Alice White
#19 There are two diseases that only occur in this breed.
The first is a disease called the “swimmer effect”. It occurs at an early puppy age and outwardly manifests itself in the fact that monthly puppies cannot get up on their paws in any way and move by crawling, making "swimming movements" with their paws. In most cases, this is a transient condition that does not affect the health of grown dachshunds in any way - they stand on their limbs and walk perfectly. However, the negative development of the disease, although rare, still takes place. As a preventive measure, you can recommend not overfeeding babies and make sure that they are not on slippery surfaces, where it is difficult for their weak legs to find support.
The second disease, classified as hereditary, poses an incomparably great threat to the life of a dog. We are talking about dysplasia of the intervertebral discs. The rather high incidence of this disease is associated with the characteristic structure of the body of the dachshund. Problems with intervertebral discs can lead to infringement of the spinal cord body, deformation of the nerve trunks, and, as a result, paralysis. Statistics show that the most critical age for the onset of the disease is 5-7 years, although earlier cases of diagnosing this disease are known. In this regard, it is very important to strictly control the intensity of physical activity and properly feed the animal, in no case allowing excess weight to be gained. This will greatly reduce the stress on the spine.
