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.

BackgroundThere is an association between overweight status and life span in kenneled dogs, but a similar association has not been reported for pet dogs.ObjectivesTo examine the effects of being overweight in middle age on the life span of neutered client‐owned dogs.AnimalsFifty‐thousand seven‐hundred eighty seven middle‐aged neutered client‐owned dogs attending a network of approximately 900 veterinary hospitals across North America.MethodsRetrospective case‐control study. For each of 12 breeds, groups of dogs aged between 6.5 and 8.5 years were identified as being in “overweight” or “normal” body condition. Within each breed and sex, differences in life span between dogs in normal body condition and overweight body condition in the 2 groups were then analyzed by Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsFor all breeds, instantaneous risk of death for dogs in overweight body condition was greater than those in normal body condition throughout the age range studied, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.35 (99.79% confidence interval [CI] 1.05‐1.73) for German Shepherd dog to 2.86 (99.79% CI 2.14‐3.83) for Yorkshire Terrier. In all breeds, median life span was shorter in overweight compared with normal weight dogs, with the difference being greatest in Yorkshire Terriers (overweight: 13.7 years, 99.79% CI 13.3‐14.2; normal: 16.2 years, 99.79% CI 15.7‐16.5) and least in German Shepherd dogs (overweight: 12.1 years, 99.79% CI 11.8‐12.4; normal: 12.5 years, 99.79% CI 12.2‐12.9).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceVeterinary professionals should consider promoting healthy body condition for dogs, particularly from midlife onward.

SUMMARY1. Fleece characteristics in Finnish Landrace × Merino and Merino × Finnish Landrace sheep were compared with those of the parental breeds, and although most characters in the crossbreds showed no significant departure from the parental mean, they had similarities to the Merino which imparted commercial value.2. The wool was mostly of 60s quality compared with 58s in the Finnish Landrace, and 64s and over in the Merino parents. Crimp number showed heterosis, being 5 to 6 per cm in the crossbreds compared with 2 in the Finnish sheep and 7 in the Merino.3. The mean fleece weight was 3-5 kg, compared with 2-2 kg in the Finnish sheep and 4-2 kg in the Merino.4. The mean staple length was 13 cm compared with a very variable length around a mean of 16 cm in the Finnish Landrace, and 10 cm in the Merino.5. The fibre diameter was nearer to that of the Merino, but not significantly so (primary mean 29·2 μ, secondary mean 26·6 μ).6. The greater fleece weight of the crossbreds would be expected to be associated with a greater skin follicle density, but they had a secondary/primary follicle ratio of about 10 (compared with 5 in the Finnish Landrace and 20 in the Merino), which did not differ significantly from the parental mean.7. There was some evidence that fibre development was initially more rapid in the crossbred lambs.