Large dog breeds like great danes age faster than small pups, like chihuahuas.
CREDIT: Eric Isselee | Shutterstock

Big dogs apparently die younger mainly because they age quickly, researchers say.

These new findings could help unravel the biological links between growth and mortality, the scientists added.

Normally, across species, larger mammals live longer than their smaller counterparts; for instance, elephants can get up to 70 years old in the wild, while house mice reach only 4 years. Puzzlingly, within species, the opposite seems true — in mice, horses and perhaps even humans.

The apparent cost of bigger bodies is especially conspicuous with dogs, a species that people have bred over the millennia to come in an extraordinary range of sizes. The heaviest known dog may have been Zorba, an English mastiff that weighed 343 pounds (155 kilograms), while the smallest dog alive may be Meyzi, a terrier less than a quarter-pound (110 grams) in size.

Large breeds often die young compared with smaller ones, with a 155-pound (70-kg) Great Dane having an average life span of about 7 years, while a 9-pound (4-kg) toy poodle can expect to live up to 14 years. [The 10 Most Popular Dog Breeds]

To shed light on the possible tradeoffs of large size, researchers analyzed ages at death in 74 breeds, using data from more than 56,000 dogs that visited veterinary teaching hospitals. The researchers focused on why large dogs lived shorter lives on average.

“My main scientific interest is life-history evolution. I’m also a bit of a dog nerd in private life,” said researcher Cornelia Kraus, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany.

The scientists found that large breeds apparently aged at faster rates; the speed at which the risk of death increased with age was greater with larger breeds than smaller ones. Indeed, among dog breeds, an increase of 4.4 pounds (2 kg) in body mass leads to a loss of approximately 1 month of life expectancy.

“Their lives seem to unwind in fast motion,” Kraus told LiveScience.

The investigators now want to follow the growth and health histories of a large number of dogs and pinpoint the leading causes of death for large dogs. For instance, bigger canines apparently suffer from cancer more often, which could make sense; large dogs grow more than smaller breeds do, and cancer is rooted in abnormal cell growth.

“This research should be feasible in dogs, since I found that dog people in general seem very open, interested in and interested to contribute to research on their favorite species,” Kraus said.

Kraus and her colleagues Samuel Pavard and Daniel Promislow detailed their findings in the April issue of the journal American Naturalist.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience, Facebook or Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Michael Vick‘s new dog is the WORST possible breed for a convicted dog killer … and that’s from the official organization that breeds the dog.

The American Belgian Malinois Club and Rescue tells TMZ, the group is very concerned that Vick is allowed to own ANY dog, but the Belgian Malinois is especially problematic.  The breed is highly trainable and they could easily become dangerous if they land in the wrong hands.

Vick, as you know, ended up training pit bulls to fight and kill.

Belgian Malinois — which are frequently used by the military and police — have the same fighting potential as pit bulls. 

Although the organization thinks dogs should be off-limits in the Vick household, they believe a more docile pooch — like a lab — would be way more appropriate.

NOTE: Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate. Poll results are not reflected in real time.

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But what’s done is done … and the ABMC wants to help Vick properly train the dog. The rep says the org. is willing to help Vick find a good trainer for the dog and educate him on Belgian Malinois so he can “learn and love the breed.”

John Henry Walsh, who wrote under the pseudonym of ‘Stonehenge’, took the system of giving scores for different parts of the body from pigeon fanciers, paving the way for the pedigree dog breeds we know today.

The discovery will strike a chord with the dog owners taking part in this year’s Cruft’s dog show, starting this week (Thursday 7 March).

Stonehenge’s method was developed to solve the bitter disputes over the seemingly arbitrary decisions of judges at dog shows, which were fast gaining in popularity.

A dog might win a class at Birmingham one week and come last at a show in London a month later.

The owners of champion animals were increasingly able to command lucrative stud fees, ever since the first show of 1859, as well as cups and prize money of around 5 guineas.

In September 1865, Stonehenge published a classification for the Pointer which gave its head and neck 30 points, frame and general symmetry 25, legs and feet 20, quality and stern 15, and colour and coat 10.

A Mr H Gilbert, from Kensington, had sold the dog to a ‘Mr Smith’, of Tettenhall in Wolverhampton.

An article on a ‘Gordon Setter’ soon followed along with others on Clumber Spaniels, Norfolk Spaniels, Truffle Dogs and Fox Terriers. Walsh’s edited collection was published in 1867.

The team are based at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures – both at the University.

Professor Michael Worboys, who heads the University’s Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, said: “The standard set by ‘Mr Smith’s Major’ must surely be one of the most important milestones in the six-thousand-year-old relationship between canines and man.

“As dogs came to be defined as ‘breeds’, they were bred for greater conformity to breed standards, which meant more inbreeding, and more health problems as dogs were bred from a smaller gene pool.

“Stonehenge’s classifications set in chain a process where dogs were re-imagined, redesigned and remade.”

Dr Julie-Marie Strange said: “Stonehenge was so impressed by ‘Major’ when he saw drawings of the dog – and heard it had won a prize at a Birmingham show – he devised the classification.

“There’s a historical theme in the way many of these breeds were created: for example, though bull baiting had been banned in 1830, the Bulldog was bred to form considered to be ideal for grappling with a bull, for example, a protruding lower jaw to grab the soft nose of bull.”

Dr Neil Pemberton said: “Before the 1860s, types of dogs were defined by what they did, not how they looked. Pointers were gun dogs, valued and bred for their ability to find game and, though a recognisable type, came in a variety of sizes and colours. But in the show ring they were expected to have a defined shape that aspired to the ideal set out in the breed standard.

“Major’ signalled a new age where dogs were increasingly bred for their form and from their pedigree. The emphasis on conformation to breed types spread rapidly to other countries, where British dog shows were emulated and British dogs imported as foundational breed stock.

“Though Stonehenge’s classification isn’t used today, it’s principle of defining a breed and judging by conformation will be the main criterion in the show ring at Cruft’s this week.”

Provided by

University of Manchester

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Lansing city officials should be focusing on enforcing existing laws, animal advocates said at a committee hearing Tuesday.
MLive.com | File Photo

LANSING, MI — It’s not the breed, it’s the owner.

That was the message dozens of animal advocates had Tuesday, March 5, for the Lansing City Council’s Committee on Public Safety, which met to gather information on a vicious dog ordinance.

At a Feb. 25 meeting of the full council, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said Lansing residents were “living in fear” of vicious dogs and asked the council to draft an ordinance to address the issue.

Committee Chairwoman Jody Washington said the body was “nowhere near” writing an ordinance and said the committee had no plans to include breed-specific provisions targeting breeds allegedly more prone to violence.

Beth Contreras, foster care coordinator for the Lansing-area based animal rescue Voiceless-MI, said public safety should be the council’s top concern, but any new legislation should target owners and animal behavior, not specific breeds.

“The propensity to bite is not based on breed,” she said, citing research showing unneutered male dogs were more likely to behave aggressively, as were dogs restrained by a chain or tether.

Breed-specific legislation targets certain breeds or mixes of those breeds, often including provisions requiring those breeds be subject to mandatory spaying and neutering, muzzling, special insurance and licensing requirements. 

But such laws don’t work, opponents said at the committee meeting, noting that even the American Bar Association announced its opposition to breed bans and restrictions because taxpayers often foot the bill for genetic testing to determine dog breeds, and the animal’s care and housing while the testing is being completed.

Instead, the city should focus on better enforcing its own leash laws, they said.

A representative from the 54A District Court noted that the Lansing Police Department wrote only two tickets in 2012 for violations of the city’s leash law.

Jamie McAloon Lampman, Ingham County Animal Control director, said statistics showed a slight decline in the number of dog bites from 2011 to 2012, as well as a decline in the number of dog owners cited for violating leash laws.

Both the county and the city have leash laws, she said, but the county tends to do most of the enforcement. During regular business hours, all animal control complaints are handled by the county offices.

When the offices are closed, the Lansing Police Department handles animal-related incidents.

And while the data appears to show vicious dogs aren’t an issue for Lansing residents, Lansing Police Department Chief Theresa Szymanski said last week her officers have shot and killed more than 30 dogs in the past three years. 

Julia Palmer, president and CEO of the Capital Area Humane Society, said educating owners and the community is most important, and that the council should help surface community resources to help owners become more responsible, such as dog-training sessions and spaying and neutering animals.

Breed-specific legislation, she warned, is not the answer.

“It will create hardship, it will be expensive, and we know from history that it won’t work,” she said.

The committee will meet again Tuesday, March 19, to continue gathering information on the issue.