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December 2016 Newsletter |
If your dog has had any illnesses or ailments, you can tell us about them at any time without having to complete the rest of the questionnaire. Simply login to your dog's profile by visiting www.dogslife.ac.uk and click on the link underneath your dog's graph.
Does being dog friendly improve business?
Is our bond with dogs genetic?
Is all rosy with your dog’s nosey?
Dogslife are looking to collect DNA again
Does being dog friendly improve business?
Earlier this year, the Kennel Club published results from a survey that they carried out in the UK on the effect that being a dog friendly business had on trade. The types of businesses taking part in the survey were B&B’s, cafes, shops and pubs. And what a positive effect introducing a dog friendly policy had! The survey found that after becoming dog friendly, 71% of businesses acquired new customers.
In addition to the increase in the amount of new customers, the survey found that around half of customers that had their dog with them stayed longer. Furthermore, over half of those taking part in the survey stated that there was greater interaction between staff and customers by being dog friendly, and two thirds saw more interaction between guests when dogs were there. For more details on the survey and its results, please click here.
A different Kennel Club survey found that 96% of participants observed an improved atmosphere in an establishment if dogs were there. Similarly, other research has shown that employee attendance and morale was enhanced, and 80% found that business improved, in dog friendly places.
Being able to bring dogs into a business premises means that owners do not have to worry about leaving their dog at home, in the car, or tied up outside, and will therefore be able to spend more time (and possibly money) in dog friendly places. From the results of the surveys carried out, it seems like a win-win situation for dog owners and businesses alike, providing the business premises are suitable for dogs.
Is our bond with dogs genetic?
New research suggests that there are particular canine genes which may explain why dogs search for relationships with humans. There is a huge difference in the behaviour between the domesticated dogs we have as pets today, and their distant, non-domesticated relative, the wolf. Scientists from Linköping University in Sweden looked at whether genetics may have played a part in the domestication of dogs.
The research involved studying the behaviour of 437 Beagles individually.. Each dog was in a room with a researcher that they were unfamiliar with and were presented with a task. The task involved the dog trying to access treats which were behind three see-through sliding plastic lids, although one of the plastic lids was fixed and unmovable, despite how much the dog pushed it with its nose or pawed at it. The scientists anticipated that some dogs would behave like wolves, and would keep trying to open the unmovable lid on their own, whereas other dogs would seek help from the human.
Each dog’s behaviour was recorded on video during the three minutes they had for the task, and they were scored on their different behaviours, for example, how much eye contact or physical contact they made towards the researcher in the room. DNA was then taken from the 95 dogs with the lowest scores for social interaction, and from the 95 dogs with the highest scores for social interaction, and analysed by the scientists.
The results of the study identified that there were five genes within two genomic regions that were associated with the behaviour of dogs that sought human help. The researchers went on to explain that there are lots of other genes interacting with the five they had identified, and that they do not yet know how these genes might affect the sociability of dogs, but would like to find out if the same results can be achieved in other breeds of dog, such as the Labrador Retriever.
It’s probably fair to say that some dogs are more sociable than others, and that there are likely to be environmental factors at play as well as genetic ones when it comes to studying behaviour, or illnesses for that matter. However, since humans share many genes with our canine friends, further studies may shed more light on the role that genes play for various human and animal behaviours and conditions.
For more information on this study, please click here.
Is all rosy with your dog’s nosey?
Dogs have evolved to display incredible variations in the morphology of their noses. The dolichocephalic (“long skull”) breeds, such as the greyhound, have very long noses, whereas the brachycephalic (“short skull”) breeds, such as Lhasa Apso’s have very short noses. Indeed there is considerable public concern about the health and welfare of brachycephalic breeds at present, because of the potential for short noses to be associated with difficulties in breathing, in some dogs. Labrador Retrievers are considered mesocephalic, which means they have a skull of intermediate size and width.
Dog’s noses are composed of a cartilaginous structure called the nasal planum, which is covered in a thickened epithelium, and which forms external nares (nostrils) which allow air to flow in and out of the nose. Air flows through the nares to the nasal chambers which are situated in the front part of the skull, underneath the nasal bones. Within the nasal cavity there are a highly developed set of fine bone and cartilage structures called turbinates (see Figure 1).
The canine nose is a specialised organ in its own right, and has many functions. Most obviously it allows the passage of air into and out of the pharynx (back of the throat), where it is directed into the wind pipe (trachea) and the lungs. The nose is critical to normal breathing function because it provides very little resistance to airflow, and this in turn minimises the effort required to breath.
The turbinates are lined with a mucous membrane (similar, but not the same, as in the mouth). This lining warms and moisturises the air as it enters the respiratory tract as well as extracting moisture and heat when it leaves. The membrane also provides a large surface area to trap small particles of dust and prevent them getting in to the lung. The lining of the turbinates also contains olfactory receptors (cells which detect the presence of different chemicals) – dogs are thought to have over 300 million olfactory receptors in their nose. The olfactory receptors provide dogs with their acute sense of smell.
Problems with the canine nose are occasionally seen. Most commonly dogs can develop rhinitis, as the result of viral, bacterial or fungal infections, or allergies. Rhinitis might present with the dog sneezing and/or developing a nasal discharge. Dogs will sometimes accidently inhale foreign objects which can get stuck in the fine bones of the nose and which can also cause similar signs to rhinitis. The nose can be traumatised leading to fracture(s) of the skull, although it is rare for these injuries to require surgical treatment. Finally, tumours can occasionally develop in the nose, leading to obstruction of the flow of air, nasal discharge and pain.
Dogslife are looking to collect DNA again
Following the tremendous success of Dogslife’s DNA sampling exercise in 2013, we are aiming collect more DNA samples from some of the dogs taking part in the study. The samples participants previously provided us with were invaluable in helping us to look at genetic risks for limber tail (http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/newsletter/view/75#limber), and helping identify a gene responsible for appetite in Labrador Retrievers (http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/newsletter/view/73#POMC). Again we plan to use these to look at a number of interesting aspects identified in the project so far, such as genetic risks for common problems (such as diarrhoea) and uncommon problems (such as umbili cal hernias), and the genes associated with coat colour in Dogslife Labrador Retrievers.
Over the coming months, we will be contacting some of our members to see if they would be willing to provide a DNA sample from their dog. If you have previously provided us with a DNA sample, thank you very much… we will not need to ask for another one, so we are unlikely to contact you again regarding a DNA sample.
Obtaining a dog’s DNA is simple- it just requires you to put a soft sponge swab in your dog's mouth for a minute. The swab will provide us with saliva containing your dog’s DNA which we can analyse. We would also like to gather some faecal (stool) samples from dogs to look at which microbes are normally in their intestines, and how this affects their health (an easy-to-use kit will be provided for collecting these samples too).
Dogslife would greatly appreciate members’ help to obtain these samples. Thank you to everyone who supports the project and helps us find out what keeps dogs healthy!
Dogslife would like to thank everyone for all their help and support with the project in 2016. We wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
