Finnish Lapphund Health
Finnish Lapphunds are a relatively healthy breed with few known health concerns. The average lifespan of a Lappie is around 12-15 years, although it is not uncommon to hear of Lappies reaching ages of 16-17 years!
Breeders across the globe perform a number of routine health checks on their Lappies prior to their inclusion into breeding programs and responsible, ethical breeders will do everything they can to make the most informed breeding decisions based on these results. We are constantly researching the latest health information from laboratories within Australia and around the world and collaborating with Lappie breeders worldwide to ensure we are not only breeding healthy dogs, but also limiting the incidence of genetic disorders for our future generations.
Breeders across the globe perform a number of routine health checks on their Lappies prior to their inclusion into breeding programs and responsible, ethical breeders will do everything they can to make the most informed breeding decisions based on these results. We are constantly researching the latest health information from laboratories within Australia and around the world and collaborating with Lappie breeders worldwide to ensure we are not only breeding healthy dogs, but also limiting the incidence of genetic disorders for our future generations.
What does this mean as a potential owner?
When looking for a puppy, potential owners should be able to ask their breeder to provide the following standard health information on the parents, if these are not available, proceed with caution as these are the minimum expected requirements before undertaking breeding:
- Hip Score results (For overseas dogs, breeders may not have access to official reports like below. Results are however available on public databases in the country of origin
- Elbow X-ray results (For overseas dogs, as above, but also note they may not always available for overseas dogs as it isn’t a routine test)
- A recent ACES Eye Certificate (within 2 years or 12 months before a mating)
- Confirmed prcd-PRA Status of 'Clear' or 'Carrier' (either CBP ‘Clear By Parentage’ or through a direct genetic test)
- Pompes Status of 'Clear' or 'Carrier' (either CBP ‘Clear By Parentage’ or through a direct genetic test)
Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
Hip Dysplasia is poor formation of the hip joint which results in early degeneration, it appears in most breeds of dogs, larger breeds suffering more than small-medium sized breeds and can result in pain and discomfort from a very early age. As well as a genetic link, studies have proven that environmental factors can also play a large part in the development of hip dysplasia. Breeders caution puppy owners to take great care, especially during the first 12 months of their dogs life when it comes to running/jumping, walking on slippery surfaces, and racing up and down stairs. It’s advised to let your dog run under their own pace, rather than letting them undertake dog sports such as lure coursing (as an example) as a puppies growth plates do not finish closing until they are around 18 months old. Repetitive, early strain in this way can have an impact on the formation of the hip/elbow joints, which can lead to symptoms of dysplasia and arthritis, so it’s recommended to wait until the are fully mature before engaging in these types of exercises.
The basic aim of Hip and Elbow scoring is to effectively look for signs of degeneration, dysplasia and disease within the hip/elbow joint. Within Australia we have a scheme known as CHEDS ‘Canine Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Scheme’; Between the age of 12 months – 2 years old, an x-ray is taken (usually under general anesthetic), looking for any abnormal signs around the hip and elbow joints. These x-rays are sent off to a specialist reader who is looking for a snug fit between the ball and socket of the hip joint, amongst other things, and will provide an overall score.
Breeders are provided a copy of the ‘score’ for the x-rays, which lists the marks given in each area of the hip/elbow joints. Within Australia, they are generally written as double figures, signifying ‘left’ and ‘right’ for hips and the same for elbows (2/5 for example but sometimes these numbers can be joined together and written as a total of 7) dogs scored overseas can be written as a single letter.
The best results you can get for hips are 0/0 or A, and the worst results are 53/53 or E. For Elbows, the best result is 0/0 and the worst score is a 3/3.
The current breed average is 11.07 taken from the most recent data available on the ORCHID website for 2024.
The basic aim of Hip and Elbow scoring is to effectively look for signs of degeneration, dysplasia and disease within the hip/elbow joint. Within Australia we have a scheme known as CHEDS ‘Canine Hip and Elbow Dysplasia Scheme’; Between the age of 12 months – 2 years old, an x-ray is taken (usually under general anesthetic), looking for any abnormal signs around the hip and elbow joints. These x-rays are sent off to a specialist reader who is looking for a snug fit between the ball and socket of the hip joint, amongst other things, and will provide an overall score.
Breeders are provided a copy of the ‘score’ for the x-rays, which lists the marks given in each area of the hip/elbow joints. Within Australia, they are generally written as double figures, signifying ‘left’ and ‘right’ for hips and the same for elbows (2/5 for example but sometimes these numbers can be joined together and written as a total of 7) dogs scored overseas can be written as a single letter.
The best results you can get for hips are 0/0 or A, and the worst results are 53/53 or E. For Elbows, the best result is 0/0 and the worst score is a 3/3.
The current breed average is 11.07 taken from the most recent data available on the ORCHID website for 2024.
Eye Screening
While prcd-PRA is the main eye concern (information below), there are a few rarer diseases that can affect the eyes of a dog. These issues are not just isolated to Finnish Lapphunds, but appear in a lot of other breeds of dog as well.
In Australia there is a national scheme known as ACES (Australian Canine Eye Scheme) which is endorsed by the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) and also Dogs Australia (formerly known as the ANKC). Breeders are advised to have their dogs eyes checked every 18months-2 years by a qualified, registered ACES eye specialist.
The aim of the scheme is to try to minimise the chances of passing on painful or vision-threatening eye conditions from one generation to the next, through regular screening. It also provides a way for breeders to have whole litters checked by a qualified eye specialist before sending them to their forever homes. Within Australia, the Finnish Lapphund breed has a good reputation for doing all the right things when it comes to ACES eye exams.
In Australia there is a national scheme known as ACES (Australian Canine Eye Scheme) which is endorsed by the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) and also Dogs Australia (formerly known as the ANKC). Breeders are advised to have their dogs eyes checked every 18months-2 years by a qualified, registered ACES eye specialist.
The aim of the scheme is to try to minimise the chances of passing on painful or vision-threatening eye conditions from one generation to the next, through regular screening. It also provides a way for breeders to have whole litters checked by a qualified eye specialist before sending them to their forever homes. Within Australia, the Finnish Lapphund breed has a good reputation for doing all the right things when it comes to ACES eye exams.
When attending an ACES exam, the diseases the ophthalmologist is looking for signs of include:
- Hereditary Cataracts (HC) - The lens of an eye is usually clear and focuses light on to the retina. A cataract is an opacity (cloudiness) in the lens, usually white, which scatters the light. The level of impact on vision can vary according to the size of the cataract (varying from miniscule to affecting the total lens) and its location on the lens. There are many forms of cataracts with a variety of causes, some of these have been determined to be hereditary. In the Finnish Lapphund, there are two main types of cataracts deemed to be hereditary, the posterior polar cataract and the cortical cataract.
- Persistent Hyperplastic Tunica Vasculosa Lentis (PHTVL) and Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV) -These two conditions are congenital eye anomalies, which affect the lens of the eye. When the eye is developing in utero, a system of blood vessels coats the lens, feeding the eye structure during its development. In normal development, these blood vessels break down prior to birth and disappear without a trace, but in these conditions the blood vessels remain beyond birth and can interfere with the dog’s sight. The severity of the condition is graded from 1 to 6. As a matter of caution, the Lapphund Club of Finland advises that only dogs with a Grade 1 or 2 should be bred from. The condition is known to be hereditary in other breeds, but no research has been done regarding Finnish Lapphunds.
- Persistent Pupillary Membrane (PPM) - The pupillary membrane covers the puppy’s pupil during its foetal development. Normally, this membrane completely dissolves before the puppy is born, but sometimes small strands of the membrane can still remain. They can disappear over time, but if they don’t, the puppy is said to have PPM (Persistent Pupillary Membrane).
- Retinal Dysplasia (RD) - There are three forms of retinal dysplasia, which are all types of abnormal development of the eye's retina, present at birth. While these conditions may be hereditary, they can also be the result of a viral infection or some other event prior to birth. The three types of Retinal Dysplasia are listed below, along with the breeding recommendations from the Lapphund Club of Finland
- Glaucoma - Glaucoma is a disease in which the pressure within the eye, called intraocular pressure (IOP), is increased. In short, the eye is filled with a nutritious goop (aqueous humor) that feeds and oxygenates the structures of the eye. During normal operation, this fluidy goop is constantly created and drained from the eye between the cornea and the iris. This area is called the iridocorneal angle, the filtration angle, or the drainage angle. Whilst production and drainage are equal, everything is fine. When the drainage angle changes and fluid isn't able to freely drain, pressure builds inside the eye, which causes a whole swathe of very dangerous and uncomfortable flow on effects to the dog.
Progressive rod-cone degeneration - Progressive Retinal Atrophy
(prcd-PRA)
In basic terms PRA is a non painful, inherited disease that causes blindness in dogs. Progressive rod-cone degeneration (or prcd) is the most common form of PRA found to occur in Finnish Lapphunds and many other breeds of dog. It is a late onset type of PRA with clinical signs generally appearing around 5-8 years old, beginning with loss of night vision and gradually a complete loss of day vision. It's important to explain that we can only genetically screen for this one particular type of PRA, while others have rarely occurred in the breed, the form of inheritance is not yet understood.
Lucky for breeders, prcd-PRA has a recessive inheritance meaning there is a simple way to avoid this disease through genetic testing! Recessive inheritance means that a dog will inherit one gene from each of its parents, either a 'Normal' or an 'Abnormal' one, with a dog requiring TWO abnormal genes in order to inherit this disease .There are 3 possible outcomes for any Lappie tested:
Registered breeders within Australia will only perform two types of matings, Clear x Clear (all resulting puppies will be Cleared by Parentage) or a Clear x Carrier (50% of the resulting puppies will be Clear and 50% Carriers with individual statuses confirmed via DNA test ). There should never be an affected prcd-PRA pup born from registered breeders who screen for prcd-PRA.
For the average pet person, whether you have a puppy who is a carrier or clear will make absolutely no difference, this information is only important to breeders for making future decisions on matings. We routinely and responsibly use prcd-PRA carriers in our breeding program.
Lucky for breeders, prcd-PRA has a recessive inheritance meaning there is a simple way to avoid this disease through genetic testing! Recessive inheritance means that a dog will inherit one gene from each of its parents, either a 'Normal' or an 'Abnormal' one, with a dog requiring TWO abnormal genes in order to inherit this disease .There are 3 possible outcomes for any Lappie tested:
- Normal or 'Clear' Both parents passed on normal genes, this dog will only be able to pass on the normal gene to its offspring. It will not develop prcd-PRA.
- Carrier One parent passed on a normal gene and the other an abnormal gene, this dog will be able to pass on either a normal or abnormal gene to its offspring. It will not develop prcd-PRA
- Affected Both parents passed on an abnormal gene, this dog will only be able to pass on the abnormal gene to its offspring. There is a very high chance this dog will develop prcd-PRA later on in life.
Registered breeders within Australia will only perform two types of matings, Clear x Clear (all resulting puppies will be Cleared by Parentage) or a Clear x Carrier (50% of the resulting puppies will be Clear and 50% Carriers with individual statuses confirmed via DNA test ). There should never be an affected prcd-PRA pup born from registered breeders who screen for prcd-PRA.
For the average pet person, whether you have a puppy who is a carrier or clear will make absolutely no difference, this information is only important to breeders for making future decisions on matings. We routinely and responsibly use prcd-PRA carriers in our breeding program.
Glycogen Storage Disease II
(GSDII, also referred to as 'Pompe Disease'
Glycogen Storage Disease II (GSDII), or Pompes disease, has been reported in humans and different animal species, such as Japanese quails, cats, sheep and dogs. Canine glycogen storage disease is known to affect Lapponian dog breeds, such as the Finnish and Swedish Lapphunds and the Lapponian Herder.
Pompes disease is an inherited disorder caused by the buildup of a complex sugar called glycogen in the body's cells. The accumulation of glycogen in certain organs and tissues, especially muscles, impairs their ability to function normally.
First clinical signs in affected dogs are observable at around 6 months of age. The symptoms include poor growth, vomiting, progressive muscular weakness, condition loss, heart disease, and myocardial hypertrophy. Due to severity of symptoms, death occurs before 2 years of age in affected dogs, or euthanasia is required.
Just like prcd-PRA above, GSDII has a recessive inheritance, so through genetic testing and screening of dogs, we can easily avoid this disease. Dogs will have one of three possible genetic outcomes:
Pompes disease is an inherited disorder caused by the buildup of a complex sugar called glycogen in the body's cells. The accumulation of glycogen in certain organs and tissues, especially muscles, impairs their ability to function normally.
First clinical signs in affected dogs are observable at around 6 months of age. The symptoms include poor growth, vomiting, progressive muscular weakness, condition loss, heart disease, and myocardial hypertrophy. Due to severity of symptoms, death occurs before 2 years of age in affected dogs, or euthanasia is required.
Just like prcd-PRA above, GSDII has a recessive inheritance, so through genetic testing and screening of dogs, we can easily avoid this disease. Dogs will have one of three possible genetic outcomes:
- Normal or 'Clear' Both parents passed on normal or clear genes, this dog will only be able to pass on normal/clear genes to its offspring. It will not develop GSDII.
- Carrier One parent passed on a normal/clear gene and the other an abnormal gene, this dog will be able to pass on either a normal/clear or abnormal gene to its offspring. It will not develop GSDII.
- Affected Both parents passed on an abnormal gene, this dog will only be able to pass on the abnormal gene to its offspring. There is a very high chance this dog will develop GSDII.
Other Ailments and Diseases
Finnish Lapphunds are quite a healthy breed on the whole. The disease outlined above are, for the most part, relatively low in incidence due to the advent of DNA testing and thoughtful breeding practices. Lapphunds are known however to be susceptible to other diseases not specific to just Lapphunds, but dogs on the whole.
Epilepsy is one of these and can appear in certain dogs, but the jury is out on its mode of inheritance. Epilepsy is a tough one to diagnose, and laboratories have yet to be successful in finding a genetic link or marker. There are many external factors at play and many different types of epilepsy that present and it can be triggered by anything from low blood sugar to chemical sprays from councils or local gardeners, diet or exposure, through to more severe cases like tumours or repetitive episodes triggering relapses due to injury. There's a lot to unpack and science is still catching up, but for the most part it's not a common problem in the breed.
Other diseases such as Addisons, Lupus, Thyroid problems, Cushings, Allergies have in the past, been reported in small numbers in Lapphund populations around the world.
The Finnish Lapphund Club of Finland has a great database which lists all the health ailments of all Finnish Lapphunds registered in Finland and some overseas dogs too (provided breeders send in their information). Not all of the information for each dog is public, some are restricted, but you can still access the health data through the breeding committee in Finland (just with names blanked out). Since 1990, there have been around 35000 Finnish Lapphunds born and registered in Finland alone, the health database goes back further again, and when you include the number of overseas dogs in those calculations, you start to realise just how healthy the breed is in the grand scheme of things.
Epilepsy is one of these and can appear in certain dogs, but the jury is out on its mode of inheritance. Epilepsy is a tough one to diagnose, and laboratories have yet to be successful in finding a genetic link or marker. There are many external factors at play and many different types of epilepsy that present and it can be triggered by anything from low blood sugar to chemical sprays from councils or local gardeners, diet or exposure, through to more severe cases like tumours or repetitive episodes triggering relapses due to injury. There's a lot to unpack and science is still catching up, but for the most part it's not a common problem in the breed.
Other diseases such as Addisons, Lupus, Thyroid problems, Cushings, Allergies have in the past, been reported in small numbers in Lapphund populations around the world.
The Finnish Lapphund Club of Finland has a great database which lists all the health ailments of all Finnish Lapphunds registered in Finland and some overseas dogs too (provided breeders send in their information). Not all of the information for each dog is public, some are restricted, but you can still access the health data through the breeding committee in Finland (just with names blanked out). Since 1990, there have been around 35000 Finnish Lapphunds born and registered in Finland alone, the health database goes back further again, and when you include the number of overseas dogs in those calculations, you start to realise just how healthy the breed is in the grand scheme of things.