Study identifies priorities for canine research
The study was commissoned by Battersea, Dogs Trust, The Kennel Club Charitable Trust and the Waltham Foundation.
A new study from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has identified research priorities for canine health and welfare.
The study involved more than 50 stakeholders linked to animal charities, universities, veterinary practices, and other organisations associated with the health and welfare of dogs.
The participants suggested issues of concern and then worked together to prioritise a list of 200 topics identified. The findings will help allocate funding to future research more effectively.
The top types of problem identified included issues around canine behaviour, ownership, breed-related diseases, and shelter welfare. The participants also identified issues around clinical practice that require research, including the cost and availability of veterinary care, the ethics of overtreatment and euthanasia decisions, and the impact of common long-term diseases on welfare.
Relatively underfunded issues were also identified, including increasing the supply of healthy, well-bred dogs, understanding dog bite attacks, and the impact of modern human lifestyles on canine behaviour.
The researchers also analysed funding for research into common chronic disorders from 2012-2022 to identify the most underfunded conditions.
Dan O'Neill, associate professor in companion animal epidemiology at the RVC and co-author of the paper, said: “This new study from the RVC offers a wake-up call for researchers and funders to focus more on what matters most to dogs and humans at a population level.
“Commonplace disorders affecting ears, teeth, anal sacs and nails blight the lives of huge proportions of dogs but are shown here to be woefully underfunded and under-researched.
“Researchers and funders now have the evidence that should shape the next decade of funded research for dogs.”
The study, which was commissioned and funded by Battersea, Dogs Trust, The Kennel Club Charitable Trust and the Waltham Foundation, has been published in the journal PLOS One.
Image © RVC
Joanne Webster, a professor of parasitic diseases at the RVC, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
