Health

Manchesters and health matters

As a breed, the Manchester Terrier is a very healthy dog, with a cast iron constitution, which roughly translates as they can eat everything and will happily do so. This also means that Manchesters can easily gain weight and is something that needs to be kept in check.

There is a genetic disorder known in the breed and tested for which is Type 1 Von Willebrands Disease (vWD), a genetically inherited bleeding disorder, similar to haemophilia in humans. Type 1 is the mildest form of the disorder and affects both dogs and bitches equally. It is unknown of any Manchester, affected or carrier, to have ever suffered complications as a result of carrying the vWD gene. A simple DNA test, approved by The Kennel Club, will show whether a Manchester is an affected, a carrier or clear. Two clear parents will only ever have clear offspring.

At Mansiya, all our dogs are either tested vWD clear or born hereditarily clear and we aim to use only vWD clear dogs in our breeding programme. There has been some research which appears to have found a link between dogs born from a parent with vWD who, despite being clear its self, may have a predisposition to immune problems such as thyroid issues.

The Kennel Club publish a list showing tested Manchester Terriers which can be found at www.thekennelclub.org.uk Manchesters generally live a good long life, usually well into their mid teens.