Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrievers

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chaos
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Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrievers

#1 Post by chaos » Wed May 06, 2015 9:49 am

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/05/06/s ... etrievers/

Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrievers
By Sue Manning, Associated Press
May 6, 2015 11:56 AM

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — If a golden retriever gives birth, gets stung by a bee or sprayed by a skunk, veterinarians want to know.

Scientists are studying the popular breed to find out why their lifespans have gotten shorter over the years and why cancer is so prevalent.

The Colorado-based Morris Animal Foundation recently got the first lifetime study of 3,000 purebred golden retrievers up and running after signing up the first dogs in 2012. The nonprofit says the review of health conditions and environmental factors facing goldens across the U.S. can help other breeds and even people, because humans carry 95 percent of the same DNA.

“Canine cancer has become a dog owner’s greatest fear,” said Dr. David Haworth, president and CEO of the foundation, which invested $25 million in the study. “You don’t see dogs running loose that much anymore, we don’t see a lot of infectious diseases, and the vaccines we have today are very good, so our concerns are warranted.”

The vets haven’t learned enough yet to improve or prolong the retrievers’ lives, but key factors could lie anywhere, said Dr. Michael Lappin, who has 19 patients from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, in the study. When he graduated from veterinary school in 1972, golden retrievers lived 16 or 17 years. Today, it’s nine or 10 years.

Golden retrievers die of bone cancer, lymphoma and a cancer of the blood vessels more than any other breed in the country.

Lappin plans to get his families together in a few months to see if they have found ways to make life easier for their dogs, especially because the most helpful data about cancer, obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions won’t emerge for six or seven years, researchers say.

Early exams showed 33 percent of the dogs, which are 1 to 5 years old, had skin disease or ear infections; 17 percent had gastrointestinal illnesses; and 11 percent had urinary disease.

The dogs get medication to treat the conditions, but vets can’t treat them differently because it would skew the results, Lappin said.

Marla Yelta of Denver says her nearly 2-year-old golden retriever, Snickers, joined the study and has been suffering from skin problems. Yelta uses oatmeal shampoo on her pet, but she’s looking forward to talking with other participants about their remedies.

“I have too many friends who have lost goldens,” she said. “Is it what we are feeding them, their environments, their breeding?”

Pet owners keep tabs on everything, from a move across country or across town, a change in climate or time zone, new children at home, different food or behavioral changes. Most keep journals so they don’t constantly call the vets when their dog gets a thorn in its foot, eats a spider or devours a bunch of bologna if it tears into the groceries.

The vets collect blood, waste, and hair and nail samples annually to test if the dogs get sick, hoping to uncover a common thread or early warning sign among dogs that develop cancer or other diseases. Doctors also check for changes in temperature, blood pressure, energy, diet, sleeping patterns or other factors that could explain illnesses.

“Everyone involved will feel the burden it will take to be able to say, ‘I am playing a role in stopping cancer in these animals I love,'” Haworth said.

So far, seven goldens have died of conditions such as cancer and gastrointestinal problems, and one was hit by a car, Haworth said. Another dropped out when its owner died. The dogs come from every state; about half are male and half are female; and half are fixed and half are not.

Those who brought dogs into the study, including both veterinarians, hope goldens get a shot at the longer life they used to enjoy.

“I’m glad I found the study and feel in some small way, I might make a difference,” Yelta said.
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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#2 Post by SR » Thu May 07, 2015 11:23 am

I've never known goldens to live to 17. I hope mine does though. He'll be 10 on May 7th. Scary to think that the life expectancy is just 10 years.....the ones I have known are in the 12-14 range.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#3 Post by Hype » Thu May 07, 2015 1:54 pm

My parents' golden is 11. He's had growths/tumors on his legs, etc, for a few years now and they've stopped even bothering with them. His back legs are also shot, so he's not going up or down stairs anymore. Today I was over there and he tried to get up on the hardwood (there are rugs for him everywhere but he doesn't seem to understand this) and slipped, freaked out and started frothing and leg-jerking. Luckily it wasn't fatal, but he might have hurt one of his back legs. They can't take him to the vet until tomorrow. Hopefully he's alright, otherwise it might be game over (an 11 yr old golden + a major surgery = might be nicer for him to just go...). :sad:

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#4 Post by Matz » Thu May 07, 2015 2:02 pm

sorry to hear that.....strange that dogs don't live longer in general. When they're five years old they're built like tanks and can do anything, then just a few years later its over.

Of course it would be quite a commitment to get a golden if life expectancy was 45, so.... :noclue:

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#5 Post by mockbee » Thu May 07, 2015 2:31 pm

Matz wrote:sorry to hear that.....strange that dogs don't live longer in general. When they're five years old they're built like tanks and can do anything, then just a few years later its over.

Of course it would be quite a commitment to get a golden if life expectancy was 45, so.... :noclue:

I just saw that some parrot species live 80-90 years (think I knew this at some point)........ now that is crazy! :yikes:

Forget it with a tortoise, I know a guy who has his mom's tortoise from the early 1900's and he's old and needs to get rid of it...........

Sad about the slow hard circumstances with the pups..... :sad:

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#6 Post by chaos » Thu May 07, 2015 3:28 pm

From the article:
The nonprofit says the review of health conditions and environmental factors facing goldens across the U.S. can help other breeds and even people, because humans carry 95 percent of the same DNA.
I was surprised by this; I thought the percent of DNA shared was much lower. :hs:

Golden retrievers are also prone to hip dysplasia. I guess that has to do with their size.

Don't large dogs have shorter life spans in general, compared to smaller breeds? Nevertheless, it is unnerving that the lifespan of golden retrievers has shortened considerably over the last 40+ years.
Last edited by chaos on Thu May 07, 2015 3:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#7 Post by chaos » Thu May 07, 2015 3:29 pm

Adurentibus Spina wrote:My parents' golden is 11. He's had growths/tumors on his legs, etc, for a few years now and they've stopped even bothering with them. His back legs are also shot, so he's not going up or down stairs anymore. Today I was over there and he tried to get up on the hardwood (there are rugs for him everywhere but he doesn't seem to understand this) and slipped, freaked out and started frothing and leg-jerking. Luckily it wasn't fatal, but he might have hurt one of his back legs. They can't take him to the vet until tomorrow. Hopefully he's alright, otherwise it might be game over (an 11 yr old golden + a major surgery = might be nicer for him to just go...). :sad:
:sad: :gh:

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#8 Post by Hype » Sat May 09, 2015 5:26 am

Turns out he's alright! He was just freaked out by the tumble. He's still an 11 yr old golden though, so he won't be around much longer, but still, good news.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#9 Post by SR » Sat May 09, 2015 8:31 am

Glad he's good

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#10 Post by clickie » Sat May 09, 2015 11:05 am

You know what pisses me off, they still have greyhound racing down here, its a very shady business where the dogs are treated horribly.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#11 Post by clickie » Sat May 09, 2015 11:11 am

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#12 Post by clickie » Sat May 09, 2015 12:49 pm

Once these dogs hit their peak and arent fast anymore, no one wants to care for them.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#13 Post by Romeo » Mon May 11, 2015 1:31 pm

SR wrote:I've never known goldens to live to 17. I hope mine does though. He'll be 10 on May 7th. Scary to think that the life expectancy is just 10 years.....the ones I have known are in the 12-14 range.
Leroy lived to 12.

My nephew's chocolate lab Buddy is going on 14 (though I think his days are numbered)

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#14 Post by Romeo » Mon May 11, 2015 1:34 pm

Adurentibus Spina wrote:My parents' golden is 11. He's had growths/tumors on his legs, etc, for a few years now and they've stopped even bothering with them. His back legs are also shot, so he's not going up or down stairs anymore. Today I was over there and he tried to get up on the hardwood (there are rugs for him everywhere but he doesn't seem to understand this) and slipped, freaked out and started frothing and leg-jerking. Luckily it wasn't fatal, but he might have hurt one of his back legs. They can't take him to the vet until tomorrow. Hopefully he's alright, otherwise it might be game over (an 11 yr old golden + a major surgery = might be nicer for him to just go...). :sad:
:nyrexall:
Hope he's ok

Leroy started with the growths/tumors too. One was on his toe and was impeding his walk. So they amputated his toe. But the other tumors were all over his back.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#15 Post by Hype » Tue May 12, 2015 8:59 am

Romeo wrote:
Adurentibus Spina wrote:My parents' golden is 11. He's had growths/tumors on his legs, etc, for a few years now and they've stopped even bothering with them. His back legs are also shot, so he's not going up or down stairs anymore. Today I was over there and he tried to get up on the hardwood (there are rugs for him everywhere but he doesn't seem to understand this) and slipped, freaked out and started frothing and leg-jerking. Luckily it wasn't fatal, but he might have hurt one of his back legs. They can't take him to the vet until tomorrow. Hopefully he's alright, otherwise it might be game over (an 11 yr old golden + a major surgery = might be nicer for him to just go...). :sad:
:nyrexall:
Hope he's ok

Leroy started with the growths/tumors too. One was on his toe and was impeding his walk. So they amputated his toe. But the other tumors were all over his back.
He seems ok for now. If he did any damage it wasn't so bad that it'd be worth a trip to the vet. He seemed fine the next day. They've had to buy a bunch of non-slip rugs to put everywhere he likes to sleep/rest, and he seems happy enough. Like you said though... his days are pretty clearly numbered. Just gotta enjoy them while they last and hope he doesn't suffer too much. He's on pain meds for joint pain, which seems to help.

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Re: Study Aims To Uncover Why Cancer Plagues Golden Retrieve

#16 Post by Romeo » Tue May 12, 2015 11:55 am

Leroy was on joint pain meds too. Plus he had allergies. He could only eat lamb & rice dog food.

AND towards the end he was getting a little senile. So he'd stand in front of the patio doors to go out on the deck. By the time you closed the door he was back waiting on the other side to be let back in. He forgot why he want to go out in the first place. :lol: it was annoying but kind of funny.
At least he never ever had an accident in the house, even at the end. :nyrexall:

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