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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.
Happy 3rd Birthday Dogslife!
Histiocytomas
Dogslife – the next generation!
Prize winners!
Happy 3rd Birthday Dogslife!
The Dogslife project has now reached three years of age! The study currently has over 3,650 members providing information on over 3,760 Labrador Retrievers. Dogslife is still the largest longitudinal study of dog health in the world and is continuing to recruit Labrador Retriever puppies until June 2014.
We are very grateful to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust for providing part of the funding for the project for the next year, and to the Kennel Club for continuing to help by telling members about the project when they register their puppies.
Thanks to the help of our members, Dogslife has been able to collect DNA and faecal (stool) samples from approximately 500 of the dogs taking part in the study. Over the coming months, Dogslife will be using the DNA samples to look for genetic risks for common problems (such as diarrhoea) and uncommon problems (such as limber tail). We will also be looking at which microbes are normally in dogs’ intestines and how this affects their health. We will continue to update you on the findings of the project through our Newsletter and in The study so far section of the website. Thanks again to everyone who has helped us collect these samples.
As you may have read in our June newsletter, Dogslife is looking to measure the movement of dogs participating in the study to see how this affects their health. Over the coming year, we will be sending out tiny devices called “accelerometers” which can be attached to dogs’ collars to pick up movement. From the recordings we gather from the accelerometers, we will be able to identify specific patterns of movement to help us build a picture of the movement of different dogs taking part in the study. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to take part in this study with their dog, your help is greatly appreciated.
Huge thanks to everyone who continues to update their dog’s record, we really appreciate your time and dedication to the study. To date you have provided over 200,000 separate pieces of information about your dogs. All the information gathered is invaluable to our research into finding out what keeps dogs healthy!
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Histiocytomas
With the recent news coverage reporting that it is estimated that over half the UK population will develop cancer in their lifetime by 2020, you might wonder if any cancers have been reported in the Dogslife project. As you may have expected, given that all of the dogs participating in the project are young, cancers are relatively uncommon. However, we have had a number of tumours reported, the most common of which is a histiocytoma.
Histiocytomas are skin tumours, caused by cells of the immune system called histiocytes. They are most commonly seen in young dogs and usually appear as a single, small skin mass on the head, neck, ears or limbs. Often the skin can be ulcerated. The tumour can be diagnosed on the basis of the appearance of the cells taken from the mass, either with a needle or by removing it and sending it to a pathologist. These tumours can spontaneously regress, although this can take months to occur. At the moment the precise number of Labrador Retrievers which develop histiocytomas is unknown, but previous reports have suggested that it occurs in fewer than one in every 300 insured dogs. In Dogslife, 15 dogs have been reported to have developed this type of tumour so far.
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Dogslife – the next generation!
Since January, you have been telling us more about your dog's lifestyles and we are now able to relay some of the extra information collected about the breeding of dogs taking part in the study.
There have been 49 dogs mated to date: 21 females, and 28 males. All of the dogs were mated naturally (none have been artificially inseminated). The average age at which dogs were first bred was 28 months for females, and 25 months for males. The Kennel Club’s Mate Select service was used by six members with female dogs.
From the male dogs that have been mated, 11 pregnancies have been recorded. From the females mated, there have been 15 pregnancies recorded and 12 litters have been born so far, with the average litter size being 9 puppies.
So how closely are dogs taking part in the project related? Overall 69% of the Dogslife cohort is related to another dog taking part in the project (e.g. by sibling, half sibling, dam or sire). We know which dogs are related to which by their Kennel Club numbers, and we incorporate this into our analyses of the data you provide. Because related dogs share some of their genetic make-up, this can help us to identify risks for developing diseases.
If you are breeding your Labrador Retriever, don't forget to let the new puppy owners know about the Dogslife project so that they can take part in the study if they wish. Please feel free to print off our flyer and hand it out to the new puppy owners. We look forward to welcoming the next generation of Dogslife dogs onto the study - thank you again for your help!
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Prize winners!
Congratulations to our latest prize winners! The following members have all won £10 of Pets at Home vouchers: Miss A from West Yorkshire, Mrs K from London, Mrs H from East Yorkshire, Dr S from West Yorkshire, Mrs J from County Durham, Mrs F from Essex, Ms S from Northamptonshire, Mrs B from Gloucestershire, Ms B from the Isle of Man, and Mr F from Aberdeenshire. We hope you enjoy spending the vouchers on your pet.
Thank you to everyone who continues to update their dog’s record; all the information provided helps the study enormously. If you haven’t won a prize this time don’t worry, by keeping your dog’s record up to date, you will automatically be entered into the next prize draw in September. Good luck for next time!
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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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