Unlucky dog names. Whoever heard of such a thing? Well how about this. There is one specific name that might just make you consider re-naming your pet before disaster strikes. Oh and be warned. It’s a really (really) popular dog name too.

Hapless hounds with this particular name are nearly SIX times more likely to be the subject of pet insurance claims than pets named Luna – (which is said to be the nation’s luckiest name), according to research carried out by a company that holds data on which pets are being seen by vets regularly.

Claims made for calamitous canines with this unlucky moniker include everything from emergency treatment for injuries such as those caused by playing fetch with sticks and eating things they shouldn’t, to serious diseases such as cancer and lifelong illnesses like epilepsy.

Also on the ill-fated unlucky list were pets called Cassie, Henry, Tia and Buster, who were all up to five times more likely to be the subject of pet insurance claims than lucky Luna. At the more fortunate end of the scale, Luna was joined by Olly, Skye, Freddie, Coco and Paddy in being the least likely to need an insurance claim.

And the decidedly dodgy doggy denomination?

Do you really want to know?

Would you not be happier being in the dark?

What about if it’s the name of YOUR dog?

OK.

You’ve been warned. Look away now if you’d rather steer clear of this….

 

…it’s

Bruno

Richard Hooker, PDSA’s (who carried out the research) Director of Veterinary Services, said: “It’s a mystery why pets named Bruno seem to have an unfair share of misfortune. The difference between their insurance claim rates and pets called Luna is baffling. Clearly, any pet can be involved in an accident or become ill so, whatever your pet is called, taking out pet insurance is the best way to protect them and avoid unwanted vet’s bills.”

The average insurance claim for pets is £440.01, although this rises to £625.51 for third party claims for damage. Claims can include everything from traumatic injuries due to traffic accidents, falls and fighting, to surgical removal of objects pets have eaten, including tennis balls, socks and even sunglasses!

Richard added: “Even the most well-trained dog or home-loving cat can get into plenty of mischief, landing you with an unexpected trip to the vets. Illnesses can also strike without warning, and some diseases such as diabetes, epilepsy and heart disease can require life-long treatment.”

Unlucky pets – the facts

The rankings were calculated by comparing the number of claims made against the total number of policies for each name. For example, for every pet named Bruno there were two claims over a four-year period, while for every pet named Luna there were just 0.3 claims in the same period.

Top ten unluckiest pet names:

1. Bruno
2. Cassie
3. Jake
4. Izzy
5. Henry
6. Tia
7. Dylan
8. Buster
9. Sam
10. Jess

Top ten luckiest pet names:

1. Luna
2. Olly
3. Skye
4. Freddie
5. Paddy
6. Ted
7. Bertie
8. Coco
9. Minnie
10. Teddy

Data analysed from PDSA Petsurance policies between 2012 and 2015, comparing claims made by the top 100 pet names. Average figures from claims settled between 01/01/2015 and 31/12/2015. Pre-existing conditions or illnesses are not covered

A biotech firm has announced positive results in its attempts to treat dogs suffering with a condition that shares similar characteristics to  Crohn’s disease Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Signs and symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, and weight loss. in humans.

Ocata Therapeutics, Inc, a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, and its collaborators reported in the Regenerative Medicine journal that it has successfully used its proprietary hemangio-derived mesenchymal cell (HMCTM) technology to treat dogs with canine anal furunculosis (CAF), which shares many features with Crohn’s disease.

“This study provides the first evidence of the safety and therapeutic potential of human pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a large animal model,” said Robert Lanza, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Ocata. “Canines have a physiology and sophisticated immune system that closely resembles that of humans, and canines are the only species that naturally develop symptoms and pathology similar to human fistulizing Crohn’s disease, including recurrent fistula activity, a difficult-to-treat manifestation of this chronic inflammatory bowel disorder. We treated six canines that were refractory to standard treatment, including cyclosporine therapy, and all of the canines were found to be completely free of fistulas at three months post-injection.”

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder that affects an estimated 1.0 to 1.3 million Americans. A combination of environmental and genetic factors is thought to lead to an autoimmune attack against cells of the gastrointestinal tract or associated microbial antigens. Affected regions of the GI tract vary from patient to patient and ulceration with cutaneous or recto-cutaneous fistulae within the perianal tissues is present in up to a third of CD patients. The most widely used treatments for CD-associated perianal fistulas include antibiotics and immune-suppressants such as azathioprine and cyclosporine, yet long-term use comes with serious adverse effects or potential reemergence of fistulas upon dose-lowering.

“Ocata has developed a mesenchymal stem cell population from its proprietary hESC-derived hemangioblasts called HMCs, which are a self-renewing source of starting material, capable of generating a significant supply of minimally expanded cells with potent immunomodulatory and therapeutic properties,” said Paul K. Wotton, President and CEO who added “This successful study, along with other work we have conducted, provides a unique platform that can potentially be used to target significant autoimmune related disorders with high unmet needs such as Crohn’s disease and Lupus Nephritis.”

The RSPCA’s chief veterinary officer has backed a petition calling for “urgent action” to address the growing number of dogs coming into clinics across the country with breathing problems.

James Yeates signed the petition – which has, so far, attracted more than 1,100 signatures – and has circulated it amongst the animal welfare charity’s other vets and veterinary nurses in England and Wales.

The petition (available here) calls for a working party to tackle the issues associated with brachycephaly in dogs. It is often seen in flat-faced breeds such as pugs and bulldogs.

James said: “The evidence is clear and obvious enough even to non-vets. The ability to breathe, exercise and keep cool are fairly basic requirements for us to expect every dog to have.

“Of course, brachycephaly is just one of many breed-related health problems in pedigree and purebred dogs.

“Members of the public expect those who breed dogs to have done everything they can to ensure the animals they sell are fit for a happy life as a beloved pet. Although some progress has been made by the dog world to address these issues, it has not been nearly enough.

“We would be very keen to work alongside the British Veterinary Association, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, The Kennel Club, Animal Health Trust and others as a working party to work out how we can safeguard animal health.”

The RSPCA remain concerned that many pedigree dogs are still suffering because they’re bred and judged primarily for how they look rather than with health, welfare and temperament in mind. For example, dogs with short, flat faces often have narrow nostrils and abnormally developed windpipes. They can suffer severe breathing difficulties and many have difficulty enjoying a walk or playing.

More urgently needs to be done to protect the future health of dogs and the RSPCA believes that all those who breed dogs should prioritise health, welfare and temperament over appearance when choosing which animals to breed, in order to protect the welfare of both the parents and offspring.

In order to win dog shows, pedigree dogs have been bred to emphasise certain physical features in accordance with breed standards. The dog most closely matching its breed standard is awarded the winner. Many breed standards include exaggerated physical features, some of which have become so extreme that they can cause pain and suffering, some make dogs prone to particular disorders, and some prevent them from behaving normally.

We believe that the breed standards need urgent review so that they prioritise the health, welfare and temperament of the dogs over their looks, and we would welcome the creation of a working party to look into ways to tackle this issue head-on. We’d be very keen in working with others to ensure welfare is of primary concern to all dog breeders, buyers and show judges, and that future generations of dogs are happy and healthy.

A woman has been disqualified from keeping animals after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her pet dog by leaving him with an awful eye condition for more than five years.

Trudy Oakley (46) was sentenced at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday (9 May) having admitted one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to Staffordshire bull terrier Pooch by failing to provide adequate veterinary care for a problem with his eyes.

The RSPCA was called by a member of the public on 27 January and inspector Justin Stubbs attended Oakley’s property in Redmile Walk, Peterborough.

file photo: please note, we do not publish graphic images of animal suffering on this website

He said: “Pooch was in a terrible state and his eye looked horrendous. It was like something out of a horror movie – his eyeball looked ready to pop out of his skull.

“Ms Oakley received veterinary advice in December 2010 to have Pooch’s eye removed but this was ignored and she failed to seek any further professional advice.

“That means poor Pooch was left suffering from what must have been an extremely painful and uncomfortable eye condition for more than five years. It’s just shocking.”

Pooch was seized by the police, placed into the RSPCA’s care and rushed to a vet who removed his eye. He has a congenital condition which caused his right eye to erupt and has also affected his left eye.

Oakley was, this week, sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge for one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The court also added six months onto an existing suspended sentence for an unrelated matter and ordered her to pay prosecution costs of £250.

She was disqualified from keeping all animals for one year and the court ordered for Pooch to be removed from her ownership.

Pooch is being cared for by RSPCA staff and is still undergoing treatment. It is likely the 10-year-old dog will also lose his remaining eye.

We received a note from K9 Magazine reader Kerry. She was puzzled about a particular piece of behaviour her dog put on when they were out for a morning walk.

Here’s her email (which she has given us permission to publish):

This morning, Tina our nine month old pup encountered a fairly fresh pile of horse dung. At first she sniffed it and then she tried to eat it so I shouted for her to stop and then she started to roll around in it. My question is whether this is normal behaviour or does she have some sort of deficiency in her diet that would make her want to eat something nasty like that?

Well Kerry, your dog is neither strange nor sick. Many dogs appear to have this particularly unpleasant predilection for eating or rolling in horse mess.

First things first. You were right to try and prevent your dog from eating it. It’s not good. Horse dung can also include the presence of horse wormer so that’s even more reason to prevent your dog from doing it along with the fact that it’s just plain nasty!

The presence of equine parasite treatments such as Ivemectin can be very hazardous to dogs (breeds such as Collies, Staffies, Whippets/Greyhounds and Australian Shepherds are particularly vulnerable), so if you witness a dog that has recently eaten horse poop behaving strangely, consult your vet immediately and explain what’s happened.

Why do dogs eat horse dung?

Ever smelled a can of freshly opened dog meat? How about tripe that’s been hung for a while? What about an animal carcass that’s been in the sun for a few hours? Disgusting, right? Your dog will try to eat ALL of those things and don’t pretend otherwise. You know it, I know it, they know it. Let’s not try and deny the obvious, our dogs show a fondness for consuming some seriously smelly stuff.

What seems awfully off putting for us can serve as a delicious treat to our four legged pals. The smellier the better seems to be their motto. So horse poop is just another delicacy on the canine menu. To a dog, a fresh pile of horse dung is a high fibre breakfast meal with a particularly arousing odour. It’s like an enticing bowl of Weetabix, if the Weetabix came out of a horse’s bum. As stated though, if you don’t personally know the backside the horse it came from and everything that’s been given to that horse then you should be quick to stop your dog before they get too many mouthfuls down their neck – and even if you do know the horse in question, don’t let your dog scoff their delicious dung deposits, it’s just, you know, nasty.

You might be somewhat comforted to know that from our mini survey of dog owners, there wasn’t a single one of us who owned or had owned a dog that DIDN’T try to scoff horse muck. They seem to view it as free food that should be eaten as quickly as possible. Yuck!

Why do dogs roll around in horse poop?

There’s a school of thought that dogs smear themselves in pungent material (like horse poop) because it disguises their own smell. Well, they’re not wrong are they? You take the dog out for a walk smelling all fresh and reassuringly doggy and the journey home you find yourself holding your nose so as to not get a strong whiff of Stinky McStinkface who seems quite proud of himself as he showcases his fondness for eau de dung.

A dog might want to disguise his smell because somewhere, in the very back of the ancient part of his canine brain, he thinks by smelling like horse poop he’s gained an advantage over his predators and his prey. By smelling like animal excrement he’ll be less detectable and will blend in to his environment more. Now, quite why he’d want to do that when he lives in a nice detached house in Cheshire we can only guess. But he does. He still thinks he’s a wolf, bless him. Speaking of which, you won’t be surprised to learn that wolves do this to. They roll around in horse muck, buffalo dung and all manner of stinky animal carcasses. Wild wolves have the same penchant for coating themselves in smelly stuff as our domestic pet dogs which is just another reminder that domesticated canines, at heart, are never slow to show us they’ve got a few ancestral tricks up the sleeves of their designer dog coats even if some of those tricks happen to be, quite frankly, gross.

Rest assured Kerry. Your dog is 100% normal.