This study was announced on the Scottish news programme this morning. The Dick Vet school are looking for 20,000 Labradors less than 1 year old to study how diet and exercise affect health. News report here. The study is being funded by the KC.

No but might be a good excuse to get another one ! :-D

Very interesting though and will look forward to their findings :-)

Already in progress with a couple of my gang... I have direct no and contact name if anyone wants to PM me...

Apparently the switchboard is being jammed with callers

just to add.. puppies need to be born & registered with the KC after 1st  Jan 2010,  but ideally for puppies to be aged around 10weeks to join the studies so that progress can be monitered from the start... its all very very interesting :)

> No but might be a good excuse to get another one !

I was just thinking the same thing, it's in the name of science after all :-D :-D :-D

Just watch what you are getting your dog into with the study!  I have had a very bad experience with my dog and a study on OCD.  They did loads of unecessary procedures and put him on treadmills,etc.  If I had known then what I know now!!
PS  this wasn't at the Dick Vet but Glasgow Vet School.

This study is nothing like that one, thankfully

Just watch what you are getting your dog into with the study!  I have had a very bad experience with my dog and a study on OCD.  They did loads of unecessary procedures and put him on treadmills,etc.  If I had known then what I know now!!
PS  this wasn't at the Dick Vet but Glasgow Vet School.

Who did the study then ?

I would have edited my last post to add this, but just in case it gets missed... The study is all owner data collected.. the owner (who need to be completely honest) complete the online questionaire.. no treadmills, no stressfull moments for dogs or owners :-)

This study is very easy for both dog and owner.. and although the Royal Dick has funding from the KC for 2 years x 20000 dogs, They would actually like to continue to monitor the dogs for its whole lifetime.. obviously a much better picture for the breed if this were able to happen :)

In order for us to identify the factors which will affect the health of dogs we would like you fill in an electronic questionnaire about your dog's lifestyle (such as feeding, exercise and health) once a month, until your dog is 1 year of age and then every 3 months thereafter. We have funding to collect data for the next 2 years, but we would like to follow all dogs in the project for their lifetime.

I am not sure if this is againt the TOS, if so I apologise.

Tara has asked me to publicise this (and of course would like the word spread around)

This is the press release she has just e-mailed to me

Dear Kay

Good to speak to you, here is the press release as discussed.

Best wishes,

Tara

Tara Womersley
Press and PR Office
University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh        
            
News Release
Issued: 1st July, 2010


Pups sign up for bid to boost pet health

Thousands of Labrador Retriever owners are being asked to help find out how a dog's lifestyle affects its health.

The Dogslife study, the first project of its kind, aims to assess how factors such as diet and exercise can influence an animal's susceptibility to disease and illness.

The initiative, led by the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh, aims to recruit thousands of Labrador Retriever puppies less than a year old. Pet owners can volunteer to take part in the study during the next 12 months, providing their puppy has been registered with the Kennel Club after 1 July and is six months old or less when joining.

Each month owners will be asked to input details of their dogs' life, such as what they eat, how much exercise they have taken and their health, on to a website - www.dogslife.ac.uk.

Each dog will have its own web page. The interactive site nature of the site is designed to appeal to dog owners of all ages.

Owners will be able to see how their pets compare with other puppies over time as they grow. The website will also give details on findings of the project in real time as information is collected.

Dylan Clements, from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, said: "Labrador Retrievers are the most common breed of dog in the UK. The data from Dogslife will provide valuable information on how dogs are looked after by their owners across the UK.

"We hope that assessing the lifestyles and health of a large number of dogs will make it possible for us to identify factors contributing to common illnesses. Ultimately, this may enable us to provide owners with advice on managing their dogs and prevent them developing diseases in future."

The £100,000 project is funded by the Kennel Club Charitable Trust. It is being run in collaboration with the Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research at the University of Manchester, Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool and The Kennel Club.

Caroline Kisko of the Kennel Club said: "Dogs are not able to talk to us and in veterinary consultations when owners describe their dog's lifestyle it's not always possible to give the full picture. This study will look at how a dog's lifestyle and environmental factors affect the dog's health over time and through this we can ensure better treatment through education for owners on the best care for their pets."

I wondered if you were involved Kay. I think this is a very good study as it doesn't involve any invasive procedures at all. We all talk about the food we give our dogs and the exercise they get as puppies so it is interesting to see if there is any clear correlation between this and health as we all believe there is.

Are they going to be collecting DNA at any point Kay?

It seems a shame to have all of this information, and not get a DNA sample (I see it's partly funded by Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research, so I guess they're hoping to!)

They may do at some point Clare, perhaps if the inital findings prove that it would be beneficial and warranted further funding

The Study only went live today.. so really very very early days yet..

Finally I can register my pups lol.. I had to hold off until today to do it.. poor little mights are 7weeks old and have no name

Kay and anyone else who is involved in this i would be interested in knowing updates of this study. Our family have always had Labs(working type) so any helpful information coming from this would be wonderful.
Have to say i much prefer the show type of Lab :-)

> The Dick Vet school are looking for 20,000 Labradors less than 1 year old

Mmmm I don't think Kay has quite that many herself, we may need one or two other people to contribute ;-) :-D

I believe that someone did a similiar study a number of years back.  Some were fed good quality food and not over exercised, another group cheaper food and allowed to exercise quite a bit and I heard that the hipscores etc. were much better in the well fed not over exercised dogs and there were litter mates in each group.