Table 2.
Characteristics of 24,238 dogs in analysis of health outcomes (100 pure breeds included)
| Explanatory variable | n (%) |
|---|---|
| Age | |
| 1–1.9 years | 1672 (7%) |
| 2–5.9 years | 7721 (32%) |
| 6–9.9 years | 7082 (29%) |
| 10–18 (not including 18) years | 7763 (32%) |
| Sex | |
| Male, castrated | 11853 (49%) |
| Female, spayed | 12385 (51%) |
| Body size and weight | |
| Small (< 10 kg) | 5510 (23%) |
| Middle (10–29.9 kg) | 12267 (51%) |
| Large (30–44.9 kg) | 5504 (23%) |
| Giant (≥ 45 kg) | 957 (4%) |
| Breed | |
| Mixed-breed dog | 13308 (55%) |
| Labrador retriever | 1467 (6%) |
| Golden retriever | 1199 (5%) |
| German Shepherd | 502 (2%) |
| Australian Shepherd | 373 (2%) |
| Poodle (standard) (≥ 13.6 kg) | 306 (1%) |
| Dachshund | 305 (1%) |
| Border Collie | 257 (1%) |
| Chihuahua | 205 (1%) |
| Beagle | 187 (1%) |
| Pug | 180 (1%) |
| Other purebred dogsa | 5949 (25%) |
| Feeding frequency | |
| Fed once per day | 1884 (8%) |
| Fed twice per day | 18027 (74%) |
| Fed three times or more per day | 1716 (7%) |
| Free fed | 2611 (11%) |
| Fatty acid supplement | |
| Given daily or more often | 4383 (18%) |
| Health outcomes | |
| Dental/oral | 6414 (26%) |
| Skin | 5619 (23%) |
| Orthopedic | 4270 (18%) |
| Gastrointestinal | 2429 (10%) |
| Cancer | 1906 (8%) |
| Kidney/urinary | 1740 (7%) |
| Cardiac | 1243 (5%) |
| Neurological | 972 (4%) |
| Liver/Pancreas | 673 (3%) |
| Primary diet componentb | |
| Commercial, dry | 20303 (84%) |
| Commercial, canned | 1025 (4%) |
| Commercial, freeze-dried | 934 (4%) |
| Commercial, refrigerated/frozen | 733 (3%) |
| Home-prepared, cooked | 329 (1%) |
| Commercial, semi-dry/semi-moist | 254 (1%) |
| Home-prepared, raw | 235 (1%) |
| Other | 425 (2%) |
aSee Supplementary Information 5 for full list and numbers of purebred dogs included in the analysis of health outcomes
bThis data is included in the table for descriptive purposes only and was not incorporated into our analyses