Blue Heeler Dog Health and Lifespan

In a small sample of 11 dead dogs, Australian Cattle Dogs have a median of 11.7 years (maximum 15.9 years). The largest survey of 100 dead dogs showed a life expectancy of 13:41 years with standard deviation of 2.36 years. The average longevity of breeds of similar size are between 11 and 13. There is an anecdotal report of a dog named Bluey cattle born in 1910 and 29.5 years of life, but the record has not been verified. Although it is true, the age Bluey record should be considered rather a rare exception as an indicator of exceptional longevity common to the whole race. It remains, however, that dogs age Livestock Australia, well and in general seem to live almost a year on average more than most other breeds of dogs in the same weight class. Many members of the race are still very active and 12 or 14 years and some say their vision, hearing, teeth and even until his last days.

Common health problems

The Australian Cattle Dog carries piebald recessive alleles that produce white fur and skin and are associated with congenital deafness, hereditary, but there may be a cause of multiple genes for deafness in a dog with spotted pigmentation genes. Approximately 2.4% of dogs in an animal study found that both deaf and 14.5% were deaf in one ear.

The Australian Cattle Dog is a breed of dog with progressive retinal atrophy. It has the most common cone, Progressive Rod / Cone Degeneration (PRCD), a condition that causes the rods and cones in the retina of the eye to deteriorate over a lifetime, resulting in blindness. PRCD is an autosomal recessive and a dog can carry the altered gene, without developing the disease.

Hip dysplasia is not common in the breed, although it occurs often enough for many breeders have their breeding tested. The Cattle Dog has a number of hereditary diseases [30], but most of them are not common. Polioencephalomyelopathy inherited from the Australian Cattle Dog is a rare condition caused by an inherited defect biochemist. Dogs identified with the condition is completely paralyzed in his first year. Based on a sample of 69 dogs still alive, the most common health problems reported by owners were musculoskeletal (spondylosis, elbow dysplasia, and arthritis) and reproductive (pyometra, false pregnancy, and infertility), blindness, and . A study of dogs diagnosed in veterinary colleges in Canada and the United States for a period of thirty years is described fractures, lameness and lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament in the most common in Australia Cattle treated.