Author: susanbulanda

Study shows that breeding practices for the past decades has caused health problems in German Shepherd Dogs

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According to the latest research in the UK, GSD’s are most likely to die from complications due to musculosketetal disorders.  Almost a half a million GSD’s were studied by the VetCompass™ Programme at the Royal Veterinary College.

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The dogs surveyed came from 430 veterinary clinics. They found a total of 263 disorders, the most common were, inflammation of the ear canal (7.89% of dogs), osteoarthritis (5.54%), diarrhea (5.24%), overweight and obesity (5.18%), and aggression (4.76%).

According to Dr. Dan O’Neill, from the Royal Veterinary College, GSD’s have the second highest number of health disorders, with Great Danes being the first.  According to the report, GSD’s suffer from an abnormal formation of the hip joint, cancer, and degenerative spinal disorders which he feels is a result of breeding for cosmetic features such as a sloping back and lower hindquarters.

This is the first study, which included 17 different breeds, whose goal is to help breeders improve the health of their dogs.

It would be interesting to see how the study compares with the health of GSD’s in other countries.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170727221255.htm

 

High cholesterol in dogs may help fight bone cancer

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In a recent study at Oregon State University by Haley Leeper, a veterinary oncology resident at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine as well as Craig Ruaux and Shay Bracha, colleagues of Leeper in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and Austin Viall of the Department of Veterinary Pathology at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine showed that higher cholesterol seemed to help dogs survive bone cancer longer.

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They found that dogs with the malignant tumor, osteosarcoma, which is also diagnosed in humans, typically afflicting teenagers and young adults, that had high serum cholesterol lived on the average of 200 days longer than dogs who did not have high cholesterol.

Researchers plan to study why the high cholesterol helped dogs survive longer and perhaps learn ways to cure this type of cancer in dogs and humans alike.

I personally hope they come up with a cure for bone cancer, I lost my beloved Rottweiler to bone cancer many years ago.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170725122245.htm

Coyotes and foxes on the rise, one reason why

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According to Thomas Newsome of Deakin University and the University of Sydney in Australia, and co-author Aaron Wirsing, an associate professor at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, the rise of secondary predators such as coyotes, jackals and foxes is in large part due to the limits placed on the areas that wolves and dingoes range. He found this to be true in Australia and Europe as well as the United States.

Coyotes and foxes are very adaptable and can be found in suburban settings as well as more open areas. Their population has increased because their main predator, the wolf  and dingo, does not have the ability to range far enough to keep them under control. Wolves need a large area to roam and even though re-location has increased their numbers in some areas, their ability to range is fragmented.

The team plans to study the impact that localization has on the environments where the main predators are the big cats such as jaguars, leopards, lions and tigers.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523083719.htm

The gene that causes epidermolysis bullosa in the Central Asian Shepherd Dog and Humans has been identified

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The genetic defect that causes hereditary blistering disorders of the skin, known as epidermolysis bullosa, in both humans and the Central Asian Shepherd Dog has been identified as being the same. The defective gene causes the skin to be easily damaged resulting in abrasion and blistering. There are four different types of the disorder, simplex, junctional, dystrophic and Kindler syndrome.

The defective gene causes a lack of collagen between two layers of skin.  Without the collagen, the skin will blister.

Thanks to the gene researchers at the University of Helsinki, Marjo Hytönen, a member of the research group led by Professor Hannes Lohi and pathological tests conducted by the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, the defective gene was confirmed.

As a result, tests can be conducted on members of the Central Asian Shepherd Dog allowing breeders to select only those dogs that do not have the defective gene as part of a breeding program. Hopefully, researchers will be able to find a cure for humans.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170601124155.htm

The Himalayan wolf is probably the oldest and rarest species of wolves in the world

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The Himalayan wolf is on the critically endangered list because they are so rare. Their existence and plight have become publicized by the efforts of an international research team led by Madhu Chetri, a graduate student at the Hedmark University of Applied Sciences in Norway. He has studied the wolf in the largest protected area of Nepal.

The Himalayan wolf looks quite a bit different then its European cousins. They are smaller in size, have a longer muzzle and shorter, stumpy legs. They are also marked differently with white around their throat, chest and belly and the inner parts of their legs. They also have a wooly coat.

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A pair of Himalayan wolves in their natural habitat. Credit: Madhu Chetri; CC-BY 4.0

To me they look more like our modern Husky breeds, especially the Malamute and Siberian Husky. Siberian Huskies have been known to have an occasional wooly coat.

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The researches feel that the Himalayan wolf is a separate branch of the wolf-dog family tree, making it especially rare.

As is the case with most wolves, the local farmers, ranchers and livestock owners hunted and killed as many wolves as they could, believing that they are a threat to their domestic livestock.

Hopefully, the researchers will be able to save this rare and unusual member of the wolf family.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160425112649.htm

 

New discovery may help cure dogs and humans with heart disease

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Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and congestive heart failure in older dogs is age related and often affects small dogs. MMVD is the most common cardiac disease in dogs. Once a dog has congestive heart failure they are only expected to live between one and nine months.

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Researchers at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University have discovered biomarkers in the extracellular vesicles of dogs with MMVD in the form of microRNA (miRNA) which circulate in the blood and urine. What is exciting is that this is the first biomarker based on extracellular vesicles in a veterinary disease.

MMVD is similar to mitral valve prolapse in humans, so this finding can eventually benefit humans with heart disease. While further research is needed, this is a wonderful finding that has potential to help monitor the progression of the disease as well as lead the way to developing treatment for both humans and dogs.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170714140437.htm

http://www.acvim.org/Portals/0/PDF/Animal%20Owner%20Fact%20Sheets/Cardiology/Cardio%20Myxomatous%20Mitral%20Valve%20Degeneration.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4048944/

 

A new evaluation for guide dog puppies

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Researchers in the University of Nottingham’s (England) School of Veterinary Medicine and Science have had success with a questionnaire designed to determine the suitability of puppies to be trained as Guide Dogs.

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Their evaluation tool successfully predicted the training outcomes in young dogs 5 – 12 months with an 84% accuracy. The questionnaire is called the “Puppy Training Supervisor Questionnaire”, or PTSQ.

The PTSQ evaluates the following:

  • Adaptability
  • Body sensitivity
  • Distractibility
  • Excitability
  • General anxiety
  • Trainability
  • Stair anxiety

If this method proves to be accurate over time, it might be useful to help evaluate other types of working dogs. It is encouraging that scientists continue to try and find ways to predict the working ability of dogs. This saves organizations time and money spent on dogs that do not pass the training programs and lets them focus on those that have a better chance of passing.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170614142551.htm

 

 

 

Where did our domestic cats come from?

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Paleogeneticist Claudio Ottoni and his colleagues from KU Leuven (University of Leuven) and the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences did a study to determine the ancestor of the modern domestic cat. There are five subspecies of the wildcat Felis silvestris that are known today, but all skeletal remains look the same.

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Therefore, Ottoni studied the DNA from bones, teeth, skin, and hair from cats found at archaeological sites in the Near East, Africa and Europe. The cat remains were from 100 to 9000 years old.

What they discovered was that all domestic cats descended from the African wildcat Felis silvestris lybica, found in North Africa and the Near East. What Ottoni could not determine is if the cats from Egypt were a separate group of cats or if they descended from the African wildcat.

What is interesting is that most if not all the ancient cats were striped. Few if any had spots or blotches such as today’s tortoise shell or “tortie” cat. Spotted cats did not show up until the Middle Ages. Since cats were taken on ships to control the rodents, they spread across the world and remains have been found at Viking sites near the Baltic sea.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170619125825.htm

A new study about co-sleeping with your pets

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A recent study examined the practice of sharing a bedroom or bed with a dog. While the authors suggest that more research is needed, they compared sleeping with a dog to the practice of sharing a bed or bedroom with a child.

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The current concern about co-sleeping with a child focuses on the child suffering from poor health, impaired functioning, developing problematic behavior and sexual dysfunction. However, there is not enough evidence to determine if there are negative effects of co-sleeping with dogs or other pets.

According to the study, the benefit of co-sleeping with both pets and children are saving resources, keeping warm, and feeling safe. It is a practice that has been going on for many years.

When it comes to sharing a bedroom with a dog, as an animal behavior consultant, I recommend letting a puppy sleep in a crate in the bedroom to help the puppy bond with the family and feel safer in a new environment. After the dog is trained and under control, it can be allowed to sleep on the bed with a family member. However, if the dog is not trained it can become possessive of the bed or other furniture to the point of becoming aggressive if a family member wants to move the dog. Whether it is good or not depends on many factors, including the dog’s temperament and the owners ability to train and control the dog.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170622104001.htm

 

 

 

It may be possible in the future, for humans to regenerate a new heart

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As futuristic as it sounds, a recent study of the sea anemone shows that if you cut the anemone into multiple parts, each part will regenerate into a new animal. Scientists learned that if they can discover how to make the genes talk to each other, they may discover how to treat heart conditions and stimulate regenerative healing in humans.

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The genes in vertebrates and flies have what is referred to as lockdown loops. That means that once the genes are active, they tell each other to stay where they are. By learning how to unlock the genes or make them talk to each other, scientists hope to be able to imitate the sea anemone’s ability to regenerate.

Of course, if they succeed in doing this, all animals will benefit, including our beloved pets.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170626190625.htm