Other Health Concerns
Even though the Mudi breed is presently and basically quite healthy, we do have certain disorders or faults that do infrequently occur. In order to keep these issues infrequent, we need to follow the same recommendations for keeping other disorders to minimum levels. While the exact genetic paths from parent to offspring are not known for every trait, many traits do seem to follow an ancestral connection. Until the exact paths are known, it is not an easy job to breed them out, or at least breed around them, especially as many are multi-gene (polygenic) disorders. We hope that with pedigree analysis we will be better able to avoid producing these traits, but as unidentified genes which cannot be tested for are very difficult to work with, there will be no guarantees.
From time to time health issues will appear, it is not the fault of the breeder, the parent dogs, the owner or the affected dog itself. Placing blame will not correct the issue, nor will hiding it. The best we can do is to properly diagnose dogs and avoid breeding known carriers and affecteds together and support those involved.
Disorders/Faults and Health Impact
| Disorders/Faults with High Health Impact | Disorders/Faults with Moderate Health Impact | Disorders/Faults with Low Health Impact | Disorders/Faults with No Health Impact |
| Cataracts | Albinism | Bites Incorrect, Wry Mouth (depends on severity) | Color/Pattern Faults |
| Demodex, generalized | Allergies (depends on severity, type and treatment possibilities) | Demodex, localized | Herding Instinct Missing |
| Distichiasis (depends on severity and treatment required) | Persistent Pupillary Membrane (depends on severity) | Teeth - missing, doubled, fused (depends on which teeth and how many missing) | Ears Unpricked |
| Elbow Dysplasia | | | Paper/Naked Ear Syndrome |
| Epilepsy | | | |
| Hip Dysplasia (depends on severity and treatment options) | | | |
| MDR1 mutant/mutant or mutant/normal | | | |
| Patella Luxation (depends on severity and treatment options) | | | |
| Retinal Dysplasia (depends on severity) | | | |
| Temperament/ Behavior Issues (depends on type and severity) | | | |
| Testicle/s Missing | | | |
Disorders/Faults K - O
MDR1 Gene Mutuation (multidrug sensitivity comes from a mutation in the multi-drug resistance gene (MDR1), this gene encodes a protein, P-glycoprotein, that is responsible for removing many drugs and other toxins out of the brain; dogs with the mutant gene can not eliminate some drugs out of the brain as a normal dog would, which may result in abnormal reactions requiring hospital care or even death; there is a DNA test that can determine if a dog carries this gene; there is no cure, but dogs which succumb to drug toxicity can be treated with varying results; dogs with the normal/normal version of the gene are safe from the toxic effects of these drugs, but even dogs with the normal/mutant version can suffer toxicity effects and need to treated as carefully as those that are mutant/mutant; dogs with a mutant version of the gene should only be bred to dogs with the normal/normal version)
Website link for more information:
Non-Standard Colors/Patterns (the dog is born other than a standard color or pattern; genetically passed from carrier and affected parents to offspring; can almost always be detected by 8 weeks of age; no health issues involved; breeder option fault)
Disorders/Faults P - Z
Paper/Naked Ear Syndrome (in some gray (ash) colored dogs and very rarely black colored dogs, the inside and outside of the ears lack fur in varying extents which range from short white hairs on the edges to no hair at all on either side of the ear; it appears to be ancestral, but the actual mode of inheritance is unknown; no known health issues appear to be connected to this disorder; there is no known treatment or cause and the age of onset is from birth to 3 years of age; this disorder does not show the same symptoms (other than missing fur) as the syndrome that affects blue Dobermans (CDA-Color Dilution Alopecia or BDS- Blue Dog Syndrome) which can be quite severe; breeding affecteds together or to other carriers is not advised as well as breeding carrier to carrier is unadvisable; this is currently a breeder option fault)
Website Link for more information about CDA/BDS and ash/gray Mudi research participation:
Patella Luxation (lameness in rear leg/s, can affect one or both patella joints; polygenic, mode undetermined, but thought to be ancestral; age of onset varies with severity or injury; can be determined by veterinary examination and orthopedic consulation services; treatments vary; seriously affected dogs should not be bred; all dogs should be examined before breeding and dogs with higher scores should be bred to those with a lower score)
Website link for more information:
Persistent Pupillary Membranes (failure of blood vessels in the eye to regress normally; can affect vision; mode of inheritance is undetermined; able to be diagnosed under 3 months of age by an opthamologist vet; no treatment exists; breeding affecteds should be done cautiously and only to non-affecteds)
Website link for more information:
Retinal Dysplasia (the retina in the eye can be affected in several ways due to abnormal development and are termed retinal folds, geographic dysplasia and retinal detachment; one eye can be affected independently of the other; it is thought to be recessive in some types and undetermined in others; it can usually be seen by an opthamologist vet prior to 1 year of age; dogs with folds should not be bred to others with folds and dogs with geographic or detachment should not be bred)
Website link for more information:
Teeth: missing in various locations and numbers, also includes extra, doubled and fused teeth (can affect ability to eat when several are missing; polygenic, mode is undetermined, but it does seem to be ancestral and become cumulative over time; appears under 1 year of age; there is no treatment; affecteds should not be bred to other affecteds or carriers and depending on the teeth involved and the number missing, is a breeder option fault)
Website link for more information:
Temperament/Behavior issues (dog or human aggressive tendencies, noise sensitivity, overly shy, etc., exists in some dogs and they subsequently seem to pass these same tendencies to their offspring; it is not sure if it is due to genetic issues, environmental issues or being raised with another affected; affecteds should not be bred to affecteds and temperament testing is best done on both parents to avoid breeding the same tendencies together; it is not advised to breed extreme cases; it is a breeder option fault with great caution as tests cannot reveal many temperament or behaviorial issues)
Testicles: missing one or both (ability to reproduce is affected and retained testicle/s can become cancerous; mode of inheritance is undetermined, but is thought to be polygenic and ancestral; treatment involves surgical removal of the undescended testicle/s; appears by 6 months of age; affecteds should not be bred and carrier lines should not be bred together)
Website link for more information:
Disorders/Faults A - D
Albinism: blue and pink eyed (the affected dog has white fur and pink skin which has no sun protection; reproduced from carrier or affected parents recessively; affecteds can be seen at 10-14 days of age; there is no treatment; affecteds should not be bred, carriers should not be bred to other carriers)
Website link for more information:
Allergies: various kinds (can include bee stings, food, drugs, chemicals, etc.; allergy symptoms can affect many parts of the dog and in various levels of severity from mild to severe; mode of inheritance is undetermined, but is thought to be polygenic and environmentally influenced; age of onset, cause and treatment varies; breeding an affected or carrier dog depends on the nature of the allergy, cause (if known) and severity)
Website link for more information:
Bites: underbite, overbite and wry mouth (upper and lower jaw related issues which can affect eating, etc.; mode of inheritance is undetermined, but is thought to be polygenic and ancestral; can be seen by 1 year of age; there is no treatment; affecteds should not be bred and carriers should not be bred to other carriers)
Website link for more information:
Cataracts: (can cause impaired vision or blindness; mode of inheritance is unknown, but thought to be ancestral; age of onset varies but is usually between 2 months and 7 years of age; an eye exam can detect this disorder and needs to be repeated annually in suspect lines; treatment varies; the prudent approach is to assume cataracts are hereditary unless they are known to be specifically associated to another cause; affecteds should not be bred and carriers should be bred to non-carriers)
Website link for more information:
Demodex Mange: localized and generalized (an auto-immune reaction to mites which naturally occur on the dogs skin; localized demodex is not thought to be genetic, only generalized is considered to be hereditary; the mode of inheritance is unknown, it does appear to be ancestrally connected; both localized and generalized versions appear at about the same age (usually under 18 months) and in the same manner; veterinary diagnosis and treatment options are available for both types; dogs/puppies which have localized or produced localized type which recovered are breedable; those that have or have produced generalized type are not considered breedable; family carrier lines should not be crossed)
Website link for more information:
Distichiasis: one or both eyelids (hair/s on the eyelid grow abnormally towards the eye and cause irritation of the cornea; mode of inheritance is undetermined; usually appears under 6 months of age; eye exam can determine this disorder and treatment is possible; seriously affected dogs should not be bred, affecteds should not be bred to other affecteds or carriers)
Website link for more information:
Disorders/Faults E - J
Ears: remain unpricked (ears do not stand fully erect, they can come up partially and unsymmetrically; ear position patterns are thought to be polygenic and pricked ears are thought to be recessive; can be seen by 1 year of age; no health issues involved; affecteds should not be bred to other affecteds or carriers; as there is no health issue involved, it is a breeder option fault)
Elbow Dysplasia, OCD, UAP, FCP (lameness of the front elbow joints, can affect one or both joints; mode is undetermined, but thought to be polygenic, ancestral and somewhat affected by environmental circumstances; age of onset varies with severity; can be determined by x-ray and orthopedic consulation services; treatments vary; affecteds should not be bred and carriers should be bred to non-carriers; all dogs should be scored by x-ray submission to official orthopedic associations before breeding)
Website link for more information:
Epilepsy (idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is diagnosed when seizures occur from an unknown cause; it is thought to be polygenic and possibly recessive; typical age of onset of IE is 1-3 years of age; epilepsy needs to be diagnosed by a neurologist or other highly qualified vet; treatment varies; affecteds should not be bred and carriers should not be bred to other carriers)
Herding instinct is genetic and due to the polygenic nature and unknown mode of inheritance, it is very difficult to determine what individuals will not show the instinct for livestock. It is best to instinct test dogs used for breeding and breed dogs which have passed the herding instinct test in order to retain this important trait, or avoid breeding untested dogs together.
Hip Dysplasia (lameness of the rear hip joints, can affect one or both joints; the mode is undetermined but thought to be polygenic, ancestral and environmental; symptoms and treatments vary with severity; condition of hips can be determined by x-ray submission to orthopedic associations; dogs with symptoms should not bred; all dogs should be officialy scored and dogs with better scores should be bred to dogs with lower scores)
“A fact is a simple statement that everyone believes. It is innocent, unless found guilty. A hypothesis is a novel suggestion that no one wants to believe. It is guilty, until found effective."
Edward Teller, Hungarian Born American Nuclear Physicist, Born 1908-2003
