Does Anyone Have A List Of The Healthiest Dog Breeds?

There's a hard list to prove out as having any real value. Rare breeds would probably rank near the top in some cases simply due to numbers....
 
You'd have to balance a reported genetic disorder, against the general population...then account for those people who never report an illness to any recording body (like OFA, CERF, etc).
 
You should choose a breed based upon how it will fit your lifestyle and personality...and count on spending something on it's care...because even a perfectly healthy dog can get out a front door and hit by a car...and those bills will be JUST as big.

[link>http://tinyurl.com/ythzrk]http://tinyurl.com/ythzrk[/link]
 
I had this book...it has a listing in the back of many breeds and a list of illnesses known to occur in them. Far from complete as the book is older now...and new breeds have come to light since....but you might want to thumb thru it nonetheless.

I remember reading a book on rat terrier's and it said Vet's would go out of business if they had to depend on rat terrier's! I guess Veterinarians would have some good info for this thread, in terms of what breeds they see more and less of, and why.
 
We really, really love and want a toy or mini poodle, with boston terriers's being a close second but I am worried about health issues so I am not 100% sure yet. I have heard horror stories with bostons from people who have paid $1500 for a puppy only to have to spend another $4,000 down the road with surgeries.
 
Now, I know there is no guarantee of good health for any individual dog or breed regardless of where you get them from, but some breeds are more expensive to own, and we want to take that into consideration. For example, the Pug association responsibly tells people on their website that pugs can be more expensive to own and have more health challenges than other breeds.
 
I just wish poodles were a really healthy breed, not expensive to own (in terms of health, not grooming!), because we love them.
 
Any other health type ideas or info is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The way to get the best chance of having a healthy dog is to buy from an excellent breeder who does a full work-up on the sire and dam including genetic testing, and who has looked into the lines of both sire and dam to make sure there aren't any health issues cropping up. A breeder who says, "Oh yes I take my dogs to a vet all the time" is not someone who's doing these things. It is about way more than going to the vet for check-ups and involves a lot of expense and inconvenience for the breeder. But they do it because the way to ensure healthy puppies to to ensure that the parents and grandparents and great-grand-parents are also healthy.

One of the reasons the more "rare" breeds tend to be healthier is that there aren't a million people who don't really know what they're doing out there breeding them. As soon as a breed gets popular, people who have no business breeding start to breed them (to make money) and the health of the breed starts to plummet as a result. But even with these breeds that have bad reputations for health there are still a few breeders who are doing what they need to do to ensure the health of their dogs. You just have to look a little harder.

Now, I know there is no guarantee of good health for any individual dog or breed regardless of where you get them from,

 
If you buy from a good breeder they will have you sign a written guarantee that if the dog does have any genetic defects they will be the one responsible for the defect.  Many will take the dog back and replace it.
 
Even at that you still have the chance of getting a dog with health problems but with good breeders they will be by your side to help you every step of the way to deal with the problem.
 
I chose my future breed because of many reasons, mainly because it's what would fit into my life the best.  Some things I did consider were that I did not want a popular breed because it would be more likely that they have health problems.  With 155 AKC breeds to choose from and several more non-AKC registered breeds there are several breeds to consider.
 
Also things to consider are what are real breeds and designer breeds. For one thing Miniature poodles are real breeds but teacups are not.  There are no standards to follow for a teacup poodle; they are small because someone, who knows, wanted to breed something that appealed to the buyer and found smaller poodles sold better.  Without anything but size to use as a breeding preference teacups were developed and now "pocket" sized are coming into style.  Your best bet if you want a small poodle is to find a miniature poodle breeder who breeds for heath and breeds poodles who are on the small size.  Many "teacup" and "pocket" poodles are unhealthy because the breeder did not care about health when choosing to breed as much as they did about the size.
 

I own Boston Terriers and the most common problems that afflict them are Juvenile Cataracts, Luxating Patella and deafness. All 3 of these can be ruled out as long as the breeder CERF's, OFA's and BAER's their breeding stock and puppies. That's not to say that they can't occur even with tested dogs as you can't control Mother Nature but they can be seriously reduced as long as the breeder tests for these things and removes dogs afflicted with such issues from their breeding program. I think as long as you go to a responsible breeder of any breed who is up to date on congenital defects in their breed and does what they can to breed away from such issues, the chances of getting a healthier pup is extremely high.

Meilani, I think you are withholding information.

*Everyone* knows that BTs are notoriously gassy dogs...

LOL! As a Boston owner, I think I have to agree with that one! Sorry, Meilani, I think it's just best for everyone to know. []

They have yet to isolate the gene for, and develop a test to exclude excessively farting dogs from the gene pool tho.
 
It's really a lot to ask breeders to first measure the amunt and scent of the farts produced to determine if they're in normal range...or bordering on grounds to remove a dog or bitch from a breeding programme []

The book listing genetic defects of various breeds is interesting, but not all that useful, partially because just becaue a health problem is known to occur in a breed, doesn't mean it's widespread at ALL.

Cardis are a very healthy breed- the most common health problem that is genetically-caused is PRA, and we have a DNA test for that, so it's very rare to have a dog who is actually affected, and even carriers are fairly unusual. One very famous line of Cardis does run to carriers, and but carriers are bred pretty sparingly. The biggest NUMERICAL health problem isn't genetic- it's obesity, which is caused by owners who give into the cute, pleading eyes of a dog with a VERY efficient metabolism.I think in a lot of ways, Cardis are fairly typical for a reasonably-rare breed, where responsible breeders are almost ALL of the breeders available, so health problems are quickly checked if they show up.

My boston terrier is a rescue and we havent had any medical problems with her.  She did get an injured eye the first week from playing with the cat.  Other than that we haven't had any problems she is a really healthy girl.  She is very gassy though like others have said. lol  She will clear a room on a daily basis. 

Yeah, I can agree on that one. Mine can pass gas so bad even they have to leave the room. []

I have to agree with the others that the best way to get a healthy dog is to go through a breeder who thoroughly screens the parents and also has medical information for several generations on both parents.
 
I'm the type of person who just doesn't want a dog from a breeder when there are so many needing homes. For the last dog we adopted, I also just plain didn't want to deal with puppyhood and wanted an adult. I selected a Belgian Malinois in part because they haven't been as overbred as many breeds and have fewer health problems. It backfired on me. He's had multiple mast cell cancer tumors, surgeries etc. and is on a special diet with some rather pricey supplements. I think this is probably related to the stress he suffered during his six months at the shelter. He also eats more than any dog I've ever seen.
 
But hey, I love Floyd and would take him all over again, knowing everything.

There's this study. Set in Sweden.
 Acta Vet Scand. 2005;46(3):121-36.[linkrId=3494&uid=16261925&db=pubmed&url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&ubmedid=16261925]>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/utils/fref.fcgi?itool=AbstractPlus-def&rId=3494&uid=16261925&db=pubmed&url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&ubmedid=16261925][/link] 







Links


Comment in:
[linkhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16261924&itool=pubmed_AbstractPlus]Acta Vet Scand. 2005;46(3):105-20.[/link]
Mortality in over 350,000 insured Swedish dogs from 1995-2000: II. Breed-specific age and survival patterns and relative risk for causes of death.

[linkEgenvall>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_AbstractPlus&term=%22Egenvall+A%22%5BAuthor%5D]Egenvall A[/link],

[linkBonnett>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_AbstractPlus&term=%22Bonnett+BN%22%5BAuthor%5D]Bonnett BN[/link],

[linkHedhammar>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_AbstractPlus&term=%22Hedhammar+A%22%5BAuthor%5D]Hedhammar A[/link],

[linkOlson>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Search&itool=pubmed_AbstractPlus&term=%22Olson+P%22%5BAuthor%5D]Olson P[/link].
Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
This study continues analysis from a companion paper on over 350,000 insured Swedish dogs up to 10 years of age contributing to more than one million dog-years at risk during 1995-2000. The age patterns for total and diagnostic mortality and for general causes of death (trauma, tumour, locomotor, heart and neurological) are presented for numerous breeds. Survival estimates at five, eight and 10 years of age are calculated. Survival to 10 years of age was 75% or more in Labrador and golden retrievers, miniature and toy poodles and miniature dachshunds and lowest in Irish wolfhounds (91% dead by 10 years). Multivariable analysis was used to estimate the relative risk for general and more specific causes of death between breeds accounting for gender and age effects, including two-way interactions. Older females had tumour as a designated cause of death more often than males in most breeds, but not in the Bernese mountain dog. Information presented in this and the companion paper inform our understanding of the population level burden of disease, and support decision-making at the population and individual level about health promotion efforts and treatment and prognosis of disease events.
PMID: 16261925 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]