Entropion The Shar-Pei are 1 of 14 breeds that can have this condition. This is where the eyelid rolls in towards the eye, rubbing against the cornea and irritating this sensitive structure. Watery eyes, infection, even a corneal ulcer, can occur. Surgical correction may be required. Dogs with this condition should not be bred, as a genetic component is suspected.
Eye Tacking Puppies open their eyes at about 10-14 days of age. In Shar-Pei, this is often when the first symptoms of entropion appear. Typically the puppies open their eyes, but quickly they begin squinting and closing them. Often there is a mucous eye discharge and these puppies usually don't eat well or gain weight like their littermates. EYE TACKING is a temporary measure in which sutures (stitches) are placed in the eye lids to roll the lids "out" of the eyeball. Often this can be done without anesthesia in very young puppies (2-4 weeks of age). Sometimes gas anesthesia is used. Nylon sutures are placed in the eyelids which opens the eyes. Often an antibiotic eye ointment is dispensed to help heal any corneal ulcers and prevent secondary bacterial infections. These sutures are left in place for as long as possible - up to 4 weeks in some cases. The tacks can be replaceed as needed until a permanent repair procedure can be done. If the sutures loosen up or are causing problems, they can be removed. Eye tacking can result in permanent repair of entropion, but its primary goal is to prevent serious eye damage until the pup is old enough to undergo permanent entropion repair - around 6-8 months of age. Puppies who have their eyes tacked may or may not need permanent entropion repair later on - there is not much correlation between the two. ENTROPION IN YOUNG PUPPIES CAN RESULT IN CORNEAL ULCERATION AND IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY - SEE YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY!
Entropion Surgery Permanent ENTROPION SURGERY is often done in Shar-Pei after they reach the age of 6-8 months old. This is the age at which most pups are full grown and have "grown into" their heads. Permanent repair is a surgical procedure that will result in correction of the eyelid problem. Its success depends on the experience and artistry of the surgeon and often times referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist is recommended. The procedure involves various techniques to remove excessive eyelid tissue from the lids, tighten up the eye opening and sometimes remove extra folds of skin around the eyes. Typically the dogs look worse for a few days after the surgery due to the swelling that occurs and they often sport an Elizabethan or "lampshade" collar to protect the sutures. Stitches are usually removed in 7-14 days. It should be noted that CSP’s eyes can be very sensitive to allergies and can swell shut due to environmental allergens (dust, cigarette smoke), this can cause the appearance of entropion but doing the surgery will not solve the problem. Tracking down the offending allergen and removing it from the environment will correct the problem. Entropion can also be cause by stress – commonly referred to as "stress entropion" – this is again a temporary situation and once the dog is removed from the stressful situation, the eyes will recover. If their cornea gets a scratch, or if they bump their eye again the tissue surrounding the eye can swell, causing the eye to shut, tacking is advised for these situations, as it is a temporary problem.
Familial Shar-Pei Fever and Amyloidosis Familial Shar-Pei fever also known as "Swollen Hock Syndrome" (SHS) typically may include the following symptoms: Swelling of the hock joint and sometimes other joints can be affected. Reluctance to move. Sometimes a swollen painful muzzle. Abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and shallow breathing. "Familial Shar-Pei Fever (FSF) is an episodic fever disorder. Shar-Pei with this disorder have one or more bouts of unexplained fever, usually 103-107 degrees but rare cases may go higher. Fevers usually start when they are less then 18 months old but sometimes the first attack is not until they are adults. Fever episodes usually become less frequent with age. Fevers last 24-36 hours in most cases without treatment". The disorder is "thought to result from an inability to regulate the immune system. Dogs suffering from this disorder are at risk of dying from a related disorder, amyloidosis. Affected Shar-Pei with amyloidosis have an inability to break down chemicals released in the bloodstream when inflammation results from abnormal deposition of amyloid protein throughout the body. While not all dogs with Shar-Pei fever die of amylodosis, when they do, death most commonly occurs between the ages of 3 and 5 years".
Ears Due to the breed standard calling for small ears, this results in the Shar-Pei having very narrow ear canals. The primary problem with ear cleaning in the Shar-Pei breed centers around inadequate training and lack of control of the dog. If the dog will not let you clean the ears you will not be able to treat the ears. The training process begins in puppyhood and involves discipline and positive reinforcement methods which are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that you should train you dog as a puppy to tolerate ear cleaning. I will also be the first to say that some of the problem in cleaning the ears rests in the most common method of ear cleaning used today - the cotton swab. Improper use of the cotton swab results in trauma to the ear canal with swelling, pain and an uncooperative patient. The best way to clean the ear canal is to "float" debris out of the canal using an ear cleaning solution. A wide variety of such solutions are available on the market with none being better than any of the others. Try different ones and see which works best for you. My personal favorites are Pan-Otic and Nolvasan Otic. Do not use hydrogen peroxide! The foaming action bothers the dog and the peroxide breaks down into oxygen and water in the ear. It is usually wise to clean the ears outdoors because the principle here is to allow the cleaning solution to loosen the debris and the dog to shake the material out of the ear. The ear canal is filled up with the cleaning solution, gently massage, and then the dog is allowed to shake its head. Stand Back! Material tends to catch on the inside of the ear flap where it is wiped off with cotton balls and the whole process is repeated. This is done several times until no more debris in collected. At this point a cotton swab can be gently inserted into the ear canal to soak up any remaining ear cleaning solution. Do not clean the ear with the cotton swab! After the ear is thoroughly dried, the appropriate ear medication is instilled into the ear canal as directed by your veterinarian. It is often a good training technique to give the dog some sort of a special treat at this point to positively reward the dog. This may make future sessions more pleasant. In ears that have severe disease, it is often a good idea to treat the ear for several days with medication first before attempting to clean the ears. This allows the swelling and pain to subside first and allow the dog to tolerate the cleaning procedure better. In such cases it may also be a good idea to have your veterinarian anesthetize the dog and clean the ears before any home therapy is done. This also allows your veterinarian the opportunity to examine the ear more thoroughly.
Patellar Luxation Is where the knee cap slips out of its socket. Any Shar-Pei with this condition should not be bred.
Hip Dysplasia A dysplastic dog has an abnormal hip joint where the femur and acetabulum are misaligned. This can range in severity from mild (controllable) pain to dogs in such agony they must be put down. Make sure the parents of any puppy you consider has been cleared of Hip Dysplasia through the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.
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