Greetings Fellow Pekies,
Monday, and it is once again time for your weekly episode of “Aunty Aggie’s Advice & Information Column.”
In a previous post, Everything You Need to Know About Pekingese Health, we briefly covered various conditions to which Pekingese are generally prone, but in the following weeks we will cover conditions in more depth, some of which are believed to be genetic or inherited.
Today’s discussion covers Cleft Lips/Palates, an inherited condition in which there is an opening between the mouth (oral cavity) and the nose (nasal cavity) that occurs when the tissues separating these two cavities do not grow together properly. This birth defect can occur in the lip (“primary cleft palate”, “cleft lip”, or “harelip”) or along the roof of the mouth (“secondary cleft palate”). Within the mouth, the cleft can extend along the bony portion (hard palate), the flexible portion that is used in swallowing (soft palate), or both.
These conditions are more common in certain breeds including: Beagles, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Boston Terriers, Bull Terriers, Chihuahuas, Cocker Spaniels, Dachshunds, English Bulldogs, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Pekingese, Miniature Schnauzers and Shetland Sheepdogs and Shih Tzus. Dogs with Brachycephalic builds (short muzzled breeds) can have a 30% risk for these defects.
SanSaw Kennels 