2005 GSP Health Report

THE 2005 GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER HEALTH SURVEY:

FINAL REPORT

Margaret R. Slater, DVM, PhD

With help from:

Jaree Browning

Brenda Jacklitsch

Hilary Ross

Vanessa Stevens

Patrick Allen

January 29, 2007

Background

The German Shorthaired Pointer National Health Committee requested a general health survey for German shorthair pointers whose owners belong to the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America. The purpose was to find possible emerging breed-related health problems, so that concerns and breed problems can be addressed. Previous surveys were used as a basis for the current survey.

Methods

On May 2, 2005, the survey was mailed to all members of the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America. Postcard reminders were sent out on October 26, 2005 and January 17, 2006 encouraging owners to return the survey even if it was blank because they no longer owned German shorthair pointers. New copies of the surveys were mailed out a final time to non-responders June 10, 2006.

Answers from the surveys were compiled into excel spreadsheets under each survey identification number. It should be made clear that ages are in years, except when noted.

When results showed more than a 2% difference between male and female dogs in any particular health category, a chi-square test was used to analyze the data. Two percent was chosen as a large enough difference to be biologically or clinically important. If the resulting p-value was less than or equal to 0.05, then it was considered statistically significant. Having a statistically significant p-value indicates a difference between the sexes and the frequency of these health problems.

Results

There were a total of 795 German shorthair pointer owners and members of the club who responded with information that could be used for the survey results. Originally, 1364 members were sent surveys and as names were added to the mailing list. However, 33 of these were bad addresses, and were not counted. One blank form was returned and 19 surveys were returned specifying they no longer had German shorthair pointers. Overall, we had a 61% response rate which is moderately high. Information about the response rate can be found in Table A-1. Possible reasons as to why the rest did not reply cannot be certain. Reasons could include: 1) too time consuming; 2) too many dogs to include; 3) too many health problems; 4) very few or no health problems; 5) have not recently owned German shorthair pointers; 6) some other unknown reason. The higher the response rate, the more accurate and conclusive the data. The survey includes a total of 3272 German shorthair pointers.

The first page of the survey was general information about the German shorthair pointer owners and their dogs. The median number of years an individual had owned German shorthair pointers was thirteen. Most owners currently only had one or two dogs; the maximum number of dogs a person owned was twenty. General information can be found in Table A-2. The most popular activities that these German shorthair pointers participated in are pet companion, hunting, hunt tests, and conformation (Figure A-1 & Table A-3). Owners reported to be most concerned with skeletal problems (e.g. hip dysplasia), epilepsy/seizures, cancer, and heart problems, as seen in Figure A-2 and Table A-4. The top ten most reported health categories were temperament/behavior, cancer, arthritis, kidney/urinary, eyes, mouth, gastrointestinal, umbilical hernias, ears, and skin. (Figure A-3).

There are 2607 living German shorthair pointers and 665 deceased German shorthair pointers, for a total of 3272 dogs included in this survey. The median age of living dogs was 4 years for males and 4 years for females. The median age at time of death was 11 years for males and 12 years for females. The oldest age achieved before death was reported to be 17 years for a male and 17 years for a female. Information regarding the age of dogs can be found in Table A-5. The most common causes of death included cancer, old age, euthanasia, gastrointestinal problems, and heart problems. Old age is a general term and no other exact cause of death was noted. Table A-6 has a complete list of causes of death.

Differences between the sexes were found in four health problems using our 2% rule and chi-square calculations. Males were more likely to have mouth problems, while females were more likely to have kidney/urinary tract problems, mammary tumors, and cancer.

Cancer was one of the most reported health problems. See Table B-1. The identified cancers most often reported were mammary tumors, mast cell tumors, and lymphosarcoma. Twelve percent of the dogs included in the survey had been diagnosed with some form of cancer. There was a significant difference between the sexes reported with mammary tumors. Not surprisingly, female German shorthair pointers were 42 times more likely to be diagnosed with mammary carcinoma than males.

Demodectic mange was reported in three percent of the German shorthair pointers. Skin and hair problems (Table B-2) affected approximately four percent of the dogs.

Ear problems affected approximately four percent of the dogs surveyed as can be seen in Table B-3. Two percent were deaf and almost two percent had chronic ear infections. Seven percent of the dogs were reported to have eye problems (Table B-4). The most common eye problems were cataracts (2.7%) and entropian eyes (1.3%). Problems with the mouth and teeth affected six percent of the German shorthair pointers (Table B-5). Three percent had an undershot jaw and 2% had missing teeth.

Respiratory problems affected less than one percent of German shorthair pointers surveyed (Table B-6). Sixteen percent of the dogs had bone and skeletal problems, as seen in Table B-7. Arthritis affected ten percent of the dogs.

Fewer than one percent of the dogs reported autoimmune or immune problems (Table B-8). Three percent had some type of allergy. Food allergies affected 1.3% of the dogs. Inhaled allergies affected less than one percent of the dogs. Endocrine problems, like those listed in Table B-9, affected two percent of the German shorthair pointers. Hypothyroidism affected 1.2% of the dogs.

Gastrointestinal tract problems occurred in five percent of the German shorthair pointers (Table B-10). One percent of dogs were affected by anal sac disease and/or irritable bowel disorder. Stomach bloat and GDV occurred in 1.6%. Liver and spleen problems were noted in less than one percent of the survey population (Table B-11). More than four percent of the dogs experienced hernias (Table B-12). The majority of these were umbilical hernias.

Urinary tract problems affected 7.3% of the total dogs. See Table B-13. Three percent had experienced incontinence after spay, and 5% of the females had experienced vaginitis. Overall females were 6.3 times more likely to have kidney and urinary tract problems.

Almost three percent of the German shorthair pointers had experienced a heart problem, as can be seen in Table B-14. Congestive heart failure occurred in 1%. The median age for congestive heart failure was 12 years. Neurological problems affected 4.6% of the total number of dogs (Table B-15). Three percent had experienced seizures or had epilepsy.

Temperament and behavior problems affected more than 13% of the dogs (Table B-16). Five percent had noise phobias and five percent showed aggression towards other dogs.

Twenty-four percent (346 dogs) of the male dogs and 36% (664 dogs) of the female dogs included in this survey were bred in the past 5 years (Table C-1). Almost fifty-four percent of the female dogs were affected by reproductive problems, while only seventeen percent of the males were affected by reproductive problems. The most common reproductive problems in females bred in the past 5 years were mastitis (11%), difficulty whelping (11%), irregular heat cycles (10%), and failure to conceive (9%), as can be seen in Table C-2. The most common reproductive problems in males bred in the past 5 years were infertility (5.2%), prostatic disease (3.5%), abnormal semen (3.2%), and inappropriate libido (3.2%), as seen in Table C-3. In the past five years, 941 litters were reported (Table C-4). Litter and puppy problems occurred in 40% of the litters, as seen in Table C-5. Stillborn puppies occurred in 18.3% of the litters, fading puppies occurred in 7.8% of the litters, and monocryptorchidism occurred in 4% of the litters.

Discussion

The response rate was approximately 61%, which was a moderately high rate. Problems encountered included some respondents were unfamiliar with medical terms, some found the instructions confusing, and some checked off conditions but did not specify the number of dogs affected. Skeletal problems were the health problem that owners were most concerned about; and cancer was the number one cause of death in German shorthair pointers surveyed. Differences between the sexes of more than 2% were found to be significant in four health problems. Males were more likely to have mouth problems and females were more likely to have kidney/urinary tract problems, mammary tumors, and cancer. From this survey of 3272 German shorthair pointers, the top ten most reported health categories were temperament/behavior, cancer, arthritis, kidney/urinary, eyes, mouth, gastrointestinal, umbilical hernias, ears, and skin.

It is interesting to compare the 2005 survey results to the German shorthair pointer survey that was included in the Shorthair magazine in 1992. While the most recent survey had a moderately high response rate, the 1992 response rate was very low at only 14%. Differences between response rates may have occurred for a variety of reasons. The 1992 survey was sent inside a magazine to subscribers while the 2005 survey was sent to members of the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America. It may be that dog owners that belong to a club are more involved with trying to increase the healthiness of their dog’s breed. There has also been a general increase in the amount of breed knowledge available to the general public and this perhaps has increased owner desire to become more involved.

The 1992 survey reported the top health problems as: bite/mouth, cancer, behavior, skin problems, hip dysplasia, epilepsy, and bloat/GDV. Hip dysplasia and epilepsy were the only 1992 reported problems that were not included in the top ten problems of the 2005 survey results. Differences between the survey results may be from the differences in response rates, differences between sample populations, differences between diagnostic or veterinary technology over the years, or even the definitions of particular diseases or health problems on the two surveys.

Appendix: Figures

Figure A-1: Owner Activities