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A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy
SIMPLE SUMMARY: Birth weight is a key factor for neonatal mortality and morbidity in most mammalian species. The great morphological variability in size, body weight and breed, as well as in skeletal and cranial conformation makes it challenging to define birth weight standards in dogs. A total of 3...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2017
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5483606/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28556821 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani7060043 |
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author | Groppetti, Debora Pecile, Alessandro Palestrini, Clara Marelli, Stefano P. Boracchi, Patrizia |
author_facet | Groppetti, Debora Pecile, Alessandro Palestrini, Clara Marelli, Stefano P. Boracchi, Patrizia |
author_sort | Groppetti, Debora |
collection | PubMed |
description | SIMPLE SUMMARY: Birth weight is a key factor for neonatal mortality and morbidity in most mammalian species. The great morphological variability in size, body weight and breed, as well as in skeletal and cranial conformation makes it challenging to define birth weight standards in dogs. A total of 3293 purebred pups were surveyed to study which maternal aspects can determine birth weight considering head and body shape, size, body weight and breed in bitches, as well as litter size and sex in pups. In our sample, multivariate analysis outcomes suggested that birth weight and litter size were directly proportional to maternal size. The maternal body shape influenced both birth weight and litter size, whereas the maternal head shape had impact only on birth weight. Sex differences in birth weight were found. Birth weight and litter size also varied among breeds. The results of the present study could have practical implications allowing one to identify pups in need of admission to intensive nursing care, as occurs in humans. A deeper knowledge of the factors that significantly influence birth weight could positively affect the canine breeding management helping to prevent and reduce neonatal mortality. ABSTRACT: Despite increasing professionalism in dog breeding, the physiological range of birth weight in this species remains unclear. Low birth weight can predispose to neonatal mortality and growth deficiencies in humans. To date, the influence of the morphotype on birth weight has never been studied in dogs. For this purpose, an Italian census of birth weight was collected from 3293 purebred pups based on maternal morphotype, size, body weight and breed, as well as on litter size and sex of pups. Multivariate analysis outcomes showed that birth weight (p < 0.001) and litter size (p < 0.05) increased with maternal size and body weight. Birth weight was also influenced by the maternal head and body shape, with brachycephalic and brachymorph dogs showing the heaviest and the lightest pups, respectively (p < 0.001). Birth weight decreased with litter size (p < 0.001), and male pups were heavier than females (p < 0.001). These results suggest that canine morphotype, not only maternal size and body weight, can affect birth weight and litter size with possible practical implications in neonatal assistance. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-5483606 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2017 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-54836062017-06-28 A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy Groppetti, Debora Pecile, Alessandro Palestrini, Clara Marelli, Stefano P. Boracchi, Patrizia Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Birth weight is a key factor for neonatal mortality and morbidity in most mammalian species. The great morphological variability in size, body weight and breed, as well as in skeletal and cranial conformation makes it challenging to define birth weight standards in dogs. A total of 3293 purebred pups were surveyed to study which maternal aspects can determine birth weight considering head and body shape, size, body weight and breed in bitches, as well as litter size and sex in pups. In our sample, multivariate analysis outcomes suggested that birth weight and litter size were directly proportional to maternal size. The maternal body shape influenced both birth weight and litter size, whereas the maternal head shape had impact only on birth weight. Sex differences in birth weight were found. Birth weight and litter size also varied among breeds. The results of the present study could have practical implications allowing one to identify pups in need of admission to intensive nursing care, as occurs in humans. A deeper knowledge of the factors that significantly influence birth weight could positively affect the canine breeding management helping to prevent and reduce neonatal mortality. ABSTRACT: Despite increasing professionalism in dog breeding, the physiological range of birth weight in this species remains unclear. Low birth weight can predispose to neonatal mortality and growth deficiencies in humans. To date, the influence of the morphotype on birth weight has never been studied in dogs. For this purpose, an Italian census of birth weight was collected from 3293 purebred pups based on maternal morphotype, size, body weight and breed, as well as on litter size and sex of pups. Multivariate analysis outcomes showed that birth weight (p < 0.001) and litter size (p < 0.05) increased with maternal size and body weight. Birth weight was also influenced by the maternal head and body shape, with brachycephalic and brachymorph dogs showing the heaviest and the lightest pups, respectively (p < 0.001). Birth weight decreased with litter size (p < 0.001), and male pups were heavier than females (p < 0.001). These results suggest that canine morphotype, not only maternal size and body weight, can affect birth weight and litter size with possible practical implications in neonatal assistance. MDPI 2017-05-30 /pmc/articles/PMC5483606/ /pubmed/28556821 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani7060043 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Groppetti, Debora Pecile, Alessandro Palestrini, Clara Marelli, Stefano P. Boracchi, Patrizia A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy |
title | A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy |
title_full | A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy |
title_fullStr | A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy |
title_full_unstemmed | A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy |
title_short | A National Census of Birth Weight in Purebred Dogs in Italy |
title_sort | national census of birth weight in purebred dogs in italy |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5483606/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28556821 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani7060043 |
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