the noisy dog barks

So this is a super interesting paper. Basically, these researchers looked at 24 inherited disorders and compared their prevalence in mixed-breed and purebred dogs. What they found is that 13 disorders had no difference in prevalence (yes, this includes hip dysplasia), 1 disorder was more common in mixed breed dogs (ruptured cranial cruciate ligament), and 10 disorders were more common in purebred dogs (aortic stenosis, dilated cardiomyopathy, hypothyroidism, elbow dysplasia, IVDD, atopy or allergic dermatitis, bloat, cataracts, total epilepsy, and portosystemic shunt).

Folks, I get it. I have a purebred dog from a breeder, and I understand the desire to defend that decision. That being said, we cannot go around saying things that aren’t true. The reality that this paper supports is that mixed breed dogs are healthier than purebred dogs. We talk all the time on dogblr about the difficulties brachycephalic breeds have, about how breeds like Dachshunds that have long backs and short legs often have back issues, and about the persistence of DCM in breeds like the Dobermann despite health testing (DCM is about 45x more common in Dobes than mixed breed dogs according to this paper). The fact that we then turn around and assert that purebred dogs are just as healthy, or healthier, than mixed breed dogs is ridiculous, and it is not supported by current research.

old studies but interesting. also a great website if you want to compare lifespan of various breeds. pretty scary numbers if you’re into, say, mastiffs or tollers.

here’s some compiled studies on inbreeding and longevity

an article with citations about mixed vs purebred longevity

“but that’s only purebreds produced by BYBs!”

and here’s the thing. your choices aren’t limited to either a rescue with unknown heritage or purebred puppy.

 if you don’t think adoption is for you, there are plenty of people breeding health-tested, well socialized, stable crossbred dogs. they’re being bred for sports (there’s a HUGE sport mix world!), for working purposes, and to be excellent companions. there’s nothing wrong with getting a purebred puppy from a good breeder, but i think it’s worth exploring all your options! 

maybe a breed really appeals to you but the lifespan and common disorders freak you out. well, some at-risk breeds have either official breed outcross programs underway, or individuals taking it into their own hands. frenchies, dobes, doxies, and plenty more. here’s a rundown of the norwegian lundehunde outcross project. 

whatever you’re looking for in a dog, if you decide to go the puppy route… you can have the odds stacked in your favor for a stable temperament, the support of a knowledgeable breeder, a community to help you, health tested lineage, AND genetic diversity at a level that’s impossible within closed gene pools. feel free to pm me if you want some advice on where to start.

my own cross, Kai, has a tested inbreeding coefficient of 0%, compared to an average of 10-20% for purebred dogs in the Embark database. he’s been cleared for both his breeds’ testable disorders. Kai’s passed an OFA eye exam and will have his hips x-rayed. i’m really excited to breed litters with temperament and health as the main priority, without the constraints of breed standards and closed studbooks (and…. without show/sport/breed drama, tbh…. that’s a big plus)… 

‘Dog-Speak’ important for social bonding between pet and owner

Scientists at the University of York have shown that using ‘dog-speak’ to communicate with dogs is important in relationship-building between pet and owner, similar to the way that ‘baby-talk’ is to bonding between a baby and an adult.

Speech interaction experiments between adult dogs and humans showed that this particular type of speech improves dog attention and may help humans to socially bond with their pets.

Previous studies on communicating with dogs had suggested that talking in a high-pitch voice with exaggerated emotion, just as adults do with babies, improved engagement with puppies but made little difference with adult dogs.

Researchers at York tested this theory with new experiments designed to understand more about why humans talk to dogs like this and if it is useful to the dogs in some way or whether humans do this simply because they like to treat dogs in the same way as babies.

Speech register

Dr Katie Slocombe from the University of York’s Department of Psychology, said: “A special speech register, known as infant-directed speech, is thought to aid language acquisition and improve the way a human baby bonds with an adult. This form of speech is known to share some similarities with the way in which humans talk to their pet dogs, known as dog-directed speech.

“This high-pitched rhythmic speech is common in human interactions with dogs in western cultures, but there isn’t a great deal known about whether it benefits a dog in the same way that it does a baby.

“We wanted to look at this question and see whether social bonding between animals and humans was influenced by the type and content of the communication.”

Unlike previous experiments, the research team positioned real humans in the same room as the dog, rather than broadcasting speech over a loud speaker without a human present. This made the set-up more naturalistic for the dogs and helped the team test whether dogs not only paid more attention to ‘dog speak’, but were motivated to spend more time with the person who had spoken to them in that way.

Dog-related content

Researchers did a series of speech tests with adult dogs, where they were given the chance to listen to one person using dog-directed speech containing phrases such as ‘you’re a good dog’, and ‘shall we go for a walk?’, and then another person using adult-directed speech with no dog-related content, such as ‘I went to the cinema last night.’.

Attention during the speech was measured, and following the speech, the dogs were allowed to choose which speaker they wanted to physically interact with.

The speakers then mixed dog-directed speech with non-dog-related words and adult-directed speech with dog-related words, to allow the researchers to understand whether it was the high-pitched emotional tone of the speech that dogs were attracted to or the words themselves.

Preferences

Alex Benjamin, PhD student from the University’s Department of Psychology, said: “We found that adult dogs were more likely to want to interact and spend time with the speaker that used dog-directed speech with dog-related content, than they did those that used adult-directed speech with no dog-related content.  

“When we mixed-up the two types of speech and content, the dogs showed no preference for one speaker over the other. This suggests that adult dogs need to hear dog-relevant words spoken in a high-pitched emotional voice in order to find it relevant.

“We hope this research will be useful for pet owners interacting with their dogs, and also for veterinary professionals and rescue workers.”

The Dog of Alcibiades, 2ndC.

Edwin Henry Landseer (1802-1873) “A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society” (1838) Oil on canvas Animalier

Many dog owners allow their pets to jump out of a car boot; however, to date, there has been no study that has investigated whether this places dogs at risk of injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between height and peak vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) in static start jumps.

Yes! Here’s two links to two studies done by UC Davis. One done on GSDs and one on Golden Retrievers.(Click the breed names for the links).