Shih Tzu Health Problems: Common Issues That May Affect This Breed

Brachycephalic dogs may have trouble taking in the proper amounts of oxygen.  This can cause them to tire quickly after heavy activity, or can even be a problem when they are not active.

Dogs ideal body temperature is between 100 and 102 degrees and they regulate this through panting.

When they cannot breathe properly, they cannot regulate temperature efficiently.  Because of this, breeds like the Shih Tzu cannot handle hot weather as well as humans or other dog breeds.

Some cases of overheating have even lead to death.

The inability to take in the proper amount of oxygen can lead to heart problems as the bloodstream is oxygen-deficient.

Your dog’s resting pulse should be between 70 to 130 beats per minute.

With less oxygen, this rate increases putting more strain on the heart and leading to heart problems.

Undeveloped airways can be seen on the surface level if the nostrils are narrow or tight.

Also, when your dog breathes, you may hear wheezing or whistling if the nostrils are too narrow.

A narrow airway is hard to identify visually, but you may detect it by auditory cues.

If your dog regularly makes snoring noises or coughs a lot when breathing, then he may have a narrow airway.

Underdeveloped and deformed airways can cause your dog to have a soft palate, leading to breathing issues.

As with narrow airways, this is hard to identify by sight, but you will hear your dog making snorting and grunting sounds when breathing.

Dry eye, known technically as Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (say that five times fast!), is due to insufficient tear production in the eye.

When this occurs, dogs are at risk for infection, corneal ulceration, and vision loss.

Since Shih Tzu are prone to dry eye, they should be examined regularly by their vet.  If the vet diagnoses your dog with dry eye, he or she can recommend or prescribe eye drops to be given daily.

Corneal Ulcers are injuries caused by irritations to the eye.

These irritations are the result of abnormally grown eyelashes, injury, and trauma, such as abrasion, scratches, or punctures.

These ulcers appear as a dot on the dark part of your dog’s eyes.  The whites of his eyes become red from irritation.

You may notice your dog squinting a lot if he has corneal ulcers.

It’s important to address this issue quickly because corneal ulcers are uncomfortable and sometimes painful for your dog.

Corneal ulcers are generally treated with anti-bacterial drops or ointment.

Max used to get corneal ulcers frequently.  His vet would smooth out the ulcer with a long cotton swab.  This might sound uncomfortable, but Max is laid back and was a very good patient!

This treatment helped the reduce the ulcer, but the ulcers would keep coming back, so the vet did an integrative eye treatment (which I didn't know what it was at the time have since come to realize it was plasma therapy.)

Since using this treatment, Max has not had another ulcer and it's been years!

Proptosis occurs when the eyelids close or fold behind the eyeballs.

You will notice the eye protruding or that your dog cannot close his eye (lagophthalmos). Besides discomfort, this is a problem because it blocks blood flow to the eyes.

Since proptosis is generally caused by trauma from fighting or playing rough, Shih Tzu and other breeds with protruding eyes need to be careful when playing with other dogs.

If you notice your dog’s eyelids are behind his eyes, you need to seek medical attention immediately!

Your vet will sedate him and perform a minor procedure to reposition the eye and eyelids.

Antibiotics are also usually administered to prevent infection.

Another hard one to say!  Lagophthalmos is the condition that inhibits your dog from closing his eyelids all the way.

You’re likely to notice this when your dog is sleeping, but his eyes are still partially open.

Lagophthalmos can lead to dry eyes or corneal scratching.

This condition is not an emergency, but you should have it examined at your dog’s next vet visit.

The retina is one of the innermost sections of the eyeball and is largely responsible for clear vision.

Your dog’s retina can become detached due to severe trauma, glaucoma, or high blood pressure, but it is most common caused by age.

Retinal detachment leads to vision loss and blindness.

If you notice your dog is experiencing difficulty with his vision, he may have a detached retina and you should seek medical attention immediately.

Depending on the severity of your dog’s condition, he may need surgery to reattach the retina.

In some cases, retinal tissue can be regrown with non-surgical procedures.

If the condition is too severe to be reversed, then your vet will teach you how to help your pet cope with his handicap.

Pain medications can also be prescribed in cases where detachment is caused by glaucoma.

Cataracts obstruct light from entering the retina of the eye, which impairs your dog’s vision.

Cataracts are easy to spot as they are large, thick, cloudy spots on the eyeball.

Cataracts are generally caused by old age, but can also be the result of diabetes, inflammation, or trauma from electric shock.

If you see that your dog’s eyes are cloudy, you should take him to his vet immediately because cataracts can grow worse and lead to blindness.

Most often, your dog’s vet will perform surgery to remove the cataract, but there is a non-invasive procedure known as phacoemulsification.

If your dog’s condition is right for this procedure, his vet may opt for it instead of surgery!

Featuring yet another difficult name, this health condition is the growth of eyelashes or hair from the coat inward or out of position toward the eye.

When this happens, eyes can become scratched or damaged.

The most common symptoms of distichiasis and ectopic cilia are excessive tears and tear stains along the eye.

If your dog is displaying these signs, you should take him to his vet for treatment.

Depending on the type of distichiasis and ectopic cilia, your dog’s vet may freeze out the offending hair follicles or may have to surgically remove eyelashes or hair follicles.

Also known as cherry eye, this is the term for a large red lump in a dog’s eye.

This lump develops when a tear gland becomes loose and bulges out from the eyelid.

If you’ve ever seen someone flip their eyelids and show the red underneath, this condition may remind you of that!

If you discover a large red lump in the corner of your dog’s eye, you should take him to his vet.

Your vet will surgically replace the gland or remove it entirely depending on the severity of the condition.

PRA is not common in Shih Tzu, but it can be inherited.  PRA is the degeneration of cells in the retina causing vision loss and blindness.

Dogs with PRA appear to have glowing pupils and tend to suffer night blindness before further vision loss.

Sadly, this condition is not curable, but some veterinary ophthalmologists are studying the effects of antioxidants on prevention of PRA.

Small mouth.  Because Shih Tzu and other brachycephalic dogs have small mouths, their teeth tend to be crowded.

This results in crooked teeth, tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth loss.

Unfortunately, you cannot control how your dog’s teeth grow, but you can help promote healthy teeth and gums by brushing your dog’s teeth, giving him dental chews, and feeding him good dog food.

If the condition of your dog’s teeth is severe, his vet may perform professional cleaning or remove problematic teeth.

Underbite.  As with humans, an underbite in your dog refers to the protrusion of the lower jaw beyond the upper one.

An underbite is not always a problem, but it can be a source of pain in dogs.

If your dog has an underbite that is painful, you will notice your dog recoils when you come near his face, he rubs his head on the wall or with his paws, or he has difficulty eating.

If you think your dog has an underbite that is painful or causing problems, have his vet take a look.

He or she may perform some tooth extractions to allow the remaining teeth to rearrange in a comfortable position for your dog.

These are also known as slipping kneecaps. In small dogs, such as Shih Tzu, the kneecaps can pop out of place and cause discomfort or pain.

Both Max and Rufus have experienced luxating patella's.

Occasionally they will hop around with a leg up until the knee pops back into place.  Usually, this is all a dog needs to do to correct displaced kneecaps.

Resting and stretching can also help the knee move back into place.

In severe cases, surgery is may be required.  Fortunately, Max and Rufus have never had luxating patella this severe!

One way to help prevent severe luxating patella is to discourage your dog from jumping off furniture or other high points that can impact their joints.

For our dogs, the furniture is arranged in a way where they can hop down without impacting their joints too much.

If arranging furniture isn't an option, there are pet steps or a ramp, which could help.

Also a glucosamine supplement works well in keeping their joints flexible.

We use InClover Connectin Hip an Joint Glucosamine tablets and have had excellent results when we noticed Max hopping around a little more than usual.
(note: Check your local pet store first, but if they don't have it you can usually find it on Amazon)

Hip dysplasia is a degenerative condition in which the hip bone does not sit correctly in the hip socket.  This is common in Shih Tzu and all dog breeds as they age.

Hip Dysplasia causes pain and can lead to arthritis.

If your dog has hip dysplasia, you may notice a decrease in activity, decrease in range of motion, difficulty moving, stiffness, pain, and loss of muscle mass.

If you see your dog experiencing any of these problems, bring him to his vet for an examination and diagnosis.

For treatment of hip dysplasia, there are non-invasive and surgical treatments.

Depending on the severity of the condition, the solution may be as simple as dieting, physical therapy, or anti-inflammatory medicine.

In more severe cases, surgery may be necessary.

This sounds intense and, fortunately, it is not too common.

When a disk slips or ruptures, it can cause pain, nerve damage, and even paralysis.

Spinal disk ruptures may occur when your dog jumps from a very high place or experiences traumatic injury.

If you notice your dog refuses to jump, has pain in his back legs, cries out in pain, and is hunched and tense, he may have a ruptured disk.

Treating a ruptured disk depends on the severity of the condition.

Treatment may be surgical in severe cases, but in more mild cases, anti-inflammatory medicine, steroids, and rest may be all that are necessary.

My boy, Rufus, is allergic to all things bugs!  If he gets bit by a flea or a tick, he suffers from severe itchiness.  He is also allergic to some medications.

Last year, he was given a heavy dose of rabies vaccine and secondary flea and tick medication, which caused him to break out in hives.

Needless to say, I do my best to make sure that Rufus gets no bugs on him since he cannot handle flea and tick medication very well.

But, I am able to provide natural flea and tick solutions that help him since he cannot stay inside forever!

Some dogs are allergic to certain foods and can react by itching and breaking out in hives.

Rufus is allergic to sweets. He loves them!  But, sadly for him, his body does not tolerate foods high in fructose.

If your dog is allergic to a specific food, make sure you check ingredient labels to avoid foods with the allergen in them.