As a responsible and compassionate Husky owner, you obviously want to make sure your guy or girl is in tip-top health. Regular visits to the vet for checkups are important, but you won’t usually need to visit the vet with any major problems as often as with other breeds of dogs. However, there are a couple of common genetic husky health problems that you need to be aware of in order to keep your Siberian Husky as healthy as can be.
Hip Dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is more common in other breeds (e.g. German Shepherds), but Huskies can also inherit this skeletal disorder. It usually becomes apparent in the first two years of the Husky’s life. Before obtaining a specific Husky puppy or an older Husky, you need to find out if there’s hip dysplasia in the Husky’s blood line. It is caused by abnormal joint development, which prevents the ball and socket joint in the Husky’s hips from moving around freely. The condition can cause inflammation, pain, and arthritis of the affected hip, and also peripheral damage of the soft tissue and ligaments around the joint. This can lead to loss of activity and mobility. There is no real cure for this disorder, only palliative care, so do your research before you buy your Husky pup.
Eye Problems
A Husky’s eye sight is usually the breed’s main health problem. The three most common issues are: progressive retinal atrophy, corneal dystrophy, and cataracts. A cataract is an opacity of the eye’s lens caused either by age or genetic factors. The more aggressive stage of cataracts may cause your Husky to become blind, but this is form is luckily quite rare. Corneal dystrophy is usually noticed at around four years of age. A white, opaque mineral (either cholesterol or calcium) is deposited in the cornea (the clear front part of the eye). The size, shape, and density of the areas of mineral deposits vary. Although these affected areas can be highly visible, they rarely cause blindness. It has been reported to occur in dogs with high levels of cholesterol or calcium in the blood.
A more serious Husky eye problem is progressive retinal atrophy. It affects the light receptors on the retina, and is genetically inherited. This eye problem will eventually lead your Husky to become blind if it remains untreated.. Still, if detected in its early stages, you can prevent blindness from occurring in your Husky.
