|
May 2017 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.
Is your dog’s personality controlled by their genes?
Can you scent something wrong with your dog?
It is estimated that dogs’ noses are between 10,000 – 100,000 more sensitive than a human’s, so they are capable of finding scents which we can’t smell, and can be trained to alert us to their presence. A two year old English Springer Spaniel called Angus has been trained to sniff out deadly bacteria in a hospital in Vancouver, Canada. Angus can detect the superbug bacteria, Clostridium Difficile (C-Diff), which infects hospital patients on antibiotics, as their immune system is weakened.
Angus’s training came about because one of his owners had suffered from C-Diff, and her husband had read an article about a (now-retired) Beagle in the Netherlands that had been trained to check patients for this superbug. The couple thought they would begin training their new puppy, Angus, and joined a pilot program with the Vancouver Coastal Health authority. It took approximately 10 months to train Angus. Like a lot of other types of detection dogs (e.g. drug/bomb detection dogs), detecting C-Diff is a game to Angus and he gets a food reward for finding the superbug.. He focusses on the hospital environment, rather than on patients, in case any patients have sensitivities or allergies to dogs.
Usually, hospitals detect bacteria using ultraviolet light, but Angus works more quickly. In most rooms, he can sniff out the bacteria in just a few seconds. To signal he’s found C-Diff, Angus stops dead, taps his paw, and looks at his handler. The area is then disinfected.
Angus’s owners aim to develop a program which trains dogs to sniff out C-Diff so they can be used in hospitals around the world. For more information on this story, please click here.
Is your dog’s personality controlled by their genes?
Recent work published by researchers at the University of Edinburgh has identified the contribution of genetic factors to the personality of dogs. Using a cohort of Labrador Retrievers which were DNA sampled to help identify new genes associated with hip dysplasia (see: http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/newsletter/view/54#lhedstudy), the researchers explored the genetic component of the different canine personality traits reported in the cohort. Owners completed a detailed questionnaire which recorded information about their dog’s behaviour and personality traits. This data was analysed with the information previously recorded from their DNA samples, detailing thousands of genetic mutations - single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) - across the genome of each dog.
The study found substantial genetic contributions to a number of personality “traits” such as fetching tendency and fear of loud noises. For example, a strong association was identified with “noise fear” and a marker (SNP) near a gene associated with autism in humans. Some traits were strongly genetically correlated with each other, such as “attention” and “attachment”. Most traits appeared to be controlled by multiple genetic loci, and individual genetic regions controlled only small components of each trait. Similar findings have been reported in other species, and demonstrates why selection for or against particular traits can be effective, but is challenging given the number of genes involved. You can read more about the work, published in the scientific journal Genetics, by clicking here: http://www.genetics.org/content/genetics/early/2017/04/05/genetics.116.192674.full.pdf
Can you scent something wrong with your dog?
All dogs have a pair of glands at the end of their back passage called anal sacs (or glands). The glands secrete a liquid which is used to mark the dog’s territory, and which is usually expelled when the dog passes a motion. Dogs can sometimes develop a problem with their anal glands at some point in their life (and we frequently see this reported through the Dogslife questionnaire). Most commonly the glands can become impacted, for example if they have not been emptied for a few days. Typically dogs with impacted glands will scoot on their bottom or lick and bite at their back end, as the impacted gland is uncomfortable. The treatment for this condition is straightforward; it simply requires the gland to be emptied (expressed) manually.
Occasionally one of the glands can become infected (particularly if they have been impacted for a long time), which results in discomfort and a fever. When this occurs the gland may need to be emptied frequently, and appropriate antibiotics administered. Very rarely tumours can develop in the glands, which necessitates the surgical removal of the glands. The glands are small and difficult to remove as they are positioned near a number of important anatomical structures, so this surgery is only undertaken by skilled veterinarians. Anal glands are also sometimes removed if they become repeatedly infected. If you have concerns about your dog’s anal glands then contact your vet and they can advise you what to do.
Dogslife would like you to join us in giving a very warm welcome to our new Secretary, Katie Chamberlain. Katie will be joining the Dogslife team on 15th May, and will be taking over the role of Secretary as Erica is going on maternity leave at the end of May.
Katie lives in the Scottish Borders with her husband and their dogs, one of which is a Labrador Retriever. Katie is looking forward to joining Dogslife and helping us find out what keeps dogs healthy over their lifetime. Many members will be hearing from Katie by phone and/or email about Dogslife soon!
Don't forget to come back to www.dogslife.ac.uk and update your dog's record!
