Health
Pembrokes have an average life expectancy of 11-12 years. Like people, every animal can be susceptible to certain physical problems as they get older. Pembroke owners must not indulge their dogs by feeding them too much, which can be a hard task to accomplish. Other health problems may include degenerative myelopathy, hip dysplasia, and Von Willebrand's disease if their parents suffered from the same problems. Other top genetic disorders are progressive retinal atrophy, retinal folds, persistent pupillary membranes, cataracts, cancer and autoimmune system problems, uterine inertia during whelping, and sterility in males. A responsible breeder will have tested the parents for hips, eyes and vWD, all of which can be verified by checking the parents on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) site at www.offa.org.
Many domestic Pembrokes are prone to obesity and gradual weight gain, and some have problems with chronic seizures.
Pembrokes descend from the line that is the northern spitz-type dog (examples include that of the Siberian Husky).
Read more about this topic: Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Famous quotes containing the word health:
“No one ever promised me it would be easy and it’s not. But I also get many rewards from seeing my children grow, make strong decisions for themselves, and set out on their own as independent, strong, likeable human beings. And I like who I am becoming, too. Having teenagers has made me more human, more flexible, more humble, more questioning—and, finally it’s given me a better sense of humor!”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 4 (1978)
“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)
“It is unconscionable that we ration health care by the ability to pay.... your heart breaks. Health care should be a given.”
—Kathryn Anastos (b. 1950)