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June 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.
Join #Bringyourdogtoworkday on 23rd June 2017!
Join #Bringyourdogtoworkday on 23rd June 2017!
Bring Your Dog to Work Day is set to be celebrated in June with workplaces opening their doors to our canine friends. As well as being good fun to share your work day with your pet, job-dog companionship is also thought to bring us many benefits (see http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/newsletter/view/80#benefits). Some studies have reported improvements in stress levels, morale and job satisfaction in offices with pet-friendly policies. Colleagues without pets can benefit too by joining on lunchtime walks or going to see a friendly office dog for a quick break. For more information see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17561272
As well as improving staff morale, the day is also raising money for charities that support animal health and wellbeing. The charities this year are ‘All Dogs Matter’ which helping to rehome dogs in London and ‘Animal Asia’ which aims to improve the lives of cats, dogs and bears in China and Vietnam.
Details on how you, your colleagues and your businesses can take part by sponsoring a dog can be found on the HOWND® website. Before bringing your four legged buddy to work with you, make sure that it is safe to do so and that you have your employer’s permission. If you can’t bring your dog, follow the fun by keeping an eye out for doggy snaps via twitter and the HOWND® site.
A recent study has evaluated the benefits of merging the databases holding pedigree records for dog breeds, including Labrador Retrievers, from the UK, Sweden and France. The study collated the records of nearly 1.5 million Labrador Retrievers, including over 1 million from the UK.
The study found that the proportion of inbred dogs (defined as mating between two close relatives) has decreased over the last 35 years and that “gene flow” (the movement of dogs between countries for breeding purposes) has increased, resulting in more genetically diverse dog populations. When merging the databases together, this increased the “effective population” size (the number of dogs contributing offspring to the next generation).
There are clear benefits to merging databases to improve the genetic health of purebred dog populations, making them larger and more diverse, and this work paves the way for this to happen. You can read more about the study by copying the following link into your internet browser: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbg.12242/full#figure-viewer-jbg12242-fig-000
There has been a considerable amount of press attention recently regarding a relatively new skin condition which is affecting dogs called Alabama rot, also known as cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV). The condition was first reported in dogs in the USA in the 1980s, and the first cases were identified in the UK in 2012. The cause of the condition is not fully understood, but it is believed that bacteria, such as E.coli, can produce toxins which cause it.
The condition usually affects the skin initially, causing swelling, ulcerations and sores, and gradually progresses to produce signs of more systemic unwellness such as lethargy and inappetance. The condition rapidly affects the kidneys, often within a few days of starting, leading to kidney failure in a few cases which can be fatal. The condition can affect dogs of any breed or age, although it is not known why some dogs can fight it off and recover whereas in others it proves fatal.
Although it is not known how you can prevent your dog from developing the condition, it is thought that the disease is picked up on the paws and legs on muddy walks, so dog owners have been advised to wash mud off their pets after they have been on muddy walks. Some closely associated dogs have been affected, suggesting direct contact or a shared environment with an affected dog could increase the risk of a dog contracting the condition. Most importantly of all, if your dog develops signs of the condition (such as developing a sore below the elbow or the knee without a history of a trauma to the area) you should seek veterinary advice.
The Dogslife team have just published their latest scientific report, describing how dogs are affected by gastrointestinal upsets in the UK, and what factors are associated with developing them. Dr Carys Pugh analysed the records of over 6000 dogs registered with the project, detailing over 2600 separate reports of vomiting and diarrhoea.
Like children, episodes of gastrointestinal disease typically affected very young dogs most frequently, with the peak rate of diarrhoea episodes being between 3 and 6 months of age, as one might expect given that their immune systems are relatively young and that they are experiencing unfamiliar environments at this time. At this age, diarrhoea typically occurs at a rate of one episode per year of each dog’s life. The number of episodes per year gradually declined as dogs reached maturity before increasing again as they approached middle age (5-6 years of age).
On average, diarrhoea episodes lasting 2 days or more resulted in the dog being taken to the veterinary surgeon for investigation and treatment. Unsurprisingly the longer the diarrhoea lasted, the more likely owners were to take their dog to the vet, although the frequency of the episodes had less influence on likelihood of the dog being taken to the vet. There appears to be some seasonality to diarrhoea episodes with greater numbers reported in August and September, which probably coincides with warmer, wetter weather and larger amounts of time spent outdoors.
A number of factors appeared to reduce the likelihood of a dog developing diarrhoea, including owning another dog, living in an area with a lower population density (and presumably meeting less other dogs), and living in households where the owners were retired or smoked. If you want to read more about the study, please visit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167587716304354. Just over one third of diarrhoea episodes resulted in a trip to the vet, which means that capturing information from dog owners directly is the only way we can study the true burden of these diseases as most episodes never reach veterinary records. Next month we will tell you more about about our findings on vomiting in the Dogslife cohort. Thanks again to all the participants who take part in Dogslife for making this research possible.
Is your dog special? Why not put them forward to become a Featured Dog? Lookout for the link next time you log in!
