Thank you Ursula Merz for your diligence and support for research on this condition affecting the Lagotto Romagnolo breed. It is a condition that more people are reporting as the breeds numbers grow worldwide. (fb)

🐾 Knowledge Shapes the Future of Lagotto Health Losing a beloved Lagotto is heartbreaking. However, your shared experiences become a beacon for future health research to understand the breed's health. The Lagotto Romagnolo Foundation collects data on the cause of death on our webpage, and we encourage you, in the sad event that your Lagotto has died, to contribute to the cause of death statistic on our webpage here: https://lagottofoundation.org/diseases/. What we see right now is that cancer is by far the #1 cause of death in the breed, accounting for over 50%. How does this relate to other breeds?" 🦮 The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study by the Morris Animal Foundation, a pioneering study in the U.S., has provided critical data about cancer in Golden Retrievers, with about 70% of cancer deaths in these dogs due to hemangiosarcoma. More about the study can be found here: https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/article/taking-stock-golden-retriever-lifetime-study. 🐕‍🦺 Data recorded from the Veterinary Medical Database VMDB (1984-2004) has been invaluable for analyzing breed-specific mortality in dogs, offering patterns that inform health maintenance practices. While some of the study results corroborated previous smaller studies, there were a few surprise findings. For example, while toy breeds, such as Chihuahuas and Maltese, are known to have high rates of cardiovascular disease (19 and 21 percent of deaths within the breeds, respectively), the researchers found that Fox Terriers also have high rates of cardiovascular disease (16 percent of deaths). Golden Retrievers and Boxers are known to have high rates of cancer (50 and 44 percent of deaths, respectively), but the researchers found that the Bouvier des Flandres actually has a higher death rate from cancer (47 percent) than the Boxer. More on the VMDB findings: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21352376/. 🐕 In Europe, there have been notable studies focused on the longevity and mortality of dog breeds, similar to those in the United States. One such comprehensive study was conducted in the UK, involving Kennel Club registered dog breeds. This study, carried out in 2014, collected mortality data from a large survey of dog owners and aimed to report both overall and within-breed longevity and the most common causes of death. It provided valuable insights into breed-specific mortality patterns and highlighted variations in median lifespan and prevalent causes of death among different breeds. The study gathered data on 5,663 deceased dogs, covering a wide range of breeds. The most commonly reported causes of death included old age, unspecified cancer, and heart failure. It also observed a considerable variation in median longevity across different breeds. This variation in lifespan and predominant causes of death across breeds was a key finding of the study, offering potential areas for welfare improvements and health interventions within specific breeds.The study can be found here: https://cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40575-018-0066-8 #LagottoRomagnolo #KnowledgeIsPower #HealthResearchMatters (fb)