Hereditary necrotising myelopathy (ENM)
ENM is a genetic disease in the Kooikerhondje. It leads to progressive degeneration of the nervous system, primarily affecting the white matter of the bone marrow in the neck. This leads to paralysis, which begins in the hind legs and ultimately leads to death. The first symptoms appear between the third and twelfth month of life.
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye. This clouding makes the lens appear white or greyish. Normally, the lens is as clear as a sheet of glass. The lens has the task of focussing the light entering the eye and thereby projecting a sharp image onto the retina. If a dog has cataracts, its vision becomes poor. The animals often run into objects and are unsafe.
Van Willebrand's disease (vWD)
Van Willebrand's disease (vWD) is a frequently inherited blood clotting disorder of varying severity that results from a defective or even absent van Willebrand factor (vWD) in the blood. The vWD is an important factor in blood coagulation. A missing or defective vWD results in the affected dog bleeding for a very long time after an injury and possibly haemorrhaging. Typical signs are repeated gastrointestinal haemorrhages, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, prolonged bleeding during heat, lameness due to bleeding in the joints or after operations.
Thanks to conscientious selection, VWD disease hardly occurs in the Kooikerhondje any more.
Patella
Patellar luxation (PL) is a dislocation of the kneecap from its sliding groove in the thigh bone. The cause of the development of the disease is not fully understood. A sliding groove that is too shallow and deviations in the bone axis between the thigh and lower leg are often associated with dislocations of the kneecap. The disorder is usually not present from birth, but develops during growth within the first year of life. If recognised early, dogs can be helped with appropriate treatment.
Polymyositis
Polymyositis (PM) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of one or more muscles. The course of the disease varies greatly. Kooikerhondjes often become ill at a young age. The first symptoms can be swallowing or eating disorders, but older dogs also often have problems with their musculoskeletal system.
Frequent symptoms are loss of strength, especially in the muscles close to the trunk, exhaustion and weakness. Some dogs even refuse to walk. The dogs are totally exhausted and no longer want to play, jump or go for a walk. They often walk with a hunched back or a stiff gait.
Swallowing disorders, increased salivation, vomiting usually without the usual pumping movements, noises and fever can also occur. Sick Kooiker may choke more than usual when drinking, for example, or refuse to eat, especially hard food and dried nibbles.
As these symptoms also often occur in other diseases, additional blood tests for muscle enzymes (CPK/CK), an EMG and a muscle biopsy are required for diagnosis.
Renal insufficiency
Renal insufficiency is also more common in Kooikerhondje. The kidneys filter toxins from the dog's body and regulate the water and salt balance before urine is excreted. It influences blood pressure and is involved in haematopoiesis.
Kidney weakness usually develops slowly over months or years (chronic kidney weakness). However, it can also occur suddenly (acute renal insufficiency), for example due to the consumption of poison or harmful substances. In the case of renal insufficiency, the body is unable to excrete the toxins sufficiently and urinary intoxication (uraemia) gradually develops. The body also loses too much water and becomes dehydrated.
