Testable Health Concerns:
Hip Dysplasia:
Hip dysplasia is considered a somewhat inheritable issue as well as an environmental exposure issue. While your dog can be predisposed to dysplasia or degenerative joint disease (DJD), it is just as much an issue on how you raise the puppy. For these reasons, we recommend against strenuous repetitive exercise, jumping from heights greater than or equal to the level of your knee, or excessive weight on a pup/dog until they are at least 18 months of age. This critical time before the growth plates close is when the most damage can occur to their joints and this irreparable damage will sadly be very painful and last a lifetime.
PennHip and OFA are two similar but different methods to determine the chance or degree of hip dysplasia / DJD in a given individual. PennHip specifically measures the degree of laxity in the hip sockets and reports where within the breed the specific degree of laxity compares against other members within the same breed (a percentile range). The more lax a dog's hips are, the more prone that dog would be to developing dysplastic hips as they age. Similarly, OFA is a panel of judges opinion of the hip sockets and their predicted chance of developing dysplasia compared to all canines (of any breed) submitted. We prefer to PennHip our dogs as we feel this is a more scientific and accurate measurement of laxity and propensity for dysplasia.
Elbow Dysplasia:
Elbow dysplasia can be the result of a variety of potentially inherited diseases that affect the elbow joint of the dog. OFA testing exists for certification of elbow dysplasia from any visually identifiable disease. Preliminary testing can be done prior to 24 months of age, but official clearances are performed after 24 months of age.
Congenital Heart Disease:
Congenital heart disease is a purely inherited version of heart disease. An auscaltation can performed by either a general practitioner veterinarian or a board-certified cardiologist after a dog is 12 months of age to rule out any congenital heart conditions. Echocardiograms may be performed yearly for ongoing heart issues that may develop over the life of the dog, however, these are not generally considered inheritable conditions in the Cane Corso breed (may be inherited in other breeds). OFA is the authorizing body for cardiac clearances in the US.
Other Health Concerns:
Eyelid abnormalities:
Entropion - a conformational defect resulting in the eyelid rolling inward where the hairs can irritate the eye. Can be influenced by the looseness of the eyelid and skin around the eyes, as well as the conformation of the skull.
Ectropion - a conformational defect resulting in the eyelid rolling outward from the eye which can lead to dryness or irritation of the eye due to exposure to the air, dust, or other particles. This can influenced by the looseness of the eyelid and skin around the eyes, as well as the conformation of the skull.
“Cherry Eye” (Nictitans gland prolapse) - a condition where the third eyelid of the dog where it gets irritated and protrudes from the inner corner of the eye. Cherry eye may be a result of yet unknown genetic origins or more commonly due to environmental causes. The third eyelid is responsible for tear production for the eye. There are two common procedures to treat cherry eye are through tacking (pinning it back into place which can preserve tear function) and removal (surgical removal of the gland which can lead to dry eyes).
Gastric Torsion (Bloat):
Blaot is a medical and surgical emergency! Simply put, bloat is where the stomach fills with air and which leads to torsion (flipping) of the stomach, spleen, and/or pancreas which results in cutting off the blood flow to the abdomen leading to sepsis and death. The risk of bloat appears to be correlated to the shape of the chest - deep and narrow being the greatest concern. To help avoid bloat and it’s complications, large breed dogs can have their stomachs surgically tacked to their chest wall. This procedure can often be performed when dogs are already under anesthesia for another surgical procedure, such as when being spayed/neutered.
Idiopathic Epilepsy:
There are many potential causes for seizures in dogs, not all of which are linked to a genetic cause. Currently, there are no genes identified in Cane Corsos to indicate that epilepsy is a definitively inherited condition, although there is extensive ongoing research in the field of canine epilepsy. It seems likely that some versions of epilepsy may be inherited, while other forms may be environmentally caused. There does not seem to be simple mendelian inheritance which complicates the process of identifying a gene, or more likely multiple genes. It is my opinion that it is more likely a number of genes at play that when added together, predispose the dog to epilepsy. Currently, Dr. Martin Katz at the University of Missouri is collecting blood, frozen semen, and/or tissue samples for ongoing research and may be contacted via email (katzm@missouri.edu) for more information on how and where to submit samples.