Otterhound Health Surveys
2003 Survey
119 surveys returned
(78 on living hounds, which was over 20% of the
Otterhound population in the US and Canada)
Most frequently reported health problems:
sebaceous cysts - 55
hip dysplasia - 38
arthritis - 21 (in dogs as young as 2 years)
allergies - 18
cancer - 17 (no specific cancer predominant)
bite anomalies - 16
impacted anal glands - 15 (5 reported with infections)
ear infections - 14 (3 with chronic infections)
hypothyroidism - 14
epilepsy - 12
eye problems - 9 (6 with cataracts)
heart problems - 8 (generally in older hounds)
Longevity:
median age at death - 10.8
mean age at death - 9.5+
26 of the 41 deceased hounds lived to over 10 years
14 of those lived to more than 12
9 of those reached 13 to 14 3/4
9 hounds died between 7 and 9.9 years
6 died before they reached 7 years
Trends since the 1996 survey: We still note high incidences of
hip dysplasia, allergies and ear infections, but epilepsy has
more than doubled and arthritis has increased dramatically.
Sebaceous cysts remain very common, though as they are generally
only a cosmetic problem this is not considered a big concern.
More cancer was reported but we also had many more reports
on deceased hounds - 41. Thirteen of those 41 died of cancer.
Last time we received only 6 reports on deceased dogs and could
not usefully estimate longevity. At least some of the differences
are probably because the average age of dogs reported on has risen
from the previous survey.
1996 Survey
103 surveys returned
(97 on living hounds, which was over 25% of the
Otterhound population in the US and Canada)
Most frequently reported problems:
hip dysplasia - 35
sebaceous cysts - 31
allergies - 19
bite anomalies - 17
ear infections - 17 (10 with chronic infections)
impacted anal glands - 10 (2 reported with infections)
eye problems - 8 (3 with cataracts)
cancer - 6 (no specific cancer predominant)
hypothyroidism - 6
epilepsy - 5
arthritis - 2
heart problems - 2
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