv och Bo Hansen

Nylundsvägen 11 370 24 Nättraby

+46-455-49670

Sweden

Contact Rassagaarden