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Univ. of Georgia study of causes of dog deaths offers insight into breed-specific problems

mom — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:48:35 +0000

Release Date: 04/19/2011
A study recently released by the University of Georgia provides a comprehensive look at the causes of death in more than 80 dog breeds. The study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, examined data from the Veterinary Medical Database to determine the cause of death for nearly 75,000 dogs from 82 breeds over a 20-year period, from 1984 through 2004. The deaths were classified by organ system and disease process, then data was further analyzed by breed, age and average body mass.

The study found that toy breeds, such as Chihuahuas and Maltese, which are known to have high rates of cardiovascular disease, had 19% and 21% of deaths within the breeds, respectively. Researchers found that Fox Terriers also have high rates of cardiovascular disease, with 16% of deaths. Two dog breeds that are known for high rates of death from cancer are Golden Retrievers, found to have a 50% death rate, and Boxers, found to have a 44% death rate. However, researchers found that the Bouvier des Flandres actually had a higher death rate from cancer (47%) than the Boxer. One of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Kate Creevy, noted that the previously unknown high risk of cancer in the Bouvier, a relatively rare breed, highlights the power of the study’s comprehensive approach.

The researchers found that larger breeds are more likely to die of musculoskeletal disease, gastrointestinal disease and, most notably, cancer. Smaller breeds had higher death rates from metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and Cushing’s disease. The findings may be useful in determining breed-specific diets that could reduce the dog’s risk of developing disease or certain problems to which the breed is prone.

“If we can anticipate better how things can go wrong for dogs, we can manage their wellness to keep them as healthy as possible,” said Dr. Creevy.

Abstract:

Mortality in North American Dogs from 1984 to 2004: An Investigation into Age-, Size-, and Breed-Related Causes of Death
1. J.M. Fleming, K.E. Creevy, D.E.L. Promislow

Background: Anecdotal beliefs and limited research suggest variable patterns of mortality in age, size, and breed cohorts of dogs. Detailed knowledge of mortality patterns would facilitate development of tailored health-maintenance practices and contribute to the understanding of the genetic basis of disease.

Hypothesis/Objectives: To describe breed-specific causes of death in all instances of canine mortality recorded in the Veterinary Medical Database (VMDB)a between 1984 and 2004. We hypothesized that causes of death, categorized by organ system (OS) or pathophysiologic process (PP), would segregate by age, body mass, and breed.

Animals: 74,556 dogs from the VMDB for which death was the outcome of the recorded hospital visit.

Methods: Retrospective study. Causes of death from abstracted VMDB medical records were categorized by OS and PP and analyzed by age, breed, and breed-standard mass of dog.

Results: Causes of death, categorized by OS or PP, segregated by age, breed, and breed-standard mass. Young dogs died more commonly of gastrointestinal and infectious causes whereas older dogs died of neurologic and neoplastic causes. Increasing age was associated with an increasing risk of death because of cardiovascular, endocrine, and urogenital causes, but not because of hematopoietic or musculoskeletal causes. Dogs of larger breeds died more commonly of musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal causes whereas dogs of smaller breeds died more commonly of endocrine causes.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Not all causes of death contribute equally to mortality within age, size, or breed cohorts. Documented patterns now provide multiple targets for clinical research and intervention.
Article first published online: 25 FEB 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0695.x
Copyright © 2011 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Keywords: * Age at death; * Genetics; * Lifespan * Morbidity; * Neoplasia

AVMA online resource to public

mom — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:25:04 +0000

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has opened access to its AVMA Collections to the general public, expanding the public’s ability to tap into cutting edge and up-to-date veterinary medical information. Go to http://www.avma.org/avmacollections/ and click on articles on the . . . → Read More: AVMA online resource to public

Guide to evaluating research resources

mom — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 17:17:14 +0000

“>This is from George Mason university.

http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/eval-sources.htm
http://mason.gmu.edu/%7Emontecin/eval-sources.htm

Evaluating sources when doing research can be a complex task. Your papers credibility depends upon the reliability of the information you use to support your points. There are times when, along with authoritative and scholarly sources, other information, such as interviews and personal observations are valid sources. In general, however, a source is only as credible as the author’s credentials and the reputation of the sponsoring publication and/or organization. These guidelines are to help you become familiar with how to evaluate the value of information:

1. Does the author have some authority in the field about which she or he is providing information? What are the author’s qualifications, credentials and connections to the subject?

2. Does the author have articles published in peer reviewed (scholarly and professional) publications? (If an author does not have peer reviewed articles published, this does not necessarily mean that she or he does not have credible information, only that there has been no professional “test” of the author’s authority on that subject. Of course, it is possible your limited search may have missed such publications.)

3. Are there clues that the author/s are biased? For example, is he/she selling or promoting a product? Is the author taking a personal stand on a social/political issue or is the author being objective ? Bias is not necessarily “bad,” but the connections should be clear.

4. Is the information current? Old information may be useful for background material, but expecially in science and technology changes are rapid and information rapidly becomes out of date. Information in books is not as current as the information in scholarly periodicals.

5. Does the information have a complete list of works cited, which reference credible, authoritative sources? If the information is not backed up with sources, what is the author’s relationship to the subject to be able to give an “expert” opinion?

6. In what kind of publication site does the information appear? The journal, publisher, etc., can give you clues about the credibility of the source. Information in popular magazines are, in general, poor sources of information and are not adequate sources for college level papers.

It is safe to assume that if you have limited background in a topic and have a limited amount of time to do your research, you may not be able to get the most representative material on the subject. So be wary of making unsupportable conclusions based on a narrow range of sources.

Lyme disease link

mom — Fri, 11 May 2007 20:41:31 +0000

Great resource and information site on Lyme disease and tick-borne diseases in general. Includes signs and symptoms, testing and treatment as well as other considerations including . . . → Read More: Lyme disease link

Animal behavior links

mom — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:05:28 +0000

Alphabetic listing of Links to animal behavior websites

Applied Animal Behavior

Board Certified American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
http://www.dacvb.org/Typo3/DACVBHome/index.php

Certification Information

by the ABS Board of Professional Certification

* About the Program for Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists
http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/CAREER2-Jan2002.htm

* Applied Animal Behavior Certification Information
http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/Pamph3N-Jan2002.htm
* Current Directory of Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists
http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/CAAB_directory.html
* Application for Certification – updated Oct 2004 (in adobe PDF format download, print and mail)
http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/APPLOGO-Oct2004.pdf
* Application for ReCertification – updated Oct 2004 (in adobe PDF format download, print and mail)
http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/RECERTapp.pdf

Articles submitted by ABS Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists

* Crazy Owners Make for Crazy Pets.
o Daniel Q. Estep, Ph.D. & Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists, Animal Behavior Associates, Inc. 4994 S. Independence Way, Littleton, CO 80123 http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/crazyowners_crazypets.html

* Feline Housesoiling.
o Katherine A. Houpt, VMD, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVB, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Animal Behavior Clinic, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14852
http://www.animalbehavior.org/Applied/felinehousesoiling.html

*Submitted Links

* Applied Animal Behaviour Science
o An International Scientific Journal reporting on the application of ethology to animals used by man -
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/applanim

* ASPCA
o The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) promotes humane principles, prevents cruelty, and alleviates pain, fear and suffering of animals through nationwide information, awareness and advocacy programs.
http://www.aspca.org/
* Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

o JAAWS publishes material about methods of experimentation, husbandry and care that demonstrably enhance the welfare of nonhuman animals in various settings. JAAWS is a conjoint project of The ASPCA and Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
http://www.psyeta.org/jaaws/

* American Dog Trainers Network
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/
o A resource site that is dedicated to: “Promoting humane education, responsible pet care, and positive motivational dog training”

* Applied-Ethology

o Applied Ethology is a web page dedicated to the study of animal behaviour. We are particularly interested in the behaviour of domestic animals or animals kept in captivity. Our intention is to bring together a diverse set of resources which students and scientists in our field will find useful, and which may also be of interest to anybody who wants to learn a little bit about animal behaviour. We have provided some original information and also links to other material of related interest which already exists on the Web.
http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/

* Delta Society

o Celebrating Companion Animals – and the Ways They Enrich Our Lives

Delta Society is the leading international resource for the human-animal bond. Delta Society has been the force to validate the important role of animals for people’s health and well-being by promoting the results of research to the media and health and human services organizations.
http://www.deltasociety.org/
*(If you would like to submit a link of interest to applied animal behavior send e-mail to the ABS Webmaster)

disclaimer Note: The Animal Behavior Society (ABS) is proud to be a source of information about animals and their behavior. The ABS, however, des not endorse any products or services and assumes no liability whatsoever for the use or content of any product or service contained at this web site.<

Resources for researchers

mom — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:03:44 +0000

Resources for Researchers : Links to websites for Research

Academic Press
http://www.apnet.com/

All Creatures Great and Small
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/3907/acgs.html

American Canine Sports Medicine Assoc
http://www.acsma.org/

Animal Chiropractic And Holistic Health Forum
www.chiropracticforanimals.net

Animal Diseases (Nebraska Extension Publications)
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/animaldisease/

AnSci 312 – Animal Growth and Development (University of Illinois)
http://classes.aces.uiuc.edu/AnSci312/

AVMA Public on-line resource articles
http://www.avma.org/avmacollections/

Bad Bug Book (U.S. FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition)
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html

Balogh Scientific Books
http://www.balogh.com/~balogh/

BIOSIS
http://www.biosis.org/

BookPoint Veterinary Books
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/avenue/zc74/

CAB International
http://www.cabi.org/

Capsule Report
http://www.thecapsulereport.com/

Canine Transitional Cell Carcinoma Resources
http://www.biochem.wustl.edu/~sydney/rennie.html

Charles Rivers Labs Technical Publications
http://www.criver.com/techdocs/index.html

Commonsense Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat (CVMA)
http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/people/TabathaHoltz/cats/food1.html

Cornell University Poisonous Plants Page
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants.html

Cryptosporidium/Coccidial Research (Kansas State University)
http://www.ksu.edu/parasitology/

Dog Genome Project
http://mendel.berkeley.edu/dog.html

Dr. Temple Grandin Animal Welfare, Housing, and Transportation
http://www.grandin.com/

Dr. Roen’s Weekly Veterinary Column
http://www.roen.com/

DVM NewsMagazine
http://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/

EMS and Veterinary Medicine Page
http://members.aol.com/henryhbk/index.html

EXtension TOXicology NETwork
http://ace.orst.edu/info/extoxnet/

FDA Veterinarian Magazine
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/fdavettoc.html

Firstline
http://www.firstlinemag.com/firstline/

Hardin Meta Directory Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/micro.html

Integrated Control of Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases (University of Utrecht)
http://www.icttd.nl/

ISI – Institute for Scientific Information
http://www.isinet.com/

JAVMA News
http://avma.org

Johne’s Information Center (University of Wisconsin)
http://www.johnes.org/

K L Lyme Disease Network
http://www.lymenet.org/

M Medline – National Library of Medicine
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/

N Natural Holistic Pet Care
http://www.naturalholistic.com/referral.htm

NetVet Publications page
http://netvet.wustl.edu/vcp.htm

Newsfile
http://www.newsfile.com/

O Office International des Epizooties Publications
http://www.medvet.umontreal.ca/biblio/oie.html

P Pet Assure
http://www.petassure.com/

Pets Need Dental Care, Too
http://www.petdental.com/

Picornavirus Home Page (Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright Laboratory)
http://www.picornaviridae.com/

Public Library of Science : a nonprofit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource.
http://www.plos.org/index.php

Q QuackWatch
http://www.quackwatch.com/

S
Sirius Dog Health Articles webpages
http://www.siriusdog.com/a-c.htm

UUSDA-APHIS DxMonitor Animal Health Report
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/cahm/dxmon.htm

U.S. Animal Health Association
http://www.usaha.org/

V Veterinary Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/vex/vetdocs/abbreviation.htm

Veterinary Journals: Tables of Contents (University of Montreal)
http://www.medvet.umontreal.ca/biblio/vetjr.html

Veterinary Medicine
http://www.vetmedpub.com/vetmed/

Y Your Animal’s Health
http://www.belfield.com/<

Inherited disorders database

mom — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:32:32 +0000

Canine Inherited Disorders Database
This website is useful for:
* dog owners whose pet has been found to have an inherited condition
* potential dog owners who want help in avoiding these problems when choosing a pet
* veterinarians looking for current information on both well-known and more obscure genetic disorders, including diagnostic and therapeutic information
* dog breeders who are looking for suggestions on how to avoid these conditions in their lines of dogs
http://www.upei.ca/~cidd/intro.htm<