Survey investigating the reasons why UK-based gundogs ceased working between 2010 and 2019.

BACKGROUND: To determine the longevity of the working life of gundogs in the UK, whether owners' considered retirement was premature and to identify risk factors associated with such work. METHODS: A web-based survey seeking owner information as to the longevity of their dogs' working life and why they were retired, euthanised or died. The sample population is six hundred sixty-five dogs. RESULTS: The median age at which Springer spaniels stopped work was 11 years and for Cocker spaniels, it was 9 years. The median age for Labrador retrievers was 10 years; for Golden retrievers, 11 years and Flat-coated retrievers, 9.5 years. Cocker spaniels stopped work at a significantly younger age than Springer spaniels (p = 0.0003) or Labrador retrievers (p = 0.0407). There was no significant difference between the other major breeds. The majority of owners (54.3%) were satisfied with the working lifespan of their dog. Seventy per cent of dogs were retired, the three most prevalent reasons being lameness (25.2%), old age (23.7%) and deafness (7.8%). Forty-four dogs died (6.6%) and 158 (24%) were euthanised, with cancer (58%) being the most common reason. CONCLUSIONS: No work-related issues were identified and gundogs appear to have similar causes of mortality to the general canine population.

An optical Bragg scattering readout for simultaneous detection of all low-order mechanical modes of gallium nitride nanowires in nanowire arrays.

We report the use of optical Bragg scattering and homodyne interferometry to simultaneously measure all the first order cantilever-mode mechanical resonance frequencies and quality factors (Q) of gallium nitride nanowires (GaN NWs) in 100 NW periodic selected-area growth arrays. Hexagonal 2D arrays of 100 GaN NWs with pitch spacings of 350-1100 nm were designed and prepared to allow optical Bragg scattering. The NWs studied have diameters ranging from 100-300 nm, lengths from 3-10 µm, resonance frequencies between 1-10 MHz, and Q-values near 10,000 at 300 K. The system can passively detect the thermally induced Brownian mechanical motion of the NWs and can study driven NW motion, enabling the simultaneous monitoring of hundreds of mechanical resonators in a 10-100 µm2 area with a single optical beam. The read-out system allows large arrays of NWs to be characterized and applied as e.g. spatially resolved temperature and mass sensors.