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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.
Activities for dogs: Treibball
The popularity of Labrador Retrievers
Dogslife at Crufts
Did / does your dog have growing pains?
Have your household or contact details changed?
Activities for dogs: Treibball
Have you ever thought about trying a new sport with your dog? Originating in Germany in 2003, Treibball is a sport which involves dogs gathering and driving large inflatable exercise balls into a goal. Unsurprisingly, the sport stems from herding (with the exercise balls being likened to “rolling sheep”) and can provide a substitute activity for energetic dogs requiring physical and mental stimulation.
The exercise balls are between 45-75cm in size and eight of them are positioned to form a triangle with the point of the triangle furthest from the goal. The aim of Treibball is for dogs to get all of the exercise balls into the goal within a set time (typically 15 minutes) with help from their handler. The handler can only use a whistle, hand signs, or verbal commands to guide their dog, and there are restrictions on how much of the designated Treibball area the handler can be in. Dogs must manoeuvre one ball at a time into the goal area. Points are scored for good direction and cooperation within the dog and handler team, so if dogs are obedient and work well off the lead, and there is good teamwork and communication between the dog and handler, they are sure to do well.
Triebball became a competitive sport in 2008, and dogs of all ages and sizes can take part. To find out more about Treibball, please click here.
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The popularity of Labrador Retrievers
Labrador Retrievers still remain the most popular breed in the UK, and elsewhere in the world. Despite being a firm favourite, Labrador Retriever registrations with the Kennel Club have declined over the past five years (see the graph below). When the Dogslife project was launched in 2010, there were 44,099 Labrador Retrievers registered with the Kennel Club, however this reduced to 34,715 Labrador Retrievers in 2014 representing a 21% decline over the five year period.
The decline in registrations of Labrador Retrievers is a reflection of the overall decline in registrations of dogs with the Kennel Club over the same period. The total number of Kennel Club registrations for all groups of dogs in 2010 was 257,062, and in 2014 it was 222,638 dogs, representing a 13% decline over the five-year period.
The graph below shows that Gundogs were the most popular group of dogs in 2014 with 85,909 dogs being registered (and Labrador Retrievers accounting for 40% of all Gundogs), followed by the Utility group (40,055), then the Toys (28,915), Terrier (22,449), Working (16,303), Pastoral (14,653), and lastly the Hound group (14,354).
Labrador Retrievers remain by far the most popular breed registered with the Kennel Club (34,715 dogs registered in 2014). The next four most popular breeds after the Labrador Retriever are the Cocker Spaniel (22,366 registrations), followed by the English Springer Spaniel (10,616 registrations), French Bulldog (9,670 dog registered), and the Pug (9,245 dogs registered).
As previously mentioned, Labrador Retrievers are not only popular in the UK but also across the world, and many are exported abroad every year. In 2013, 234 Labrador Retrievers left the UK, with the most popular destination being the USA where 72 Labrador Retrievers were exported. The next five most popular places Labrador Retrievers were exported to were: Germany (27), Sweden (17), Denmark (16), Austria (13), and The Netherlands (10).
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Dogslife at Crufts
With dog breeds in mind, Crufts takes place at the Birmingham NEC this month from 5th–8th March. Dogslife will be represented this year, so if you are visiting, please come and see us at The University of Edinburgh and The Roslin Institute stand to find out more about the project, other research we are doing to improve the health of dogs, and to meet some of the people involved in making the project work. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Did / does your dog have growing pains?
Panosteitis is an inflammatory disease affecting the bone marrow of young dogs. It is often referred to colloquially as “growing pains” or “shifting leg lameness”. In the general dog population there are about 2.6 cases per 1000 dogs, and Labrador Retrievers appear to be slightly more at risk of developing panosteitis than the average dog. We have already had a number of reports of panosteitis affecting dogs taking part in the Dogslife project.
Clinical signs of panosteitis usually develop between 5 and 12 months of age, although they can occur in dogs anywhere up to five years of age, and male dogs appear to be affected more frequently than female dogs. The disease is characterised by the development of bone around the area where the major blood supply enters the bone to supply the marrow cavity. This is associated with an increased pressure in the bone, which in turn causes pain.
The first sign of the disease tends to be lameness, often affecting more than one limb, and also often affecting different limbs on different days. The disease tends to affect the “long” bones (the upper [humerus] and lower foreleg bones [radius and ulna] and hind leg [the femur and tibia] bones). These bones become extremely painful if squeezed when dogs are affected by the disease. There are characteristic changes seen on X-rays (see the figure below), which develop a little time after the onset of clinical signs. Treatment usually consists of rest and painkillers. Recurrence can occur although the frequency and severity of episodes diminishes as the puppy matures.
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Have your household or contact details changed?
Dogslife would really like to know if there have been any changes in your household, for example, if you have moved house, or if any adults, children or other pets have joined or left your household. This is so that we have the correct information about your dog’s environment; where they live and with how many other people and/or pets.
We would also like to know if any of your contact details have changed so that we can be sure to contact you on your preferred telephone number and/or email address. All contact and household information is confidential and is not passed on to any other party.
To make any alterations to your contact or household details, simply login at www.dogslife.ac.uk and click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘edit your profile’ links (circled in red in the image to the right). Here you can check/amend your details, clicking ‘Save & Continue’ to scroll through the pages.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to email us at info@dogslife.ac.uk. Thank you for keeping your details up to date, and for all your help with the project.
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Dogslife would like to apologise to owners using Internet Explorer to view their dog’s profile page, as currently their dog’s graphs cannot be viewed using this browser. We are working to fix this as quickly as possible. The graphs can be viewed in other browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozzila Firefox.
Don't forget to come back to www.dogslife.ac.uk to update your dog's record!
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