Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fitness and joint health in 158 New Zealand police dogs
By Baltzer, Wendy I et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2019·School of Veterinary Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Survey of Handlers of 158 Police Dogs in New Zealand: Functional Assessment and Canine Orthopedic Index.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A survey of 158 police dogs in New Zealand found that many of them, particularly older dogs, showed signs of reduced fitness and orthopedic issues. Handlers reported that about 20% of the dogs had impaired function, with difficulties in tasks like jumping into vehicles and holding certain positions. While most dogs had good quality of life, the study revealed that as dogs aged, their fitness and mobility tended to decline. This suggests that regular assessments of older police dogs are important to ensure they remain healthy and capable in their roles.
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Abstract
To determine the functional assessment (FA) of fitness and Canine Orthopedic Index (COI) scores of 158 police dogs. The hypothesis was the dogs would have excellent fitness and no evidence of orthopedic disease regardless of age as reported by the handlers.Observational, prospective study.Handlers of dogs >1 year of age in active duty or breeding/active duty.COI and FA questionnaires were completed via e-mail. Fisher's Exact test for count data assessed scores by age group (<2 years, 2-5 years, >5 years); Wilcoxon Signed-rank test correlated COI parameters (stiffness, function, gait, quality of life) to FA.The dogs were 3.2 ± 2.4 (mean ± standard deviation) years-old, 96% were German Shepherds and 111 were male. 32% of dogs could hold the "Hup" position for no longer than 4 s and 8% frequently had difficulty with this task. Difficulty jumping into vehicles occurred in 1/3 of the dogs. Overall FA was impaired in 20% (score >8), abnormal in 15% (score = 5-7), and reduced (score = 1-4) in 36% of dogs. Only 29% had normal function (FA score = 0) and these were significantly younger (2.8 ± 1.7 years,< 0.05) than impaired dogs (6.6 ± 2.2 years). COI stiffness score was abnormal in 37% (3.3 ± 2.2) and gait was abnormal in 41% (5.4 ± 4.0). Quality of life (QOL) was excellent in 69% of dogs. Stiffness for the <2 year-old group was 0.2 ± 0.8, for the 2-5 year-old group was 1.1 ± 2.0 and for the >5 year-old group was 3.2 ± 2.4. Gait score for the <2 year group was 0.8 ± 2.2, and for the 2-5 year group was 1.9 ± 3.2 and for the >5 year group was 6.0 ± 4.3. Quality of life was close to excellent for the <2 year-olds (0.3 ± 1.1) and 2-5 year-olds (0.8 ± 2.0) but the >5 year-olds scored higher (3.0 ± 2.5). Only the COI gait score correlated with the FA score (= 0.30).Police dogs were reported by handlers to have good to excellent QOL, however, increasing age was associated with declining FA and COI scores.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31058169/