|
Demographic Data on Ear- and Skin Problems of a Population of
English Springer Spaniel Dogs in Norway
Measured in a Questionnaire Study
Bente Kristin Sävik, and Randi Krontveit:
-Departmant of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo, Norway
Torunn Fosse, and Marit Bergseng:
-Graduate students of the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo, Norway
Prof.Dr.Wenche Farstad:- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary
Science, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract
In a previous survey from 1999 of health and behaviour problems in spaniels, it was found that in general, the most frequent health problems were related to the eye, ears and skin. Infections of the eye, ears and skin problems, such as atopic dermatitis and eczema, were most common in English Springer Spaniels and Welsh Springer Spaniels. The Breeding and Soundness Committee of the Norwegian Spaniel Club (ASU) decided that it was necessary to get an overview of this problem, as well as to characterize its type and seriousness. It was also of interest how it affected the dog-owner relationship and animal welfare of the dogs. The ESS breed was chosen because the breed has a sufficient number of registrations per year (250) to provide a large enough database for statistical processing.
As a student graduation project at The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NVH) it was decided to distribute a questionnaire to 500 randomly selected ESS owners in February 2004. The aim of the study was to carry out a survey of ear- and skin problems in ESS and relate these to factors such as, the dog's environment, grooming, feeding, veterinary care and owner-dog relationship. The owners who received the questionnaire, were randomly selected (Microsoft TM Excel) based on their dog's registration number from the national register of English Springer Spaniel dogs of the Norwegian Kennel Club. Dogs that were 7 years old or younger were selected to minimise the number of dogs that had died prior to the survey. Chisquare with continuity correction was chosen as the statistical model, and results were presented with 95 % confidence interval. Level of significance was 5 %.
Totally, the response rate was 74 %. The survey showed, that 37 % of dogs were either currently affected, or had been affected, by skin problems. A high prevalence of chronic problems was found. Scaling was the most common clinical symptom, but the prevalence of symptoms, such as erythema, hyper-pigmentation, crusts, wounds and red bumps (papula), was also high. A high number of dogs were pruritic. The changes of the skin were most extensive on the dorsum, on the abdomen, on the skin throat, the axilla, perineum and on the inside of the thighs, but lips, paws and ear pinnae were also affected to some extent. The skin problems occurred for the first time at less than two years of age. They were more serious during summer and autumn and in hot and humid weather.
A total of 39 % of the dogs were either currently affected or had been affected by ear problems. The majority of these problems were acute infections, but among dogs with chronic skin problems chronic ear problems were also prevalent.
Relatively few of the owners were aware of any information concerning the parents or siblings of their dogs concerning the prevalence of ear- and skin problems. Only small and statistically insignificant differences were found concerning the effect of the dog's environment, grooming or veterinary care between dogs with or without ear- and skin problems. An interesting finding was that dogs that frequently swam or bathed in saltwater had more acute ear and skin problems than those that had chronic skin problems and those dogs that rarely were exposed to saltwater. No statistically significant relationship was found between the sex of the dog and ear- or skin problems. Of all dogs 12 % had been used in breeding.
The majority of owners in this survey did not feel that the skin or ear problems seriously affected the welfare of their dogs or influenced their relationship with the dog. Less than 5 % of owners of dogs that had died, who responded, had been forced to euthanase their dog due to serious health problems related to ear- or skin.
Finally, from the returned questionnaires a few dogs were selected for a closer characterization of the skin pathology, and the dogs were examined at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science. The majority of those dogs received the diagnosis atopic dermatitis, some had seborrea of an either primary or secondary nature. Blood samples and photos of the skin pathologies were taken to establish a database on skin problems of the breed. The remaining part of the study will concentrate on genetic studies of affected dogs and their relatives.
Acknowledgments: The study was supported by the Petersborg legacy, established by kind donations by the late Aase Marie and Peter Petersen. The support of individual dog owners who completed the questionnaires is gratefully acknowledged.
Keywords: canine;ES;,questionnaire; ear- and skin survey; Norway.
Reprints may be obtained from
W.Farstad. Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, P.O.Box 8146, N-0033, Oslo, Norway
E-mail: Wenche.Farstad@veths.no
Tel: +47 22 59 71 16, fax:+47 22 59 70 81
|
