Feng Lynna C, Philippine Alexandra, Ball-Conley Elizabeth, Byosiere Sarah-Elizabeth
Guide Dogs for the Blind, San Rafael, CA 94903, USA.
Animal Dairy and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jan 9;15(2):152. doi: 10.3390/ani15020152.
Using genetic selection, Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) has reduced the incidence rate of canine hip dysplasia (CHD). However, given that CHD is polygenic and multifactorial, environmental factors may impact the expression of this developmental condition. The objective of this original, correlational research was to investigate the relationship between the substrate in the whelping pool used from birth to 3 weeks of age and CHD diagnosis. This retrospective study included 5649 dogs (Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Labrador-Golden Retriever crosses) at GDB. A total of 2785 dogs were whelped between 1 July 2012 and 28 November 2015, when the whelping pools were lined with newspaper, and 2864 dogs were whelped between 5 March 2016 and 29 December 2019, when the whelping pools were lined with fleece. Bayesian regression modeling of the CHD diagnoses and PennHIP distraction index scores identified that dogs in the fleece group had a lower risk for CHD diagnosis but similar PennHIP scores compared to the newspaper group. Golden Retrievers had the highest risk of CHD diagnosis and PennHIP scores, followed by Labrador-Golden Retriever crosses and finally Labrador Retrievers, with the lowest risk of CHD diagnosis and PennHIP scores. No sex differences were identified for CHD diagnosis, but males had lower PennHIP scores than females. These results provide correlational evidence that housing-related environmental factors during the first three weeks of development-specifically, the substrate in the whelping pool-are associated with lifelong orthopedic health.
通过基因筛选，导盲犬基金会（GDB）降低了犬髋关节发育不良（CHD）的发病率。然而，鉴于CHD是多基因和多因素的，环境因素可能会影响这种发育状况的表现。这项原创性的相关性研究的目的是调查从出生到3周龄使用的产仔池中的垫料与CHD诊断之间的关系。这项回顾性研究纳入了GDB的5649只狗（拉布拉多寻回犬、金毛寻回犬以及拉布拉多-金毛寻回犬杂交品种）。共有2785只狗在2012年7月1日至2015年11月28日期间出生，当时产仔池内衬有报纸，另有2864只狗在2016年3月5日至2019年12月29日期间出生，当时产仔池内衬有羊毛毡。对CHD诊断和宾夕法尼亚大学髋关节松弛指数评分进行的贝叶斯回归建模表明，与报纸组相比，羊毛毡组的狗被诊断为CHD的风险较低，但宾夕法尼亚大学髋关节松弛指数评分相似。金毛寻回犬被诊断为CHD的风险和宾夕法尼亚大学髋关节松弛指数评分最高，其次是拉布拉多-金毛寻回犬杂交品种，最后是拉布拉多寻回犬，其被诊断为CHD的风险和宾夕法尼亚大学髋关节松弛指数评分最低。在CHD诊断方面未发现性别差异，但雄性的宾夕法尼亚大学髋关节松弛指数评分低于雌性。这些结果提供了相关性证据，表明发育前三周与饲养相关的环境因素——具体而言，产仔池中的垫料——与终身骨科健康相关。
