There Are Too Many...

[LaFlaca]

Does anyone know if show greyhounds have the same cancer ratio as racing greyhounds? I heard some where that racing greyhounds have a higher percentage than non-racers.

 

I wonder if the strenuous exercise and the stress of racing has anything to do with it?

 

P.S. How are you and BooBoo doing today? We are keeping you close.

[Guest BooBooMama]

Does anyone know if show greyhounds have the same cancer ratio as racing greyhounds? I heard some where that racing greyhounds have a higher percentage than non-racers.

 

I wonder if the strenuous exercise and the stress of racing has anything to do with it?

 

P.S. How are you and BooBoo doing today? We are keeping you close.

 

She is still a bit groggy from all the sedatives she got last night. She ate this morning and begged for a walk twice so she is hanging in there. I am a wreck. But understand my duties as a pet mom- to stay strong for her and be ready to let her go when it is her time. I have always had dogs- I have never been without one. In the past I always had two at a time but when my mother was dying, I lost Jen and had so much on my plate as her caregiver that I didn't adopt a second one so for the past 2 years it has just been BooBoo and I. I won't have a gentle 'needle-nose' to get me through this one's passing and I fear it greatly.

 

I once read that a vet thought racing greyhounds were more prone to cancer than show hounds. If it were just the females I would blame it on the hormones they give them to keep them from going into 'heat'. But since the males get it as often as the females that can't be the cause. It puzzles me.

[Guest mcsheltie]

Does anyone know if show greyhounds have the same cancer ratio as racing greyhounds? I heard some where that racing greyhounds have a higher percentage than non-racers.

No they do not. Their cancer rate is no higher than other dogs. Dr Couto is trying to figure it out. His thought is that it linked to the "fast gene". NGA & AKC dogs have very divergent pedigrees.

 

Something interesting to look at would be the breeders that have brought NGA lines into their programs. Will they see a rise in cancer? Most AKC breeders stick to about 25% NGA lines.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Show greyhounds die of other causes before getting Osteo

[Guest mcsheltie]

 

 

She is still a bit groggy from all the sedatives she got last night. She ate this morning and begged for a walk twice so she is hanging in there. I am a wreck. But understand my duties as a pet mom- to stay strong for her and be ready to let her go when it is her time. I have always had dogs- I have never been without one. In the past I always had two at a time but when my mother was dying, I lost Jen and had so much on my plate as her caregiver that I didn't adopt a second one so for the past 2 years it has just been BooBoo and I. I won't have a gentle 'needle-nose' to get me through this one's passing and I fear it greatly.

 

I once read that a vet thought racing greyhounds were more prone to cancer than show hounds. If it were just the females I would blame it on the hormones they give them to keep them from going into 'heat'. But since the males get it as often as the females that can't be the cause. It puzzles me.

I am glad BooBoo is doing well today. I am praying that God sends you the strength and courage to get through this.

 

Actually the incidence in males is higher than females.

 

Show greyhounds die of other causes before getting Osteo

Now that is just wrong... not good to put out mis-information like that. How many NGA hounds have we seen die of Osteo between 6-9 yrs old? AKC hounds don't have a shorter lifespan. They may die of other causes, but it is not true that their life span is so short that they die before they get Osteo.

[Guest AmandaTolleson]

Show greyhounds die of other causes before getting Osteo

 

Why would you say that? Lucy wasn't even 7 yet...

[GeorgeofNE]

Is it too negative to feel like it's inevitable? We need a statistics-person to run some numbers for us...

 

No you don't, because OSU has been keeping track for a long time.

 

I believe it's about 1 in 5 NGA hounds that ends up with bone cancer. Virtually ZERO AKC Greyhounds. Gee, you think it's genetic???

 

How many of us own dogs who have literally THOUSANDS of half siblings? Imagine if you will that one or two of those prolific studs carries the gene for bone cancer, and it's easy to see how and why this is most likely happening.

[RileysLegacy]

I had 2 greyhounds growing up, both died of osteo. One was 7 and the other I believe was 9. The entire time I had Riley I dreaded this happening to him, and now it has taken him too. It's absolutely horrible and I hope something can be figured out SOON. It has taken too many of our babies

[Guest Heehoo]

Well I guess that's one of the many good things about this board, those of us who have struggled with our pups through any kind of cancer have somewhere to go & get support. None of my face to face friends had much to do with helping me through Dear or Gogh's cancers. ... but Greytalkers were right there.

 

one or two of those prolific studs carries the gene for bone cancer

I've been told by a reliable source that its Onie Jones. Edited April 17, 2010 by Heehoo

[Guest Heehoo]

I once read that a vet thought racing greyhounds were more prone to cancer than show hounds.

 

I'm not debating, so don't throw flames or anything, we're just writing what we've been told. I've been in greyhounds for a long time & before I ever got my first one, I was told by a show dog breeder that AKC greyhounds don't get cancer like NGA greyhounds because they don't have the stress on their bones. The way for us all to learn is share our information not act like we all know more than the next person.

 

I don't know anything about AKC greyhounds, but are their bloodlines full of the same relatives? Smiley has Unruly 3 times in his pedigree!!! Now that just doesn't sound right!!! Are his chances of getting cancer greater?

And I mentioned Onie Jones, look in your peds & see how many of your osteo greys have had Onie in there? Bool had hermangio sarcoma, Onie Jones is in his pedigree. Dear had hermangio sarcoma, Onie Jones was in there. Gogh had osteo, Onie Jones was in there. Actually Onie Jones was in Gogh's peds twice.

Edited April 17, 2010 by Heehoo

[Tracey]

I once read that a vet thought racing greyhounds were more prone to cancer than show hounds.

 

I'm not debating, so don't throw flames or anything, we're just writing what we've been told. I've been in greyhounds for a long time & before I ever got my first one, I was told by a show dog breeder that AKC greyhounds don't get cancer like NGA greyhounds because they don't have the stress on their bones. The way for us all to learn is share our information not act like we all know more than the next person.

 

I don't know anything about AKC greyhounds, but are their bloodlines full of the same relatives? Smiley has Unruly 3 times in his pedigree!!! Now that just doesn't sound right!!! Are his chances of getting cancer greater?

And I mentioned Onie Jones, look in your peds & see how many of your osteo greys have had Onie in there? Bool had hermangio sarcoma, Onie Jones is in his pedigree. Dear had hermangio sarcoma, Onie Jones was in there. Gogh had osteo, Onie Jones was in there. Actually Onie Jones was in Gogh's peds twice.

 

Just looked through the pedigrees of the 5 Greys I have/had. Four of them, including Cosmo, have Onie Jones in there. Just wondering if this is a fluke or is he likely to be in most modern racer's pedigrees? If he's in most of them, would this even be a good determinant? And if it is, holy crap. I can't go what I went through with Cosmo three more times.

[Guest AmandaTolleson]

No Onie Jones here. But Kelly Jones and Elsie Jones. Sister and dam. I have no idea if that counts.

[Guest VaGreymom]

I lost my 6 year old to Osteo in December. Osteo sucks and I pray I don't have to go through that again. For all of you going through it now my prayers are with you.

[krissn333]

Well I guess that's one of the many good things about this board, those of us who have struggled with our pups through any kind of cancer have somewhere to go & get support. None of my face to face friends had much to do with helping me through Dear or Gogh's cancers. ... but Greytalkers were right there.

 

one or two of those prolific studs carries the gene for bone cancer

I've been told by a reliable source that its Onie Jones.

 

Onie Jones is on both sides of Sutra's pedigree...Ace and Fritz have him on their mother's side. Pinky has Onie Jones on both sides of her pedigree too

 

Hilda, very few of my face to face friends have been very supportive though Ace's leukemia diagnosis, nor have they been very supportive with this new Sutra/osteo thing. My friends that I've made through my involvement with our group are supportive, and I have a couple of friends at work that ask daily how they're doing...it about killed me the other day when the one person I really expected to support me, whatever my decision might be with Sutra, said that I'm nuts to try to do anything for him because he's too old. I'm wondering when she stopped caring about animals....

[Guest Heehoo]

I once read that a vet thought racing greyhounds were more prone to cancer than show hounds.

 

I'm not debating, so don't throw flames or anything, we're just writing what we've been told. I've been in greyhounds for a long time & before I ever got my first one, I was told by a show dog breeder that AKC greyhounds don't get cancer like NGA greyhounds because they don't have the stress on their bones. The way for us all to learn is share our information not act like we all know more than the next person.

 

I don't know anything about AKC greyhounds, but are their bloodlines full of the same relatives? Smiley has Unruly 3 times in his pedigree!!! Now that just doesn't sound right!!! Are his chances of getting cancer greater?

And I mentioned Onie Jones, look in your peds & see how many of your osteo greys have had Onie in there? Bool had hermangio sarcoma, Onie Jones is in his pedigree. Dear had hermangio sarcoma, Onie Jones was in there. Gogh had osteo, Onie Jones was in there. Actually Onie Jones was in Gogh's peds twice.

 

Just looked through the pedigrees of the 5 Greys I have/had. Four of them, including Cosmo, have Onie Jones in there. Just wondering if this is a fluke or is he likely to be in most modern racer's pedigrees? If he's in most of them, would this even be a good determinant? And if it is, holy crap. I can't go what I went through with Cosmo three more times.

 

I have had some that did have Onie Jones in their bloodlines & never had any cancer. I know what you mean though...I've had 2 with hermangio sarcoma only 1 with osteo...neither is worse. Cancer is cancer. I have a friend who has had 3 with amputations in 2009, she's lost 2 of them with 3 months of the amputations, one is still going strong. One had his hind leg removed & a month later it was found in his front leg. A friend of hers just lost her grey last week, 3 legs had osteo...she broke all 3 legs while outside for a potty break.  Its just not fair.

[sweetdogs]

one or two of those prolific studs carries the gene for bone cancer

I've been told by a reliable source that its Onie Jones.

Is this a medical source? I haven't heard anyone pin it down to one dog before. I'm not disputing it because I do believe there is a genetic source but I didn't realize it had been found.

[PrairieProf]

Hmmm, all this is very interesting but my sense has always been on this board that it's "not done" to name dogs/lines associated with osteo (or, in theory, other illnesses) in a broad public way -- because if you have a dog with those genes there's nothing you can do about it and it's just depressing information, and in theory it could prejudice people against adopting certain dogs.

[krissn333]

I don't personally feel that way, although I could see how some would. The light that they all bring to my life is worth the roll of the dice for me. Every greyhound I have has that dog somewhere, and I would be willing to bet that if I looked up the racing names of all the dogs at the kennel, more than half of them would have Onie Jones somewhere in their pedigree. And we don't even know for sure if that's really true. I'll take my chances

[joejoesmom]

I feel so bad for all those people and dogs who are struggling with cancer--it is a truly nasty disease.

 

This is a summary of what I have heard from Dr. Couto at OSU.

 

AKC greyhounds are not as likely to get bone cancer as NGA dogs.

Irish greyhounds (who are raced so they get the same stress placed on their body) are not as likely to get osteo as NGA dogs

Galgos are not as likely to get osteo as NGA dogs.

 

From this information, he feels that the likely cause is genetics -- i.e. something in the NGA breeding lines. It is possible, but not likely, that some other practice used only at the American tracks is causing the incidence of osteo. Dr. Couto did note that NGA dogs that never raced seem to get osteo as frequently as those who did race. He did state that this was his own observation and no official study was done on this.

 

To the best of my knowledge, there have been no studies or surveys done that show Onie Jones is a genetic culprit of this horrible disease. I have heard that Onie Jones' descendents get osteo more often but I believe this information is anecdotal and not "proven".

[Guest BooBooMama]

Well I guess that's one of the many good things about this board, those of us who have struggled with our pups through any kind of cancer have somewhere to go & get support. None of my face to face friends had much to do with helping me through Dear or Gogh's cancers. ... but Greytalkers were right there.

 

one or two of those prolific studs carries the gene for bone cancer

I've been told by a reliable source that its Onie Jones. 

 

I have had three greyhounds- two with cancer now. The only one that lived to be 14 died from a dog attack- no cancer. Ironically she was my only one that was related to Onie Jones. The other two, Jamie and BooBoo do not show Onie in their bloodline. All of my dogs are offsprings of Big Wizzer. Is there any racing grey inthe US that is NOT related to Big Wizzer in some way?

[MP_the4pack]

My sister's are Onie Jones relatives. Pearl is gone. Fibrosarcoma, and Dima has OS.

 

In fact all 7 of mine have Onie Jones in the bloodline, 3 have/had cancer. One had liver disease, and only one is alive at 14 yrs old. (the other two are 4 and 6)

[Guest bigorangedog]

My sister's are Onie Jones relatives. Pearl is gone. Fibrosarcoma, and Dima has OS.

 

In fact all 7 of mine have Onie Jones in the bloodline, 3 have/had cancer. One had liver disease, and only one is alive at 14 yrs old. (the other two are 4 and 6)

 

Of my 5 who have had osteo, two had Onie Jones, one I can't read her ear tattoos so I have no idea whether she had him, and two did not. But both of the boys who did have Onie Jones had in their spines, for what that is worth. I've also heard this before about Onie Jones as well as some others.

[Guest AmandaTolleson]

I almost wish I didn't know about the possible Onie Jones thing... The girl I am probably adopting has Onie Jones on her dams side twice and Kelly Jones on her dads side... Ah! I will not let it affect my decision of course. But ugh...

Edited April 22, 2010 by AmandaTolleson

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I had not heard of the bloodline connection theory... Honestly, it would not prejudice me against adopting a dog with those bloodlines; even if it were a proven theory. I think most of us adopt with our hearts, first and foremost.

I am sorry that so many are going through this awful hell; it is frightening and heartbreaking and probably a lot of our worst fears.

Edited April 22, 2010 by FullMetalFrank

[Guest PhillyPups]

Ya'll got me thinking. I am still so raw - in checking, I found:

 

Zeus - Hemangio - Onie Jones

 

TigerPower - Osteo - Onie Jones

 

SugarBear - Osteo - Elsie Jones (Onie Jones' dam)

 

So maybe Elsie Jones threw the gene?

 

Also, these three were the least successful of all my racers, all retiring at a young age. SugarBear was 14.5 when she got osteo, TigerPower almost 11 when he got osteo and Zeus was 10.

 

The most successful of my racers that are at the bridge, BarbieJade and Stepper lived to 13-3/4 and I lost them to other causes. Runner was a very decent racer, I lost him to a heart attack just before his 8th birthday.

 

I was chicken to look up my 4 - still way too raw and open from just losing my baby boy, Zeus. If I found the gene, I would probably either bubble wrap them or just shoot myself.

 

 

for all the way too many losses

Edited April 22, 2010 by PhillyPups