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Happy Birthday Dogslife!
Labradors at work: Military Working Dogs
Saving lives: Canine blood donation
Prize winners!
Happy Birthday Dogslife!
The Dogslife research project has reached 1 year of age! The project currently has over 1380 members, and thanks to the generosity of the Kennel Club will continue recruiting over the next year until June 2012. Dogslife is still the first and only large-scale study of dog health in the world.
On behalf of all the project team we would like to thank everyone that has joined, promoted and contributed to the project, and to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust for funding the study.
Dogslife hopes to follow dogs for the duration of their lifetime so that we can start to dissect the effects of environmental factors (such as feeding and exercise) on the health of Labradors over their whole life. We have already had over 3400 health records and over 1500 illness episodes recorded so far. To illustrate the scale of the task to evaluate the data collected, a PhD student is joining the Dogslife team on the 1st October 2011 to help with the data analysis over the next four years. The information produced by the analysis will be relayed to members of the Dogslife project as soon as it is ready for release.
We hope our members continue to enjoy being part of Dogslife and take advantage of features such as the newsletter, the scrapbook, the Featured Dog section and of course keeping their dog’s profiles and health records up to date! As always, any comments, criticisms or suggestions for the project are gratefully received. Over the coming year we hope to improve the utility of the website, in particular the graphical representations of illness, weight and height so that it is easier for you to appreciate the data you have entered.
Dogslife wishes everyone a happy and healthy year ahead. Thanks again for your contribution and making the project a success!
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Labradors at work: Military Working Dogs
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps began to consider the use of dogs in military situations during World War II. Dogs have since proved valuable assistants. Currently, the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment is made up of five Military Working Dog Squadrons which encompass 200 dogs and 284 soldiers and officers.
The Regiment’s key role is to provide support in Afghanistan by searching for explosives and arms in buildings, vehicles and on transport routes. Many lives have been saved from Military Working Dogs who have detected improvised explosive devices that can then be made safe.
Military Working Dogs have a very close bond with their handlers and the dogs can often boost the morale of the soldiers and officers of the squadron. The Military Working Dogs’ health is managed by veterinary officers who also offer support to the troops.
It takes a lot of time, effort and resources to train a dog to become a Military Working Dog. This begins at the Defence Animal Centre (DAC) at Melton Mowbray, England. Here, dogs undergo defensive and search training enabling them to support military operations.
Before deployment to Afghanistan, Military Working Dogs carry out training in places such as Cyprus to help get ready and adjust to the type of climate and terrain.
Whilst serving, Military Working Dogs will regularly patrol areas and carry out safety checks to make sure compounds are secure and routes are clear. This gives the soldiers the required reassurance to carry out their duties. Military Working Dogs play an invaluable part in detecting arms and explosives and saving lives in Afghanistan.
For more information on Military Working Dogs visit: http://www.army.mod.uk/army-medical-services/ravc/19987.aspx
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Saving lives: Canine blood donation
We are often encouraged to make a blood donation since in the UK only 4% of people give blood (see http://www.blood.co.uk/). Blood donations are essential to ensure there is an adequate supply for use in hospitals to carry out critical treatments. Sick dogs may also require a blood transfusion for the same reason as people, such as if they lose blood through accident, injury or disease. Canine blood donations are therefore vitally important to help to try and save the lives of dogs.
Pet Blood Bank UK (PBBuk) is a charity that was set up in 2007 with the support of Vets Now. PBBuk collects, processes and stores canine blood products for distribution to veterinary practices and veterinary hospitals all over the UK. Since 2007, PBBuk have provided over 10,000 units of blood products to the veterinary profession.
For dogs, the process of giving blood is similar to that in people. Firstly, dogs are given a veterinary health check to make sure they are well enough to donate. They need to be in good condition, free from any parasites or infections, fully vaccinated (although not within 2 weeks before donating) and not have travelled abroad. They also need to be over 25 kilos in weight and between 1 and 8 years of age. A well behaved dog is also desirable to facilitate the procedure of giving blood.
Dogs are usually taken to a veterinary practice to donate blood which does not take long. After their health check, an area of is hair clipped, cleaned and local anaesthetic cream rubbed in to ease any discomfort before a needle is inserted into the jugular vein in the neck to take the blood. The donation takes between 5 – 10 minutes and the whole visit takes around 30 minutes. Dogs are given lots of reassurance, pats and rubs and are offered a drink and treats after they have donated so most dogs do not mind the procedure at all!
Dogs have blood “types”, just like people. All dogs in the UK are either DEA 1.1 +ve or –ve. Dogs of around 25 kilos can typically donate around 450ml of blood (1 unit). Just one blood donation can help save the lives of up to four dogs. Dogs usually donate blood approximately every three months. Giving blood regularly helps support the charity and has the advantage of frequent health checks for the donors. A full blood screen is undertaken at the first donation and then annually after that. All donors are microchipped so if dogs are not microchipped already, PBBuk will microchip new donors at their first donation free of charge.
The charity gathers donations from ‘collection sessions’ hosted at veterinary practices in various parts of the UK. PBBuk arrange three sessions per week with up to 20 donors attending each session. Approximately 1500 – 2000 canine blood donations are made each year. Blood is taken to the PBBuk laboratory and processed into fresh plasma and packed red blood cells, these are then stored ready to send out as required. Veterinary practices needing blood urgently can request it to be sent at short notice, for the cost of the collection and transport. For more information, please visit http://petbloodbankuk.org/.
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Prize winners!
….and finally congratulations go to the winners of the fourth Dogslife prize draw!
The first prize, £100 of Pets at Home vouchers, has been won by Mr C. The second prize winners, each receiving £50 of Pets at Home vouchers, are Mr A from County Durham and Mr M from Aberdeen. Mr L from Morayshire, Mrs B from Surrey, Mrs H from Essex, Mrs V from Norfolk, Mr M from Hertfordshire, Mrs G from Merseyside, Dr W from Derbyshire, Mr T from Midlothian, Mrs K from Dorset and Mr T from County Durham have each won £10 of Pets at Home vouchers.
You may not have won a prize this time but good luck for the next prize draw which will take place at the end of September! Every time you update your dog’s record, you are automatically entered into the prize draw, but most importantly your contribution helps us to find out what keeps dogs healthy in order to improve the lives of all dogs in the future. Thank you for taking part!
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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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