Scientific Results: Dog Size and Patterns of Disease History Across the Canine Age Spectrum: Results from the Dog Aging Project

Who worked on this research?

Where was it published?

PLoS ONE

What is this paper about?

Age in dogs is associated with the risk of many diseases, and size is a major factor in that risk. However, the size patterns are complex. While small size dogs tend to live longer, some diseases are more prevalent among small dogs. In this study, we investigated how the lifetime prevalence of different disease conditions varied across age and size in a large community-based population of companion dogs – about 27,500 members of the Dog Aging Project Pack. We analyzed thirteen disease categories of interest reported in 500 or more dogs: skin, infectious or parasitic, orthopedic, gastrointestinal, eye, ear/nose/throat, kidney/urinary, cancer, cardiac, neurologic, liver/pancreas, respiratory, and endocrine. Many conditions were reported more often with increasing weight, while some were less commonly reported for larger dogs or showed no significant variation by size.

What do these results mean for me and my dog?

Our study indicates that dogs of different sizes tend to have different diseases and ultimately be vulnerable to different causes of death. Controlling for sex, purebred vs. mixed-breed status, and region of the country, the results did align with reduced lifespan in larger dogs for most of the disease categories. The discussion section of this paper provides details at the level of specific diagnoses within each disease category for a better understanding of disease patterns across dog age and size.

We anticipate that this study will motivate researchers in veterinary science to examine this relationship closely at the level of each condition.

Where can I learn more?

Nam Y, White M, Karlsson EK, Creevy KE, Promislow DEL, McClelland RL, The Dog Aging Project Consortium. (2024) Dog size and patterns of disease history across the canine age spectrum: results from the Dog Aging Project. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295840

Abstract

Age in dogs is associated with the risk of many diseases, and canine size is a major factor in that risk. However, the size patterns are complex. While small size dogs tend to live longer, some diseases are more prevalent among small dogs. In this study we seek to quantify how the pattern of disease history varies across the spectrum of dog size, dog age, and their interaction. Utilizing owner-reported data on disease history from a substantial number of companion dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project, we investigate how body size, as measured by weight, associates with the lifetime prevalence of a reported condition and its pattern across age for various disease categories. We found significant positive associations between dog size and the lifetime prevalence of skin, bone/orthopedic, gastrointestinal, ear/nose/throat, cancer/tumor, brain/neurologic, endocrine, and infectious diseases. Similarly, dog size was negatively associated with lifetime prevalence of ocular, cardiac, liver/pancreas, and respiratory disease categories. Kidney/urinary disease prevalence did not vary by size. We also found that the association between age and lifetime disease prevalence varied by dog size for many conditions including ocular, cardiac, orthopedic, ear/nose/throat, and cancer. Controlling for sex, purebred vs. mixed-breed status, and geographic region made little difference in all disease categories we studied. Our results align with the reduced lifespan in larger dogs for most of the disease categories and suggest potential avenues for further examination.