Excerpts from "The Healthy Bull Terrier" authored by Marilyn Drewes and reprinted with the permission of the BTCA Welfare Foundation. Please copy the following and ask your veterinarian to place it in your dog's hospital file.  Of course, Bull Terriers are subject to the same ailments and health problems as are other breeds of dogs. However, there are a few health problems which seem to occur more frequently in Bull Terriers or are almost unique to Bull Terriers. Bull Terriers, both as puppies and as adults, will swallow just about anything. Being rather stoic dogs, they may not appear very ill for a few days. But a depressed, lethargic, vomiting BT very likely has foreign objects in its gut. Sadly, many bull Terriers are lost because surgical intervention comes too late. Chunks of blanket, socks, underwear, various forms of plastic (particularly plastic toys), rubber, metal screening, and stones are a few of the items which have been removed from BTs. Delay can be fatal, so get your dog to your vet fast! For many years it has been recognized that the Bull Terrier breed has a tendency to develop kidney problems, sometimes at a very early age. In some lines, the kidneys are very small and undeveloped. In others, glomerular nephritis (malfunction of tiny filters in the kidney) causes kidney failure before age three. Sometimes affected dogs make it to age 6-8 before dying from renal failure. In an attempt to try to decrease the incidence of kidney disease in the breed or to get treatment for animals in early stages of disease, it is recommended that a simple urine test called the urine protein/urine creatinine ratio be done annually - particularly on all breeding stock - beginning at about 18 months to 2 years of age. Breeders are asked not to breed animals with an abnormal UP/UC ratio. An abnormal ratio indicates too much protein in the urine. Such dogs are more likely to develop kidney disease themselves or to produce puppies with kidney problems. [an immune problem associated with Zinc deficiency] This appears to be peculiar to the Bull Terrier breed. The disorder is recognizable in young puppies who are sometimes referred to as "Zinkies". Some die shortly after birth because they are too lethargic to nurse. Others do fairly well until weaning. When they are no longer receiving antibodies from their mothers, they tend to develop skin lesions, particularly between the toes and on the muzzle. Some also have difficulty eating solid foods because the roof of the mouth is domed and has deeper than normal ridges. The food gets stuck, so puppies have to be hand fed a finely ground, gruel-type food. Their growth rate slows so that they become runty looking compared to their litter mates. In some pups there may be what seem to be neurologic peculiarities such as abnormal gait (hindquarters particularly) or inability to wag the tail. Nasty, rage-like temperaments may been seen in these puppies. Changes in coat color occur, with black coat or black patches tending to turn brownish. If not put down, these puppies usually succumb to infection. Affected pups are thought to have inherited a pair of recessive genes for this trait. This means that both parents carry the gene. Some Bull Terriers, particularly white Bull Terriers, may suffer from severe skin problems. Possibly there is a connection between faults with the immune system and this severe dermatitis. Some dogs respond well to dietary changes to more natural-type foods with few or no chemical additives. Others may require long-term treatment with antibiotics and/or steroids. Some Bull Terriers chase their tails. In the mild form, this seems to be related to boredom or to stress of some kind. Some spin around in circles a few times when they are excited. Usually this is not a serious problem and can be remedied by removing the cause of the boredom and stress. A much more serious form of tail chasing is called spinning. This usually begins at about 6 months of age. The dog is obsessed by its tail and may circle for hours. It loses interest in food and water. All attempts to get the dog to stop this behavior fail. Sometimes the dog yelps while spinning and may even attempt to bite its interfering owner. In the past, most of these spinners were eventually put down. Even amputating the tail does not help! Over the past few years, a research project at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine suggests that spinning is form of seizure. Most spinning dogs respond to treatment with phenobarbital either alone or in conjunction with other medications. Some of the less severe cases do well on anti-obsessive drugs such as Anafranil or Prozak. It is interesting that treatment of spinning Bull Terriers has been more successful in females than males. Incidents of unexplained aggression toward human members of its own family by a dog which usually behaves normally may signify rage. A Bull Terrier with rage is an extremely frightening and dangerous dog. The episodes are usually unpredictable. Some owners claim that the dog gets a glazed look in its eyes before a "spell". Rage is presently considered to be another seizure-type disorder. Some of the severe spinners develop rage-like symptoms as the spinning becomes worse. Prognosis is poor. It is important not to confuse dominance aggression with rage. Whereas dominance aggression is a behavioral problem which can often be overcome by correct training and proper handling, rage is apparently a neurological dysfunction which does not seem to respond to training. A few Bull Terriers develop grand mal type epileptic seizures. If a dog has the form of epilepsy which seems to be inherited, seizures usually begin between the ages of 6 to 18 months. Although the seizures may be controlled somewhat by medication, the prognosis is not good. Affected Bull Terriers seem to survive only a year or two after onset of the disease. Also, prolonged dosage with the drug phenobarbital may cause severe liver damage which is fatal. Some bull Terriers have heart problems which may be hereditary. There are various kinds of heart murmurs caused by different structural problems in the heart. Some are more serious than others and are roughly graded from grade 1 to grade 6. The veterinarian may detect a heart murmur in a puppy. Often, puppies outgrow minor murmurs such as a grade 1. However, if the murmur is more serious or if a minor murmur becomes worse, the veterinarian may recommend further diagnostic tests such as cardiac ultrasound. Defects in heart structure and function are potentially life threatening, although some BTs live with their heart murmurs for many years. Needless to say, dogs with heart defects should not be bred. Hereditary deafness in Bull Terriers may have entered the breed from crosses of the 19th century dogs with the now extinct White English Terrier. Or years ago there may have been crosses with Dalmatians which today seem to have the highest incidence of hereditary deafness. It is not yet clear exactly how deafness is inherited. It was once thought to be caused by a simple recessive gene, but more likely there are several pairs of genes involved, some of which may be dominant genes. All Bull Terrier puppies should be tested for deafness by the BAER test. A veterinarian or your Bull Terrier club should be able to help you find the nearest BAER testing facility (your closest veterinary school or clinics held by the BTCA or your regional club). Each ear is tested separately. Most BTs have normal hearing in both ears. Some whites are deaf in both ears (bilaterally deaf) while some whites AND COLOREDS are deaf in one ear (unilaterally deaf). Until recently, it was not understood that colored BTs could be unilaterally deaf. It is unlikely that a colored will be bilaterally deaf since there seems to be a linkage with genes for white color, whereas a colored BT has only one gene for white or, if a solid colored BT, no white gene. Even animals with normal hearing can produce puppies which are deaf in one ear if there are deaf BTs among their ancestors. Bull Terriers which are deaf in one ear seem to lead fairly normal lives. The most obvious difference from a normal dog is their difficulty in determining the direction of sound. A unilaterally deaf pup may seem bewildered as he tries to figure out where a sound is coming from. No doubt such puppies have been in the breed for many years. The BAER test makes their identification possible. This is an electronic test which measures the electrical activity along the nerves connecting the ear with the brain. If there is no electrical activity, no sound is getting through. The letters BAER stand for "brainstem auditory evoked response." References:
Interpretation of Urine Protein-Creatinine Ratios in Dogs With Glomerular
and
Nonglomerular
Disorders:
Seizure-related Disorders: Dr. Nicholas Dodman,
Lethal Acrodermatitis in Bull Terriers; Jezyk, PF et al.;
BAER Testing: George M. Strain, Ph.D., School of Veterinary Medicine,
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