Canine mortality: 20-year stud of dog breed diseases, death rates

摘要

Large breeds don't just have shorter life spans than smaller dogs—they are also more likely to die of musculoskeletal and gastrointenstinal diseases and cancer. Smaller breeds live longer on average but are more prone to die of metabolic diseases, according to a new 20-year retrospective on canine mortality trends by researchers at the University of Georgia. The study breaks down a number of causes of death according to age, breed and size. Researchers, led by Dr. Jamie Fleming of Lakeshore Veterinary Specialists, used records from the Veterinary Medical Database (VMDB), established in 1964 by the National Cancer Institute. Data was culled from records of 74,556 canine deaths from 1984 to 2004, according the study.