Tuesday, June 6, 2023
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Biology

Labrador retrievers at risk of various health problems

October 22, 2018
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Labrador retrievers, the second most popular dog breed in the UK, are vulnerable to a number of health conditions, according to a study published in the open access journal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology.

Researchers at The University of Sydney, Australia, in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College, London found that the most common health issues in Labrador retrievers over a one-year period were obesity, ear infections and joint conditions.

Professor Paul McGreevy, the corresponding author, said: "Labrador retrievers are reportedly prone to many disorders but accurate information about how common certain health problems are in the general pet population is lacking. This is the first study to include a large number of Labrador retrievers based on records gathered from hundreds of UK vet clinics. It provides owners with information on the issues that they should look out for in Labrador retrievers."

McGreevy added: "One interesting finding from our research is that the average life-span of Labrador retrievers was 12 years, but chocolate-colored Labradors showed a 10% shorter lifespan than black or yellow Labradors. We also found that ear infections and skin diseases were more common in chocolate Labradors than non-chocolate Labradors."

The authors suggest that the higher number of skin and ear infections in chocolate Labradors may be due to genetics. Chocolate color is recessive in dogs, which means that the gene for chocolate color must be present in both the parents for the puppies to be chocolate colored. When targeting chocolate coat color, breeders may be more likely to use only Labradors which carry the chocolate coat gene and the reduced gene pool may include a higher proportion of genes involved in ear and skin conditions.

The authors analyzed data on 33,320 Labrador retrievers in the VetCompass™ Programme, which collects electronic patient data on dogs attending UK veterinary practices. They extracted data on disorder and mortality from a random sample of 2,074 (6.2%) of these dogs.

Professor Paul McGreevy said: "We also found that 8.8% of Labrador retrievers are overweight or obese, one of the highest percentages among the dog breeds in the VetCompass™ database. There were more overweight and obese dogs among male Labradors that had been neutered than amongst those that had not, but there was no such pattern for female Labradors."

The authors caution that the study may under-estimate the true number of dogs with health problems, as the data are likely to include more severely affected animals that require veterinary management and there may be lower reporting of health issues in less affected Labrador retrievers.

###

Media Contact

Hannah Taylor Lewis
[email protected]
789-119-0953
@biomedcentral

http://www.biomedcentral.com

http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40575-018-0064-x

Share25Tweet16Share4ShareSendShare
  • UTHSC Pangenome Researchers

    UTHSC researchers’ work on human pangenome aids understanding of common chromosomal abnormality

    76 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Mount Sinai researchers use new deep learning approach to enable analysis of electrocardiograms as language

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Innovation at Pennington Biomedical Research Center gets new emphasis

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

    786 shares
    Share 314 Tweet 197
  • Why are dog breeds with innate diseases popular?

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • Renowned sociologist and Black Voices Quintet set to dazzle at HDR UK’s Black Internship Programme Opening Ceremony 2023

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

UTHSC researchers’ work on human pangenome aids understanding of common chromosomal abnormality

Null results research now published by major behavioral medicine journal

Why expensive wine appears to taste better

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 206 other subscribers

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2023 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In