title: Morbidity of purebred dogs in Denmark.
abstract: Prevalences of diseases in purebred dogs are reported from a questionnaire study among members of the Danish Kennel Club (DKC) in 1997. The 4295 dogs in the study represented 24 breeds and 16 breed groups. Sixty percent of the dogs had at least one disease-event during their lifetime with a median of 2 and a maximum of 11. Diseases of the skin were the most-frequent (13.6%) followed by eye diseases (13.2%), accidents (12.6%) and diseases of the ear (12.6%). The prevalences of five diseases differed significantly between the breeds (diseases of the skin, eyes, ears, respiratory and skeletal systems). Males had significantly higher prevalences of respiratory diseases, skeletal diseases and diseases of the mouth and teeth. Tumours and diseases of the urinary system were most prevalent in females. Gender- and breed-specific prevalences are reported for the most-frequent diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science and Animal Health, Division of Animal Genetics, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Grønnegårdsvej 3, 1870 C, Frederiksberg, Denmark. hfp@kvl.dk
authors.forename: Helle Friis
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Proschowsky
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rugbjerg
authors.forename: Annette Kjaer
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Ersbøll
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003625:Data Collection; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D010375:Pedigree; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors