Rottweiler Health foundation: Things you should know to keep a Rottweiler Healthy

Rottweilers are thought to be one of the oldest breeds of dogs that people have kept as pets. Because Rottweilers are big, strong, and fierce, they were once utilized to pull butcher carts. Rottweilers are violent, but if you teach them the right way, they won’t be. If you keep them happy and healthy and love and care for them, they can be great family dogs and guardians for your family. Rottweilers love their owners and will do anything to protect them. Even though they can make good family dogs, you shouldn’t leave your kids alone with them. Keep an eye on your Rottweiler at all times. Rottweilers love to work out, which keeps them strong and healthy. Now, let’s get to the point: there are a few things you should know to maintain your Rottweiler healthy and happy.

1. Give your Rottweiler some exercise

Giving your Rottweiler some exercise

Rottweilers are a breed that needs to get exercise every day in order to be fully stimulated. It is essential to give your Rottweiler exercise every day.

As healthy adults, they should get at least an hour’s exercise every day, as a rule. Most people say that puppies should exercise for 5 minutes a day for every month they are old.

Here are some ways you can make sure your Rottweiler gets the exercise it needs every day.

  • Walk it

The easiest way to get it moving would be to take it for a walk. In general, they should get out and walk for an hour every day. You might find, though, that a one-hour walk isn’t enough. You can try to make the walk harder for it in that case.

You can make it harder by walking it farther, faster, or in a hilly area. You could also let it run free at the dog park (if you can trust it to come back) or put a weight vest on it that doesn’t weigh more than 10% of its weight.

  • Play fetch

You can also get it to move around a lot by teaching it to play fetch. The game “Fetch” is good because it makes your Rottweiler run a lot without giving him much time to rest.

You can see how to teach yours to play fetch by watching the video below.

  • Walk it with a group of dogs

Your Rottweiler could also go for a walk with other dogs.

By doing this, you can make it play with the other dogs more, which will give it more exercise and wear it out faster. It will also help it meet new people, which can help it behave better.

But you should make sure they are lovely dogs and that your Rottweiler can get along with them. Rottweilers often don’t get along well with small dogs because they have a strong drive to hunt.

  • Show it how to swim.

Your Rottweiler could also learn to swim.

By doing this, you can get it to do a lot of exercises since swimming requires it to move its legs quickly to stay afloat. It works well in the summer, too, because it helps keep things cool.

  • Use a dog walker

You could also hire someone to walk your dog for you. This would help on days when you don’t have time to do it yourself. You can download apps that will help you find dog walkers in your area.

2. Pay attention to it and keep it busy

Pay attention to your Rottweiler and keep it busy

Here are some things you can do to keep your Rottweiler busy and happy during the day.

  • Tug of war

You could play tug of war with your Rottweiler to keep it happy. Most Rottweilers like to play with it, so you’ll probably find that yours does too. It’s also a great way to keep it busy at home because you don’t need a lot of space.

  • Training

Spending time training your Rottweiler to do things is another way to keep it busy. This would also make it act better and listen to you more. Rottweilers can be hard to control if they haven’t been trained, so it’s important to train them anyway.

It would help to start by teaching it to do simple things, and then teach it to do harder things in places with more distractions.

  • Lots of toys

Giving your Rottweiler a lot of toys to play with is another way to keep it busy. By doing this, you can keep its attention on something you want it to look at instead of, say, your sofa.

When your Rottweiler is teething, it is especially important to give it a lot of toys to play with because it will naturally want to chew on things.

  • Puzzle games

You could also give it puzzle games that make it consider how to get the reward.

  • Give it chews

You can also give it something to chew on to keep it busy. There are also some that are meant to calm it down, which you might want to keep on hand in case your Rottweiler starts to act up.

  • Doggy daycare

You could take it to doggy daycare on days when you won’t be home for a long time.

3. Make sure your Rottweiler is cool

Making sure your Rottweiler is cool

In the summer, a Rottweiler can get very hot, so it’s important to take steps to keep it cool.

  • Groom it

The first thing you can do is give it a haircut about once a week. By grooming it, you can get rid of any loose fur, which will help it stay cool by letting air get through its fur.

  • Don’t shave it

Also, it’s important not to shave it. This is because if you shave it, it will be much more likely to get heatstroke. This is because the skin isn’t supposed to be in direct contact with the sun’s rays, and the fur is supposed to help regulate its temperature.

Give it water and a place to stay cool.

It would also help if it had a source of water, a cool room, and shade all day, so it could stay cool and not be in the sun for too long.

  • Show it how to swim.

As was already said, teaching your Rottweiler to swim is an excellent way to keep it active in the summer because it takes a lot of work and the water will help it stay cool. But you shouldn’t leave it out in the sun for much too long when it’s hot because it could get heatstroke, even if it’s swimming.

  • Use air-con

If you have air conditioning, you could also stay your Rottweiler cool by turning the temperature down on the air conditioning.

4. Live a healthy life

Rottweiler Living a healthy life

Here are some things to think about if you want your Rottweiler to be happy.

  • Checkups

If you want your Rottweiler to be happy, you should take it to the vet for regular checkups so it stays healthy. Most people say that they should see a doctor at least once a year.

  • Age

Your Rottweiler will need more care if it is still a puppy. But since its bones and joints are still growing, it won’t be able to get as much exercise because that could hurt it.

Most people say that it should get 5 minutes of exercise for every month it has been alive. Instead, you could play with it and train it to do things.

  • Mind his diet.

Give your Rottweiler a healthy diet to keep him in good shape. Ask your vet what kind of food you should give your Rottweiler. They are big dogs that need high-quality food with the right amount of nutrients. Your vet will tell you what supplements to give your Rottweiler so that they don’t have to deal with joint problems. If you feed your Rottweiler after it works out or 4 hours before it works out, you will keep it from getting gastric bloat. Your Rottweiler can die from bloat. So, pay attention to what he eats and feed him on time.

  • Make him feel good.

If Rottweiler can’t get comfortable in any way, it’s bad for his health. Some people, especially those who are big, don’t get the right beds for their size, so they can’t sleep well. It makes them irritable and stupid. Buy big beds for big dogs so that they can sleep well after all the time they spend running around.

  • Massage your Rottweiler

After a long day of playing and exercising. Once a week, you should massage your Rottweiler. Touch the muscles all over his joints with your fingertips. It will make his muscles relax and keep his joints healthy. It also helps keep them healthy and happy. They like massages a lot. If you don’t know how to do it right, don’t do it. Instead, ask your vet for help.

Below is a video that shows how to care for a Rottweiler:

Common Rottweiler Health Issues and how to address them

Rottweiler Health Issues and how to address them

The most effective way to safeguard your Rottweiler puppy is to learn about the health problems he might face.

Most of the time, owners can get a better prognosis with less drastic treatment if they catch a problem early.

Most health problems with Rottweilers have to do with their bones. Hip dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans, and osteosarcoma are all examples. There are also a lot of viral infections, especially parvovirus. Also, older Rottweilers may have problems with their eyes, such as entropion and retinal atrophy.

I’ll tell you all about the most common health problems with Rottweilers. As a licensed veterinarian doctor, I’ll tell you how each disease starts, what signs to look for, and how your vet will probably treat it.

1. Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD)

Hip dysplasia happens when the hip bones grow faster than the thigh bones, which causes the hip joints to become loose.

If you don’t do anything about the looseness, it could lead to more serious problems like degenerative joint disease (DJD).

Hip dysplasia is a disease that is usually caused by genes.

Still, the risk may go up a lot if you eat too much and don’t exercise enough or too much.

Hip dysplasia may not hurt your dog, despite what most people think.

Studies show that more than three-quarters of dogs can live for many years with deformed hips without showing any signs.

Symptoms

Some Rottweilers may start to show signs of hip dysplasia as early as 4 months old, but the condition is more common in older dogs.

If you see any of the following signs, it’s best to see a vet as soon as possible because the problem may get worse over time:

  • Decreased activity

  • Aversion to jumping, running, or climbing stairs

  • Restricted range of motion

  • Lameness or limping

  • Bunny-hopping gait

  • Joint looseness

  • Narrow stance

  • Grating in the joint (crepitus), especially during movement

  • Thigh atrophy

  • Shoulder hypertrophy

  • Dislocation of the hip joint

How to diagnose and treat

Most of the time, vets can tell if a dog has hip dysplasia by moving the back legs and feeling for any looseness, grinding, or pain.

If your vet notices something strange, they will ask for an x-ray of the hip and a blood test to make a clear diagnosis.

In mild cases, most of the symptoms can be relieved by keeping an eye on weight and adding supplements to the diet.

If the pain doesn’t go away, your vet might give you non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (NSAIDs).

If nothing else works, your vet may suggest surgery to reshape the joint or put in prosthetic implants to replace it.

If you give your Rottweiler the right care, it will live a healthy life with few or no symptoms.

Again, early diagnosis is very important, so if you notice any of the signs listed above, talk to your vet.

2. Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD)

Most of the time, the ends of your dog’s long bones are lined with smooth cartilage.

Your puppy gets taller as that cartilage grows and turns into hard bone over time.

When these cartilaginous surfaces are in large breeds, like Rottweilers, they can grow so quickly that they can cut the blood vessels nearby.

If the cartilage doesn’t get any food, it will crack and become inflamed. At this point, your dog will be diagnosed with osteochondritis, or OD.

If the cracks are not fixed, the cartilage may break off and float around in the joint space, causing pain and inflammation.

This is called osteochondritis dissecans, or OCD, by veterinarians.

OCD usually shows up in the shoulders, but it can also show up in the elbows, hips, or knees. Some of the reasons for this are overeating, too much exercise, and genetics.

Symptoms

Osteochondritis dissecans usually starts in dogs between the ages of 6 and 9 months, and male dogs are more likely to get it.

Talk to your vet if your pet shows any of these signs:

  • Getting more tired after working out

  • After resting, the joint feels stiff.

  • less freedom of movement

  • Weight is hard to put on the affected limb

  • The joints click

  • Joint swelling

  • Pain and tenderness to touch

  • Loss of muscle

How to diagnose and treat

Often, the first step in making a diagnosis is to look at the joint in question.

Then, your vet will order x-rays and MRI scans to figure out what’s wrong.

Keep in mind that your vet may want to scan all of your joints, even the ones that don’t hurt.

This approach is important because OCD symptoms don’t usually show up right away.

If the diagnosis is correct, your vet will give you supplements to help keep the joints healthy and painkillers that do not contain aspirin.

If the joints are just cracked, painkillers and physical therapy will make the pain go away completely.

But if the cartilage has already broken off, your vet will have to do surgery to fix it, either by having to open the joints or using an arthroscope.

3. Subaortic Stenosis (SAS)

The aorta is a large artery that carries blood away from the heart.

In subaortic stenosis, the space under the aortic valve gets smaller. This makes the heart have to work harder to make sure the rest of the body gets enough healthy blood.

If the narrowing isn’t too bad, the heart will get used to the extra work and no symptoms will show up.

Most vets think that the narrowing is caused by thick nodules or rings of fibrous tissue, which usually form because of a genetic disorder.

Most of the time, fibrous malformations happen under the aorta, but they can also happen in two other places:

Valvular aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the aortic valve (VAS)

Above the aortic valve is where supra valvular aortic stenosis happens (SVAS)

The location of the building doesn’t usually cause different symptoms, but it may mean that your vet has to choose a certain treatment.

Symptoms

In minor cases, your Rottweiler will be fine and won’t show any signs of illness.

In severe or moderate cases, these signs may show up from the time your puppy is born until its first birthday:

  • Having no energy or feeling tired all the time

  • Weakness after working out or getting excited

  • Fainting

  • Not enough air to breathe

  • a cough and trouble breathing (in severe cases only)

  • If your puppy isn’t as playful as he should be, you should take him to the vet as soon as possible.

  • Chronic SAS can make it more likely that you will have lung failure and, in the end, a heart attack.

How to diagnose and treat

A physical exam is the first step in making a diagnosis. Your vet will listen for irregular heartbeats with a stethoscope.

If your vet thinks you have SAS, he or she will ask for:

  • An x-ray of the chest is used to look for any lumps that may have formed because of the restriction.

  • Electrocardiogram (ECG): Will show if there are any problems with the electrical activity of the heart.

  • Echocardiogram: An ultrasound image used to find exactly where the tight spot is

To treat moderate and severe cases, medications that control the heart rate will be needed.

On the other hand, mild cases will only need to be watched over.

If the fibrous malformations are very bad, your vet may have to do surgery to get rid of them.

4. Osteosarcoma (OSA)

Osteosarcoma is cancer that spreads quickly and looks like abnormal bumps on the front legs, usually near the shoulders, wrists, and knees.

The tumor cells can spread to other areas of the body, like the mammary glands, spleen, liver, and kidneys, just like most types of cancer that are harmful.

Studies show that about 12 percent of Rottweilers will have osteosarcoma by the time they are eight years old.

OSA doesn’t have a good outlook, unfortunately. Most puppies won’t live past two months if the condition isn’t treated.

Most dogs only live for a year after having chemotherapy and having a leg cut off.

Symptoms

Because osteosarcoma starts deep in the bone, it may not cause any pain until it has done a lot of damage.

If you notice any of these signs, you should call your vet right away. The sooner you act, the better the assessment:

  • Limping

  • A painful, hot, and hard bump.

  • A sudden leg fracture

  • Fever

  • Other lumps on the body (a sign of tumor spread)

  • Loss of hunger

How to diagnose and treat

If your dog is just limping, your vet will do a physical exam and ask for an x-ray to figure out what’s wrong.

Then, a biopsy will be done to find out what kind of cells are in the tumor.

If osteosarcoma is proven, your vet will want chest X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, blood tests, and a urinalysis.

The results of these tests will show if the cancer has spread to many other parts of the body or not.

Because osteosarcoma is so aggressive, most vets treat it with chemotherapy and cutting off limbs.

Some owners might be worried about this, but most dogs can live a happy life with only three legs.

If the tumor has managed to grow in more than one leg, your vet may need to do a series of procedures to remove the tumor masses and consider replacing them with bone grafts.

They will also give you painkillers and nutritional supplements to compensate for the reason that you won’t be hungry.

5. Parvovirus

Parvo, which is short for parvovirus, is a very contagious virus that attacks the quickly dividing cells in a dog’s body, especially in the intestines and bone marrow.

Over time, this damage hurts the dog’s immune system and digestive system.

Your puppy doesn’t have to get sick with parvo because there is a vaccine for it.

But if he got sick from an infected dog before getting all of his shots, it’s because he was around it.

You can also get sick by sniffing feces that has been contaminated.

Since parvo only affects dogs that haven’t been vaccinated, it’s common in dogs younger than six months.

Symptoms

  • Bloody diarrhea

  • Vomiting

  • loss of appetite

  • Depleted energy

  • A lot of heat

  • Bloating

  • Lose weight

How to diagnose and treat

If your vet thinks that your dog has parvo, they will tell you to do a fecal ELISA test.

In a stool swap, this test looks for viral antigens.

If the test comes back positive, it means that your dog has parvo. A negative result isn’t as clear, though, because the virus doesn’t show up in feces for up to five days.

So, if you take the test during that time, you will get a false negative.

Your vet may also ask for PCR and blood tests to get a clear picture of what’s wrong.

There is a vaccine for parvo, but it can’t be cured. Your vet will probably suggest that you stay in the hospital so that you can get the best care possible.

6. Entropion

Entropion occurs when an eyelid rolls inward, causing the eyelashes to scratch against the eyes.

This constant irritation could cause ulcers, holes, or pigmentation, all of which will make it hard for your dog to see.

Most veterinarians think that entropion is caused by a problem with the genes.

The risk goes up as your dog gets older and his skin gets too loose to stay in its normal place.

Injury to the eyelids or surgery on them will, of course, raise the risk a lot.

Symptoms

  • With red, teary eyes

  • Squinting

  • Eye discharge

  • visible puffiness around eyes

  • rubbing the eyes over and over

  • Blinking too much

  • Conjunctivitis that comes back (inflammation of the outer lining of the eye)

  • Eye ulcers

If your puppy’s eyes start to turn red, you should call your vet right away.

If you wait longer, you are more likely to get ulcers, which can leave permanent scars.

How to diagnose and treat

Your vet may be able to tell if your pet has entropion just by looking at the eyelids, even before there are any obvious signs.

So, make sure to see your vet at least once a year for regular checkups.

Once the diagnosis is sure, your vet may do a fluorescein stain test to look for ulcers or cuts.

The first step of this test is to put a fluorescent dye in the eye and then rinse it out with saline.

If there are any cuts or sores in the eyes, the vet will see streaks and patches of color.

Antibiotics and artificial tear lubricants are used first to help heal the lining of the eyes. If the problem isn’t too bad, these medicines should be enough.

If the eyelids roll in too far, your vet may suggest blepharoplasty, which is the medical term for plastic surgery on the eyelids.

Some Rottweilers may get ectropion as a bad side effect of the surgery, so it’s important to check on them often.

As you might have guessed, ectropion is the opposite of entropion. It means that your eyelids are too loose and roll outward, which can make your eyes dry and irritated.

7. Retinal Dysplasia

If you don’t know, the retina is part of your dog’s eye that is at the back.

It has tens of thousands of receptors that turn what you see into electrical signals that your brain can understand.

Some Rottweilers may not have the genes that are needed for the healthy development of the retina, and the symptoms will depend on which genes are missing.

Retinal dysplasia is a broad term for any kind of growth that isn’t normal in the retina.

Symptoms

Multifocal retinal dysplasia is the most popular type of retinal dysplasia in Rottweilers.

In this form, the retina has streaks, dots, or circles of damaged receptors, which make it hard to see in different ways.

In mild cases, the vision is mostly normal, but there may be a few small blind spots.

The more dangerous type is called “total retinal dysplasia,” which means that the retina is completely detached.

Rottweilers with this condition will be totally blind, for sure.

How to diagnose and treat

Using an ophthalmoscope, your vet can find out if your pet has retinal dysplasia.

For a correct diagnosis, your dog should be at least 12–16 months old. Only then is the retina mature enough to make a correct diagnosis.

Sad to say, retinal dysplasia has no cure. But the symptoms won’t get worse once the retina is fully grown.

8. Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)

As I said before, the retina is the innermost part of your dog’s eye. It is where all the receptors are that are needed for your dog to see.

In a condition called gradual retinal atrophy, these receptors begin to degrade over time, causing a slow loss of vision.

PRA can happen in two ways in Rottweilers:

Generalized progressive atrophy of the retina (GPRA):

All the retinal receptors can be destroyed in this state. It’s the most common kind, and symptoms usually show up in the last three years of life.

Central progressive retinal atrophy (CPRA): In this form, only the receptors in the center are damaged. Over time, the dog will lose the ability to see in poor lighting, but his vision will still be pretty good in general.

Symptoms

  • It’s hard to see at night

  • Trouble following hand orders

  • hitting walls and furniture over and over

  • Having trouble going down the stairs

  • Formation of cataracts

Remember that this condition gets worse over time, so you need to call your vet as soon as you notice any of the above signs.

How to diagnose and treat

Your vet might be able to diagnose PRA with a simple eye exam that looks at how your pet reacts to light.

For a final diagnosis, you may need to see a veterinary ophthalmologist who can do an electroretinogram (ERG), a test that measures the electrical activity of the retina very accurately.

PRA hasn’t had a cure until now. Some vets may give antioxidant supplements or vitamin supplements to stop problems from getting worse, but there is no scientific proof that these medicines work.

9. Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV)

Your Rottweiler’s stomach will usually get bigger after a big meal to make room for the food and gas.

If the meal was bigger than usual, the stomach could twist in on itself and block itself completely or partially.

Gastric dilatation-volvulus, or GDV for short, is the name for this condition.

GDV is a condition that can kill you. Within a few hours, the stomach’s blood supply will be cut off, along with the blood supply to the spleen.

Also, the stomach may push the diaphragm up, which will stop the lungs from getting as big as they can.

No one knows why GDV happens yet, but we can point to some risk factors.

The most dangerous risk factor is eating quickly, especially if you then exercise hard.

Symptoms

In the early stages of GDV, you will feel pain in your stomach. Your dog may:

  • Have a bloated abdomen

  • Act restless

  • Drool

  • Look anxious

  • Take a look at his belly

  • Try to vomit

  • Try stretching to get rid of the pain.

Over time, more serious symptoms will show up, such as:

  • Pale gums

  • Fast heart rate

  • Shortness of breath

  • Whining

  • Fainting

How to diagnose and treat

As soon as your vet sees that your dog’s stomach is swollen, the first thing they will do is try to relieve the pressure, even before they are sure that your dog has GDV.

The first step is to put a tube down your dog’s throat to help get some of the gas out.

If the stomach already is turned, this tube might not be able to reach it.

In that particular instance, your vet may put a large needle through your dog’s stomach (called a “trocar”) to get to the stomach from the outside.

After taking care of the case of emergencies, your vet will take an x-ray to see if the tummy is twisted.

If that’s the case, they’ll do surgery to put it back where it should be.

They will also get rid of any dead tissue near the stomach wall and give you antibiotics to prevent an infection.

10. Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)

Rottweilers with dilated cardiomyopathy have hearts that aren’t strong enough to pump blood as well as they should.

As the muscles lose strength, the walls of the heart get thinner.

Because of this, the blood fills up the heart and makes it bigger, like how air fills up a thin balloon. This is why the condition is called dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM for short.

Up until now, many veterinarians thought that DCM was caused by genes.

But new evidence suggests that a person’s diet may also raise the risk.

Symptoms

The first signs of DCM are:

  • Exercise intolerance

  • Some parts of the body may feel warmer than the feet.

  • Coughing

  • A bigger stomach

  • loss of appetite

  • Trouble breathing

As the illness gets worse, you might notice:

  • Heavy, fast-paced breaths

  • Blue-black tongue

  • Collapse

If you notice any of the above symptoms, you should call your vet right away because they are emergencies.

How to diagnose and treat

With a stethoscope, your vet may be able to figure out what’s wrong by listening to the heart.

But they’ll need a chest x-ray, an electrocardiogram (ECG), and an echocardiogram to find out for sure what’s wrong.

As for treatment, we can’t fix the problem because we can’t make the heart stronger.

But your vet will give you a number of medicines to:

  • Get rid of the body’s extra fluid

  • Bring down blood pressure

  • Dilate the blood vessels

  • Handle the rate of the heart

11. Panosteitis

Panosteitis, or “pano,” is a painful, inflammatory disease that affects the bones of a Rottweiler’s legs.

Most of the time, it starts in one leg and moves to the other legs.

Growing puppies often get pano, which is why it’s usually called “growing pains.”

The good news is that the inflammation usually only lasts for two to three months and goes away on its own, leaving behind few or no permanent problems.

Scientists still don’t agree on what caused pano. Still, most people think it’s a genetic condition that gets worse when you’re stressed out and don’t eat well.

Symptoms

  • Sudden lameness in one or even more legs

  • It will hurt to touch the legs.

  • Fever

  • Reduced energy

  • unwillingness to play and work out

  • Vomiting

  • Loss of hunger and losing weight

How to diagnose and treat

Your vet can tell if you have panosteitis by looking at you and taking x-rays.

Please keep in mind that x-rays may not display any issues for up to ten days after the symptoms start. So, there may be a need for constant follow-ups.

I already said that panosteitis goes away on its own.

Still, your vet will probably give you some medicine to ease the pain and reduce the swelling.

During the times when your dog is lame, it’s important to let it get enough rest.

When the show is over, ask your vet to suggest some moderate to low-impact activities to keep your dog busy.

12. Folliculitis

Folliculitis is a skin disease that occurs when bacteria or fungi get into the tiny hair follicles (openings through which hair grows).

Most of the time, this condition starts with red bumps that look a lot like acne.

The most common places are the armpits, groin, and stomach.

Over time, these bumps will get bigger and become full of pus. Some of the hair in the area might fall out, and you might even see some dark spots nearby.

Folliculitis can happen to any dog that comes into contact with Staph bacteria or parasitic fungi.

The risk is much greater if your dog has other highly contagious or fungal infections or has been hurt physically in the past few weeks.

Symptoms

  • Redness

  • Swelling

  • Itching and pain to touch

  • Hair loss

  • Pigmented spots

If there are other animals in your home, ensure that you keep the sick dog away from them and get him to the vet as soon as possible.

How to diagnose and treat

Like most skin conditions, folliculitis can be hard for your vet to figure out just by looking at it.

They might ask for things such as:

  • Skin scraping

  • Skin Cytology

  • Wood’s test of a lamp

  • Fungal and bacterial culture

  • Skin biopsy

Your vet will start the treatment by giving you antibiotics and antifungal creams, ointments, and shampoos to put on the skin.

In severe cases, your dog may also need pills to take by mouth and other care.

13. Hypothyroidism

The thyroid gland in your dog makes a hormone that keeps the metabolism working well.

If the gland stops working because of a genetic problem, an autoimmune disease, or a tumor, the lack of hormones will slow down the metabolism.

This problem is called hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism can happen to almost any breed, but it is more likely to happen to large breeds, especially between the ages of 4 and 10 years.

Scientists think that neutering and spaying may raise the risk, which is likely because of hormonal imbalance in general.

Symptoms

The first sign of a slow metabolism is sudden weight gain that you can’t explain.

Some other signs are:

  • Reduced energy

  • Cold intolerance

  • Too much shedding

  • Skin dark pigmentation

  • Heartbeats slowly

  • Skin on the face getting thicker

  • Lameness

  • Dragging of feet

  • Head tilt

How to diagnose and treat

Your vet will ask for a blood test to find out how much thyroid hormone is in your body.

They will also need to do more tests to find out why that condition is happening.

Hypothyroidism can be treated, but it’s not easy to get rid of.

Your vet will give you medicines that contain synthetic thyroid hormone, and they’ll want to see you often to make sure you’re taking the right amount.

Summary

The foundation of Rottweiler’s health lies in giving them properly a proper healthy lifestyle including exercise, giving love to their attention, and making them comfortable. But like all breeds, they are prone to certain health issues. Some common health issues faced by Rottweilers include hip dysplasia, OCD, SAS, OSA and etc. To address these health issues, it is important to know the symptoms and treatments available. Early detection and treatment of health issues can improve the chances of a successful outcome and help your Rottweiler live a long, healthy life.