科研之友
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摘要
The burden of disease within the purebred dog population has become the focus of discussions on welfare considerations and with regard to the ethics of breeding practices [8]. There is a risk that breeding to eliminate specific genetic defects, without clear understanding of the inter-relationships between risk factors and disease expression could do more harm than good [6]. Improving the overall health and welfare of the dog population requires that we quantify and monitor disease and death across breeds and over time.Identifying those breeds with significantly increased risk of certain health problems is important for dog breeders, researchers and the veterinary community. In the accompanying paper, we presented mortality rates for various breeds of insured dogs under 10 years of age [2]. Rates were presented using the exact time at risk for over 350,000 dogs contributing to over a million dog-years at risk (DYAR) during six years for total mortality (all deaths), diagnostic mortality (those deaths for which an insurance claim was processed), for deaths within various diagnostic categories and for some specific diagnoses. Breed rates for total mortality ranged from 230 to 1,574 and diagnostic mortality from 168 to 1,319 deaths per 10,000 DYAR.In addition to mortality rates (MRs), proportional mortality estimates were presented. At the population level it was informative to see that, for example, German shepherd dogs accounted for 7% of the insured population and almost 12% of deaths. Bernese mountain dogs were over-represented in mortality at twice their occurrence in the population. Golden retrievers, on the other hand, accounted for less than 4% of the deaths while being more than 6% of the population.Owner-pet mismatch has been suggested as an important cause of pet relinquishment. Specific information about expected longevity [7] and disease risks should be part of an informed choice for prospective dog owners, as individuals may have differing preferences and
