An online health survey of Dogue de Bordeaux owners and breeders with special emphasis on cardiac disease. (February 2018) - McAulay, G.
Highlights: The Dogue de Bordeaux (DdB) is a breed of dog which has increased in popularity in the United Kingdom from 1998 to 2007. Owner perception of breed health in the DdB was assessed using an online questionnaire. The online questionnaire had an emphasis on cardiac disease using an objective cardiac scoring system. Sudden unexpected death was relatively common in the survey population (31% of reported deaths). Responses suggest that open access to breed heart screening schemes may influence owner engagement with such schemes. Abstract: A questionnaire-based study was undertaken to assess health problems affecting the Dogue de Bordeaux breed of dog and, in particular, the potential impact of cardiac disease. An online survey tool was used to design a questionnaire for Dogue de Bordeaux owners and breeders. After 1 year of response time, information was collected on 278 dogs owned by 215 individuals, mostly based in the United Kingdom. Of the 278 dogs, veterinary attention had been sought for chronic skin disease in 63 (22.7%), lameness in 43 (15.5%), gastrointestinal signs in 37 (13.3%) and neoplasia in 28 (10.1%). Cardiac disease was reported in 13/278 dogs (4.7%). At the time of completion of the survey, 55 (19.8%) dogs were dead, 17 (31%) of which were reported to have died suddenly and unexpectedly. Respondents expressed interest in a formal cardiac health screening scheme in the Dogue de Bordeaux breed, but would be reluctant to volunteer for such a scheme if information on disease detected during screening was open access. The incidence of sudden unexpected death was high; although there was no corroboration that the sudden deaths were related to cardiac disease, a possible connection should be explored further.