Silken Windhound

A mutation in the ABCB1 gene, still widely called MDR1, that stops the brain clearing certain drugs - so a normal dose of some wormers, anti-diarrheals such as loperamide, sedatives such as acepromazine and butorphanol, and several chemotherapy agents builds up and causes severe neurological harm. It runs at a meaningful rate in Silken Windhounds. A cheap cheek-swab DNA test from Washington State University's veterinary lab or an equivalent gives a clear/carrier/affected result; put that result in the file, tell every vet and every emergency clinic before any sedation or worming, and the drug choice simply changes. Carriers matter too, not only affected dogs.

An inherited fault in how the tissue behind the retina develops, present in the breed and DNA testable. Most affected dogs have the mild form and see normally for life; a minority develop retinal detachment or blindness. Both parents should have DNA results, and puppies are best checked by an ophthalmologist.

A rare lethal defect named in this breed, where newborn puppies are born with the hind legs folded into a cross-legged position and do not survive. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania link the condition to fetal akinesia deformation sequence in people. There is no DNA test yet, so breeders manage the risk through pedigrees - an honest breeder will talk about whether the litter's lines have produced a case.

The immune system attacks the thyroid, and the gland gradually fails - weight gain, coat loss, flaky skin and low energy in a middle-aged dog. A blood panel diagnoses the problem and a daily tablet costing a few dollars a month controls it. Breeding stock should be panel tested rather than screened once as a puppy.

Degenerative mitral valve disease and the occasional congenital ventricular septal defect both turn up in the breed. Yearly listening to the chest catches a new murmur, and an echocardiogram sorts a harmless finding from one that needs medication.

Not a disease, but the thing most likely to cause trouble. Sighthounds carry little body fat and clear some anesthetics slowly, and their normal bloodwork differs from the textbook - a higher packed cell volume, a lower thyroid reading, and in this breed a naturally low serum ALT that can be misread. A vet familiar with sighthounds, or a printed reference range on the file, prevents a healthy dog from being treated for a problem they do not have.