All breeds have potential to develop genetic health problems, just as all people have the potential to inherit a particular disease.
Run, don’t walk, from any breeder who does not offer a health guarantee on the puppies,parents or one who tells you that this breed is 100 percent healthy and has no known problems, or who tells you that her puppies are isolated from the main part of the household for health reasons. A reputable breeder will be honest and open about health problems in the breed and the incidence with which they occur in her lines.Mini Bull Terriers are generally healthy, but conditions that may be seen in the breed include deafness, skin diseases, eye problems such as lens luxation (PLL), and kidney diseases. In rare cases also spinning.
PLL (primary lens luxation): The test distinguishes between clear, carrier and affected dogs. Clear dogs have no copies of the mutant gene responsible for the condition and will neither develop the condition nor pass the gene on to their offspring. Carrier dogs have one copy of the normal gene and one copy of the mutant gene and so will pass the mutant gene to approximately half of their offspring. Affected dogs have two copies of the mutant gene that causes the condition and will develop the disease.
In breeding PLL will inherit like this:
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Clear Male
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Carrier Male
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Affected Male
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Clear Female
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100% Clear
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50/50 Carrier/Clear
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100% Carrier
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Carrier Female
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50/50 Carrier/Clear
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25/50/25 Clr./Carr./Affctd.
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50/50 Carrier/Affected
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Affected Female
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100% Carrier
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50/50 Carrier/Affected
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100% Affected
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BEAR test: White Bullterrier needs a BEAR test. Deafness in Bull Terriers may have entered the breed from crosses of the 19th century dogs with the now extinct White English Terrier. Or years ago there may have been crosses with Dalmatians which today seem to have the highest incidence of hereditary deafness. It is not yet clear exactly how deafness is inherited. It was once thought to be caused by a simple recessive gene, but more likely there are several pairs of genes involved, some of which may be dominant genes. All white Bull Terrier puppies should be tested for deafness by the BAER test
Skin Diseases is also something Bull Terriers suffor from, particularly white Bull Terriers. Possibly there is a connection between faults with the immune system and this severe dermatitis. Some dogs respond well to dietary changes to more natural-type foods with few or no chemical additives. Others may require long-term treatment with antibiotics and/or steroids.
Heart Disease: Some bull Terriers have heart problems which may be hereditary. There are various kinds of heart murmurs caused by different structural problems in the heart. Some are more serious than others and are roughly graded from grade 1 to grade 6. The veterinarian may detect a heart murmur in a puppy. Often, puppies outgrow minor murmurs such as a grade 1. However, if the murmur is more serious or if a minor murmur becomes worse, the veterinarian may recommend further diagnostic tests such as cardiac ultrasound. Defects in heart structure and function are potentially life threatening, although some BT's live with their heart murmurs for many years. Needless to say, dogs with heart defects should not be bred.
Spinning: A much more serious form of tail chasing is called spinning. This usually begins at about 6 months of age. The dog is obsessed by its tail and may circle for hours. It loses interest in food and water. All attempts to get the dog to stop this behavior fail. Sometimes the dog yelps while spinning and may even attempt to bite its interfering owner. In the past, most of
these spinners were eventually put down. Even amputating the tail does not help! Over the past few years, a research project at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine suggests that spinning is form of seizure. Most spinning dogs respond to treatment with phenobarbital either alone or in conjunction with other medications. Some of the less severe cases do well on anti-obsessive drugs such as Anafranil or Prozak. Treatment of spinning Bull Terriers has been more successful in females than males.
Lethal Acrodermatitis (LAD): Experienced breeders can usually identify this in the new born puppy, which is typically smaller than others in the litter, and has a characteristically slimy feel. As an affected puppy develops it usually becomes obvious that it is a "runt" but it is not just small - about half the size of normal puppies by six weeks - its feet are flat and splayed, it has skin problems and is often more than usually aggressive. The skin is prone to infections and the feet pads are horny, this keratinisation often spreading to other areas. The root of the problem appears to be a zinc deficiency, but zinc supplementation does not help as the puppy is unable to metabolise it. Cronic bloody diarrhea is also often a serious problem for the LAD affected puppy.An affected puppy faces a short and very uncomfortable life, which may be prolonged by expensive treatment, but there is no cure, 24 month is a long life for a puppy/youngster with LAD. It is generally considered kindest to the puppy to have it euthanased as soon as the problem is diagnosed. So far as is known, this disease is unique to Bull Terriers, so very few vets have seen it or know about it. The disease is inherited as a double recessive autosomal gene, so that two healthy parents may carry it, although not having any symptoms, and yet produce some affected puppies, so when two dogs produce a puppy with LAD, maybe one should consider if the dogs should be bred again, there is not way to DNA test the parents, or the litter mates. So breeding the littermates and the parents, should be a no go until DNA testing for LAD is availible.

Young Bull Terrier affected with LAD.