Reader Comments

Post a new comment on this article

Purebred and lineage

Posted by cklatt on 24 Jul 2014 at 16:56 GMT

Where purebreds used for this study? If so was the lineage of the dogs looked to see if it corresponded with the medical conditions?

No competing interests declared.
report a concern respond to this posting

RE: Purebred and lineage

blhart replied to cklatt on 31 Jul 2014 at 16:46 GMT

Thanks for your interest in this study. Golden Retrievers are a very popular breed as family pets and service dogs. They are generally known for having cancers and joint disorders. With such a popular breed there are certainly various lineages. I am not aware of any information statistically comparing the occurrence of cancers or joint disorders among the various lineages. Our study was epidemiologically based which requires a large data base. The hospital record states the breed, as specified by the pet owner. No attempt was made to track down a lineage. With our new paper in this journal comparing the Golden with the Labrador Retriever, with an expanded data base and new way of presenting data-based findings, the same picture is seen with the Golden. We are confident our findings hold across the range of purebred Golden Retrievers. The doi of our new paper in this journal is: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102241

No competing interests declared.
report a concern respond to this posting