Gunfield Vizslas

Myositis

Autoimmune conditions are present in many breeds of dog the Vizsla is not exempt from them.

one condition currently coming to breeders attention is myosotis.

Typical onset is usually is around 9 months to two years of age and frequently there is an acute episode of retching,gagging, choking, dysphagia and hypersalivation.

The initial diagnoses may be megaesphougus this is soon ruled out by x-ray.

Symptoms include-

dribbling

difficulty swallowing food and water

muscle wastage around the skull

inability to open the mouth correctly

Research is being carried out and you can view more details on this condition here.

There is a strong pedigree link between some of the dogs who have been diagnosed with this condition but by all means not all .

The condition is believed to be hereditary.

Di addicot is collecting DNA from relatives of affected vizslas its very hard for any of us to know if our dog meets that criterea or not so the safest thing to do is drop Di and email giving her you dog KC name and if the DNA is needed she will ask you for it.

There is a link here to some pedigrees of dogs which are known to be affected by Myositis

Di is also asking for toe nail clipping from all Vizslas regardless of any relation to affected dogs to build a future DNA data base to help with health conditions such as this so please email her and arrange to pst your Vizslas toe nail clipping to her next time you trim their nails