Neapolitan Mastiffs: Not for the faint-hearted...
The info here is just a sample of what can go wrong. Please study the Neapolitan Mastiff's health
problems on the web. There are many sites available - do a search and go there. Read as many
books on Neos that you can get a hold of. Talk to breeders and Neo Owners. My advice:
Purchase health insurance on your dog!!! Procedures on large dogs are very expensive. Insurance
is usually $25 and up per month.
- JOINTS: A Neapolitan Mastiff's joints are almost always loose, probably more
so than any other breed except perhaps the Bulldog. Especially during puppy
hood and young adult hood. Loose skin, loose joints, etc. Protect your puppy's
joints. Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM joint supplements are recommended to support
healthy hip and joint function and are vital components for healthy bones, joints, ligaments
and tendons.
RuneStone recommends:
"Next Level" joint fluid by Sure Nutrition.
(1/4 oz per 40lbs of body weight)
The link above leads to websites where you can order it.
It can also be purchased at "Fleet Farm" or "Farm and Fleet" stores
in the Midwest.
- Never let your puppy run up and down stairs. Never let it play rowdy with other dogs.
Confine it to a smaller space outside (6 X 10 or bigger dog kennel) versus the entire yard for
at least the first year, unless you are out there to supervise. Never let your puppy or adult
dog run down a hill. It may cause severe spinal injury and/or joint injury if the dog trips and
rolls.
Feed your puppy appropriate slow growth dog food designed for giant breeds. Pay
attention to the calcium-phosphorus ratios of the food and treats that you feed.
Exercise your dog by walking it and trotting it for short periods of time - conformation and
obedience training classes are excellent and your practice time per day should increase with
the age of the dog. Keep your dog AWAY from slippery floors and ice.
For all of the reasons above, and since none of these situations are completely controllable
(even with our own dogs) we do not guarantee the joints unless the dog is crippled by
dysplasia in the first year. An xray will always show some degradation of the joints and
that's more "normal" for Neos but severe dysplastic joints are a serious problem.
We screen our dogs' hips at or before one year of age and again at about 2 years. This
xray process is traumatic for some dogs, because to get a perfect picture, they need to be
positioned on their back with the back legs pulled straight back. The dog may have to be
put under sedation. If a dog is at the vet for another malady and has to be put under, I
recommend doing the xrays at that time. If you want to go through the expense of OFA,
that's your decision. In the case of my own dogs I'd rather have my own vet read them
and put the money to better use. My vet has 2 orthopedic surgeons/specialists visiting
several times during any given month to perform surgeries on dogs that go to my vet's
clinic. If my vet sees something he's not sure about then he consults with them. If there is
a serious problem with your dog's joints then see an orthopedic surgeon and get at least
two opinions before any surgeries are performed.
- Remember that the joints are ALWAYS loose.
Especially during puppyhood and young adulthood.
- Demodicosis. Demodex, demodec, demodex mites, demodectic mange; no matter
what you call it, it's an immune system problem. Please read starting on page 224 in Dr.
Sherilyn Allen's book, "The Neapolitan Mastiff". First off, the demodex mite is present on all
dogs. If the immune system is weak or compromised, it cannot keep the number of mites
to an acceptable level. The immune system can become weak during times of stress. Some
females may get the condition during pre-estrus and estrus. Some males may get it as they
approach puberty. Some puppies may get it during teething. Usually if the animal is treated
with frequent bathing and oral ivermectin the condition goes away. Some dogs may have
to be treated with the Mitaban "dip".This seems to be a more common occurrence in the
Neapolitan Mastiff and a few other breeds. In most other breeds of dog this would be an
alarming condition and more serious. Neapolitan Mastiffs have very oily coats which can
exacerbate the condition. It is NOT a product of poor breeding practices in this breed (in
most cases). Hopefully someday we can breed it out.
If it doesn't go away and has persisted for more than 2 years, it has become "generalized
demodicosis". This can be very serious and the dog can die. These dogs should not be
bred. Otherwise, the "juvenile demodex" is more acceptable in this breed than in other
breeds although it would be nice if we could get rid of it.
Staph and Yeast Infections. Again, like demodex, very common to the skin during
times of stress and in hot weather and in dogs with a lot of wrinkle and type. These usually
go together, but not always, and can happen in a very clean dog. These conditions can be
treated by bathing the area daily with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal soap and with oral
medication and/or bathing the entire dog twice a week until the condition heals or the dog
grows out of it. When this does come up, I recommend scraping the skin for demodex as
well. Most Neos have a very oily coat and need to be bathed frequently anyways. Some
males (between 12 months to 2.5 years) have frequent or constant staph infections
(pimples) on their chin and dewlap skin. Sometimes they need to be on antibiotic therapy
for months at a time. This is very costly but necessary.
Cherry Eye. Page 220 in Dr. Sherilyn Allen's book, "The Neapolitan Mastiff". She
explains here why it's more acceptable in this breed than in others. It's a "nuisance", but
not serious. The hard part is convincing ANY vet to just remove the darn thing rather than
tacking it down. I've only heard of one doctor (my vet) who was successful at tacking one
dog's cherry eye down. If anyone else knows of any successes, please contact me.
Entropia. The eyelids "curl in" and the eyelashes rub on the eyeballs. Very common in
Neos. Too much loose skin. Requires surgery. It's debatable if it's hereditary or just part of
the Neo type. And I do mean "debatable" in the literal sense. It's a common topic of
discussion.
Cardiomyopathy. This is very serious and happens more frequently in giant breed
dogs. Please read up on this class of diseases because there is more than one kind. It can
happen at any age. We do EKG's on our dogs regularly. An EKG cannot predict the
disease, it can only give you a first indication that it's there. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't
happen until a dog's older. By then, the dog could have produced or sired pups already. A
breeder must know what's in their bloodlines. You need to study up on your pedigrees, ask
questions of other breeders who've been around for awhile, and try to buy dogs where the
disease doesn't surface on a frequent basis. Part of the problem is that some breeders are
not forthright and/or will not disclose the REAL cause of death in their dogs. Another part of
the problem with this breed is that the gene pool is small. To keep the wrinkle and type, you
need to line breed. To keep the dogs healthy, you need to outcross often. If a pup from
us developes cardiomyopathy as a young dog, we'll replace it or pay vet costs related to
the disease up to the purchase price. If it happens to an older dog, we will not replace it.
Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do and it's always fatal. It can also be
unpredictable and can pop up in an otherwise healthy bloodline. Low grade heart murmurs
are less serious and the dog will usually live a normal life.
Anesthesia. Make sure your vet knows how much gas (isoflurane) and valium to give
your puppy or adult dog before surgery. Neapolitans don't need much and because they're
huge, most vets give them more than they need and they die. Ask your breeder for
recommendations. Talk to other people and vets who are experienced with this breed.
Many dogs and puppies have died on the table. Most make it safely through the surgery.
But, on the other hand, some will die even with the correct amounts. Surgery is always a
risk.
- Urine Infections in young females. Female puppies and young females (and
sometimes older females also) are very susceptible to urine, yeast and/or vaginal infections.
Frequent urinating, a green, white or yellow discharge or sometimes just an "infected" odor
of the urine are some of the signs. Some of the causes are because they squat while
urinating and pick up bacteria through the vaginal/urinary tract opening. Sometimes there
are hairs that rub the inner lining of the vaginal/urethral opening. Or the heavy wrinkled
layered skin of the vaginal/urethral opening and the young female not cleaning herself
properly may be the cause. This can cause irritation and/or infection. Also - the urine of any
female mammal needs to be acidic to keep things healthy. Many dog foods today make
their food so that the urine will become anti-acidic. The dog food companies do it to "save"
your lawn from yellow spots. A male mammal can live with less acidic urine but a female
cannot. This can also cause infection in the female. You need to go to your vet and have
the vet diagnose and treat infections with antibiotic therapy. We also add organic apple
cider vinegar as a preventative to the young girls' food to facilitate a more acidic urine.
- Juvenile vaginal/urine infections should be checked by your vet but some vets (my own)
elects not to treat them but to let the dogs try to combat it on their own as it can
sometimes be a part of a normal female puppyhood. If it persists, then he treats it with
antibiotics.
- Bloat. More common in dog breeds with a small "waist" and deep chest. Extremely
serious. There are probably many causes but we may not always know exactly what it was
that made a dog bloat. Sometimes it's a combination of events.
Some of the symptoms: If your puppy or dog is not eating or refuses to eat, has thrown up
and its belly is swelling like a basketball - this is BLOAT! Another symptom with the others is
that the gums of the mouth might look pale pink. Go to the vet immediately - every second
or minute counts if the bloat has just started. And it's very painful for the poor dog. First,
they'll xray the dog to look for what is termed stomach torsion. The stomach has twisted
and has cut off the blood supply. Since nothing can get through the stomach to be
digested, it all starts backing up. First the vomiting. Then the gas in the stomach starts to
build up and this is what makes the dog swell and look bloated like a balloon in the stomach
area. In the surgery, the "dead" part of the stomach/intestines must be removed after the
stomach is "untwisted" by the vet. The stomach is "tacked" to the rib cage wall to prevent
future bloat (but it's not always a guarantee). Sometimes poisons have been released into
the system and the dog/puppy can die anyways. Surgery is the only choice unless you
choose euthanasia. And the surgery is very costly - about $2000 and up. GET
INSURANCE!!! Dogs can be saved if it's caught early. What a shame to put down a dog
because you cannot afford the surgery!
Some causes: This is one of the reasons why we soak the dog's/puppy's dry food. Some
dry dog foods swell up more than others. If the food isn't moistened and allowed to swell
before the dog eats it, it will swell up inside the dog. Sometimes this can be a cause for
bloating. Other causes: STRESS. Pain. Stress and pain. Over eating and then drinking
water. Regular eating and then drinking water. Eating and then playing hard. Gulping
water. Gulping food.
Just be aware of the symptoms. Unfortunately there are times when it has already gone
too far and there's nothing you can do to save the dog. Horribly, it is very painful. Your
vet may administer a strong pain killer so that you can have a few last moments with your
dog before it is euthanised.
- I'm not a vet and I'm not recommending that you do these following procedures. I'm just
relating what I've read and heard from other people. These are extreme measures you can
take if you're especially brave, trained and qualified. This is if you're a long way from a vet.
A tube can be inserted into the stomach (a very long piece of tubing) to relieve the gas. If
you've tube fed a puppy before, it's the same principle. There are some Great Dane
websites that actually sell kits for this procedure. But you still need to get to the vet as fast
as you can!
- Another more risky procedure: I don't even know if I could do this but I know people that
have. They use a large syringe with a long needle. They remove the plunger part of the
syringe. They tap the stomach to feel or hear a hollow area or sound, not a solid area or
solid sound. They're looking for the hollow part of the stomach that's bloated like the
balloon. They're trying to avoid the spleen and other solid areas. Sometimes they use a
stethoscope to facilitate this. They push the syringe into the hollow part and the gas is
released. The dog also has some immediate relief from the pain. There is some bleeding and
they apply pressure to stop it. It's only done to relieve the pain. The dog still has to have
immediate vet care and surgery.
- YUCK! This is why we always soak our dogs' food. We measure it out. We feed them
separately. We withhold water about an hour before and after eating unless it's just a tiny
bit of water. There is no hard playing before or after eating or drinking. We do not let our
dogs drink from the hose outside. We do these things because they're the only things we
can control to possibly prevent bloating.
- If your dog has been under abnormal stress just keep an eye on them. We've had two
dogs that bloated, (knock on wood) one we saved and one we didn't. The one I caught
extremely early. The other was too late. Call me and I'll tell you about it. One was stress
and water related. One of them was stress, pain and water related.
- Pulled Cruciate Ligament: Just as in humans, a pulled cruciate ligament needs surgery
and it's very painful. If left untreated in a young dog it can also cause structural problems
with permanent damage. The surgery is called TPLO. This is the best surgery for a large
breed dog. It's very expensive. $2500 and up. Another excellent reason to carry
insurance on your dog. And it could happen in either or both rear legs. That's two
surgeries. It's basically a twisted knee. Not to be confused with a luxating patella which is a
whole other problem.
- I'll keep adding to this. Oh yes, there's more. Have I talked you out of this
breed yet? Just make sure you buy your dog from a reputable breeder who will mentor
you and help you if something goes wrong. Notify your breeder right away! Also, your
breeder and other knowledgeable owners can tell you stories about vets who've made
mountains out of molehills. Especially in young dogs that are still growing. There are joint
problems that cannot even be diagnosed properly until a young Neo is older. There are
some problems that are more normal for a Neo than other breeds. Always get a 2nd and
even a 3rd opinion before a vet does surgery (except in emergencies like bloat).
Also in young dogs: especially in young giant breed females: the vet can diagnose an
enlarged heart when it isn't. I know of TWO instances where the vets made totally
INCORRECT diagnosis. (two different vets and two different dogs) Both young females
were diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and told the owners that the dogs didn't have much
time to live. Weeks or Months maybe. On one of the dogs, an incorrect xray was taken.
The exposure was wrong for that thickness of the body (people aren't always used to large
dogs). The vet heard a somewhat irregular heartbeat (which could have been from stress)
and paired with the incorrect technique on the chest xray it looked like the lungs were filled
with fluid which is a sign of cardiomyopathy. And the heart was slightly enlarged which
seems to be normal in some young females but this vet didn't know that. The body grows
and eventually catches up and the heart then looks normal. The owner was OUT OF HER
MIND from worrying. She thought her dog wouldsoon be dead. And this was especially
horrible for her because her former dog, a Dogue de Bordeaux, had died of
cardiomyopathy. She took her young female Neo to a heart specialist at a veterinary
teaching hospital at a large university for a 2nd opinion. The dog went through extensive
(non-painful) testing including another xray and a heart ultrasound. First, the chest xray
was completely normal. Correct technique. No fluid. Second, the ultrasound showed that
the heart was normal. They even had the dog wear a cardiac monitor vest for two days
that recorded the EKG rhythms. Normal for a young female dog of her age. (about 5
months old) This girl lived until she was 5.5 years old without a problem. She ended up
dieing from some weird fungal infection in the lung.
- With the 2nd dog, the vet didn't even do an xray - he just diagnosed the cardiomyopathy
all on his own and told the owner that the puppy would have to be euthanised as soon as
possible. The owner contacted the breeder. The breeder took the puppy back and
refunded the money. They took the young female to a specialist. The dog's heart was
normal. End of story. The girl is now about 3 yrs old - still healthy - knock on wood.
Find an experienced vet you can trust!!! Always get a second opinion unless your
vet is a god like mine. Just kidding. My vet is the past president of the vet association here.
He was Vet of the Year for 2010. He's smart enough and humble enough to seek out 2nd
opinions from specialists if he isn't sure about something. He isn't an alarmist. He's very
careful and researches stuff all the time. He never does unnecessary surgeries or
procedures to make more money. His wife is a vet. They own the clinic with another vet.
Then, there are 5 more vets on their staff. There must be 10 or 12 vet techs and students
who do their internships streaming in and out. And he has specialists come in to consult on
various things. He also has visiting vets from other countries that come and work with him
while they're here learning new techniques. He's also the top REPRO vet in our state and
probably the entire region. He networks. I trust him implicitly. I'm lucky. We've been
going there for over 10 years. A breeder friend of mine who bred Bulldogs and Neos
recommended this vet to me and we've been going there ever since. Before that, I went
through 2 other vets with the Neos. One of them said one of my dogs needed surgery in
the "next week" or she'd be a cripple. ??? That dog had gorgeous movement - no limping,
no problems. It was just a screening xray I wanted to have done to check her hips. I then
went to my present vet for the first time. They took the xrays, compared them to the
former vet's xrays and showed me why her hips were normal and how "bad technique" on
the other xrays had botched the diagnosis. He had his consulting orthopedic guy look at
them as well. Normal! She was about 7-8 months old. She became a champion at a big
weekend of shows when she was about 2 years old. Beautiful movement. Almost too good
for a Neo. Great hips. Never had a problem.
- Always get a 2nd opinion. Always contact your breeder before any
treatments. There are enough legitimate problems in these dogs to worry about
without jumping to conclusions on others.
| If a Breeder tells you the Neapolitan Mastiff has little or no health problems, beware - they're just trying to make a quick and easy sale. |
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| Preventive Care for Dogs Gastric Dilatation -- Volvulus (Gastric Torsion, Bloat) Panosteitis in Dogs Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) More coming |
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