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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.
Labradors at work: Hounds for Heroes
The magnetic attraction of dogs!
Canine Hypothyroidism
Prize winners!
Labradors at work: Hounds for Heroes
Hounds for Heroes is a charity which aims to provide specially trained assistance dogs to those in the Civilian Emergency Services and the UK Armed Forces who have been injured and disabled. Hounds for Heroes assistance dogs provide practical everyday help (for example, opening doors, picking things up, crossing the road, posting letters, help with shopping, and travelling on public transport) as well as emotional support and companionship, therefore providing an enhanced quality of life.
Hounds for Heroes was set up in February 2010 by Allen Parton, a Royal Navy Veteran of the first Gulf War who sustained severe physical and mental trauma. Allen’s life was transformed by his assistance dog, Endal who was the inspiration for the charity (click here to view our previous newsletter article).
Assistance dogs are very carefully chosen to ensure they have the right qualities for their role (such as temperament and willingness to learn). Basic training begins from an early age and a team of volunteer ‘Puppy Parents’ look after the puppies from eight weeks of age until they are 14-16 months of age. Puppy Parents socialise the puppy and attend weekly training classes and one-to-one sessions where skills are acquired to enhance the puppy’s continued learning and development whilst in the care of the Puppy Parent. After leaving the Puppy Parent, dogs begin their advanced training where they learn the specific skills required to be an assistance dog. Dogs are trained especially for their new owner, so they are taught bespoke skills to meet an individual’s requirements. They are not only taught many tasks and how to problem solve, but also how to be intuitive to the disabled person’s needs. Once dogs have completed their advanced training, the disabled partner is given full ownership of the dog. Hounds for Heroes currently have two groups of puppies in basic training, and a group of puppies in advanced training.
There are currently over 900,000 injured servicemen and women in the UK and the number continues to rise. Hounds for Heroes aim to make a difference to the wellbeing of disabled Service and Emergency Service personnel by providing comfort and support from bereavement and trauma, and to gain the feelings of loyalty, trust and team spirit from the partnership with an assistance dog.
To find out more about the charity, please click here.
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The magnetic attraction of dogs!
Scientists already know that many mammals such as grey wolves, red foxes, coyotes, cattle, red deer and roe deer have been able to detect the earth’s magnetic field to sense their location or direction, but what about dogs? Recent scientific research suggests that dogs too may have a sense of magnetoreception.
The two year study involved scientists monitoring the toileting behaviour of 37 different breeds of dog over that time. The dogs were observed when they were off the lead and in open spaces, away from any manmade structures. A hand-held compass was used to record the alignment of the dogs’ spines when they positioned themselves to go to the toilet. The details of the dog’s breed, age, condition, body mass and sex, as well as the time, date and location were also recorded, to see if these had any effect.
The results revealed that the north-south axis (of the dog's spine) was the preferred position when toileting, indicating that dog behaviour may be influenced by the earth’s magnetic field. The exact reason for this preference is unclear but it implies that they can sense the earth’s magnetic field, and this might have a navigational function. So your dog might be able to act as your compass… although we wouldn’t suggest that you rely on them!
For more information on this study, please click here.
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Canine Hypothyroidism
Canine hypothyroidism is the inadequate production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. Thyroid hormone is required to regulate metabolism, so when inadequate thyroid hormone is produced the body’s metabolism slows down, which produces characteristic clinical signs in the affected dog. The common clinical signs seen in affected dogs are of a “dry” coat, loss of hair (particularly on the flanks and in the armpits), skin and ear infections, lethargy and weight gain. Unfortunately these clinical signs can be observed with many other conditions so hypothyroidism is not always straightforward to diagnose.
In many cases the cause of the inadequate thyroid function is not discovered, which is called idiopathic hypothyroidism. Other causes include the production of antibodies to the thyroid gland (which results in the immune system destroying the gland) and a failure of the pituitary gland to produce hormones which would normally stimulate the thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone. A lack of iodine can also cause the condition, but this is extremely rare.
The diagnosis of the condition usually requires many blood tests and other diagnostic procedures to rule out other conditions. In particular, a measure of the “responsiveness” of the production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland following pituitary hormone stimulation, and a test looking for antibodies to the thyroid gland, may be needed to fully characterise the disease. Treatment with tablets containing the missing thyroid hormone is extremely effective at resolving the clinical signs, and there should be no long term consequences of the disease if it is adequately controlled.
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Prize winners!
Congratulations to March’s prize winners! The following Dogslife members have each won £10 of Pets at Home vouchers: Mrs W from Norfolk, Mrs K from Staffordshire, Mrs M from Lincolnshire, Mrs M from Suffolk, Mrs W from Northamptonshire, Miss A from Avon, Mrs H from Cornwall, Mrs S from Bristol, and Mrs R from Dorset. We hope you enjoy spending the vouchers on your pet!
Don’t worry if you haven’t won a prize this time, by keeping your dog’s record up to date, you will automatically be entered into the next prize draw which takes place in June. Thank you to everyone who continues to take part in Dogslife – you are playing an important part in helping us find out what keeps dogs healthy!
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