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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...

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Autores principales: Groppetti, Debora, Pecile, Alessandro, Palestrini, Clara, Marelli, Stefano P., Boracchi, Patrizia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
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.
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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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