Ibizan Hound care: health screening, jumping and prey drive

An Ibizan Hound can clear a fence of 1.5 to 1.8 m (five or six feet) from a standing start, according to the American Kennel Club, and it chases by sight with a strong prey drive. Those two facts shape daily life with the breed more than anything in the food bowl. The health list is short: hip dysplasia, eye disease, autoimmune thyroiditis and congenital deafness, all of which breeders can screen for.

The breed comes from Ibiza in Spain's Balearic Islands, where islanders hunted rabbits with packs of these hounds. The AKC gives adult weights of about 23 kg (50 lb) for males and 20 kg (45 lb) for females, heights of 57 to 70 cm (22.5 to 27.5 in), and a life expectancy of 11 to 14 years. The coat comes in smooth and wire varieties, in red, white, or red and white.

Health conditions and screening

The AKC describes Ibizans as generally healthy and recommends four screening tests for breeding dogs. Ask to see the results for both parents of a puppy.

A BAER (brainstem auditory evoked response) test measures the brain's response to clicks in each ear separately. It matters because a puppy deaf in one ear usually behaves normally at home, and only the test shows it. Dogs deaf in both ears can live well with hand signals and a leash or fenced area at all times, since they cannot hear a recall.

Autoimmune thyroiditis can lead to an underactive thyroid. An adult Ibizan that gains weight without eating more, slows down, or develops thinning hair or recurrent skin infections should have its thyroid checked.

Leishmaniosis

In the Mediterranean, where the sand fly-borne parasite Leishmania infantum is common, Ibizan Hounds have a reputation for resisting the disease. A study in Mallorca compared 47 Ibizans with 45 dogs of other breeds. Infection rates were similar, but the Ibizans more often produced interferon-gamma, part of the immune response linked to keeping the parasite under control. Resistance to illness is not the same as protection from infection, so Ibizans living in or traveling to endemic areas still need the same sand fly prevention and testing as any other dog.

Neurological disease and seizures

One inherited brain disease has been described in detail in the breed: canine multiple system degeneration (CMSD). A 2022 pathology report on three Ibizan Hounds found marked cerebellar ataxia in all of them: an unsteady, uncoordinated gait caused by degeneration of the cerebellum, with further nerve cell loss in deeper parts of the brain. Pedigree analysis pointed to autosomal recessive inheritance, meaning both parents must carry the gene, but the gene itself has not been found, so there is no DNA test yet. No diet has been shown to slow it. An Ibizan that starts to stumble, sway or misjudge steps needs a neurological examination.

Seizures in any dog need a veterinary workup first, because many causes are not epilepsy. For dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, one dietary change with trial evidence behind it is medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil. In a randomized, double-blinded crossover trial in 28 epileptic dogs already on medication, adding MCT oil at 9% of daily energy for three months slightly lowered seizure frequency compared with a control oil, and two dogs had no seizures while on it. The effect was modest, and MCT is an add-on to medication, not a replacement. Doses belong in a plan made with the vet, since the oil adds a significant number of calories.

Skin, coat, ears and teeth

Both coat types are low-maintenance. The AKC advises checking the large upright ears weekly, since wax and debris can build up and lead to infection, and brushing the teeth often, daily if possible, with a toothpaste made for dogs.

Itching, recurrent ear infections and hot spots have many causes, including fleas, environmental allergies and, less often, food allergy. The AKC does not list allergies among the breed's problems. If a vet suspects food, the reliable test is a strict elimination diet with a novel or hydrolyzed protein for several weeks, followed by a challenge with the old food. A complete and balanced diet already supplies the fatty acids, zinc and protein the skin needs, and supplements added without a diagnosis rarely fix a skin problem.

Exercise, jumping and prey drive

The AKC describes Ibizans as very athletic dogs that need a lot of exercise. That can be vigorous daily play with people or other dogs, long walks a couple of times a day, or running with a regular jogger. They also do well at lure coursing, obedience, agility, rally and tracking.

• Fencing has to be tall and secure, because a standing jump of five or six feet is not unusual. Check that nothing near the fence line works as a launch step.
• Off-leash running belongs only in fully enclosed areas. The AKC warns that an Ibizan is apt to take off after perceived prey at a moment's notice, and a sighthound at full speed is out of range of a recall within seconds.
• Lure coursing gives the chase instinct a safe outlet.

Calories and body condition

Nobody has measured energy needs in Ibizan Hounds, so feeding starts from the general formula in the Merck Veterinary Manual. Resting energy requirement (RER), in kcal per day, is 70 multiplied by body weight in kilograms raised to the power 0.75. An intact adult dog needs about 1.8 times RER, a neutered adult 1.6 times, and an adult that gains weight easily 1.4 times. Rounded to the nearest 5 kcal:

Puppies need about 3 times RER until four months of age and 2 times RER after that: roughly 700 kcal a day for a 5 kg puppy under four months, and 1,065 kcal for a 15 kg puppy over four months. Merck notes that two animals of the same weight can differ by as much as 30% in what they need. A dog that courses or runs most days is likely to need more than the table shows.

Ibizans are meant to look lean, and owners of the breed often hear that their dog is too thin. Hands tell you more than looks. The ribs should be easy to feel with only a thin covering, the waist should tuck up clearly, and the muscle over the back, hips and thighs should be firm. Hip bones and spine that feel sharp, with little muscle over them, mean the dog needs more food or a vet check. A dog whose ribs are hard to find is carrying extra weight, which a jumping, sprinting breed's joints do not need.

Feed a food labeled complete and balanced for the dog's life stage, in two meals a day, and weigh portions rather than scooping. A sudden change of food can upset digestion in any dog, so switch gradually over about a week.

Sources

1. Ibizan Hound dog breed information. American Kennel Club.
2. Pathologic characterization of canine multiple system degeneration in the Ibizan hound. Veterinary Pathology, 2022.
3. A multicenter randomized controlled trial of medium-chain triglyceride dietary supplementation on epilepsy in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2020.
4. Exploring the relationship between susceptibility to canine leishmaniosis and anti-Phlebotomus perniciosus saliva antibodies in Ibizan hounds and dogs of other breeds in Mallorca, Spain. Parasites & Vectors, 2020.
5. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.