Diseases and Other Fun Things: Part II

Hey guys,

You're all in luck today! Today's topic is hereditary diseases (and other fun things) as opposed to non-hereditary diseases (like heartworms, which we discussed in the last blog post).

One hereditary disease that is on the rise is diabetes. Like humans, dogs also get diabetes. Also like humans, diabetes are more common to females and overweight dogs. The number of affected dogs right now is low, but on the rise—an increase of 32% since 2006—precisely because it is hereditary.

A 2007 study published by the "Journal of Heredity" claims that the Cairn Terrier and the Samoyed are the breeds with highest rate of diabetes. This study provided evidence that small dogs are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, and also tentatively claims that more mixed breeds have diabetes, even though the breeds with the highest diabetic rate are pedigrees. It is unknown whether this is because mixed-breeds are actually more susceptible, or because there are more mixed-breeds; there are other factors that must be taken into account. Regardless, both mixed-breeds and purebreds can and will inherit diabetes, although it is less likely to manifest until a dog is older. 

Enjoy the fluffy Samoyed puppies!

Symptoms may include excessive drinking and urination, poor coat health and dry, scaly skin, weakness in rear legs, vomiting, and weakened immunity. If left untreated or poorly regulated, diabetes could cause blindness and renal (kidney) problems. 

Unfortunately, canine diabetes is incurable, with very rare exceptions. It is dependent on insulin production, but can be treated with medicine (insulin-injections, etc) and regulated with diet and exercise. However, treatment is generally life-long.

Ending on a more positive note, if your dog is not genetically susceptible to diabetes, it can be prevented with a healthy lifestyle--diet and exercise. Even if he is, he may be treated and will live normally, aside from the need for insulin injections, so never lose hope!

~S

Diseases and Other Fun Things: Part I

Hey all! We are briefly examining the exciting (?) topic of diseases today, so prepare yourselves for a barrage of disease-related information. :)

Fortunately, most of the common canine and feline diseases are actually non-hereditary. Why is this fortunate, you say? Well, due to the increased amount of vaccines and medicine, common non-hereditary diseases such as rabies and flea infections have decreased and are actively being prevented from manifesting and spreading. In addition, even if a dog is contaminated with a disease, it is likely curable. This is not to say hereditary diseases are incurable, but that they are harder to cure and may be passed on to a new generation.

Unfortunately, there are non-hereditary diseases that are very hard to treat-- such as heartworms. I was going to drudge up some disgusting, gruesome pictures for you guys so you can have the visual experience like I did, but I decided that  I would be a good person instead (and also keep my dinner). Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are parasitic creatures similar to roundworms, but spend their adult life in the right side of the heart and the large arteries and veins connecting the heart to the lungs. Heartworms lay larvae in the bloodstreams and may reach 14 inches in adulthood; these larvae are spread to other animals through mosquitoes (yet another reason to hate mosquitoes) and migrate to the heart and, in some cases, the lungs to leech off nutrients for food. An infected organism may have hundreds of heartworms living in its heart; the symptoms are decreased appetite, weight loss, coughing, listlessness, accumulation of fluid in the abdominal area, and fatigue during exercise, or even heart failure.

Even though heartworms may be exterminated, the process can be  long and painful, depending on the severity of the case. There are preventive medicine and drugs to kill heartworms (immiticides) that can be injected into the muscle of the back, but these treatments usually take weeks to complete, not to mention they contain arsenic that may cause side effects (in rare cases). Even after heartworms are killed, the carcasses may block up the arteries and still cause heart failure in severe cases.

Such diseases are common to all dogs, whether they are pedigrees or not. A dog is a dog, and heartworms have been identified in all fifty states of the US.

If you like spaghetti, I would suggest that you do not look up heartworms, because that's what they look like...except bloody and alive and eating your heart (Not to worry, it is extremely rare for humans to be infested with heartworms).

~Someone who won't be eating spaghetti for a long time.

Let's talk...Mixed breeds!

Hi y'all,

Today's topic is mixed breeds! Also known as "mongrels," "mutts," or "hybrids." Personally, I prefer the term mixed-breeds or hybrids (less to type! That's always good), because it kind of makes me uncomfortable to call a dog a mutt. I know, it's ridiculous: the term mutt as applied to dogs is generally not derogatory (but do not call people that!), I just do not like using it.

Very technically, there is a difference between a cross-breed and a mixed-breed. A cross-breed is a dog that is intentionally bred and has two purebred parents. An example would be the Labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador and a poodle.

A mixed-breed is a dog that may be accidentally created, and may have mixed-breed parents as well. For simplicity's sake, I like to think of crossbreeds versus mixed-breeds as first generation (with purebred parents) versus second generation (with mixed parents). However, for the sake of this project, there is no difference between cross- and mixed-breeds. 

The entire reason for saying mixed-breeds may be healthier is because a lot of purebreds may have been inbreeding for generations, drawing from the same gene pool and receiving the same alleles over and over. Not unlike humans, where inbreeding causes extensive physical and mental problems, dogs may also have physical and temperamental issues. 

Random trivia: royalty were infamous for inbreeding to keep the line pure (sound familiar?) and keep the power within one bloodline, i.e. sisters married brothers, cousins married cousins, etc. One famous example among many is Charles II of Spain, the last Hapsburg  He lived only to be 35, and had physical deformities (so much so that he was rumored to be cursed by a sorcerer and called Charles the Hexed) and mental disabilities, as well as a history of insanity in his family. There is a good reason inbreeding has stopped in modern times, and not just because you don't want the family confusion of she's my sister...but also my aunt?!

The Hybrid Vigor theory is also called heterosis, and explains how out-breeding measurably enhances the genetics of a species or hybrid. This applies not just to animals, but to plants as well. This theory is still contested, but I believe it makes sense. After all, out-breeding enlarges the gene pool and makes it more likely for dominant traits to mask recessive ones. According to Dr. Urs Giger, professor of medicine and genetics, most hereditary diseases in dogs are recessively inherited, making it more likely for inbred dogs from the same line to have the same recessive alleles, therefore prolonging the disease's existence. 

More on mixed-breeds and health later! :) 

~S

P.s. Do keep in mind that while I strongly encourage adopting AND adopting mixed-breeds, being a mixed-breed does not make a dog insusceptible to injuries or regular, non-hereditary diseases such as rabies. A mixed-breed will be just as likely or unlikely as a purebred to get worms or rabies. 

Adopting vs Buying

Hey guys! Sorry if you've been on the edge of your seat, waiting for my next post...things have been a little hectic lately. So I thought I'd start off with a cute picture to motivate you to keep reading.

This is a Golden Cocker Retriever, and there have been a lot of internet memes going around, labeling this mix between a Golden Retriever and a Cocker Spaniel as a "Forever puppy," claiming that this is the full grown version and that a GCR will look like this forever.

As far as I'm concerned, that is not true. The parent breeds of this cute puppy are actually not very small and therefore not "forever puppy" material. With a Golden Retriever ranging from 60-75 lbs and 21-24 inches tall, I daresay the Cocker Spaniel's  relative smallness at 14-16 inches tall and 24-32 lbs is compensated for.  Below is a picture of a full-grown GCR.

See? Still gorgeous and adorable. :) 

Today's purpose is to convince you guys to adopt instead of buy. There are reputable breeders, shelters, and then there are puppy mills. If I have to give them ratings on trustworthiness, I would give breeders and shelters a 4/5 and puppy mills a 2/5. I must admit, I may be biased to equate shelters and breeders, since many of you may say it is possible for you to adopt a very sick or vicious dog...but keep in mind that it is possible also to buy a puppy from a breeder that turns out to be sick or vicious. And extra bonus? Adopting from a shelter probably means you are saving a life, because breeders have more resources to take care of their dogs. A good breeder should take care of every life it creates. 

As far as puppy mills...I would urge you to stay away from those, since it is likely you will get a sick puppy. I once asked my sister, "if puppy mills have such horrible conditions, is it not a mercy for people to go and adopt from puppy mills?" And she answered that we must look at the big picture--we may be saving one dog, but we are dooming infinitely many others (maybe not infinitely, but a lot) by giving these breeders business and a motivation to breed more puppies in substandard conditions at detriments to the puppies' health. 

I think there is a general misconception that adopting from a shelter means you will get a mixed-breed adult dog, but that is not always true. Unfortunately, homelessness and human cruelty apply to puppies and purebreds also, and there are purebred rescues if you are looking to rescue a purebred dog. Adopting a puppy should never be easy, because since when has finding a loving companion or saving a life been easy? 

I will talk to you guys soon! 

~Sonya

Hurrah for Pictures!

Hey guys! Before I try to convince you and others to adopt a mixed-breed, let's talk purebreds.

A purebred dog generally has a "breed standard," or a set of external characteristics that makes him or her a purebred dog of a specific breed. Such characteristics may include temperament, agility, or physical appearance such as coat color and size. There has yet to be a national breed standard for every breed; rather, these standards are written by breed clubs and may vary from club to club.

Outer appearance (a breed standard) is how most people recognize dogs. Trivia time: you see a wolfish dog with icy blue eyes. He is about 20 inches tall at the shoulder, weighs approximately 60 pounds and has a gray and white coat. What breed is he?

You probably said Siberian Husky! Based on what I described of the Husky's outer appearance, you would be correct. However, Huskies are often mistaken for Alaskan Malamutes, which look remarkably similar:

The bigger dog is the Malamute, weighing around 85 pounds and standing about 25 inches tall at the shoulder. Temperamentally, they are a tad different, but...still predictable.

Breed standards make raising a purebred puppy predictable. If you adopt a golden retriever puppy, you will know approximately what size he will grow up to be, whereas having a hybrid makes his temperament and outer appearance less predictable.

I do agree that purebreds are just as lovable as mixed breeds, and I think it is important to preserve the breeds--it would be tragic if a breed were lost completely. But while I hold those opinions, I also love having mixed breeds around. Sometimes predictability gets boring; however, both types of dogs are lovable and deserve kindness and homes!

If I were rich I would own a giant farm and adopt dogs and cats (and other animals) from shelters and just let them run amok on my farm. For real.

~S

Up...Date...Update!

Ever wonder why an update is called an up...date? Yeah, me neither. Until now.

I would not say my project had the most exciting start; in fact, it started off with some (mildly?) bad news. I contacted the animal hospital which I was supposed to be interning/volunteering at before school ended, and they let me know that there is no longer enough space for me to come in frequently. In fact, I was told that I would have to limit my days to a day a month, which is definitely not enough for my research. Of course I understand that they have too many volunteers and it is a work place, not a shelter, but I'm still pretty bummed.

But never fear, I am looking into more options at the moment, including another animal hospital just down the street, the Petsmart Paw Placement program (Yes to alliteration!), and maybe even going to my sister's place up in Baltimore because she works at the local SPCA. It would be easier to work at a shelter, any way...plus, Baltimore, man! I'll keep you guys updated! (Down...dated? Is that a word?)

In any case, a pretty significant part of my project will be independent research (on the internet, in the library), so I'll try my best to keep moving forward.

But I do admit, being able to sleep in every day is pretty fantastic. Hope you guys had a good week!~ I'll update (hehe) you guys soon.

~S

P.s. notice the awesome colorful fish I "adopted"? You can feed them! :D