Articles

The effect of inbreeding, body size and morphology on health in dog breeds

Dog breeds are known for their distinctive body shape, size, coat color, head type and behaviors, features that are relatively similar across members of a breed. Unfortunately, dog breeds are also characterize...

Authors: Danika Bannasch, Thomas Famula, Jonas Donner, Heidi Anderson, Leena Honkanen, Kevin Batcher, Noa Safra, Sara Thomasy and Robert Rebhun

Heritability of distichiasis in Havanese dogs in Norway

Distichiasis is a presumed inherited eyelid disease, characterized by misplaced eyelashes. The effect on eye health and animal welfare varies between individuals; most mild cases show no clinical signs, but so...

Authors: Kim K. L. Bellamy, Frode Lingaas and Per Madsen

Comparative study of immunohematological tests with canine blood samples submitted for a direct antiglobulin (Coombs’) test

A 2019 ACVIM consensus statement on diagnostics for immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) in dogs made testing recommendations. As data on the performance of immunohematological tests was lacking, we underto...

Authors: Nadine Idalan, Johanna O. Zeitz, Corinna N. Weber, Elisabeth Müller and Urs Giger

Heritability and genetic variance estimation of Osteosarcoma (OSA) in Irish Wolfhound, using deep pedigree information

Osteosarcoma (OSA) is a devastating disease that is common in the Irish Wolfhound breed. The aim of this study was to use a pedigree-based approach to determine the heritability of OSA in the Irish Wolfhound u...

Authors: Mehdi Momen, Nyah L. Kohler, Emily E. Binversie, Mariellen Dentino and Susannah J. Sample

Description of breed ancestry and genetic health traits in arctic sled dog breeds

This study describes the presence and frequency of health traits among three populations of dogs traditionally used for sledding and explores their ancestry and breed composition as provided by the commerciall...

Authors: Joseph A. Thorsrud and Heather J. Huson

Frequency and predisposing factors for canine otitis externa in the UK – a primary veterinary care epidemiological view

Otitis externa is a commonly diagnosed disorder in dogs and can carry a high welfare impact on affected animals. This study aimed to report the prevalence and explore the role of breed and aural conformation a...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Andrea V. Volk, Teresa Soares, David B. Church, Dave C. Brodbelt and Camilla Pegram

Prevalence of an angiotensin-converting enzyme gene variant in dogs

Genetic heterogeneity of the canine angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene is functionally important because the degree of aldosterone breakthrough with ACE-inhibitor therapy is greater in variant positive d...

Authors: D. B. Adin, C. E. Atkins, S. G. Friedenberg, J. A. Stern and K. M. Meurs

Correction to: Cholestyramine treatment in two dogs with presumptive bile acid diarrhoea: a case report

Authors: L. Toresson, J. M. Steiner and J. S. Suchodolski

Genetics of canine subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS)

Subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) is one of the most common congenital heart defects of dogs. The disease is characterized by obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract, resulting in pressure overload ...

Authors: Eric S. Ontiveros and Joshua A. Stern

Comparison of volume of the forebrain, subarachnoid space and lateral ventricles between dogs with idiopathic epilepsy and controls using a stereological approach: Cavalieri’s principle

Canine idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is the most common chronic neurological brain disease in dogs, yet it can only be diagnosed by exclusion of all other potential causes. In people, epilepsy has been associated w...

Authors: Fraje Watson, A. Augusto Coppi, Holger A. Volk, Rowena M. A. Packer, Anna Tauro and Clare Rusbridge

Dog breeds and body conformations with predisposition to osteosarcoma in the UK: a case-control study

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive and painful bone neoplasm in dogs. Previous studies have reported epidemiological associations suggesting that large body mass, long bone length and the genetics of certain breeds...

Authors: Grace L. Edmunds, Matthew J. Smalley, Sam Beck, Rachel J. Errington, Sara Gould, Helen Winter, Dave C. Brodbelt and Dan G. O’Neill

Cholestyramine treatment in two dogs with presumptive bile acid diarrhoea: a case report

In people, bile acid diarrhoea is a prevalent complication of Crohn’s disease and diarrhoea-associated irritable bowel syndrome. Affected patients typically respond to bile acid sequestrants, such as cholestyr...

Authors: L. Toresson, J. M. Steiner and J. S. Suchodolski

Short and sweet: foreleg abnormalities in Havanese and the role of the FGF4 retrogene

Cases of foreleg deformities, characterized by varying degrees of shortened and bowed forelegs, have been reported in the Havanese breed. Because the health and welfare implications are severe in some of the a...

Authors: Kim K. L. Bellamy and Frode Lingaas

Breeding schemes for intervertebral disc disease in dachshunds: Is disc calcification score preferable to genotyping of the FGF4 retrogene insertion on CFA12?

Approximately every fifth Dachshund is affected by disc herniation - a painful, hereditary condition which is typically preceded by disc calcification. Therefore, the selection of dogs suitable for breeding ca...

Authors: Camilla Sichlau Bruun, Charlotte Bruun, Tine Marx, Helle Friis Proschowsky and Merete Fredholm

Initial survey of PLA2G6 missense variant causing neuroaxonal dystrophy in Papillon dogs in North America and Europe

An autosomal recessive, rapidly progressive degenerative neuropathy known as infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD) was originally reported in Papillion puppies in 1995. In 2015, a causative missense variant in...

Authors: Karthik Raj and Urs Giger

Comprehensive genetic testing combined with citizen science reveals a recently characterized ancient MC1R mutation associated with partial recessive red phenotypes in dog

The Melanocortin 1 Receptor (MC1R) plays a central role in regulation of coat color determination in various species and is commonly referred to as the “E (extension) Locus”. Allelic variation of the MC1R gene is...

Authors: Heidi Anderson, Leena Honkanen, Päivi Ruotanen, Julia Mathlin and Jonas Donner

Dog leucocyte antigen (DLA) class II haplotypes and risk of canine diabetes mellitus in specific dog breeds

Canine diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrine disease in domestic dogs. A number of pathological mechanisms are thought to contribute to the aetiopathogenesis of relative or absolute insulin deficiency, ...

Authors: A. L. Denyer, J. P. Massey, L. J. Davison, W. E. R. Ollier, B. Catchpole and L. J. Kennedy

The usage of Mate Select, a web-based selection tool for pedigree dogs for promoting sustainable breeding

Inbreeding is a phenomenon that accumulates through the mating of relatives within closed populations, such as pedigree dog breeds, and results in reduced genetic variation within breeds, and may lead to poore...

Authors: Mateja Janes, Thomas W. Lewis, Joanna J. Ilska and John A. Woolliams

Staffordshire Bull Terriers in the UK: their disorder predispositions and protections

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a popular dog breed in the UK but there is limited reliable evidence on disorder predispositions and protections within the breed. Using anonymised veterinary clinical data fr...

Authors: Camilla Pegram, Katie Wonham, Dave C. Brodbelt, David B. Church and Dan G. O’Neill

Genome-wide association analysis of idiopathic epilepsy in the Belgian shepherd

Idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is a common neurological disorder in the domestic dog, and is defined as repeated seizure activity having no identifiable underlying cause. Some breeds, such as the Belgian shepherd do...

Authors: J. M. Belanger, T. R. Famula, L. C. Gershony, M. K. Palij and A. M. Oberbauer

Effects of calcitriol on oxidative burst, phagocytic function, and leukocyte cytokine production in shelter dogs

The active metabolite of vitamin D, calcitriol, has been shown across many different species to augment innate immune responses and dampen aberrant proinflammatory cytokine production. Community acquired infec...

Authors: Jared A. Jaffey, Mariah Bessette, Zenan Tao, Nancy Bradley-Siemens and Melissa Thompson

Evaluation for type 1 diabetes associated autoantibodies in diabetic and non-diabetic Australian terriers and Samoyeds

Evidence for an autoimmune etiology in canine diabetes is inconsistent and could vary based on breed. Previous studies demonstrated that small percentages of diabetic dogs possess autoantibodies to antigens kn...

Authors: Allison L. O’Kell, Clive H. Wasserfall, Paula S. Henthorn, Mark A. Atkinson and Rebecka S. Hess

Canine Genetics and Epidemiology is now Canine Medicine and Genetics

Authors: William Ollier, Frédéric Gaschen and Lorna Kennedy

Whole genome sequencing for the investigation of canine mammary tumor inheritance - an initial assessment of high-risk breast cancer genes reveal BRCA2 and STK11 variants potentially associated with risk in purebred dogs

Although, in general, cancer is considered a multifactorial disease, clustering of particular cancers in pedigrees suggests a genetic predisposition and could explain why some dog breeds appear to have an incr...

Authors: Anna L. W. Huskey, Katie Goebel, Carlos Lloveras-Fuentes, Isaac McNeely and Nancy D. Merner

Lifespan of companion dogs seen in three independent primary care veterinary clinics in the United States

The privately owned companion dog is an emerging model in comparative medicine, notably because it shares the human environment including its risk factors, is affected by many analogous age-related diseases, r...

Authors: Silvan R. Urfer, Matt Kaeberlein, Daniel E. L. Promislow and Kate E. Creevy

Diabetes mellitus in dogs attending UK primary-care practices: frequency, risk factors and survival

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important endocrine disorder of dogs. The objectives of this study were to estimate prevalence and incidence of DM in dogs, and to explore risk factors for DM and the survival of D...

Authors: Angela M. Heeley, Dan G. O’Neill, Lucy J. Davison, David B. Church, Ellie K. Corless and Dave C. Brodbelt

Variation in breeding practices and geographic isolation drive subpopulation differentiation, contributing to the loss of genetic diversity within dog breed lineages

Discrete breed ideals are not restricted to delimiting dog breeds from another, but also are key drivers of subpopulation differentiation. As genetic differentiation due to population fragmentation results in ...

Authors: Sara Lampi, Jonas Donner, Heidi Anderson and Jaakko Pohjoismäki

Moving from information and collaboration to action: report from the 4th international dog health workshop, Windsor in May 2019

Dogs are the most popular mammal kept as a companion animal globally. Positive human-dog relationships can benefit both the human owners as well as the dogs. However, popularity as a companion animal species d...

Authors: Camilla L. Pegram, Brenda N. Bonnett, Helena Skarp, Gareth Arnott, Hannah James, Åke Hedhammar, Gregoire Leroy, Aimée Llewellyn-Zaidi, Ian J. Seath and Dan G. O’Neill

Demographic assessment of the Dalmatian dog – effective population size, linkage disequilibrium and inbreeding coefficients

The calculation of demographic measures is a useful tool for evaluating the genomic architecture of dog breeds and enables ranking dog breeds in terms of genetic diversity. To achieve this for the German Dalma...

Authors: Danae Vasiliadis, Julia Metzger and Ottmar Distl

Polymorphisms in the CTLA4 promoter sequence are associated with canine hypoadrenocorticism

Canine hypoadrenocorticism is an immune-mediated endocrinopathy that shares both clinical and pathophysiological similarities with Addison’s disease in humans. Several dog breeds are overrepresented in the dis...

Authors: Alisdair M. Boag, Andrea Short, Lorna J. Kennedy, Hattie Syme, Peter A. Graham and Brian Catchpole

Epidemiology and clinical management of elbow joint disease in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK

Conditions affecting the elbow joint are a common cause of lameness in dogs. Primary-care veterinary clinical data are now recognised as a valuable research resource. Using data from the VetCompass Programme, ...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Dave C. Brodbelt, Rebecca Hodge, David B. Church and Richard L. Meeson

Pedigree analysis of atrial fibrillation in Irish wolfhounds supports a high heritability with a dominant mode of inheritance

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in dogs. The Irish Wolfhound breed has a high prevalence of AF making them an ideal breed to investigate possible genetic contributions to this disease. T...

Authors: Samantha L. Fousse, William D. Tyrrell, Mariellen E. Dentino, Frances L. Abrams, Steven L. Rosenthal and Joshua A. Stern

Association between coat colour and the behaviour of Australian Labrador retrievers

Making assumptions regarding temperament and intelligence based on the physical appearance of dogs can be a conscious or unconscious human act. Labrador retrievers with chocolate-coloured coats are anecdotally...

Authors: Diane van Rooy and Claire M. Wade

Molecular characterization of cytidine monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (CMAH) associated with the erythrocyte antigens in dogs

N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is synthesized from its precursor N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) by cytidine-5′-monophospho-N acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (CMAH), which is encoded by the CMAH gene. Most...

Authors: Yumiko Uno, Shota Kawakami, Kazuhiko Ochiai and Toshinori Omi

Correction to: West Highland White Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2016: demography, mortality and disorders

In the original publication of this article [1], due to an error in a single count relating to the denominator used for this study, some of the derived values were wrong, so that abstract, plain English summar...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Zoie F. Ballantyne, Anke Hendricks, David B. Church, Dave C. Brodbelt and Camilla Pegram

West Highland White Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2016: demography, mortality and disorders

The West Highland White Terrier (WHWT) is a relatively common breed in the UK, although Kennel Club registrations have declined in recent years. The VetCompass™ Programme collates de-identified clinical data f...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Zoie F. Ballantyne, Anke Hendricks, David B. Church, Dave C. Brodbelt and Camilla Pegram

The impact of incorrectly recorded parentage on inferred genotypes over multiple generations

The absence of selective pressure against recessive deleterious mutations in the heterozygous state means that virtually every individual will carry several such mutations which have arisen over time. The infl...

Authors: T. W. Lewis

Greyhounds under general veterinary care in the UK during 2016: demography and common disorders

The greyhound is a sighthound known for its speed and agility. Greyhounds were selectively bred as functional racing animals but increasingly are kept as pets in the UK, often after their racing careers are ov...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Nicola J. Rooney, Callum Brock, David B. Church, Dave C. Brodbelt and Camilla Pegram

Glaucoma-causing ADAMTS17 mutations are also reproducibly associated with height in two domestic dog breeds: selection for short stature may have contributed to increased prevalence of glaucoma

In humans, ADAMTS17 mutations are known to cause Weill-Marchesani-like syndrome, which is characterised by lenticular myopia, ectopia lentis, glaucoma, spherophakia, and short stature. Breed-specific homozygous m...

Authors: Emily C. Jeanes, James A. C. Oliver, Sally L. Ricketts, David J. Gould and Cathryn S. Mellersh

vWDI is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner with incomplete penetrance, in the Kromfohrländer breed

Von Willebrand disorder type I (vWDI) is known as an inherited bleeding disorder in different dog breeds following an autosomal recessive inheritance. The Kromfohrländer is a rare dog breed with an increased i...

Authors: Julia H. Segert, Jana-Marie Seidel, Walter J. Wurzer and Anja M. Geretschlaeger

DLA class II risk haplotypes for autoimmune diseases in the bearded collie offer insight to autoimmunity signatures across dog breeds

Primary hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s disease, AD) and symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy (SLO) are two clinical conditions with an autoimmune etiology that occur in multiple dog breeds. In man, autoimmunity ...

Authors: Liza C. Gershony, Janelle M. Belanger, Andrea D. Short, Myly Le, Marjo K. Hytönen, Hannes Lohi, Thomas R. Famula, Lorna J. Kennedy and Anita M. Oberbauer

Miniature Schnauzers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013: demography, mortality and disorders

Individual dog breeds are often reported as predisposed to specific breed-related disorders but reliable epidemiological data on disease prevalence are sparse. The Miniature Schnauzer in the UK is a popular sm...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Charlotte Butcher, David B. Church, Dave C. Brodbelt and Alex G. Gough

Heterozygosity testing and multiplex DNA panel screening as a potential tool to monitor health and inbreeding in a small, closed dog population

Selective breeding in populations with a limited effective population size may result in a loss of genetic diversity, which can cause an increased concentration of specific disease liability genes. The Dutch S...

Authors: S. F. A. Keijser, H. Fieten, M. Vos-Loohuis, C. J. Piek, H. Anderson, J. Donner, I. Scholten, M. Nielen, J. W. Hesselink and F. G. van Steenbeek

Neuter status as a risk factor for canine intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) in dachshunds: a retrospective cohort study

Intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) involves displacement of the intervertebral disc secondary to disc degeneration and is extremely common in dachshunds. Clinical signs include pain with or without paresis ...

Authors: Marianne Dorn and Ian J. Seath

Labrador retrievers under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders

Labrador retrievers are reportedly predisposed to many disorders but accurate prevalence information relating to the general population are lacking. This study aimed to describe demography, mortality and commo...

Authors: Paul D. McGreevy, Bethany J. Wilson, Caroline S. Mansfield, Dave C. Brodbelt, David B. Church, Navneet Dhand, Ricardo J. Soares Magalhães and Dan G. O’Neill

Longevity and mortality in Kennel Club registered dog breeds in the UK in 2014

The domestic dog is one of the most diverse mammalian species, exhibiting wide variations in morphology, behaviour and morbidity across breeds. Therefore, it is not unexpected that breeds should also exhibit v...

Authors: T. W. Lewis, B. M. Wiles, A. M. Llewellyn-Zaidi, K. M. Evans and D. G. O’Neill

Lipoma in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK: prevalence and breed associations

Lipomas are masses of mesenchymal origin, comprising of adipocytes, and are often clinically unremarkable but can be alarming to owners. Although lipomas are reportedly common in dogs, no studies have specific...

Authors: Dan G. O’Neill, Caroline H. Corah, David B. Church, Dave C. Brodbelt and Lynda Rutherford

Selected canine abstracts from the Companion Animal Genetic Health conference 2018 (CAGH 2018): Canine Genetics and Epidemiology

Authors:

Meeting report from the Companion Animal Genetic Health conference 2018 (CAGH 2018): a healthy companionship: the genetics of health in dogs

Authors: Sally L. Ricketts and Thomas W. Marchant

Work-type influences perceived livestock herding success in Australian Working Kelpies

Working dog handlers and breeders have very different behavioural requirements in the animals that they employ for managing livestock. The Australian Working Kelpie breed may be used in several working context...

Authors: Jonathan B. Early, Elizabeth A. Arnott, Lisa J. Mascord, Diane van Rooy, Paul D. McGreevy and Claire M. Wade