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October 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.
Our new website is almost ready!!
Planning on getting a Labrador Retriever Puppy? Get in touch!
Comparisons of overweight and healthy weight dogs
Field Trials and Working Dog Tests
Our new website is almost ready!!
Dogslife’s new website will finally launch in November and although it will look very similar to our old site it has some exciting new features! The new website will be compatible with tablets and smart phones, making it easier to update your dog’s profile.
You will also notice that you will no longer be able to log on and just update the illness page on its own; a full data entry will be required but as a lot of questions are prepopulated from your dog being 10 months of age, providing you have no changes, we hope this will not add too much time to your process.
Given the amount of fantastic data collected by Dogslife over the years, we expect that there may be some teething problems as we move to the new site. Please bear with us as we try to get to grip with them. In particular it is likely that the website will not be accessible for a 48 hour period whilst its swapped to the new version. As ever, please do email in with any queries or questions as we are very happy to help!
Planning on getting a Labrador Retriever Puppy? Get in touch!
Our PhD student, Charlotte, is looking for puppy volunteers (aged between 3-4 months) to help with her research investigating factors that influence digestive health in Labrador Retrievers. To take part, all you need to do is send us a stool sample from your puppy at 3-4 months, 7 months and 12 months of age and a DNA sample at any age. All the necessary equipment and instructions to collect both samples will be sent to you along with a prepaid envelope to send them back.
Once Charlotte has the samples, she can analyse them and will start to build up a picture of the types of bacteria that live in our dogs’ guts and how their lifestyles can affect these microbial communities over time. This will hopefully allow us to bring you more information on improving your dog’s gut health (and reduce risk of vomiting and diarrhoea!)
Taking a DNA sample from your dog is as simple as putting a soft sponge swab in your dog's mouth for a minute! It is easy to do and is not painful for your dog. The swab will provide us with saliva containing your dog’s DNA which we can analyse with the stool sample. The stool sample can be collected when you scoop it up for the bin!
If you are planning on getting a puppy in the following months and would like to take part in the study then please let us know at info@dogslife.ac.uk. We will also be contacting those eligible to take part so keep an eye and ear out for our emails and phone calls.
Comparisons of overweight and healthy weight dogs
Dog owners rightly worry about their pet being overweight or obese because this is known to be associated with other diseases such as diabetes, cancers and osteoarthritis, and that overweight dogs tend to live shorter lives. We know from data in the Dogslife project that the type of activity dogs are engaged in is important in relation to how quickly they gain weight in early adulthood, and other studies have shown that the risk of dogs becoming overweight is inversely proportional to the quantity of activity undertaken each week. A recent study based at the University of Liverpool has looked at how the frequency and duration of exercise affected whether dogs became overweight or not.
Dog owners were invited, via an advertisement following a dog documentary, to engage in an online questionnaire regarding their dog’s weight, activity and lifestyle. Just over 11,000 responses were analysed, with about 16% of dog owners participating reporting that their dog was overweight. Dogs which were reported as being overweight were more likely to be neutered or older, and Labrador Retrievers were more commonly reported as being overweight in the survey. The more frequently owners walked their dog and the longer they walked their dog for, the lower the likelihood of their dog being reported as being overweight. These factors were independent of each other (i.e. it was not simply that dogs walked more frequently were also walked for longer periods).
Of course this study cannot tell us why dogs become overweight (for example it may be that overweight dogs exercise less than dogs of a healthy weight), but it is interesting that it is not just the duration but also the frequency of exercise which is associated with the condition. Unfortunately, we still cannot answer the question “How much exercise should my dog have to keep them healthy?”, but it does provide more evidence that activity is important for the health and wellbeing of pets. You can read the full study here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5465859/
Field Trials and Working Dog Tests
Whether you work your dog or not, you may have noticed your Labrador has a natural talent at retrieving whether it be a dummy, tennis ball or your sock! You may be familiar with the term ‘field trial champion (F. T. Ch),’ perhaps when you were looking to get your new puppy, but if not here is a brief explanation of what these very popular competitions are all about.
Designed to test the working ability of a particular breed, field trials aim to mimic a day’s shooting (where Labradors would typically retrieve pheasant or partridge). The tasks the working dog is expected to complete differ according to their breed but Labradors are tested on their ability to retrieve, including speed and directness at finding their game. Points are awarded for a quick find and return, showing a gentle handling of the game as well as obedience to ‘work’ (seek out game) in the area instructed by the dog’s handler. Failure to find the game results in immediate disqualification. Every year the prestigious International Gundog League (IGL) Retriever Championship takes place, showcasing the best field trailers out there, all competing to be named champion. This year the event will be held in Lancashire in December. Due to the popularity to compete in field trails you must be a member of a Field Trial Society to compete.There are over 600 field trials and working dog tests held every year mainly during the autumn and winter.
Working dog tests differ to field trials as the retrieves such as jumping fences and water retrieves are ‘set up’ to resemble scenarios that may occur on a shoot day in order that the dog can be assessed. They do not use live game and will often use dummies instead.. Working dog tests are a good start to get you use to competing in a friendly setting and can be used as an extension to the training you currently do.
Labrador history – St John’s Water dog
Field Trial Champions – Kennel Club information
Gundog Working Tests - Kennel Club information
Congratulations to September’s prize winners! The following Dogslife members have each won £10 of Pets at Home vouchers: Mr M from Poole, Mrs B from Milngavie, Mrs H from Stroud, Mrs S from Rother, Mr I from Haslemere, Mrs L from Newcastle Emlyn, Ms B from Sunninghill, Mrs T from Shropshire, Mrs Whatmore from Salisbury and Mrs Legg from Aberdeen. We hope you enjoy spending the vouchers on your pet!
Don’t worry if you haven’t won a prize this time; the next time you login at www.dogslife.ac.uk and update your dog’s record, you will automatically be entered into the next prize draw which takes place in December.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support Dogslife. We are very grateful for your help with the study. To read about Dogslife’s findings so far, please click the link below.
Is your dog special? Why not put them forward to become a Featured Dog? Look out for the link next time you log in!
