When Spanish Water Dogs were first introduced into the UK the partnership was unaware of any health issues within the breed and nothing had occurred in Spain to indicate any problems with regard the health. All breeding stock were eye tested annually for PRA/LL prior to being mated and a small number of dogs were hip-scored in the early days but there was no indication at that time of any problem, either reflected in the test results or in the general health of the dogs. Annual eye testing continued as a precautionary measure.

EYES

It was in December 2002 that a case of Primary Glaucoma (Goniodysgenesis) was diagnosed in one dog at the age of 9 years (Azor- see picture below). A study was immediately set up by an eye specialist to investigate further. What emerged from this early testing was that a significant number of dogs presented with a marked predisposition to glaucoma. Having been alerted to the problem within the breed, the information was shared openly and several other owners followed suit also submitting their dogs for gonioscopy. Four other dogs have since been diagnosed with Primary Glaucoma, both at 9 years of age. One case was not confirmed by a specialist. There are many breeders working together and with the help of eye specialists it is hoped that the problem may be eradicated or at least there will be no further puppies bred that will go blind in their later years.

The breed has been placed on Schedule A (recognised as an inherited trait) of the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme with the full approval of the Committee.

One of the glaucoma cases was also diagnosed with Lens Luxation but there are believed to be strong links with glaucoma.

The Club Health sub-committee is monitoring the results so they may eventually be looked at by a geneticist. What is emerging is the general surprise of the experts that more dogs have not shown signs of glaucoma even though they have very high scores.

HIPS

In Spring 2003, because of a recurring limp, one bitch was taken in for x-ray to investigate the possible cause of the problem. During the procedure an x-ray was also take of the hips to be submitted for hip-scoring. The investigation revealed an obvious problem within the area of the hips, particularly on one side and the diagnosis was hip dysplasia. The resultant hip-score was significantly high. Since this first case of hip dysplasia, several more have been identified within the breed. This prompted a number of owners to also have their dogs hip-scored and as part of the club's Code of Ethics it was highly recommended at that stage that all breeding stock should be tested prior to mating.
As concern amongst owners increased a proposal was put to the membership at the AGM 2005 that the Code of Ethics be amended to read that all breeding stock must be tested under the BVA/KC hip-scoring scheme prior to being bred from. This proposal was passed almost unanimously.
In general, owners of Spanish Water Dogs and the Spanish Water Dog Club now accept that hip dysplasia is a health problem within the breed. The Club feels that the way forward, in order to reduce the incidence of future cases and ultimately try to eliminate the problem altogether, testing of breeding stock, careful removal of affected dogs from the gene pool and careful assessing and choosing of potential breeding stock is needed for all future matings.
At this time the incidence of Unilateral dysplacia (Only one hip affected giving an uneven score ie 23-6)  within the breed shows at roughly 5% which is relatively high for a breed where only around 185 dogs have been tested.
Unilateral dysplacia tends to be mainly on the right side in some breeds and the left in others, whereas others like the GSD do not appear to have a side (left or right) predilection, frequency of unilateral HD is also dependent on the frequency of HD within a breed.
The reported frequency of unilateral HD varies from 3% to more than 30% of dysplastic dogs depending on the population studied. It appears that the frequency of unilateral HD is higher in some genetic lines within a breed than in other lines within the same breed, furthermore the same abnormal hip (right or left) is repeatedly the same within the breed line, so that when several ancestors have unilateral HD for example in the right hip then the progeny that are also affected will almost invariably show the abnormality in the right hip.

PRA-prcd

Prcd-PRA (Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration) is the most widespread hereditary retinal disease leading to blindness in dogs and phenotypically is the canine counterpart of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in humans. There are different types of PRA seen in canines, but the most common form is the prcd type which is the type that has been identified in the Spanish Water Dog. That is not to say that later on, we might see other forms, but at this point we have only seen the prcd form.
Progressive rod–cone degeneration (prcd) is a canine retinal degeneration inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Autosomal recessive is a genetic condition that appears only in individuals who have received two copies of an autosomal gene, one copy from each parent. The gene is on an autosome, a nonsex chromosome. If the parents are carriers, that means they only one copy of the gene and do not exhibit the trait because the gene is recessive to its normal counterpart gene.

The prcd phenotype is that of a degenerative disorder, in which rods and then cones degenerate both structurally and functionally after apparently normal postnatal development. For this reason it is classified as a late onset disorder, indicating that the clinical disease is not apparent until early adolescence or early adulthood. By eye examination, most dogs are not diagnosed until they are 5 or 6 years old. There is no treatment for PRA. The Spanish Water Dogs who have been diagnosed as “affected” have not started showing symptoms until they are 6 or 7 years old. That is why the normal eye exam can not give you the appropriate information that you need in order to breed out prcd-PRA from the Spanish Water Dog. The reason is two-fold. First, the clinical signs do not appear until the dog is early adolescence to young adult. If a dog is bred a few times before they are 5 or 6 years old, they will not have shown clinical signs of prcd-PRA. The other issue, which is much more important, is that there is no way to tell by an eye exam if the dog is a carrier. Carriers do not have the disease, they only carry the gene. The only way to do this is by looking for the genetic marker through DNA testing.
The first sign of most types of PRA is night blindness. This is because the rods (the cells which allow vision in reduced light) degenerate before the cones (the cells which allow vision in the bright light). Often dogs will bump into objects in a dimly lighted room; a room in which a person can see well enough to avoid the object. Gradually dogs with PRA will lose their ability to see in lighted rooms and will go completely blind. They will frequently have dilated pupils. Sometimes owners will notice increased shininess or hyperreflectivity to the back of the eye.

Leshmaniasis

This is a disease transmitted by the sandfly and we unfortunately have had at least two known cases of this horrible disease, if you take your dog abroad please do check for the presence of this disease in the area you are travelling to and purchase a Scalibor collar from your vet before travelling. Dogs/bitches being imported from Countries where this disease is known should be tested for the disease before being bred from.