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Ashley Clark

April 2, 2016

Summary of a longitudinal study on growth and growth variables in dogs of


four large breeds raised in domestic environments

Introduction
For this study, 700 large dog breeds born between November 1998 and June 2001 in
Norway or imported to Norwegian domestic environments, assisted with the description of the
main influencing factors of growth, as well as established reference data for other studies. These
Large breeds included the Leonberger, Labrador Retriever, Irish wolfhound, & the
Newfoundland. According to the American Kennel Club, both the Newfoundland & Leonberger
breeds are categorized as part of the Working Dog class. The Newfoundland is averaged to be
between 26-28 inches tall and 100-150 lbs. The Leonberger averages 28-31.5 inches tall (male)
or 25.5-29.5 inches tall (female) and weighs proportional to its overall size. The American
Kennel Club then sees the Labrador Retriever part of the Sporting class and the Irish wolfhound
as part of the Hound class. The average adult Labrador retriever is recorded be 22.5-24.5 inches
tall and 55-80 lbs., whereas the Irish Wolfhound is preferred to be at least 32 inches tall and 120
lbs. Previous to this study, little information on standard characteristics of growth in domestic
homes was available. Researchers investigated on whether or not Total Serum Alkaline
Phosphatase (ALP) data & the circumference measurements of a dogs distal radius & ulna were
at all influenced by the individual canine characteristics. These features would include; age, sex,
litter size, and birth weight. If information on a domestic dogs normal growth patterns werent
available, there wouldnt be a reference for others to determine connections with regular growth
to nutrition or health disorders. The principal objective of the current study was to describe
growth patterns in 4 dogs breeds raised in Norwegian domestic environments and the

Ashley Clark
April 2, 2016

concomitant changes in 2 growth-related clinical variables, total ALP and CDRU. The second
object was to investigate how independent variables like age, sex, litter number, and birth weight
affected these clinical variables.(C.Trangerud, J. Grondalen, A. Indrebo, A. Tverdal, E. Ropstad,
and L. Moe, 2015)

Materials & Methods


Breeders, Owners, and Veterinarians of each subject were given-organized sheets to
complete. These pages of forms contained questioners and space to record information pertaining
to the puppys growth, health, clinical examinations, etc. Breeders weighed each puppy at birth,
3 days old, 1 week old, & then once a week until 8 weeks of age. There werent any restrictions
on what each puppy consumed, so the breeder determined the litters diet. Veterinarians
examined & observed 11 different variables. A few of the 11 variables tested by the veterinarian
include; the general condition of the dog, the circumference of distal radius & ulna, occurrences
of skeletal disease, overall health, and Body weight. Blood samples were also taken to study the
dogs blood serum count. Hematological tests were performed to analyze 22 biochemical
variables, which included a method to calculate a dogs total ALP called diethanolamine. The
Gompertz Function was also used to determine growth rate. All laboratory work was handles and
observed though Sentralla-boratoriet, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science in Oslo Norway.

Ashley Clark
April 2, 2016

Results
Body weight significantly changed between litters and after the each dog hit 100 days of
age it increased at a rapid rate. They determined that the average maturity time was around day
351-413 of age, however, this duration varied between breeds. The Circumference of the distal
radius & ulna increased the first 90 days & then settled on day 180. They found males had a
greater circumference than females, as well as that age, breed, sex, and litter size affected the
results found. Finding that Newfoundlands had a more positive relationship with their bone
circumference growth was unexpected and that the ALP results had no effect on the animals age.

Discussion
The results acquired shared how characteristics of an animal do in fact influence the
measurements of CDRU 7& ALP. There was a lower number of Irish Wolfhounds included
within this study, so results from this breed may have shown lower or higher results, as there
wasnt an equal amount of data taken compared to the other 3 breeds. Also, not being able to
control the environment the animal lived in, may have also altered their calculations, as it wasnt
controlled across the board. Each dog lived within a different domestic home, which provided a
variety of lifestyles.

Ashley Clark
April 2, 2016

Citations
"Official Standard of the Irish Wolfhound." American Kennel Club. American Kennel
Club, 12 Sept. 1950. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
<http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/IrishWolfhound.pdf?
_ga=1.206317523.1147103401.1459614741>.
"Official Standard of the Newfoundland." American Kennel Club. American Kennel Club,
8 May 1990. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
<http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Newfoundland.pdf?
_ga=1.8407029.1147103401.1459614741>.
"Official Standard for the Labrador Retriever." American Kennel Club. American Kennel
Club, 12 Feb. 1994. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
<http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/LabradorRetriever.pdf?
_ga=1.13371639.1147103401.1459614741>.
"Official Standard of the Leonberger." American Kennel Club. American Kennel Club, 20
Oct. 2009. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. <http://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Leonberger.pdf?
_ga=1.239758403.1147103401.1459614741>.
Trangerud, C., J. Grondalen, A. Indrebo, A. Tverdal, E. Ropstad, and L. Moe. "A
Longitudianl Study on Growth and Growth Variables in Dogs of Four Large Breeds Raised
in Domestic Environments." Journal of Animal Science (2015): 76-83. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
<file:///C:/Users/amitterl/Documents/Downloads/jas-85-1-76 (2).pdf>.

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