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What's happening with your dog's data?
Open Wide – the tooth about dental disease! Part 2
Worms
Your dog’s illness record
What's happening with your dog's data?
We have been collecting data from Dogslife members for nearly a year, and some trends are already emerging. Interestingly, when participants tell us what the main reason for owning their dog is, most own their Labrador Retriever as a pet (87%), rather than for working (9%), breeding or showing (3%), or other (1%) reasons. From the data provided so far, 24% of dogs have required non-routine veterinary attention, for illness or injury, with each dog requiring an average of 2.3 visits to the vet.
All the information participants have diligently recorded each month can now be put to use. For example, we can start to develop a “growth chart” for Labrador Retrievers to show how the population grows with time (Figure 1). The dots on the graph represent each of the values members have entered about their dogs. The “average” line is the central blue line through the thick area of the data points. The upper and lower blue lines show the range of heights where we expect to see the values for 95% of dogs (95% prediction intervals).
Above: Figure 1 - The growth curve (height at the withers related to age) of dogs participating in the Dogslife project. Each dot represents one data entry.
Clearly there is a degree of variation in any Labrador’s height at different time points. This is expected - after all we come in different shapes and sizes as well! You might notice that there are a few dots outside the “prediction intervals”. These points could represent extreme variation (very short or tall dogs), or errors such as mistakes in measuring, or accurate measurements which have been recorded as “centimetres” rather than “inches”. Over the next six months we will be contacting owners to check height and to measure how much variability there is in measuring a dog’s height by an individual (normal variation). This should help to reduce the number of dots outside the lines, to make our data more accurate.
We are sure you would like to know where your dog is on the graph! Obviously, we don’t want to give you inaccurate information, and the more data we receive, the more accurate it becomes. So we plan to add the growth curve (as above) of the Dogslife population to your dog’s height chart on their profile in the near future so that you can see exactly how tall or short they are compared to the rest of the population.
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Open Wide – the tooth about dental disease! Part 2
Dr Andrew Gardiner, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh
Biting problems
Most young dogs have lovely mouths. Keeping them that way is the problem! However, young dogs can develop problems with the bite, called malocclusions. Here, the teeth do not meet properly. This can be serious because it can interrupt normal jaw growth and lead to teeth digging into sensitive structures such as the hard palate. This is extremely painful and can lead on to serious complications such as oro-nasal fistula (an abnormal connection between the mouth and nose).
Malocclusions are always best treated as soon as they are discovered, so even a young puppy may need to come in for dental treatment. Retained canine (fang) teeth are a very common malocclusion. Generally speaking, although one of the less serious malocclusions, the retained teeth should be removed as soon as possible. Two teeth of the same type should never be present at the same time in a dog’s mouth. The incoming tooth should ‘push out’ the baby tooth, so if they are both visible this has not happened and something is wrong.
Above: Retained primary canine tooth
Note that most malocclusions are partly genetic in cause. So although only one or two puppies in a litter may be affected, they all could potentially pass on the problem. Treating malocclusions can be expensive, but the main aim is always to provide a comfortable mouth, and not to do anything for cosmetic reasons alone. Treating malocclusions often involves tooth extraction.
Homecare: tooth brushing
Brushing your dog’s teeth is the key to avoiding doggy dental disease and vet bills! All you need is a soft toothbrush (it doesn’t need to be a special dog one) and some dog toothpaste. Do not use human toothpaste as the fluoride is dangerous if swallowed and the taste is unpleasant for dogs. In fact, toothpaste is less important than the brushing action. Brushing with water alone is fine – but most dogs enjoy the flavoured toothpastes made for them, making tooth brushing easier. The key is to start slowly and make the whole thing enjoyable for your dog. Follow these simple steps for success:
- At first, just get your dog used to sitting quietly while you gently examine the mouth area. Lift the lips and gently press the gums. Go slowly. Only spend 5 minutes at a time and reward well. Repeat for a few days.
- Then using your finger, place a little toothpaste in the mouth. Allow the dog to lick and swallow. Repeat, smearing this on the gums. Work on this for a few days.
- Now rub the teeth with toothpaste using a small piece of cloth folded over your finger. You are already helping your dog’s teeth. Only work on the outside of the teeth (the tongue cleans the inside surface well). Build this up over a few days.
- Then introduce the toothbrush and paste. Use a soft one. Concentrate on the cheek teeth (at the back of the mouth). Do not force the brush into the open mouth. You can brush the teeth with the mouth held closed, since you are working on the outer surfaces.
- Always reward afterwards. Try to brush daily. A few minutes every day works wonders.
Above: Different types of dog toothbrush. The one on the right slips over the finger. However, a cheap soft toothbrush from the supermarket is also fine.
Diet and dental disease
If you brush your dog’s teeth, whether the diet is wet or dry is far less important. Harder chew treats can benefit the teeth by exercising the jaws and gums. Make sure you choose safe treats: dogs that chew very vigorously can break teeth on raw hide chews, so avoid these if you have a dog like that. Hard biscuits may be better. Generally speaking, best to avoid bones in most dogs, although some vets recommend a natural diet based on raw meat and bones for optimal dental health. This is fairly controversial however.
Safe tugging games are also very beneficial for the teeth since the teeth are cleaned by the action of pulling the material through the mouth.
Don’t neglect your dog’s teeth – they hurt just like ours!
If you missed Part 1 of, ‘Open Wide - the tooth about dental disease!’ you can catch up here: http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/newsletter/view/9#dental
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Worms
Worms are internal parasites that live in a dog’s intestine. Sometimes there are no symptoms of a dog being infected with worms unless they are bearing a high number of them. If left untreated, worms can cause damage to the gut, resulting in anaemia, weight loss, a loss of “condition”, vomiting and diarrhoea.
There are two common types of worms which infect dogs: roundworms (the most common type being Toxocara canis) and tapeworms (usually the Dipylidium species).
Roundworms are contracted from the environment; dogs can ingest roundworm larvae from faeces and the soil. The roundworm larvae develop into worms once inside the dog. Roundworms feed from the food the dog is digesting. They are white in colour, can grow to be a few inches long, and are often coiled or resemble an elastic band. Roundworms and their eggs can be found in a dog’s faeces or in their vomit. It is therefore important to pick up after dogs in the garden and when out walking in order to help reduce the risk of spreading the parasite.
Humans can become infected with Toxocara canis by ingesting eggs found in soil dirt, spread from faeces onto other surfaces and food by flies, or eating undercooked meat. By paying attention to hand hygiene (particularly at meal times and with children who may put their hands or other contaminated items in their mouth), and making sure fruit and vegetables are washed and meat is cooked through, transmission can be avoided.
Tapeworms are contracted by dogs ingesting fleas, typically from licking themselves whilst grooming. Fleas carry tapeworm larvae, so when a dog swallows a flea, the larvae turn into tapeworms. Tapeworms attach to the wall of the gut and feed from the dog’s blood. They can grow up to 2 feet long, are flat, pale and look like they have grains of rice in them which are the tapeworm’s eggs. Tapeworms, like roundworms, can also be seen in a dog’s faeces. By keeping fleas at bay, the chance of dogs getting tapeworm is lessened.
A worm infection can be easily treated, but to keep dogs healthy and happy, it is advisable to worm them regularly, preventing them from becoming unwell. Your vet will be able to give advice on the different products available and the best worming (and flea treatment) regime to suit your dog’s lifestyle.
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Your dog’s illness record
Members who have told us about their dogs' health and lifestyle will have seen that part of the online questionnaire asks if your dog has had any illnesses. Two questions ask about "scratching" and "licking or chewing". For clarification, these both relate to whether your dog has been “scratching" or "licking or chewing" themselves, not objects (such as furniture). To avoid confusion we will be amending the wording in the illness section of the questionnaire to make this clear. If you think you have made an error in a previous data entry, please send an email to info@dogslife.ac.uk giving details of the information that has been recorded incorrectly.
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Don't forget to come back to Dogslife to update your dog's record www.dogslife.ac.uk
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