Overall Affens are healthy pups, their most common issue is hip dysplasia. Here is a list other issues your Affen may encounter:

• Luxating Patella: Luxating simply means out of place or dislocated. Patella is a kneecap. A Luxating patella is a kneecap that chronically moves out of its normal position.
• Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease: This disease occurs at the head of the femur (the ball-and-socket joint) in your dog’s hips. Here, the femur degenerates which can cause the hip to collapse and can cause arthritis.
• Heart Disease: There’s a myriad of causes of heart disease in dogs. Age, health and nutrition all play a vital role. With 95% of heart diseases coming in small dog breeds who are 5 years or older, thinking about preventative care and coverage is smart to do.
• Cataracts: A dog develops a cataract when the lens in its eye clouds. The clouding is caused by changes in the water balance or proteins in the lens.
• Glaucoma: Glaucoma is caused by when the intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye is increased.
• Corneal Ulcers: Cornea is the transparent membrane on the front of the eye. A corneal ulcer, the cornea is damaged.
• Dry Eye: Often observed through your dog’s red eyes, this condition is caused by a dog’s immune system attacking its lacrimal glands, shutting them down.
• Tear Duct Disorders: Often hereditary and breed specific, the tear duct (lacrimal gland) gets blocked.
• Hypothyroidism: The thyroid gland, sitting at the top of the windpipe in the back of the neck, is controlled by the pituitary gland at the base of the brand. Hypothyroidism would cause the metabolism to slow down.
• Cushings Disease: This serious health condition is caused by the adrenal glands overproducing cortisol. Extreme thirst and frequent urinating are common signs.
• Allergies Causing Itchy Skin: Histamine, which is a chemical in the body associated with immune responses, is released during allergic reactions.
• Pyoderma: This is a bacterial skin infection.
• Sebaceous cysts: These are mostly harmless, slow growing bumps under the skin.
• Blood-clotting disease (von Willebrand’s): Caused by a deficiency of von Willebrand factor, a protein in the blood that helps platelets, this disease is a bleeding disorder.
• Liver shunt: The portal vein carrying blood bypasses the liver. While most commonly a birth defect, liver disease such as cirrhosis can also be a cause.
• Hernias: A hernia occurs when contents of the dog’s abdomen pushes through the muscle wall.

While you always hope your pet will live a long and healthy life, it is always a good idea to invest in pet health insurance.

Keeping your dog’s mouth clean and problem free goes a long way to your pup’s overall health. Dental hygiene can be the cause or can be the byproduct of other serious health issues.

Visual inspections can be performed to keep track of the signs of potentially waning oral health. These signs can be anything from bad breath to abnormal chewing to loss of appetite.

Keeping ahead of these warning signs can pay dividends. A preventative approach can delay and stop many of the common dental problems from arising.

Oral health can be tackled in five basic steps:

1. Brushing your dog’s teeth to prevent an undesirable buildup of plaque
2. Feed your dog a diet where the high quality dog food has dental benefits
3. Regularly give your dog dental toys and treats
4. Use mouthwash, to help where brushing misses
5. At the sign of any abnormalities, consult a vet. You can even do it virtually, from the convenience of your home.

Dogs are just like humans in that they can experience anxiety. The degree to which they are susceptible to anxiety and how they deal with anxiety is breed specific. Left unchecked, initial signs of anxiety could give way to an anxiety disorder. The symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to a myriad of behavior issues.

Knowing the signs and symptoms will best equip you to keep ahead of it and to nip it in the bud at the earliest signs. There are options available to help with anxiety.