Each dog breed possesses a particular suite of physical and behavioral traits that help distinguish it from other breeds, but up to 300 of their inheritable diseases are similar to conditions in human beings. Among the most common are cancer, epilepsy, heart disease, allergies, autoimmune disorders, retinal disease, and cataracts. Purebred dogs provide a perfect opportunity to scientists trying to puzzle out the genetics of physical traits and behaviors since some of the genes involved in canine cancers, for example, are the same ones involved in the same type of cancer in humans. Cancer is the most common cause of death in the canine species, and they develop it spontaneously like humans do. Cocker Spaniels, for instance, may be able to help researchers better understand human breast cancer because the epigenome of the Cocker Spaniel has been characterized. Researchers compared dog and human epigenetic changes, and found that when looking at breast cancer, the same regions of DNA are affected in both.

And then there’s Addison’s Disease, a condition not uncommon among Portuguese Water Dogs. Two types of alternate DNA spellings, called genetic variants, were identified in the DNA of Portuguese Water Dogs with Addison’s, and one of them is the same as in the DNA of people with this disease. The Georgie Project teamed researchers with Portuguese Water Dog owners and revealed some promising leads. It also unearthed the surprise finding that a single spot of DNA that controls the activity of a growth gene accounts for whether a given breed will be large or small.

By working with purebred dogs, scientists can learn more about a disease in a far shorter period of time then they could ever hope for by studying humans. They can study a grandmother, mother, daughter, and granddaughter to see if they are sufferers or carriers, and then have a large enough sampling to get after answers.

We love our purebred dogs for how they enrich our lives, and it turns out that they enrich our lives in ways we don’t always think of.  To see if research is being done with and for your breed, click here. Nothing more than a DNA sample is needed (a simple cheek swab).

“Bo Obama” by Rachael Rossman, 2009; Find and support this artist’s work here