In contrast, older dogs such as Yorkshire Terriers, Jack Russells and Mutters do not reach the 1.5-year threshold at the end of their lives until their pet is 14 years old.
Dr Candy Zu-yun Teng, lead author of the study from Taiwan’s National University, said: “Dog life charts offer new insights and ways to look at the life expectancy of domestic dogs. They are also strong evidence of compromised health and well-being in low, flat breeds, such as the French Bulldog and the Bulldog.
Dr O’Neill added: “The short life expectancy of flat-faced breeds, such as the French Bulldog, shown in the VetCompass Life tables, supports the UK Brachycephaly Working Group’s call to all owners to stop and think before buy a dog with a flat face. ‘. ”
Do not judge a dog by its breed
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports and came as a separate study from the United States, which found that the dog breed is not as good a predictor of behavior as previously thought.
Analysis of the genes of more than 2,000 dogs, combined with studies by their owners, found that there was no genetic link between the breed and aggression, for example, despite common stereotypes.
They found that, on average, only nine percent of behavior is due to the breed, which shows that there is much more individualism than previously thought when it comes to dogs.
Researchers do not directly measure aggression, as it is difficult to determine scientifically, but they look at the “agonistic threshold”, which indicates how easily a dog responds to a stimulus and shows dissatisfaction. That could be anything from looking away, raising your hips or growling, experts said.
Dr Catherine Lord, co-author of the study from UMass Medical School, said: “We found [agonistic threshold] in fact, it wasn’t a very hereditary factor at all. ”
Dr. Eleanor Carlson, a biologist at UMass Medical School, added: “We can say that when we looked at this factor, which we called the agonistic threshold, which included many questions about whether human dogs react aggressively to things, we saw no effect. the origin of the breed on this particular factor. “
Add Comment