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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.
Sasha the Labrador awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal
Does your dog get jealous?
New findings on hip dysplasia in Labradors
An (active) day in the life of a Dogslife Labrador
Sasha the Labrador awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal
Earlier this year a yellow Labrador Retriever called Sasha was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal posthumously. Sasha was serving as a Military Working Dog in Afghanistan. She died in 2008 alongside her handler, Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe, in an ambush on their patrol. She was only four years old at the time.
Sasha was trained to search for hidden weapons, bomb making equipment and IEDs (improvised explosive devices). Whilst Sasha was in Afghanistan she made fifteen finds of ammunition or hidden explosives, saving many lives and serious injuries. She was determined to continue searching for explosive devices despite oppressive conditions, and provided a morale boost for the soldiers who worked with her. Tragically Lance Corporal Rowe and Sasha had been scheduled to return to the UK the day before they were killed, but Lance Corporal Rowe was concerned about the safety issues for his regiment, as there was no incoming dog team to take over, and he had asked for them both to remain behind.
The PDSA Dickin Medal is awarded to animals serving in military conflict to honour their bravery and heroic actions, and is considered to be the animals’ Victoria Cross. Twenty-nine dogs have been awarded the medal so far, five of which (including Sasha) are Labrador Retrievers. To view our previous article on the other Labrador Retrievers that have been awarded this medal, please click here. Sasha is the sixty-fifth recipient of the PDSA Dickin Medal. To find out about the other brave dogs, messenger pigeons, horses and cat which have been awarded this medal, please visit: http://www.pdsa.org.uk/about-us/animal-bravery-awards
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Does your dog get jealous?
It has been argued that jealousy is a complex cognitive emotion which is unique to humans, and that dogs do not experience jealousy. However, scientists in California set up a study to test whether or not this is true, and the findings may not surprise many dog owners...
The study used a lifelike stuffed toy dog as the object of the dog owner’s affection to assess whether or not dogs became jealous. Thirty-six dogs took part in the test. They were videoed in their homes whilst their owners began to show affection to the toy dog.
The video footage found that more than three quarters of dogs pushed or touched their owners when they paid attention to the stuffed toy. The dogs were also over three times more likely to do this when their owners interacted with the toy, as opposed to when they interacted with other items such as a book. Approximately one third of dogs tried to get between the toy and their owner, and a quarter of dogs snapped at the toy.
The findings show that dogs became distressed by the stuffed toy (which they apparently saw as a competitor) gaining attention over them. These behaviours demonstrate that dogs were reacting in a jealous manner, and were trying to break the relationship between their owner and the toy. The study’s scientists have suggested that the key motivation for the dogs’ behaviour may have been that they were protecting their own important relationship with their owner.
Jealousy in dogs probably evolved because they are a species which have many young and so they are used to competing for attention and food. The study has shown (as many dog owners may have guessed) that dogs do experience jealousy, so it’s not just a human emotion.
For more information on this study, please click here.
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New findings on hip dysplasia in Labradors
You may recall the Labrador Hip and Elbow Dysplasia study, launched in 2011 by scientists at The Roslin Institute and Animal Health Trust, which collected DNA samples and health information from thousands of Labrador Retrievers previously scored for hip dysplasia, to try and develop a genetic test for the disease (http://www.dogslife.ac.uk/newsletter/view/16#study). The initial results of this project have just been published in the scientific journal BMC Genomics (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/15/833).
Dr Enrique Sanchez-Molano and his team analysed over 170,000 genetic markers in each of the 1,500 hip-scored Labrador Retrievers born between 2002 and 2008. By comparing both the total hip scores for each dog, and the individual scores which are measured for each feature of each hip joint to make up the total score with the enormous quantity of genetic data collected, quantitative trait loci (QTL) which were related to the trait were identified on multiple chromosomes. Quantitative trait loci are areas of DNA on chromosomes which contain, or are linked, to the genes which contain the variations which cause the disease. In these QTL a number of “candidate” genes (genes which are hypothesised to potentially be implicated in the disease by virtue of their function, for example genes involved in bone or cartilage formation) were identified close to the genetic variants associated with hip dysplasia. Some of the QTLs were in areas of chromosomes previously identified to be associated with hip dysplasia in other studies of dogs with the condition, but many were new. Interestingly none of the chromosomes could explain more than 23% of the genetic variability of the hip score or its component parts, which suggests that none could be regarded as being primarily or solely responsible for the development of the disease.
The results highlight the complex nature of hip dysplasia, and suggest that it may be related to different metabolic processes. More importantly, the findings show that the genetic basis of hip dysplasia is the result of many genes spread across many chromosomes, each of which have a relatively small effect. The practical implication of this is that to select against the disease, a technique which encompasses markers covering the whole genome (also called "genomic selection"), rather than just using the few which are statically associated with the disease, should be considered as the optimal method for developing a genetic test for the disease. Using the enormous amount of data collected, Dr Sanchez-Molano and his team will now try and demonstrate how this can be achieved. Thank you again to all those who contributed their dog’s samples to this exciting project.
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An (active) day in the life of a Dogslife Labrador
Over the past year and a half we have been measuring the activity of dogs participating in the Dogslife project using a small device called an accelerometer. Members have kindly attached this device their dog’s collar so that we can track and record precisely how much movement dogs do each day over the course of a week. We can reveal some of the data from the study so far in the graphs below.
The activity monitor records movement through miniature accelerometers within it, which measure movement in three directions approximately 16 times a second. Every minute the monitor saves the total amount of activity measured by the accelerometers as an activity “count”. The results of the aggregated counts of the first 100 dogs to take part are presented below (the higher/redder the value, the greater the amount of activity being recorded). As you can see, Dogslife dogs are early risers, with significant activity starting at approximately 7am and peaks of activity occurring between 7am and 8am, and 9am and 10am. Dogs’ activity then reduces, before their activity peaks again between 4pm and 5.30pm., after which activity gradually declines until the final peak between 10.30pm and 11.30pm. Interestingly, Dogslife dogs don’t stay completely still in their resting hours, with little episodes of activity through the hours we think they are asleep!
If we look at a graph showing the total activity counts measured on each day of the week, we can see the participating dogs have quite similar levels of activity recorded though the week, although there is a slight trend for an increase in activity towards the middle of the week and weekend, with perhaps a slight reduction on Sundays.
Of course, the graphs tell us as much about the ways in which we (as dog owners) influence their activity throughout the day. Undoubtedly, the peaks are associated with the times which people walk their dogs (or indeed, let them out for a pee before bed!). The purpose of this part of the project is for us to assess how well the questionnaire measures the precise activity of participating dogs. We hope to be able to present these results to you in the near future. We also hope to use the data to show how dogs’ activity changes as they age. Thanks again to all the participants who agreed to allow their dogs’ activity to be recorded, and to all those participating in the project.
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