Juvenile Cataracts
Same like humans, cataract in dogs lead to impaired vision and blindness, due to clouding of an area on the eye lens or the whole lens. If it affects the whole eye, it would result in blindness. Juvenile Cataracts occur in early stages life.
Cherry Eye
As the name suggested, dogs with a cherry eye have red colored gland in the corner of their eye that looks a little like a cherry. The gland pops out and is visible because of the weakening of the tissue holding the tear glands of the third eyelid in place. The tear gland can become irritated and infected or even cease to function. This problem can be corrected with a simple surgery.
Hip Dysplasia
This is a genetic condition in which the thighbone doesn’t fit securely into the hip joint. It can cause pain and lameness and also leads to arthritis in older dogs.
Patella Luxation (Slipping Kneecap)
Kneecaps that slip in and out of position is a a common problem in small dogs, resulting in an unusual walk, lameness and leading to arthritis.
Legg-Calve-Perthes (LCP)
This condition happens when the ball of the hip joint is damaged due to lack of blood supply. It usually occurs between 5 to 12 months, your dog begins to limp and feel pain, eventually leading to arthritis.
Liver Shunts
A liver shunt happens when blood bypasses the liver and goes directly to the heart. Therefore, the toxin in the blood could not be cleaned builds up, causing neurological signs. Symptoms include poor appetite, lethargy, depression, weakness, and lack of balance, blindness seizures, and coma will begin before 6 months of age. Kidney problems may accompany the disorder. Special diets and surgery may be necessary.
Chondrodysplasia
Even though this issue is more common in breeds that have been deliberately breed down from a larger size, it is being seen in the Havanese breed. Affected dogs will have short limbs that appear to stick out to the side and can range in severity from nearly normal to lameness to crippling. Dogs with this condition should not be bred.
Deafness
This is a Havanese health problem that has been recently identified within the breed and is a major problem for dogs and their owners.
