SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A Dog's Colour Could Impact Longevity, Increase Health Problems:
Recessive colour genes could indicate health problems.
New research led by the University of Sydney has revealed the life expectancy of chocolate Labradors is significantly lower than their black and yellow counterparts.
The study of more than 33,000 United Kingdom-based Labrador retrievers of all colours shows chocolate Labradors also have a higher incidence of ear infections and skin disease. Its findings were published in the open access journal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology today.
[...] In the UK, the median longevity of non-chocolate Labradors is 12.1 years, more than 10 percent longer than those with chocolate coats. The prevalence of ear inflammation (otitis externa) was twice as high in chocolate Labradors, who were four times more likely to have suffered from pyo-traumatic dermatitis (also known as hot-spot).
[...] "The relationships between coat colour and disease may reflect an inadvertent consequence of breeding certain pigmentations," he said. "Because chocolate colour is recessive in dogs, the gene for this colour must be present in both parents for their puppies to be chocolate. Breeders targeting this colour may therefore be more likely to breed only Labradors carrying the chocolate coat gene. It may be that the resulting reduced gene pool includes a higher proportion of genes conducive to ear and skin conditions."
Journal Reference:
Paul D. McGreevy, Bethany J. Wilson, Caroline S. Mansfield, Dave C. Brodbelt, David B. Church, Navneet Dhand, Ricardo J. Soares Magalhães, and Dan G. O'Neill Labrador retrievers under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-018-0064-x.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday October 27 2018, @07:27PM (3 children)
chihuahuas love up to about 20 years
Pugs to 15
Bulłdogs are lucky (unlucky?) to get to 12.
Reccessive breeding shortens life expectancy. News at 11.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Saturday October 27 2018, @08:44PM (1 child)
While it is well known that mutts in general live longer than pure-breeds, there is another rule of thumb when it comes to the life span of dogs...
The larger dogs have shorter lives than smaller dogs.
Comparing chihuahuas to labs in lifespan really is far from a comparison of equals.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday October 27 2018, @08:59PM
Chihuahuas,pugs and bulldogs are all relatively small.
Bulldogs are bread to have short heads, and being unable to breath properly contributes to early death.
While bred to be small, chihuahuas have quite a broad range ofshapes and colours. Luckilyfor them, breeding only for size seems to have kept some genetic diversity.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday October 28 2018, @03:23AM
Small size in dogs is generally recessive (this holds across the entire species). TINY is the product of multiple recessives. You may want to rethink your conclusion.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.