Health & Care
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Health:
The Lapphund is one of the healthiest breeds in Finland & Australia , requiring minimal veterinary care. Lapphunds often reach the age of 12 to 15.
Your Lapphund should be vaccinated prior to purchase. Baby is not safe to be around others or out on the street until at least 2 weeks after the final 3 month vaccination. Some vets recommend another shot at 16 weeks. The next booster is then due 12 months later.
Most Lapphund breeders in Australia are testing for Hips, eyes and elbows. This does not mean that we are expecting problems - far from the truth. By testing we are ensuring that we are breeding from the best so we expect the best. At times hiccups appear but we will continue to test and to attempt to breed quality healthy pets.
Lapphunds are a spitz breed you will need to show him who is boss. Most Lappies don’t need very much training but others do.
Care:
Finnish Lapphunds do have abundant coat so do require some brushing. Lapphunds do shed their coats regularly ( at least annually for males and twice yearly for bitches. this usually coincides with their seasons.) When Lapphunds are shedding they will need a good brush out with a slicker or rake. Lapphunds have a wonderful coat that when it gets wet or muddy, you can ret assured that after the coat dries the dirt just falls out.
The thick coat of the Finnish Lapphund stays in good condition with a regular bath and a brush and comb routinely will be all they need. About a half an hour grooming per week should be ample to cope with the coat and keep the dog tidy. The breed should only require bathing when dirty - as excess bathing will strip the coat of the oils.
Trimming of the foot fur is rather a contentious issue. There are those - myself included, that prefer that foot fur be trimmed flush with the pads to ensure proper footing and protect the digits from becoming splayed. Excess fur growth, if left uncorrected, can displace the pads and create “fallen arches” or “flat feet,” a very painful condition. There are others that prefer a nature snow boot be visible, and that combing of the foot fur is maintained to keep it free of mud and debris.
Toenails and teeth cleaning should be maintained routinely as well ( at least fortnightly). The toe nails should be maintained at a proper length. A general rule is you should not hear them make contact with the ground when the dog walks.
To alleviate the teeth cleaning constantly, providing the dog with a good bone will assist in keeping the plaque away from the teeth.
Regular worming of your pet is essential as is Heartworm treatment in some areas. This is easiest with one of the monthly treatment purchasable from your vet. I have never known fleas to be a problem but again this is treatable using an all wormer, which includes a flea treatment.
Ticks in Australia can cause some stress particularly with the coated breed of the lappies. This can be eased with the use of tick treatments available through your vet.
Feeding - you will need to feed cautiously as lapphunds LOVE their food. They quickly become overweight if not careful.
Overweightness WILL lead to some of the joint problems that would otherwise not be found. Adults should be between 15 -22 kg mark.
Genetic Problems:
As mentioned Lapphunds are mostly a very healthy breed. Within Australia we are testing according to the Finnish standards. Within Australia we are testing according to the Finnish standards.
A small percentage of the Lapphund have PRA or HC, and very few hip dysplasia cases are found. The Lapphund belongs to PEVISA (the program against inheritable diseases), which requires examination of the breeding stock before the puppies can be registered.
From what I am gleaning via Finland, both PRA and hip dysplasia are age onset problems. Here in Australia the few dogs that have been tested with hip problems have still shown no signs or physical symptoms of the disease. Some of these are from the early litters and still healthy and active at the age of 7 years with no signs or symptoms of CHD of any problems.
Since we have commenced testing for genetic diseases some incidences have cropped up. Those that appear more commonly, though not often, are PRA, HD, HC, Luxating Patellas, Elbow dysplasia and epilepsy. Again tests are being devised to enable breeders to eliminate these minor health issues. To date in Australia, we have no confirmed symptomatic cases of any of these issues. Again due to our testing we have located another eye issue which in itself does not create any difficulties for the home pet.
The frequency of these problems appearing is minimal to those that are tested. (Some findings show only about 2% of those tested)
PRA - Progressive Retinal Atrophy is an eye defect where the retina undergoes degeneration. The condition is unlikely to appear before the animal is year old, and in some breeds the age of onset maybe much later. Since the condition is inherited it is advised that breeding animals be tested regularly to ensure reduce the chances of breeding from stock that has developed the condition. The general consensus is that the condition is inherited via a simple recessive gene. It would appear that in the Finnish Lapphund the PRA is late onset - often not appearing until the dog is more than 5 years of age and often even later in life. So it maybe that a dog or bitch has previously been bred from, before the condition is identified. We now have a DNA test to show affected genotypes for this disease. As a result we should see fewer and fewer cases over time. Testing this way is however quite expensive. Otherwise regular optomology tests is the surest method of attempting to restrict the breeding from affected dogs.
PRA Test for Finnish Lapphund
Starting December 1, 2005, OptiGen is offering the genetic test for the prcd form of PRA that occurs in Finnish Lapphunds. Please review the general information on prcd-PRA disease and inheritance as it applies to all of the breeds affected with prcd-PRA.
The Optigen Home web site Motto is to
| Provide highest quality diagnostic service and information |
Protect valuable canine bloodlines with genetic tests |
Prevent inherited diseases in future generations |
Many breeders are upholding this philosophy. Please ask your puppies breeders what their policy is for breeding with recognised eye disease. Within Australia to date (Jan 2008) information on carrier status from clear to carrier matings is fairly high with approximately 70% + being carrier status. Whilst this is not an issue for our pets / companions, we do need to keep our breeding pool with a minimal incidence of carrier status.
Within Australia changes are being made to animal breeding laws. In Victoria, breeders now have to uphold and enact on newly passed legislation - December 2007. This legislation rules that Breeders who breed from dogs with known problems must inform new owners of these problems in WRITING. It is necessary for all parents to be tested to enable informed data to be given to prospective owners of puppies. This information and that of puppies, if available, is provided in WRITING to the new owners.
As a consequence of these changes to breeding laws many Finnish Lapphunds owners now have a written agreement which accompanies the puppy sale. Please do not get offended if asked to sign your puppies agreement.
Other states are now beginning to take on board the Animal Act enacted in Victoria. As of July 2009 it will be mandated that all puppies are microchipped prior to point of sale.
HD - Hip Dysplasia is a condition where the ball & socket joint of the hip is not properly formed, leading to lameness, chronic pain etc. dogs can be X-rayed and scored for the degree of dysplasia of the joint. The lower the score the better. The breed average for each breed of dog will vary. Currently the breed average hip score for the FL is 13. It is advisable that breeding is from dogs with scores lower than the Breed average. It should be noted that HD is not simply an inherited condition, other factors such as feeding, exercise and environment or over exercise at an early age may play a part in the development of the condition. Although we are testing our dogs for HD, in Australia, we are also noticing that those that are characterised as being affected are NOT showing any signs of this problem until their aging years.
Canine Hip Dysplasia is a fickle problem as it is caused by so many other elements as well. Genetics only play a small part in the hip dysplasia problem. Environment such as slippery floors, wet floors, tiles, use of stairs when too young, overfeeding, over-exercise, jumping at too early an age, along with many other exercise, feeding and other elements created by puppy owners.
Breeders use hip scoring as a guide and this guide should be used by prospective owners as well in conjunction with the knowledge that it is not invincible. I have seen dogs with perfect hips who are walking as though they are dysplastic and seen those whose scores show poor results who never exhibit symptoms of it.
Animals that are tested with an A, B, or C are deemed to be within a breeding range and therefore given a Pass status. Those with score of D and below are deemed to be unacceptable for breeding and subsequently given a Unsatisfactory Status. Within Finland some D dogs are used in their breeding program though this is not a common practice.
Within Australia ALL tested imported dogs have been with excellent to very good hip scores. We are fortunate that this is the case. We should be aware as well of what is behind these lines to ensure the great hips that are mostly found within our breed in this country.
Some lines work well together and some do not.
For more information on hip dysplasia please visit the OFA website.
Overweightness of your dog will lead to signs of this and can cause stress on all joints.
The following conditions appear much less frequently than the above conditions.
HC - Heriditary Cataracts - Cataract appears as a whiteness or greyness of the eye lens, visible through the pupil. It appears that the hereditary cataract, which is seen in the FL, occurs after the dog is one year of age, and it is not believed to be progressive. The mode of inheritance of the condition is not proven. But it is advised that all breeding stock be checked for the condition regularly.
Elbow Dysplasia - As with hip dysplasia, elbows are now tested to ensure that this in not a problem. Again it is where the ball and socket joint do not meet tightly which causes the problems to the dog. The score are rated 0 to 3 with the lower being the better.
Luxating Patellas - Luxating patellas are when the knee cap moves from its original location. The degree of movement is measured and then rated. The less movement the better which give the lower rating. Indications of this is skipping and hopping on a given leg. Or having the dog raise that leg for a period of time and not walk on it. We have not started testing for patellas in Australia as we have had not indications of it yet.