The Path Vet Care - Pet Home Euthanasia and Hospice Services

16/08/2024

12/08/2024

Do size and breed really influence the lifespan of dogs?

Companion dogs are one of the most phenotypically diverse species, with around 350 different breeds. Variability between breeds extends not only to appearance and behaviour, but also to longevity. Despite this fact, there has been little research devoted to assessing the variation in life expectancy between breeds or evaluating the potential for phylogenetic characterisation of longevity.

A new UK study analysed an enormous dataset of 584,734 unique dogs, including 284,734 deceased. The researchers presented variation in longevity estimates within the following parameters - parental lineage (purebred vs crossbreed), body size (large, medium, small), s*x, and cephalic index (brachycephalic/flat faced, mesocephalic/medium length and width head, and dolichocephalic/elongated head).

The 12 most popular breeds accounted for half of all purebred dogs. Average lifespan of some popular purebreds includes Labrador Retrievers with a median life expectancy of 13.1 years, Border Collies also averaged 13.1 years, Border Terriers 14.2 years, Bulldogs and French Bull dogs 9.8 years, whilst Mastiffs averaged 9 years.

The researchers found that small dog breeds with elongated noses, such as Whippets, generally live the longest, whilst medium-sized breeds with flat faces, such as Bulldogs, have the shortest lifespans.

Overall median survival for small sized breeds was 12.5 years, medium breeds 12.7 years, and large breeds 11.9 years. Variation was evident between pure and crossbred dogs, with purebreds living longer averaging 12.7 years, whilst median survival for crossbreds was 12.0 years.

The study found evidence linking breed longevity to domestication and artificial selection, providing evidence to inform discussions about health amongst breeds, which is potentially helpful for owners, breeders, policy makers and welfare organisations.

12/08/2024

They expand the heart...💛 🐾 🐾

27/04/2024

Happy World Veterinary Day! We are honored to care for the animals that make our world a better place. Celebrating veterinary professionals for the work and love they bring to the profession, every day.

28/03/2024

You just never know what the day will bring when you get up in the morning. End of Life Care is my passion. It’s what I do. It’s what is most important to me in my work life. This one broke me. It shattered my heart into a million pieces. It’s still so raw but I’m sharing because I know how you all feel loosing these family members. This girl, these girls grew up besties. The love they have shared has been so big, so real, so beautiful. Today we lost Catch unexpectedly. Our girl. Our constant companion. But we have to thank Dr Ann Scearce and The Ripon Vet staff, Zineb, Sarah, Allison, Kenzie all of you for stabilizing our girl so we could get her home and send her off with Grace. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do, every day, in and out and on and on. We are so grateful 💕🐾!!

20/03/2024

Grief is a normal and natural response to a significant loss. For many of us, a companion animal is the most significant relationship in our lives and losing them is unbearable. In our grief, we battle with the intellectual knowledge of the loss and the emotional resistance to accept and integrate the loss. A “new normal” has been forced upon us. We didn’t ask for it…we don’t want it. We wish we could go back. The loss is intolerable at times. Our pain is proportional to our love. When it comes to our pets, we tend to inflict even more pain on ourselves by beating ourselves up and for making ourselves wrong or even responsible for their death. We harshly judge our actions or inactions and believe we deserve to feel as bad as possible. All of this is normal but we don’t want to stay here forever. Can we find a way to also normalize forgiveness and self-compassion? I think we can. 🧡🐾
Join me in my free support groups where we talk about this and so much more. Register here: GetCrystalClear.com

20/03/2024

Better to have loved and lost ❤️❤️❤️

27/02/2024

26/02/2024

Dogs are family ❤

19/02/2024

Truth!
Thank you Sara Rian Books

04/02/2024

🥰

They will always need attention ❤️❤️