Cerebellar Ataxia is a neurological disease, common in our breed. The first signs of the disease usually appear between the ages of 3 and 5 years in sufferers. Symptoms include loss of balance, difficulty coordinating, and falling while shaking the head. The disease is progressive and there is no cure. When these dogs are no longer able to walk, only through repeated trial and error, owners usually make the difficult choice to have their dog euthanized.

Ataxia is a hereditary disease. This means that a dog that gets 2 defective copies (1 from each parent) of the coined gene can develop the disease. Ataxia is easy to test by having a DNA test done by a vet. In France there is a specialized lab that carries out these tests.

There are 3 possible results:

– Ataxia free (this dog will never develop and/or pass on the disease)

– Ataxia carrier (this dog will never develop the disease, but could possibly

pass on if he/she is bred with another carrier of this gene)

– Ataxia sufferer (this dog will develop the disease and may also pass it on)

The table below shows the probabilities for each of the various combinations

pup to be clear/carrier or sufferer..

As you can see in the above list it is completely safe to breed with two ataxia free dogs breed. This is also our absolute preference. But also with an ataxia free and an ataxia carrier can you breed without sick puppies being born. We are certainly not against that, an ataxia carrier can have many other health/behavioral benefits. For improvement of the breed it can certainly be an added value without sick puppies being born.

HD is a developmental disorder of the brain, determined by hereditary factors and external influenceship joints. Some dogs experience severe discomfort and may go limping. However, there are also dogs with HD that do not seem to be bothered by it. In general the better the hips of the parent animals, the smaller the chance that the offspring will develop HD. It is in no way a guarantee that offspring of negatively rated dogs will also be negative, the chance is just bigger.

In the first year of life in particular, you have to be very careful about putting a burden on the dog. The bones are not yet fully developed and overloading can lead to HD. HD is officially tested using an x-ray of the hip joints. These photos are made by a veterinarian and sent to Sint Hubertus for assessment. These give the certificate with the results.

The HD examination is for all American Staffordshire Terriers that have been used for breeding since July 1, 2008 are required in Belgium. The minimum age for this study is 12 months.

Dogs with HD/A and HD/B result may be used for breeding, dogs with HD/C may only be used if they are bred with a dog with HD/A or HD/B result. For dogs with HD/D and HD /E result it is forbidden to breed with it. These days, dogs with HD can have a great pain-free life. In some cases it can even be cured A good treatment plan is important here. The treatment is based, among others on medication, exercise, nutrition, surgery.

The ED study focuses on 4 different disorders of the elbow joint, which however, all can eventually lead to joint deformity and lameness. They are developmental disorders, especially of the cartilage in joints that arise under the influence of hereditary and other factors.

Some dogs can already experience serious problems at a young age. In others, the serious deformities in the joint will only lead to lameness at a later age.

ED is officially tested using an x-ray of the elbow joints. These photos are taken by a vet and sent to Sint Hubertus for assessment. They give the certificate with the results.

The ED test is not mandatory for the American Staffordshire Terrier. The official test can only take place place at 18 months of age.

The following results are possible:

Free

Border case

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

In general, the better the elbows of the parents, the smaller the chance that the offspring will develop ED. It is by no means a guarantee that offspring of negatively assessed dogs will also be negative; the chance is just higher.

The treatment of ED depends, among other things, on the nature and severity of the abnormality, the severity of the complaints, the age of the dog and any (complicating) arthritic changes. Surgical treatment is often required. Osteoarthritis itself cannot be treated surgically, not the symptom, but the cause.

Heart defects are quite common with dogs. Heart defects can be hereditary, congenital or obtained. Older dogs in particular often suffer from a leaky heart valve or an abnormality of the heart muscle.

To prevent a hereditary abnormality, an ultrasound scan of the heart can be made. This is used to view the heart with an ultrasound. The size of all rooms is measured. It is also checked whether there are constrictions or leaks.

The symptoms of heart disease can be very minor in the beginning and therefore difficult to recognize. However, as time passes, the conditions can become more serious. These symptoms occur because fluid accumulates or because the vital organs are not supplied with blood and therefore oxygen.

Symptoms can include:

– Lethargy

– Poor appetite

– Weight loss

– Heavy breathing

– Cough

– Weakness

– Pass out

– Distended abdomen

In case of these symptoms, always contact your vet for further investigation.

Grass Allergy:

This is probably the most common allergy among the Amstaff. The symptoms are minor red spots, usually on the abdomen. It is a seasonal problem (usually spring). Most amstaffs grow out of this on their own once they have built up enough resistance The dog itself will not be bothered by it. An aggressive treatment does more harm than good. It is only necessary to intervene in serious cases.

Food Allergy:

In many problems, this is quickly identified as the underlying cause. Unfortunately people do not point to the grains and corn in the diet, which undermine the resistance of many dogs, but to an allergy to certain protein sources (eg chicken).

Hypo-allergenic feed is then a first step in the treatment, but hypo-allergenic feed does not eliminate the grains and corn, but the proteins in this feed are artificially broken down to such an extent made that the body no longer recognizes them. The danger of this method is that this proteins travel through the body as free radicals due to this property, and can give an increased risk of tumors.

Demodex:

The demodex mite is an external parasite that all dogs basically carry. They get these transferred at a very young age, at a later age normally no more infections take place The dog has a natural resistance that the population of this parasite at a low level. Reducing that resistance can result in a multiplication of the parasite that leads to problems.

The most obvious symptoms are hair loss, red skin, sometimes pigmentation (dark coloring) and flaking. The cause of this problem always lies in the resistance and the best treatment is therefore aimed at restoring the resistance and preferably not at combating the parasite itself.

The lack of resistance can have a number of causes:

– Hereditary, this is the most stubborn form and the most difficult to combat

– Age, which means that the resistance is still building up and not yet sufficiently up to standard

is (as with childhood diseases) In young dogs, in the case of limited complaints, it may therefore be best to do nothing and wait to see whether the resistance reaches a level of its own where the complaints disappear.

– Hormone changes (for example during the heat)

– Other conditions such as infection, allergies, etc., which undermine the general resistance.

– External causes such as poor nutrition, use of medication (antibiotics)

Ways to support the resistance:

– Good nutrition

– Probiotics

Only if the situation deteriorates very much may it be necessary to resort to means that kill the parasites themselves However, these agents are very toxic and therefore have a negative effect on the dog’s resistance.