12 Oct 2022
Researchers have found that one breed could be as much as 17 times more likely to develop the condition than cross-bred dogs.
Image supplied by RVC.
A new study of risk factors associated with canine hypothyroidism can help vets and owners deal with the condition, as well as improving future health, RVC researchers say.
The new VetCompass analysis, published in the journal Canine Medicine and Genetics, found one breed is up to 17 times more likely to develop the condition than its cross-bred counterparts, with two others at more than 10 times greater risk.
However, others, including the French bulldog and pug, were among those assessed to be at the lowest risk of all.
The analysis is based on the anonymised records of more than 905,000 UK dogs from 2016.
Overall, 2,105 cases of hypothyroidism, which is caused by a deficiency of thyroid hormones, were found among the population, equating to 0.23% of the total or one case in every 400 animals.
But three breeds – the standard Dobermann pinscher (17.02), the Tibetan terrier (11.25) and boxer (10.44) – were all found to be at least 10 times more likely to develop the condition.
The most protected breeds included the French bulldog (0.27), pug (0.29), Yorkshire terrier (0.38), shih-tzu (0.38) and Jack Russell terrier (0.40), while two others – “cavachon” and “cavapoo” – had no recorded cases at all.
The analysis also found that the risk of developing the condition increased over time, with dogs aged 11 to 13 around four-and-a-half times more likely to have it than their counterparts aged between five and seven.
Higher risk was also associated with increased weight, while neutered males and females were also more likely to have the condition than females that had not been neutered.
Although earlier studies identified breed, neutering and ageing as potential risk factors, new research was felt to be needed to reflect the current canine population.
Rebecca Geddes, one of the paper’s authors, said: “It is great to have this data from UK primary care practices, which will help highlight high risk breeds to veterinary surgeons so they can diagnose and treat affected dogs as early as possible.
“Hypothyroidism is usually straightforward to manage with medication that can greatly improve quality of life in affected dogs.”
Lead author Dan O’Neill added: “Owners of key predisposed breeds can now be alert for early signs of ill-health typical of hypothyroidism.
“The results can also help good breeders to select away from affected dogs to improve health in future generations.”
The research was partly funded by The Kennel Club’s Charitable Trust, which also hopes its findings will help to improve welfare across the breeds.
Bill Lambert, Kennel Club health and welfare executive, said: “Ultimately, this should help owners to spot the initial signs, and vets to diagnose earlier to enable treatment, which is known to be effective in managing the disease.
“The findings will feed into our breed health and conservation plans , which enable The Kennel Club to identify, monitor and improve each individual breed’s health and welfare.”
