From friendly Labradors to fluffy poodles, many of the world’s most popular dogs are purebred.
Until now, it was widely believed that pure breeds are more prone to health problems than mixed breeds.
However, in a new study, researchers at Texas A&M University finally debunked this old myth.
“There are several well-known diseases that occur frequently in specific dog breeds,” said Dr. Kate Creevy, chief veterinarian of the Dog Aging Project and professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at VMBS.
“This has helped perpetuate the misconception that all purebred dogs are more prone to disease, but that is not the case.”
From friendly Labradors to fluffy poodles, many of the world’s most popular dogs are purebred. Until now, it was widely believed that pure breeds are more prone to health problems than mixed breeds. However, in a new study, researchers at Texas A&M University have finally debunked this old myth.
In their study, researchers set out to understand whether pure breeds such as Labradors (file image) are more or less likely to suffer from health problems than mixed breeds.
As the title suggests, purebred dogs come from a single breed, while mixed breed dogs are dogs whose genetics are a combination of more than a single breed.
In their study, researchers set out to understand whether pure breeds are more or less likely to suffer from health problems than mixed breeds.
The team surveyed owners of more than 27,000 dogs about any diagnosis.
The results revealed that, within the 25 most common pure breeds, a total of 53 medical conditions were reported.
“Medical conditions reported by owners of purebred dogs varied considerably,” Dr. Creevy said.
“However, some conditions appeared frequently in the top 10 health conditions reported by race.”
In these 25 breeds, the 10 most common conditions were dental calculus (hardened plaque), dog bites, extracted teeth, giardia (a parasite), osteoarthritis, seasonal allergies, ear infection, heart murmur, fractured teeth and cataracts.
Meanwhile, in mixed-breed dogs, the most common reported conditions were very similar, with cataracts and heart murmurs replaced by broken nails and chocolate toxicity.
Some diseases, such as dental calculus and osteoarthritis, appeared with approximately the same frequency in both purebred dogs and mixed-breed dogs.
Conditions such as pulled teeth and dog bites were more common in pure breeds. However, other problems, such as ear infections, were more common in mixed breeds (file image)
Conditions such as pulled teeth and dog bites were more common in pure breeds.
However, other problems, such as ear infections, were more common in mixed breeds.
“Of the 53 medical conditions reported by owners, 26 did not differ significantly between mixed breed and purebred dogs,” Dr. Creevy said.
In addition to debunking the long-standing myth, researchers hope the findings will prove useful to anyone considering getting a dog.
“People should consider many factors when choosing a dog, including the environment, lifestyle, social interactions and physical activity that will be available to the dog,” Dr. Creevy said.
‘It is also prudent to plan for both preventive veterinary care and medical care as the dog ages.
“Dog owners should also talk to their primary care veterinarians about the types of medical problems their new dog might be particularly prone to based on breed, size, sex, etc.”