Miniature Pinscher Health - Vaccinations

Health

The Miniature Pinscher is quite a healthy breed however, like many other breeds, they are susceptible to several health problems, including: Legg Perthes Disease (LPD) *see Diseases.

Flea Control - Fleas are small brown jumping insects commonly found on dogs and cats. They not only cause irritation and skin damage to your pet, they are also known to spread diseases to animals and humans. The life cycle occurs not just on your pet, but also in your home and with today's increasingly hot summers it is believed it occurs outdoors too.

For every 5 fleas on your dog there are another 95 in your home, complete control is essential all year round. To do this you must:

kill all the adult fleas on your dog.

Prevent flea multiplication in your home

Protect your dog from fresh flea infestations

Recommendation: Frontline Combo is a 2- in-1 spot-on kills fleas, flea eggs, larvae and pupae in your house.  It kills fleas on you dog for two months.  It prevents fleas multiplying in your house for 6-8 weeks. Additionally it is advisable to vacuum your home and wash your dogs bedding on a regular basis.

Other Flea Controls:

Frontline Spray - For puppies under 8 weeks of age

Frontline Advantage Stronghold - Standard flea treatments, plus some environmental effects, kills ticks, lice and mange mites

Capstar Tablet  - Emergency flea treatment, kills fleas in 10 minutes and lasts 24 hours

Program - Flea multiplication control, monthly tablets for dogs.

Ticks - A tick is a small, blood-sucking mite. How to remove a tick

Roundworms - toxocara - virtually all puppies are born with worms, passed from the bitch during pregnancy. The worms are long, coiled and translucent-to-white in appearance.  Eggs are passed out in the bowel movement from 3 weeks of age.  The ground / park garden can be contaminated without visible signs.  Eggs are picked up easily by nursing bitches from their puppies and by other dogs and humans from contaminated soil.  The risk to humans especially children is very slight and totally preventable by proper measures.

Worm your puppy from 3 weeks of age, then every 2 weeks until 12 weeks old and then monthly from 12 weeks to 6 months.
All adult dogs should be wormed every 3 months.  If you haven't seen your dogs pass worms it doesn't mean they are clear. They can still be passing eggs into the environment.

Always clean up your dogs mess, don't contaminate public parks or children's play areas. Train your dog to be clean in a safe area. Basic hygiene by all, including children will prevent disease. Never let puppies or nursing bitches lick your face and especially not those of children.  Breeding bitches can be wormed during pregnancy to eliminate juvenile and adult worms and minimise the problems for the puppies.

The best wormers are available from your veterinary surgery, pet shop and supermarket brands are inferior products requiring frequent dosing. Veterinary products include: Droncit, Drontal Plus and Panacur, some of these also treat tapeworms. 

Tapeworms - live in the small intestine and vary in size from less than an inch to several feet long. The head (scolex) of the worm fastens itself to the wall of the gut by hooks and suckers.  The body is composed of segments that contain the egg packets which are passed in the faeces.  Fresh, moist segments are about a quarter of an inch long and are capable of moving.  Occasionally you may see them crawling through the fur near your dogs anus. When dry, they resemble kernels of rice.   Heavy infestations in this area may cause diarrhoea, weight loss and occasionally vomiting. More commonly low infestations will cause anal irritation with the dog licking and chewing around the anal area or scooting (dragging hind quarters along the ground). This is due to expulsion of the worm segments which due to their sticky nature often attach to the skin and hair around the anal region.

To cure tapeworm infection, the head must be destroyed.  If it is not, the worm will regenerate.The best wormers are available from your veterinary surgery. Pet shop and supermarket brands are inferior products requiring frequent dosing.

Entropion
Canine Entropion is the inversion, or turning inward of the eyelid and eyelashes towards they eye. The eyelashes rub against the cornea and cause a mucous discharge. It is the most common congenital defect of the eyelids and requires surgery to correct the problem. It can also because by an injury or a persistent eyelid infection.

Patella Luxation
The patella or kneecap is a small bone that protects the front of the stifle joint. The patella is anchored in place by ligaments and slides in a groove in the femur called the trochlea. When the patella is in its normal position, its cartilage surface glides smoothly and painlessly along the cartilage surface of the trochlear groove with little or no discomfort. If the grove is too shallow, the patella will slip out when the knee bends. When the patella slips out to the inside of the knee joint it's known as medial luxation. When the patella slips out to the outside it's known as lateral luxation. Luxating patella is usually an inherited defect; however it can also be the result of an injury.

Medial Luxation is more common and occurs in miniature, toy and large breeds and is apparent in some pups when they begin to walk. In others it appears later on in life. As the patella "pops out" of its groove these cartilage surfaces improperly rub each other. The dog may cry out and try to straighten the leg to "pop it back in" or may hold the limb up until muscle relaxation allows the kneecap to reposition itself. There is little or no discomfort until the cartilage is effectively "rubbed off" or eroded to a point where bone touches bone. From this point on, each time the patella "pops out" into its abnormal, luxated position it will cause pain.

Lateral Luxation occurs in larger and giant breeds .

Please Note: This is only a partial listing of some of the health concerns that can be found in the Miniature Pinscher and should not be considered a complete list. This section is provided as a source of information only. It is not intended as a substitute for veterinarian care.

Vaccinations

Early immunisation against life threatening infectious diseases saves lives.   Puppies and are particularly susceptible to disease and should be vaccinated against: Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis and Parvovirus to ensure their health and survival, and to boost their natural immunity.

For dogs that stay in kennels special attention should be given to exposure of infectious diseases like canine infectious tracheobronchitis (kennel cough). 

For dogs that travel abroad, animals may be susceptible to infection with diseases like rabies, leishmaniasis (spread by sand flies), heartworm (spread by mosquitoes), babesiosis (spread by ticks), and ehrlichiosis (spread by ticks). Whilst there is no vaccine available for all of these ‘so called’ exotic diseases, you can take steps to protect against them.

Suggested Vaccination Schedule

Age of Dog	Vaccine Recommended
8 - 9 weeks	Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus
12 weeks	Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus
Over 12 Weeks	Same injections as above, with a second dose 2 weeks later

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