Congenital malformations can affect almost 7% of canine newborns. The increase of commercial dog breeding and inbreeding used to maintain the striking characteristics of each breed, the appearance of malformations has become increasingly common, especially in brachycephalic dogs. The causes are diverse, and include genetic, nutritional, iatrogenic, and infectious factors, often making it difficult to establish a cause-consequence relationship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrue vaginal prolapse is rare in bitches and is most likely to occur near whelping. A 2-year-old intact female Brazilian mastiff, 39.5 kg, had a true vaginal prolapse associated with urinary bladder retroflection; the female was in estrus, and concomitantly had diarrhea for 3 d, plus vaginal hyperplasia, and ultimately a vaginal prolapse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe popularity of brachycephalic dogs has increased in recent years due to their docile temperament and peculiar features. The historical inbreeding and consequent lack of genetic diversity involved in the development of these breeds led to an increase in the manifestation of deleterious genes that may lead to malformations. In addition, there are serious health issues intrinsic to the conformation, mainly attributed to these extreme characteristics.
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