Researcher, research thyself? Mapping the landscape of canine health and welfare research funding provided by UK not-for-profit organisations from 2012-2022.

BACKGROUND: Research into canine health and welfare is supported by Government, charitable and private UK funding organisations. However, there is no current overall visibility or coordination of these funding activities, potentially compromising optimal distribution of limited resources. This study aimed to survey UK canine health and welfare funding by not-for-profit funders between 2012 and 2022, providing a novel baseline analysis to inform future sector stakeholder priorities. RESULTS: Funding data were collected from 10 wide-scope funders (UK Government funding councils and medical charities), 18 animal-directed funders (organisations specifically concerned with animal health and welfare) and 81 breed community groups. These 109 UK funders together provided traceable canine-relevant funding of £57.8 million during the surveyed period, comprising 684 individual grant awards supporting over 500 separate research projects. Wide-scope funders contributed £41.2 million (71.2% of total funding); animal-directed organisations, £16.3 million (28.1% of total funding); and breed-specific groups, £370K (0.6% of total funding). Individual grants ranged from £2.3 million to £300. Funding patterns varied between sectors. Animal-directed funders provided £14.7 million of canine-relevant research funding that foregrounded the dog, 73% of all such funding; wide-scope funders provided £17.5 million of canine-relevant One Health research funding, 97% of all such funding. Customised metrics developed for this study assessed the 'benefit to the dog' and 'pathway to impact' of individual research projects. Overall, studies supported by animal-directed funders achieved significantly higher 'benefit to the dog' scores (Mann-Whitney U = 45235, p<0.001) and 'pathway to impact' scores (Mann-Whitney U = 43506.5, p<0.001) than those supported by wide-scope funders. CONCLUSION: The landscape of UK not-for-profit funding of canine health and welfare research is complex, with considerable variation between providers. Although wide-scope funders provide the majority of overall canine-relevant research funding, animal-directed funders provide the majority of canine-focused funding and support research with greater direct impact on canine welfare. Visibility of past funding patterns will enable stakeholders in this sector to make more informed decisions about future research. DEFINITIONS: To increase clarity, certain words and phrases are used in specific ways within the context of this paper. Animal-directed funders-Charities and other funding organisations whose remit primarily concerns animals or veterinary work Canine-focused research-Investigations where the primary purpose is to advance understandings of canine health and/or welfare Canine-relevant research-All research that is framed as advancing understandings of canine health and/or welfare as a primary or subsidiary purpose Institution-Refers to universities and other centres where research is carried out Organisation-Refers to funding bodies, including research councils, charities and other groups Research grant-A single funding event originating from one or more funders Research project-A cohesive piece of research concerning a particular topic; may involve multiple researchers and/or multiple research grants, in series or in parallel Wide-scope funders-Large organisations whose remit does not primarily concern animals, i.e. (in this dataset) UKRI councils and the Wellcome Trust.

Demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxer dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK.

BACKGROUND: The Boxer is a popular dog breed with a distinctive appearance. However, the breed has been linked with several health conditions, some of which have been associated with its moderately brachycephalic conformation and its white colouration. Anonymised primary-care veterinary clinical records were explored to extract data on the demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxers in the UK in 2016. RESULTS: The study population of 336,865 dogs included 3,219 (0.96%) Boxers, of which 10.71% were recorded as white. The mean adult bodyweight was 30.43 kg (SD 5.73 kg). Annual disorder counts did not differ statistically between the sexes or between white and non-white Boxers. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders were otitis externa (n = 230, 7.15%), epulis (188, 5.84%), corneal ulceration (161, 5.00%) and periodontal disease (149, 4.63%). Of the 34 most common fine-level disorders, none differed in prevalence between white and non-white dogs. The most prevalent disorder groups were skin disorder (n = 571, 17.74%), neoplasia (457, 14.20%) and ear disorder (335, 10.41%). White Boxers had higher prevalence than non-white Boxers for two disorder groups: dental disorder and brain disorder. The median longevity of 346 Boxers that died during the study was 10.46 years (IQR 9.00-11.98, range 2.76-18.00). Median longevity did not differ statistically between the sexes or between white and non-white Boxers. The most common grouped causes of death were death - unrecorded cause (n = 73, 21.10%), neoplasia (43, 12.43%) and brain disorder (33, 9.54%). CONCLUSIONS: There was minimal evidence of substantial health differences between white and non-white Boxers. Among the four most common disorders recorded in Boxers, two were typically common across all types of dogs (otitis externa and periodontal disease) while two suggested strong predispositions for the Boxer breed (epulis and corneal ulceration), showing the value of eliciting breed-specific disorder patterns for insights for potential health reforms. The overall longevity of Boxer dogs was consistent with other breeds of similar body size.

The Boxer is a medium-large sized, active dog with a short coat and a moderately flat-faced (brachycephalic) skull shape. Despite many decades of popularity in the UK, there is limited published evidence on the overall health profile of Boxers. White-coloured Boxers are thought to be at higher risk of deafness from birth and as a result, white Boxers have traditionally often been culled at birth by breeders.Using anonymised veterinary clinical records collected within the VetCompass Programme at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Boxers made up around 1% of all dogs in the UK in 2016, with an average adult bodyweight around 30 kg. The most common colours were brindle (22.82%), dark red (22.62%) and dark red multi-colour (20.92%), with 10.71% white Boxers. Across the 3,219 Boxers in the study, 73.97% had at least one disorder recorded during 2016. The average number of disorders per year did not differ statistically between female and male Boxers, or between white and non-white Boxers. The most common specific disorders in Boxers were ear infection (7.15%), gum mass (5.84%), eye ulcer (5.00%) and dental disease (4.63%). White and non-white dogs did not differ in their risk for any of the 34 most common specific disorders. Only two dogs in the study were recorded with deafness; one white and one non-white. The average lifespan of Boxers overall was 10.46 years. Lifespan did not differ statistically between female and male Boxers, or between white and non-white Boxers.This study identifies ongoing popularity for the Boxer in the UK, with around 10% of these Boxers being white. There was minimal evidence of health differences between male and female Boxers, or between white and non-white Boxers. Among the four most common disorders recorded in Boxers, two are typically common across all types of dogs (ear and dental disease) while two showed strong predisposition in the Boxer breed (gum mass and eye ulcer), suggesting the value of understanding breed-specific health patterns to prioritise health plans for each breed. The overall longevity of Boxer dogs was typical of other breeds of this body size.

Disorders of Bulldogs under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013.

The Bulldog is a popular companion breed in the UK despite widely reported disease predispositions. This study aimed to characterise the demography, mortality and common disorders of Bulldogs under veterinary care in the UK during 2013. VetCompass collates anonymised clinical data from UK primary-care veterinary practices for epidemiological research. The clinical records of all Bulldogs available in the VetCompass study dataset were reviewed manually in detail to extract the most definitive diagnoses recorded for all disorders that existed during 2013 and for all deaths. Bulldogs comprised 1621 (0.36%) of 445,557 study dogs. Bulldogs increased from 0.35% of the 2009 birth cohort to 0.60% in 2013. Median longevity was 7.2 years, which was lower in males (6.7 years) than females (7.9 years) (P = 0.021). The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders recorded were otitis externa (n = 206, prevalence 12.7%, 95% CI: 11.1-14.4), pyoderma (142, 8.8%, 95% CI: 7.4-10.2) and overweight/obesity (141, 8.7%, 95% CI: 7.4-10.2). The most prevalent disorder groups were cutaneous (n = 463, prevalence: 28.6%, 95% CI: 26.4-30.8), ophthalmological (292, 18.0%, 95% CI: 16.2-20.0), aural (211, 13.0%, 95% CI: 11.4-14.8), enteropathy (188, 11.6%, 95% CI: 10.1-13.3) and upper respiratory tract (171, 10.5%, 95% CI: 9.1-12.1). Provision of an evidence base on the most common disorders and causes of mortality within breeds can support owners, breeders and the veterinary profession to improve health and welfare within these breed.