The Most Common Hereditary Dog Diseases
These inherited conditions affect the most dog breeds — ranked, with severity and a link to every affected breed.
Key takeaways
Some inherited diseases appear across very many breeds. Knowing them lets you ask a breeder for exactly the right tests.
- The ranking shows the conditions affecting the most breeds.
- For most of these conditions, recognized breeding tests exist.
- Each condition links to a detail page with symptoms and tests.
The most widespread hereditary diseases
- 1Hip dysplasiahigh severity
380 breeds affected
- 2Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)high severity
234 breeds affected
- 3Elbow Dysplasiahigh severity
229 breeds affected
- 4Cataracthigh severity
224 breeds affected
- 5Patellar Luxationmoderate severity
191 breeds affected
- 6Ectropion / Entropionmoderate severity
185 breeds affected
- 7Degenerative Myelopathyvery severe
117 breeds affected
- 8Eye conditions (ophthalmological eye exam)high severity
114 breeds affected
- 9
91 breeds affected
- 10Retinal Dysplasiamoderate severity
91 breeds affected
- 11Lens luxationvery severe
82 breeds affected
- 12Epilepsyvery severe
77 breeds affected
- 13Primary Open-Angle Glaucomahigh severity
68 breeds affected
- 14Corneal dystrophymoderate severity
67 breeds affected
- 15
65 breeds affected
- 16Congenital deafnessmoderate severity
60 breeds affected
- 17Hyperuricosuriamoderate severity
52 breeds affected
- 18Distichiasismoderate severity
51 breeds affected
- 19Hypothyroidismmoderate severity
50 breeds affected
- 20Persistent pupillary membranes (PPM)low severity
50 breeds affected
- 21Collie eye anomaly (CEA)moderate severity
47 breeds affected
- 22Cryptorchidismmoderate severity
47 breeds affected
- 23Dental abnormalitiesmoderate severity
43 breeds affected
- 24Progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD-PRA)high severity
42 breeds affected
- 25Heart diseasevery severe
40 breeds affected
- 26Optic nerve hypoplasia and micropapillamoderate severity
39 breeds affected
- 27Dilated cardiomyopathyvery severe
37 breeds affected
- 28Cleft palatevery severe
36 breeds affected
- 29Persistent Hyperplastic Tunica Vasculosa Lentis (PHTVL) and Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV)high severity
36 breeds affected
- 30Gastric dilatation-volvulusvery severe
35 breeds affected
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common hereditary disease in dogs?
Among the most widespread are skeletal conditions such as hip dysplasia (HD) and various eye conditions. The current ranking by number of affected breeds is above.
Can hereditary diseases be detected before buying?
For many of them there are tests on the parents — X-rays, eye exams or DNA tests. A good breeder presents these results.
Are hereditary diseases curable?
It depends on the condition. Some can be treated well, others can only be eased. That is why prevention through responsible breeding matters so much.
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