HEALTH

Overall, the Tamaskan breed is relatively healthy with few serious genetically inherited conditions. This is predominantly due to extensive health testing, so that only healthy dogs are allowed to breed, but it is also the result of ITR breeders reporting all serious health issues so that carriers (and potential carriers) can be identified. Therefore, reputable breeders can ensure that carrier (or potential carrier) bloodlines are not purposefully crossed, thereby preventing future ‘at risk’ offspring.

The Tamaskan breeding program currently has an open studbook and new carefully-selected outcrosses are added to the genepool on a fairly regular basis. This means that the breed as a whole has a very low COI (level of inbreeding) and, therefore, not as many recessive disorders compared to most closed-studbook dog breeds. Notable health issues in the Tamaskan breed, which only affect a very small percentage of the overall population, include: hip dysplasia, cryptorchidism, degenerative myelopathy, epilepsy, Addison’s Disease, juvenile cataracts, and digestive problems / food allergies.