THE most common health problems in dogs are dental disease, obesity and ear infections, and so owners should be encouraged to get into the habit of looking after their dogs’ teeth, ears and weight as soon as they acquire their pet, new research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has suggested.

The study, one of the largest ever from the RVC’s VetCompass programme, followed a sample of 22,333 dogs over a year (2016) to identify all the health issues that were diagnosed during that time.

The dogs were randomly selected from VetCompass’ database of anonymised information from over 8 million dogs. The study also looked at whether the health of dogs varied by age, sex and neuter status.

It found that the most common health problems of dogs are dental disease (12.5 per cent), ear infection (7.3 per cent) and obesity (7.1 per cent).

Some 65.8 per cent of the observed dogs had at least one disorder in the single year of the study and the health of dogs was found to deteriorate with age.

Age also affected the disorders the animals suffered from. Dogs aged over nine years were largely affected by degenerative and neoplastic disorders, such as osteoarthritis, heart murmur, skin mass and lipoma, while those dogs under six years old were largely affected by disorders associated with infection, allergy, behaviour, trauma or dietary indiscretion, such as otitis externa, pyoderma, vomiting/diarrhoea, conjunctivitis and claw injury.

Male dogs were found to have a higher risk than female dogs for 10 disorders – ear infections, aggression, coughing, seizures, foreign bodies, drug reactions, moist dermatitis, wounds, lacerations and arthritis.

Female dogs had a higher risk than males for four disorders – urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection, mammary lump and overgrown nails.

Neutered animals had increased odds for obesity, dental disorder, musculoskeletal disorder, incontinence and behaviour disorder, while entire animals had higher odds for female reproductive system disorder, male reproductive system disorder, parasite infestation and being underweight.

The researchers say the study, which was published in BMC Veterinary Research, highlights the complexity of caring properly for dogs, but that by knowing more about why dogs get sick, owners are better placed to keep them safe.

Dan O’Neill, senior lecturer in companion animal epidemiology at the RVC and lead author of the paper, said: ‘This study shows that it is really important for owners to develop strong habits of caring for their dog’s teeth, ears and weight, right from the time they first acquire a puppy … Owners should work closely with their vet to plan appropriate dental and weight care programmes at each visit to their veterinary clinic.‘

Hannah James, health research manager at the Kennel Club and coauthor of the paper, added: ‘As dog owners, the key priority is keeping our pets healthy and happy, but it can be difficult to put into context the most common problems that affect our canine counterparts and which areas we need to pay particular attention to in order to maintain this.

‘These findings help us establish these key areas, and where we as owners, vets and organisational bodies can work towards to improve the day-to-day life of our beloved companions.‘

The researchers also believe that by pinpointing the most common disorders in dogs, these topics could be prioritised in veterinary curricula to better equip new graduates with the necessary breadth of day 1 skills.

REFERENCE:
https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vetr.258