What makes Frenchies vulnerable to back and neck and spine problems?
Like Dachshunds, they have a condition called chondrodystrophy, which causes abnormalities in their cartilage. This causes the intervertebral discs to degenerate earlier in life than in other breeds. It also causes abnormalities in the way that the fetal cartilage skeleton is replaced by the definitive bony skeleton, and this is manifested by shortened and thickened limb bones that are flared at the ends (“good bone”), and by shortening and malformations of the vertebrae, especially in the thoracic region. The vertebral malformations can be multiple and still cause no problems for the dog; when they do cause trouble it is generally before one year of age. It’s the disc degeneration that is the cause of most back trouble in Frenchies, and this seems to be unrelated to vertebral malformations. Are there any early warning signs that say, trouble is coming, watch out? No, unless you have an X ray done for some reason and note a narrowing of the disc space (usually in the area where the tho
