Sick as a Dog

Every dog has it's day and unfortunately, we have to accept that sooner or later our four legged friends will go on to the great kennel in the sky.

However, new research suggests if you would like to give your animals a fighting chance, you might be better off getting a mongrel rather than a prized pedigree.

A joint study between the Sanger Centre (involved in mapping the human genome) and the Animal Health Trust reveals that pedigree dogs share nearly 400 inherited diseases with humans, and some breeds are clearly associated with specific genetic disorders.

Veterinary surgeon Bruce Fogle believes these hereditary conditions are a direct result of breeding programmes and the only way to reduce them is by cross-breeding (which also reduces the value of pedigree dogs).

"Half of King Charles Spaniels have an audible heart condition...by the age of five. They can only expect to live just over nine years, whereas the average dog life is 12.2 years. The Irish wolfhound has been dealt a particularly poor genetic hand. It's vulnerability to cancer means it has the shortest life expectancy of any dog- about half the average".

Many pet insurance companies are aware of this kind of research and their premiums reflect it with certain breeds.

So what else could your faithful hound have to complain about? Here's an A-Z of doggy diseases:

Basset Hound - Immune system deficiencies
Bedlington Terrier - Liver disease
Bernese Mountain Dog - Bone Cancer
Boxer - Skin Cancer
Dobermann Pincer - Heart Disease
Great Dane - Lethargy
Irish Setter - Retinal Atrophy
Labrador - Narcolepsy
Scottish Terrier - Haemophilia
Springer Spaniel - Aneamia

So next time your pooch steals the dinner from the kitchen, have a heart. You'd never forgive yourself if the last thing you said to him was "Bad Dog"....

Tuesday, 27 February 2001