Pick a dog with few health problems?

Answer 1

If you are looking for any dog that has the least risk of congenital, developmental or inherited diseases, your best bet is to get the most hybridized cross-bred mutt you can find - your goal should be a dog that even a veterinarian or a shelter worker can't figure out what breeds went into that dog. Every pedigree breed has a list of diseases that members of that pure breed are more likely to get or are more likely to develop. By getting a cross-breed, and preferrably a third generation or further multiple-breed cross-breed or mutt, you reduce the risk of the genes associated with disease from any one breed will be dominant enough to actually cause the disease.

However, this is a probability statement, not a guarantee of risk absence - all dogs, regardless of pedigree and breed background, will have some inherited predispositions to disease that can either be managed or be neglected. Also, dogs are susceptible to a wide variety of Infectious Diseases as well as acquired diseases like Diabetes, which are related to lifestyle.

Answer 2

No specific breed; generally any dog from an irresponsible breeder or with excessive levels of close relatives bred to one another (inbreeding), especially if performed without extensive health clearances first, are the most likely to develop health problems of an inherited nature.

Answer 3

The breed with the least inherited health problems is the mixed breed, also called a mutt or "Heinz 57" dog. This is because most inherited health problems are combinations of genes that tend to be recessive or only carried by a few specific breeds. Therefore, if you cross multiple breeds, you significantly reduce the risk of inherited defects. Also, these dogs tend to be much cheaper and available for adoption from your local dog shelter or humane society.

Every pure bred breed has some level of problems - Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have an inner ear problem that can render them deaf after a few years, Dalmatians can be blind and deaf, German Shepherds tend to have really bad hips, Bulldogs have breathing problems, Boxers have a tendency towards dilated cardiomyopathy, etc. If you research the breed, the breeder(s) and the lineage of the puppy, you will probably get a relatively healthy animal.

Answer 4

there is no such thing as a 'hypoallergenic' animal. All dogs and cats can have dander and all dogs and cats have saliva -- the two things we humans tend to be allergic to.