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Causes
of death or reasons for euthanasia in military working dogs: 927 cases
(1993-1996). Moore GE, Burkman KD, Carter MN, Peterson MR.
Department of Defense Military Working Dog Veterinary Service, Lackland Air
Force Base, Texas 78236, USA. Abstract
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veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine causes of death or reasons for euthanasia in a
population of military working dogs. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 927
military working dogs. PROCEDURE: Records of all military working dogs that
died during the period from 1993 to 1996 were evaluated for cause of death or
reason for euthanasia by review of necropsy and histopathology reports, death
certificates, and daily clinical treatment sheets. A single primary cause of
death or euthanasia was determined. RESULTS: Although sexually intact male
dogs were more numerous in the study population, castrated male dogs typically
lived longer than spayed females or sexually intact males. Leading causes of
death or euthanasia (76.3% of all dogs) were appendicular degenerative joint
disease, neoplasia, spinal cord disease, nonspecific geriatric decline, and
gastric dilatation-volvulus. Compared with German Shepherd Dogs, Belgian
Shepherd Dogs were at increased risk for death attributable to neoplasia,
behavior, and respiratory tract disease. German Shepherd Dogs had nearly twice
the risk for death associated with spinal cord diseases, compared with Belgian
Shepherd Dogs. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: For most military working
dogs, death or euthanasia results from a few diseases commonly associated with
advanced age. Some breed differences in risk for these diseases may exist,
which clinicians should consider in the procurement and long-term management
of these dogs.
Reference J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001 Jul 15;219(2):209-14
Updated January 2016
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