Other Health Concerns

OTHER HEALTH / PHYSICAL CONCERNS 
ON THE RADAR WITH and WITHOUT 
GENETIC CONNECTIONS

  • A disease is a pathophysiological response to internal or external factors.
  • A disorder is a disruption to regular bodily structure and function.
  • A syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms associated with a specific health-related cause.
  • A condition is an abnormal state of health that interferes with normal or regular feelings of well being.
While each of these terms above does have specific meaning and implications, I do not differentiate between them in most cases.  A Mudi is healthy and unaffected by any kind of health issue, or it has something physically or mentally wrong that affects its longevity, purpose, quality of life, ability to produce unaffected healthy offspring, etc.  Therefore the negative health issues I track are usually all lumped into one category for the purpose of information dissemination and I choose to call them diseases. I do however separate genetically caused from environmentally caused health issues when the exact cause of a health issue is known. For example, a Mudi gets hit by a car and has a serious injury to a bone or joint, this is not genetic, this is environment and it will not be passed to its' offspring.  This means there is no tracking of a health issue on the pedigree records of this Mudi or its relatives, except as a note of interest on their own account in my database. 

As mentioned above, some health issues seen in the Mudi breed are caused by genes passed down from parents (albinism), others can also be caused from environmental exposure (certain drugs given during pregnancy can cause cleft palate in pups), while other health issues can be the result of  genes and/or environment (skin cancer is often environmental, breast cancer is often genetic).

The health issues listed below are the health issues that are not included on the other pages of this blog. These health issues have been reported by Mudi breeders and owners to have occurred in Mudis they owned or produced, which I keep track of. Most are very rare, while some are more common, such as temperament and behavior issues. 

Please note: Some links require Google Scholar for viewing.

Birth/Physical Defects
  • Anasarca (Fetal Hydrops, Walrus Syndrome, Water Puppy)



  • Cleft Palate (genetic and environment; an environmental cause would affect all or most of the puppies born)




  • Tail Kinks (genetic in the vast majority of cases, cause can be determined with x-ray)




  • Umbilical hernia (genetic)




  • Not pricked ears (genetic (both ears drop) and 'mechanical' (one ear drop)




DNA Testable Traits

  • MDR1 (genetic only) I am not aware of any Mudi that has an MDR1 gene, but that does not mean it should not be tested for as the majority of Mudis have not been tested.  If your Mudi has tested positive as a carrier of MDR1, please let me know.




  • DM - Degenerative Myelopathy (highly suspected to be genetic) DM has possibly occurred in the Puli and Pumi.  Carriers for a gene thought to be associated with DM have been confirmed in the Mudi.





Cancerous Diseases (genetic and/or environment)
  • Cancer (ovarian, breast, throat, liver, bone, bowel, etc.)
  • Tumors
  • Leukemia
  • Lymphoma
  • Hemangiosarcoma





Heart / Cardiac Issues (genetic and/or environment)

  •  Persistent Right Aortic Arch PRAA 



  • Heart attack, heart disease, cardiomyopathy




Digestive Tract, Glandular Diseases, Organ Diseases and Disorders (genetic and/or environment)
  • Anal Gland Disorder
  • Cushings
  • Diabetes
  • IBD Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Irritable Bowel Disorder
  • Colitis
  • Pancreatic disease
  • Kidney disease
  • Liver disease
  • Spleen disease
  • Stomach/Gastric Torsion
  • Perianal Fistula
  • Prostate Disease
  • PSS PortoSystemic Shunt
  • Urinary Tract Issues
  • Zinc Deficiency












Temperament / Behavior Issues (genetic and environment)

Of all the health concerns listed on this page, this is the most commonly occurring.

Temperament and behavior problems stemming from poor training, incompatibility of the Mudi with the owner and other human caused problems are not genetic. 

My main concern with temperament in the Mudi is what is and what is not caused by genetic inheritance.  It is a very complex issue and there are no simple answers. Of course temperament testing of breeding Mudis and breeding only Mudis with stable behavior should be a priority.  However this will not ensure every puppy born is of sound temperament, its more complicated than that.  








It will be many years or even decades, before DNA evidence proves or disproves that genetic inheritance is or is not connected to most of the health issues that plague dog breeds.  
In the meantime, the best course of action to take against these health issues is to test for them (when tests are available) and avoid breeding of affected individuals.  
The next step is to record, trace and track each health issue. 
To reduce occurrence, breeding Mudis together that have a known above average risk factor to carry any health issue, should be avoided.


(Last Update: May 30, 2022)

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