Health
A UK Kennel Club survey puts the average lifespan of the breed at 12 years. About one in five lived to 15 years or more, with the longest lived dog living to 18.25 years.
Though an athletic breed that has been bred for a natural look, the Tibetan Terrier is still susceptible to a variety of health problems, especially those related to the eyes and joints. These health problems can include canine hip dysplasia, Luxating patella, Progressive retinal atrophy, Lens luxation, Cataracts and Heart murmurs. Tibetans also have a history of being somewhat allergic to dairy, wheat and grains. Because of these potential health conditions Tibetan Terrier clubs recommend purchasing from breeders who participate in eye and hip testing, such as the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) and Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).
In addition, Tibetan Terriers can carry the genetic disease Canine Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, called Batten disease in humans. Research is on-going to find the gene(s) responsible for this progressive disease in both Tibetan terriers and humans. A DNA test has been developed to identify this gene in several breeds of dog, including the Tibetan Terrier.
Read more about this topic: Tibetan Terrier
Famous quotes containing the word health:
“In health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)
“You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“Our young people are diseased with the theological problems of original sin, origin of evil, predestination, and the like. These never presented a practical difficulty to any man,—never darkened across any man’s road, who did not go out of his way to seek them. These are the soul’s mumps, and measles, and whooping- coughs, and those who have not caught them cannot describe their health or prescribe a cure. A simple mind will not know these enemies.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)