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Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLOS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 9, p e0182064 (2017)
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Limited information is available on what constitutes optimal growth in dogs. The primary aim of this study was to develop evidence-based growth standards for dogs, using retrospective analysis of bodyweight and age data from >6 million young dogs attending a large corporate network of primary care veterinary hospitals across the USA. Electronic medical records were used to generate bodyweight data from immature client-owned dogs, that were healthy and had remained in ideal body condition throughout the first 3 years of life. Growth centile curves were constructed using Generalised Additive Models for Location, Shape and Scale. Curves were displayed graphically as centile charts covering the age range 12 weeks to 2 years. Over 100 growth charts were modelled, specific to different combinations of breed, sex and neuter status. Neutering before 37 weeks was associated with a slight upward shift in growth trajectory, whilst neutering after 37 weeks was associated with a slight downward shift in growth trajectory. However, these shifts were small in comparison to inter-individual variability amongst dogs, suggesting that separate curves for neutered dogs were not needed. Five bodyweight categories were created to cover breeds up to 40kg, using both visual assessment and hierarchical cluster analysis of breed-specific growth curves. For 20/24 of the individual breed centile curves, agreement with curves for the corresponding bodyweight categories was good. For the remaining 4 breed curves, occasional deviation across centile lines was observed, but overall agreement was acceptable. This suggested that growth could be described using size categories rather than requiring curves for specific breeds. In the current study, a series of evidence-based growth standards have been developed to facilitate charting of bodyweight in healthy dogs. Additional studies are required to validate these standards and create a clinical tool for growth monitoring in pet dogs.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Physiology
lcsh:Medicine
Breeding
Infographics
0403 veterinary science
Visual assessment
Retrospective analysis
Medicine and Health Sciences
Morphogenesis
Body Size
Cluster Analysis
Upward shift
Growth Charts
lcsh:Science
Mammals
Multidisciplinary
Pets and Companion Animals
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
Charts
Veterinary Diagnostics
Breed
Professions
Neutering
Databases as Topic
Physiological Parameters
Vertebrates
Veterinary Hospitals
Corporate network
Growth and Development
Research Article
Veterinary Medicine
Computer and Information Sciences
040301 veterinary sciences
Animal Types
Primary care
Biology
Veterinarians
03 medical and health sciences
Dogs
Animals
Obesity
Growth Control
030109 nutrition & dietetics
Data Visualization
lcsh:R
Body Weight
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Models, Theoretical
Growth monitoring
Amniotes
People and Places
lcsh:Q
Veterinary Science
Population Groupings
Zoology
Demography
Developmental Biology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PloS one
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....5c1005c11c0f5411682128c7f22a44c2