New Study - Causes Of Death In Dogs By Breed - Journal Of Veterinary I

[Guest Troyshouse]

A new study of mortality in North American dogs from 1984 to 2004 reveals some interesting results about greyhounds and how they compare with other breeds. Full text available here, from the Journal of Internal Veterinary Medicine: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0695.x/full or you can download a PDF here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0695.x/pdf (easier to read the data tables in PDF format).

 

Having just briefly scanned the article, I found it interesting that cancers are the leading cause of death for most breeds, and that many breeds are more prone to cancers than greyhounds are. Greyhounds did not have the highest mortality due to bone cancers, though they were among the top 5 breeds in this category.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Troyshouse

[Brindles]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

Nice to see a scholarly article posted for a change.

Edited April 26, 2011 by Brindles

[MaryJane]

Thanks for sharing - very good read.

[robinw]

Thanks for posting that. I wonder of their greyhounds were NGA, AKC, or a combination, and if that would make a difference. Just thought...

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

The NGA/AKC factor is a BIG one. According to Dr. Couto's research, 2/3 of NGA greyhounds will die from some kind of cancer (1/3 osteo) while only 2% of AKC greyhounds have the Big C problem. You also don't see so much cancer in the Galgos.

[greyhead]

Now, that's what I call a study! Thanks very much.

[Guest kydie]

thanks this is so interesting

[Guest Houndstown]

Very good to know. Thanks for posting.

[greymatters]

Thanks for posting that. I wonder of their greyhounds were NGA, AKC, or a combination, and if that would make a difference. Just thought...

Based on the methodology as described, I'd guess the greyhounds in this study were a mix of NGA and AKC. This study was a retrospective analysis of *all* canine deaths occurring at the participating vet school hospitals for which cause of death was recorded (and reported to the VMDB). Proportions would be expected to reflect the overall ratios of NGA/AKC hounds in the communities served by those vet hospitals (list here).

 

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but my understanding is that the overwhelming majority of (companion) greyhounds in North America are NGA hounds. If this is true, then most of the greys recorded in the VMDB, and thus reported on in this study, would have been NGA as well.

[Guest Lgyure85]

The NGA/AKC factor is a BIG one. According to Dr. Couto's research, 2/3 of NGA greyhounds will die from some kind of cancer (1/3 osteo) while only 2% of AKC greyhounds have the Big C problem. You also don't see so much cancer in the Galgos.

 

Wow...scary. I didn't realize the percent was anywhere near that high. Did Dr. Cuoto cite any potential cause? Breeding/more stress on the bones from racing etc.?

[Guest KennelMom]

The NGA/AKC factor is a BIG one. According to Dr. Couto's research, 2/3 of NGA greyhounds will die from some kind of cancer (1/3 osteo) while only 2% of AKC greyhounds have the Big C problem. You also don't see so much cancer in the Galgos.

 

I'd love to see Dr. C's numbers on that and where the data came from.

 

Not to be crass, but nothing lives forever and everything has to die from something. If you live long enough, some kind of cancer will probably getcha whether you're a dog, cat or human. It could be that NGA greyhounds routinely outlive the lifespan for a large breed dog and, therefore, just simply live long enough to get cancer...things just start to go off the rails the older you get. Perhaps other diseases kill off AKC greyhounds before they have a chance to get cancer.

 

Dr. C's data definitely isn't backed up by our experience. Granted, that's only a sample of 13 greyhounds....But, I find 2/3's to be really high. Almost unbelievable high. Though, if you consider ALL cancers...maybe, maybe not. There are, after all, a LOT of types of cancer. You can't make any sort of judgment on how "accurate" the 2/3s claim is without more detail as to how the data collected and calculated. 2/3s of the greyhounds Dr. C's practice treats may die of cancer, but he wouldn't see the greyhounds who simply get old and are euthanized because their quality of life has declined to a point. I'd also be curious as the age of death. If we had 2/3 of greyhounds dropping from cancer at 6, 7, 8...then I'd be uber concerned. Dogs getting cancer at 10, 11, 12+...it sucks but that's the top end of their expected lifespan.

[GeorgeofNE]

When I heard Dr. Couto speak, he said one in five NGA greyhounds gets bone cancer.

 

Seems obvious to ME that it's genetic. NGA dogs who have never raced once get osteo. We're talking about dogs who sometimes sire thousands of dogs. If there is a genetic component to cancer, we know that NGA hound sperm is collected and sold all across the country (and the world, I suppose). I imagine that the occasional top champion show dog also produces a fair number of pups, but I have never heard of a show dog of any breed producing thousands of pups,

 

Heck, George's sire is dead, and he's still producing!

[Batmom]

The leading cause of death for nearly every breed in the linked study is cancer, and some breeds have far higher rates than greyhounds.

[joejoesmom]

Dr. Couto told me last year that he used to say 1 in 4 NGA greys get bone cancer. Now he says it is about 1 in 3. If I remember correctly (and that is not always a given with me ), the initial numbers came from a survey of grey owners reporting how their dogs died. There was a large response to the survey, but I don't remember exactly how many.

 

Dr. Couto believes that there is a strong genetic component to the prevalence of osteo in NGA greys. He noted that other greyhounds, including the Irish racing line and the galgos, get osteo no more often than other large dogs.

 

I have also heard from Dr. Couto that the overall prevalence of cancer (all types) in a greyhound were similar to other similar size dogs. I don't remember the exact percentage.

[Hubcitypam]

According to Dr. Couto's research, 2/3 of NGA greyhounds will die from some kind of cancer (1/3 osteo) while only 2% of AKC greyhounds have the Big C problem. You also don't see so much cancer in the Galgos.

I'd love to see Dr. C's numbers on that and where the data came from.

me too. Is it all coming from NGA adopters that have the means to go to OSU for treatment?

My First grey Little Girl died suddenly of Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia at 4. Rex was relieved from the pain of an inoperable ruptured disc at 6. Buck died in his sleep at 9. I have a happy seemingly healthy 10 year old at my feet.

 

Of my greys that have died none have died of cancer and I honestly don't know how any of their data would have been transferred to any study, especially from the dusty plains of West Texas or Kansas to offset that huge estimate.

[Guest MZH]

Thanks for posting that. I wonder of their greyhounds were NGA, AKC, or a combination, and if that would make a difference. Just thought...

 

I wondered the exact same thing!

 

An aside; a vet who has worked animal emergency rooms has said to me that adopted greyhounds come in due to vascular issues more than anything else. And in her practice, goldens and other large dogs - like Dobermans - come in with osteo more than greyhounds. Small comfort when it's one's own greyhound who gets osteo but cancers hit every breed.

[racindog]

Thanks for posting! Very interesting.

[greytlucy]

Has Dr. Cuoto published any of his research yet? And if so, does anyone know in which journal? His methodology for his study should be explained in anything he's published.

 

His study and this one would be apples to oranges anyhow as he is specifically targeted at greyhounds and only looking at cancer and since his sample methodology is unknown to anyone here it seems(are all dogs treated or that have consulted with OSU included in his study?). This study explains it methodology and it would seem that "greyhound" could be generalized to both AKC and NGA. Given the disproportionate distribution of AKC vs NGA nationally a separate study looking at cancer in both sets specifically would be the only way to see if one variety had more of a predisposition towards osteosarcoma than the other. It doesn't seem like Dr. Cuoto's study does this either since there's nothing on the OSU website to make any distinction ebtween AKC and NGA(I assume he studies any "greyhound" that is presented to him?)