The Great Dane is a large-sized dog breed originating from Germany. The Great Dane descends from hunting dogs from the Middle Ages used to hunt bear, wild boar, and deer. They were also used as guardians of German nobility. It is one of the two largest (tallest) dog breeds in the world, along with the Irish Wolfhound. However, other breeds like the St. Bernard or English Mastiff are often heavier.
The Flat-coated Retriever is a gun dog breed originating from England. It was developed as a retriever both on land and in the water.
The Weimaraner is a large dog that was originally bred as a hunting dog in the early 19th century. Early Weimaraners were used by royalty for hunting large game such as boar, bear, and deer. As the popularity of hunting large game began to decline, Weimaraners were used for hunting smaller animals like fowl, rabbits, and foxes.
A mastocytoma or mast cell tumor is a type of round-cell tumor consisting of mast cells. It is found in humans and many animal species; it also can refer to an accumulation or nodule of mast cells that resembles a tumor.
The health of dogs is a well studied area in veterinary medicine.
Panosteitis, sometimes shortened to pano among breeders, is an occasionally seen long bone condition in large breed dogs. It manifests with sudden, unexplained pain and lameness that may shift from leg to leg, usually between 5 and 14 months of age, earning the nickname "growing pains. " Signs such as fever, weight loss, anorexia, and lethargy can also be seen. The cause is unknown, but genetics, stress, infection, metabolism, or an autoimmune component may be factors. It has also been suggested that rapid growth and high-protein food are involved in the pathogenesis. Whole blood analysis may show an elevated white blood cell count; this finding lends support to the theory that panosteitis is due to an infection.
Phycomycosis is an uncommon condition of the gastrointestinal tract and skin most commonly found in dogs and horses. The condition is caused by a variety of molds and fungi, and individual forms include pythiosis, zygomycosis, and lagenidiosis. Pythiosis is the most common type and is caused by Pythium, a type of water mould. Zygomycosis can also be caused by two types of zygomycetes, Entomophthorales and Mucorales. The latter type of zygomycosis is also referred to as mucormycosis. Lagenidiosis is caused by a Lagenidium species, which like Pythium is a water mould. Since both pythiosis and lagenidiosis are caused by organisms from the class Oomycetes, they are sometimes collectively referred to as oomycosis.
Pythiosis is a rare and deadly tropical disease caused by the oomycete Pythium insidiosum. Long regarded as being caused by a fungus, the causative agent was not discovered until 1987. It occurs most commonly in horses, dogs, and humans, with isolated cases in other large mammals. The disease is contracted after exposure to stagnant fresh water such as swamps, ponds, lakes, and rice paddies. P. insidiosum is different from other members of the genus in that human and horse hair, skin, and decaying animal and plant tissue are chemoattractants for its zoospores. Additionally, it is the only member in the genus known to infect mammals, while other members are pathogenic to plants and are responsible for some well-known plant diseases.
Hypertrophic osteopathy is a bone disease secondary to cancer in the lungs.
Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) is a bone disease that occurs most often in fast-growing large and giant breed dogs; however, it also affects medium breed animals like the Australian Shepherd. The disorder is sometimes referred to as metaphyseal osteopathy, and typically first presents between the ages of 2 and 7 months. HOD is characterized by decreased blood flow to the metaphysis leading to a failure of ossification and necrosis and inflammation of cancellous bone. The disease is usually bilateral in the limb bones, especially the distal radius, ulna, and tibia.
Lymphangiectasia, also known as "lymphangiectasis", is a pathologic dilation of lymph vessels. When it occurs in the intestines of dogs, and more rarely humans, it causes a disease known as "intestinal lymphangiectasia". This disease is characterized by lymphatic vessel dilation, chronic diarrhea and loss of proteins such as serum albumin and globulin. It is considered to be a chronic form of protein-losing enteropathy.
A mammary tumor is a neoplasm originating in the mammary gland. It is a common finding in older female dogs and cats that are not spayed, but they are found in other animals as well. The mammary glands in dogs and cats are associated with their nipples and extend from the underside of the chest to the groin on both sides of the midline. There are many differences between mammary tumors in animals and breast cancer in humans, including tumor type, malignancy, and treatment options. The prevalence in dogs is about three times that of women. In dogs, mammary tumors are the second most common tumor over all and the most common tumor in female dogs with a reported incidence of 3.4%. Multiple studies have documented that spaying female dogs when young greatly decreases their risk of developing mammary neoplasia when aged. Compared with female dogs left intact, those spayed before puberty have 0.5% of the risk, those spayed after one estrous cycle have 8.0% of the risk, and dogs spayed after two estrous cycles have 26.0% of the risk of developing mammary neoplasia later in life. Overall, unspayed female dogs have a seven times greater risk of developing mammary neoplasia than do those that are spayed. While the benefit of spaying decreases with each estrous cycle, some benefit has been demonstrated in female dogs even up to 9 years of age. There is a much lower risk in male dogs and a risk in cats about half that of dogs.
Perineal hernia is a hernia involving the perineum. The hernia may contain fluid, fat, any part of the intestine, the rectum, or the bladder. It is known to occur in humans, dogs, and other mammals, and often appears as a sudden swelling to one side of the anus.
Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, and neurosurgery. Advanced surgical procedures such as joint replacement, fracture repair, stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament deficiency, oncologic (cancer) surgery, herniated disc treatment, complicated gastrointestinal or urogenital procedures, kidney transplant, skin grafts, complicated wound management, and minimally invasive procedures are performed by veterinary surgeons. Most general practice veterinarians perform routine surgeries such as neuters and minor mass excisions; some also perform additional procedures.
A vaccine-associated sarcoma (VAS) or feline injection-site sarcoma (FISS) is a type of malignant tumor found in cats which has been linked to certain vaccines. VAS has become a concern for veterinarians and cat owners alike and has resulted in changes in recommended vaccine protocols. These sarcomas have been most commonly associated with rabies and feline leukemia virus vaccines, but other vaccines and injected medications have also been implicated.
Vaccination of dogs is the practice of animal vaccination applied to dogs. Programs in this field have contributed both to the health of dogs and to the public health. In countries where routine rabies vaccination of dogs is practiced, for example, rabies in humans is reduced to a very rare event.
A giant dog breed is a breed of dog of gigantic proportions, sometimes described as a breed whose weight exceeds 45 kilograms (99 lb). Breeds sometimes described as giant breeds include the Great Dane, Newfoundland, St. Bernard and Irish Wolfhound. These breeds have seen a marked increase in their size since the 19th century as a result of selective breeding.
Canine gastropexy is a surgical procedure performed most commonly in large breed dogs to prevent gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), commonly known as bloat. GDV is a life-threatening condition in which the stomach flips over and expands, trapping air and gases in the stomach. Circulation to the stomach and spleen is subsequently interrupted, resulting in shock which can be fatal.
A number of studies have demonstrated adverse reactions in pets after administering vaccines to both dogs and cats. Concern about adverse effects has led to revised guidelines that alter the recommended frequency and methods/locations for both vaccination of dogs and feline vaccination.
