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, recognised breeding tests exist.
- Each condition links to a detail page with symptoms and tests.
The most widespread hereditary diseases
- 1Hip dysplasiahigh severity
392 breeds affected
- 2Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)high severity
244 breeds affected
- 3Elbow Dysplasiahigh severity
236 breeds affected
- 4Cataracthigh severity
221 breeds affected
- 5Patellar Luxationmoderate severity
195 breeds affected
- 6Ectropion / Entropionmoderate severity
183 breeds affected
- 7Degenerative Myelopathyvery severe
138 breeds affected
- 8Ocular anomaliesmoderate severity
101 breeds affected
- 9
94 breeds affected
- 10Retinal Dysplasiamoderate severity
90 breeds affected
- 11Lens luxationvery severe
83 breeds affected
- 12Epilepsyvery severe
74 breeds affected
- 13Primary Open-Angle Glaucomahigh severity
71 breeds affected
- 14
68 breeds affected
- 15Corneal dystrophymoderate severity
67 breeds affected
- 16Congenital deafnessmoderate severity
58 breeds affected
- 17Hyperuricosuriamoderate severity
55 breeds affected
- 18Collie eye anomaly (CEA)moderate severity
50 breeds affected
- 19Distichiasismoderate severity
50 breeds affected
- 20Persistent pupillary membranes (PPM)low severity
50 breeds affected
- 21Hypothyroidismmoderate severity
49 breeds affected
- 22Cryptorchidismmoderate severity
47 breeds affected
- 23von Willebrand's diseasemoderate severity
45 breeds affected
- 24Dental abnormalitiesmoderate severity
43 breeds affected
- 25Color Dilution Alopecia (CDA)moderate severity
41 breeds affected
- 26Heart diseasevery severe
40 breeds affected
- 27Optic nerve hypoplasia and micropapillamoderate severity
39 breeds affected
- 28Dilated cardiomyopathyvery severe
37 breeds affected
- 29Cleft palatevery severe
36 breeds affected
- 30Persistent Hyperplastic Tunica Vasculosa Lentis (PHTVL) and Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous (PHPV)high severity
36 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 are very manageable, others can only be eased. That is why prevention through responsible breeding matters so much.
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