What’s Killing Our Golden Retrievers?
It’s not hard to see why golden retrievers are among the most popular breeds in the U.S. year in and year out. They’re cuddly cute as puppies and beautiful as adults. They’re great around kids, energetic, intelligent, intensely loyal and easy to train. In fact, they often train their owners.
But many American golden retrievers are also time bombs because an extraordinarily large number of them — perhaps one in four — succumb to cancer before living to their once typical 12- to 16-year life expectancy.
I know this all too well. I have lived with and been acquainted with a dozen or so goldens over the years, most of them pictured in the photo montage above. I have midwifed their births, taken them to the veterinarian, helped breed them and cradled them in my arms as they drew their last breaths.
It’s hard to name favorites, but Ruffie (Medford Ben’s Ruffles was the snooty name on her pedigree papers) would have to be at the top of my list.
Ruffie was special from the time she opened her tiny eyes. While she played with her litter mates, there was an unpuppy-like serenity about her which grew deeper as she matured. She in turn seemed to impart a Zen-like quality on her own offspring, who included Cody, the longtime companion of a good friend, and a sweetheart by the name of Luna. (That’s Ruffie and Luna in the arms of Yours Truly at the center of the photo montage.)
But despite careful attention to their diets, plenty of exercise, regular visits to the vets and the love and devotion of their owners, both Ruffie and Cody departed this world well before their time — Ruffie a victim of lymphosarcoma (cancer of the lymphatic system) and Cody a victim of hemangiosarcoma (cancer of the blood).
Luna died at age three of lymphosarcoma.
The most recent victim of my acquaintance is Henry, a golden who is named for the Tennessee county where he was raised by my dear sister and her husband. Ahn-Ri, as we called him with a faux French accent, was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma in August. Henry (in the upper right-hand corner of the montage) died in September at age 8.
Irony of ironies, the longest lived of the goldens that I have known is Homer (as in homebody), who was rescued by a friend from a puppy mill only to have a close encounter with a speeding pickup truck that shattered a rear leg. Homer (standing in the bed of another pickup truck in the center right of the montage) was a ripe 13 years old and had to be carried up and down stairs because of the arthritis in that leg, but he was as feisty as ever and had no signs of cancer when he packed in last month.
WHY ARE GOLDENS DYING SO YOUNG?
An obvious explanation for golden retriever mortality is the very fact the breed is the second most popular in the U.S. This has resulted in rampant inner breeding, which predisposes goldens to increased risk of disease.
But this explanation goes only so far, and from anecdotal evidence and what research has been done, it appears that goldens are especially susceptible to genetic-based diseases.
Chief among them is cancer, which is their No. 1 killer and has lowered the average golden life expectancy to barely 10 years.
A close second is canine hip dysplasia, a non-fatal malformation or abnormal looseness of the hip joint.
Other inherited conditions include idiopathic epilepsy (IE), which results in recurrent seizures, and heart disease, most often subarterial aortic stenosis (SAS). Guy (shown licking his you know whats in the lower left hand corner of the montage), had IE and eventually succumbed to lymphosarcoma, while Henry’s housemate, Tessa (standing on the snowy deck), a gift from my kids and myself to my sister, died of SAS.
As if things aren’t grim enough, there also is evidence that goldens are increasingly falling prey to immune and autoimmune diseases, including kidney disease.
Given the vector of these diseases, it seems likely that their life expectancy will go lower.
THE BIG QUESTION
Okay, so goldens are unusually prone to genetic-based diseases and disorders. To my mind, the big question is whether they’ve always been that way.
In the “old” days when goldens were relatively rare and veterinary care was not nearly as comprehensive, did the breed still succumb to these fatal conditions in disproportionate numbers but their owners and vets just didn’t know it? How many times did I hear as a child that So and So’s dog seemed to be fine one day and had gone out into the woods the next and quietly passed away? Quite a lot.
The answer to my question is that no one knows.
Research into the deadly demons that stalk goldens is recent and baseline data goes back only to 1998 when the Golden Retriever Club of America first published a health survey that revealed the unusually high incidence of cancer. A new survey is underway.
To learn more about this and other studies, click here for the Golden Retriever Foundation, which is underwriting the mapping of the golden genome, a most exciting project, and here for the National Canine Cancer Foundation. Drug makers also have joined the fight and trials of several promising drugs are underway.
And if you have a golden who is ill, please ask your vet to send copies of your dog’s health records to the foundation.
SHOULD THERE BE A GOLDEN IN YOUR FUTURE?
Should you consider buying or adopting a golden retriever?
I was afraid you’d ask that.
Despite the claims of some kennels that their goldens are disease free, cancer is rapidly overtaking the breed.
If you and your family are able to steel yourself to the possibility that your golden retriever may succumb at a relatively early age, then go right ahead.
Otherwise, fuggedabout about it.
There are millions of dogs in the U.S. who live lonely existences in animal shelters. Many of them are mixed breeds who are less predisposed to disease because of that. Many will be euthanized.
Please consider adopting one of these critters. Their love will be as unconditional as that of a golden.
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27 Responses to “What’s Killing Our Golden Retrievers?”
Shaun, thanks for reminding me of my golden retriever Corbu. She died at age 14, presumably of cancer. She snuck off into the night to die (in December 2003) so that I wouldn’t be watching…
She was the Best Dog in the World.
Golden retrievers are truly beautiful dogs.
I’m partial to most dogs. They can be such wonderful friends and companions to humans. It’s cool to live in NYC and see how many people here have dogs and how well the dogs acclimate themselves to big city life. Sometimes my wife and I go to Central Park just to see people with their dogs.
We had a wonderful pug friend for years. We miss him.
It’s because they are beautiful that they are having all these problems. Shaun you’re right that not much is known about the history but they are being purebred way too much and to me it’s obvious that is the main problem. Many vets and dog lovers are trying to convince people to get them interbred with labs since there is a great similarity in disposition and body type. There’s even a growing movement not to buy from pure breeders at all.
Also this isn’t just a problem with retrievers (or dogs in general) but with all sorts of domesticated species. The last wild strains of bananas, wheat and rice are quickly disappearing, which is causing a huge amount of alarm amongst geneticists who are looking to expand the gene pool to make them more robust. Each of those has a disease that could potentially wipe out most of the world’s crops in a few short years in a worst case scenario. I personally think that within the next 10-20 years we will have to start doing targeted genetic splicing to manually add variation or risk losing lots of species — which is ironic because most of the ethics issues around genetics are about it reducing the pool to an unstable size.
Excellent post!
Shaun, there is one point that you didn’t touch upon that has been getting a lot of attention in terms of early disease/death, and that is the diet of our dogs.
The commercial dog food product lines have come in for a lot of critical attention in this regard.
I encourage everyone to follow your advice and go to your local shelter instead of a breeder. Look at the faces of some of those animals…the older dogs especially.
They often have a range of issue – many have been abused, and can be difficult – but they have so much love to give and enrich our lives as we can theirs.
My first dog died of cancer in her nasal passage years ago, and my theory was that pesiticides caused the cancer. We had our house sprayed once a month for fleas and ticks and we kept our dog outside as much as possible after it was sprayed but still, she had to be let in sometime. </ramble>
We’ve always adopted our pets from our local Humane Society, which enables them to get more animals from the shelters that do euthanize.
We happen to be in our cat phase this time.
its all clinton’s fault
It’s a special problem for Goldies since despite the large numbers of the breed there’s a rather small gene pool: all of today’s living Golden Retrievers are descended from a single dog.
Dave:
You are correct. Would you elaborate?
Thank you.
Any time you screw around with genetics, unforeseen consequences occur. This is one.
Thanks for a great post, Shaun.
UC Davis also has a canine genetics research program going (for all breeds and mixed breeds) and dog owners can obtain sample kits to submit a simple cheek swab sample if they’d like to participate.
The post brought another point to mind: pet owners wouild do well to take time to consider their pets’ health care costs and determine how much they are able and willing to spend in the event of a serious health problem. As a veterinarian, one of the most challenging parts of my job is to counsel my clients on treatment options which in many cases are unaffordable. It would be better for pet owners to make decisions in advance regarding their ability to pay for their pet’s healthcare, rather than trying to make decisions during emotional moments. Think about how much you can afford either on an ongoing basis for a chronic illness, or for a one time event. Consider whether pet health insurance is a good option for you, or if you may want to have access to a line of credit specifically for pet health emergencies. These options are not always feasible either (certainly people need to make sure that their own health care needs and those of their family are met first). Unfortunately health care costs for pets is rising as state of the art medical advances become available for our companion animals, but in many cases we have to set limits as to what is reasonable and pet owners should not feel guilty if they have to set a cap on their expenses (so long as they are willing to handle situations humanely).
Cancer is running rampant in ALL dogs and not just one particular dog. I have seen similar reports for spaniels, to which I have a strong affinity for.
The question is to why any dog is stricken with cancer at such a young age, especially at the numbers it is shown to happen? Is it genetics, tainted food source (read “Fast Food Nation” for examples), chemicals we spray around our homes, effects of giving more medicines to dogs to fight other illnesses, etc?
When large numbers puppies and young dogs are struck with cancer, there is more than genetics to worry about.
Actually if cancer rates are rising faster in dogs than in other species, it would imply that genetic factors probably are more likely than environmental ones (particularly if the rates are increasing faster in purebred rather than mixed breed dogs). There are two ways that genetics contribute: the first is that recessive genes which predispose to certain cancers are much more likely to be expressed with inbreeding, and second, tumor protective factors which might be present in certain lines might happen to be associated with phenotypes that aren’t considered desirable according to breed standards. So, it may be for example that golden retrievers with a coat color or texture that isn’t as desirable might happen to be the ones who have the genotype for a robust immune system capable of resisting mutagenesis. If these dogs are not selected for breeding programs, then the dogs which are selected are the ones who are more susceptible to developing cancers.
One non-genetic factor that is specific to dogs and cats (relative to other animal species and to a degree, to humans) though is the stress to the immune system by frequent vaccination. Many veterinarians are taking a proactive stance toward reducing vaccine protocols to help alleviate this potential overburdening of the immune system.
Shaun,
I was raised with purebred Collies (my mother showed I believe 3 AKC champions) and my mother has since moved on to Shelties as the Collies became too big for her to handle as she aged. My understanding is that these problems also exist in these breeds, although not to the extent of other breeds possibly because some variances such as hair color differences are considered a good thing in these breeds which encourages a wider gene pool.
Losing dogs was a part of life in my home, as we had enough dogs around that at least one was always getting up in age. However, there were certain ones who you developed a certain relationship with. Chelsea was born the same year as me and was not suitable for showing, so she became “the pet” (even though we were close with all of the dogs, she was the one who we were closest to). I grew up with her. We have pictures of me riding her like a horse when I was a toddler, of her helping me open Christmas presents and eat birthday cake, of her playing video games with me (OK, she was just holding the old Atari 2600 joystick while I was playing but in the picture you’d swear we were both playing). When we lost her, it was like I lost a sister.
Once I was living on my own, I didn’t feel right about keeping a dog cooped up in an apartment or a house on a small lot in a urban/suburban setting so I stuck with cats (which we also had while I was growing up). Rocky was my first, a long haired Orange Tabby shelter cat who had the most unique personality. My mother said he was more like a dog than a cat. When he was 3, he developed a fairly common condition that male cats suffer from and, after attempting to save him, I had to put him to sleep. I’m not kidding when I say that was the hardest decision I had to make and the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Now, I have Simba, a short haired Orange Tabby from the same shelter. Another unique personality, he makes himself the king of any house he’s in (hence, being named after the Lion King). Hopefully, he will live a much longer life than Rocky.
While Rocky’s life was tragically cut short, it’s been my observation that cats are doing much better than dogs and actually that mixed breed dogs are doing better than purebred dogs. This to me suggests that a large component of the issue is genetic. The gene pool is shrinking and, as it does, problems become more prevalant. I wonder how long it will be until, for the good of the dogs, mixed breeding will be decided to be a necessity and we will see organizations like the AKC change their attitudes toward this.
Same thing is happening with some strains of English Setters.
Great Danes can be expected to not last much past 5 or 6 years, partly due to their size, though most die of cancer. 9 is an unusually old Great Dane.
I have a (best guess) 7 year old Australian Shepherd who is doing very well, though she may not be purebred. We got her from the local animal shelter, and she had no past history. She’s the most laid back Ausie I’ve ever seen. Great dog, and no health problems. Still bounces around like a puppy.
Pure Breeding always leads to genetic defects. Get a mutt, y’all
C Prez,
That’s true to a degree, but selective breeding has produced working dogs for various purposes (herding, hunting, providing security, pulling sleds, etc), as well as companion pets the fulfill needs (many elderly people wouldn’t be able to care for medium to large breeds, for example, but they can have the companionship of small and toy breed dogs). If people hadn’t intervened in canine genetics, then all dogs would be somewhat like medium sized docile wolves and wouldn’t be suitable for the many uses we now have for them.
Also, breeders are gradually becoming more responsible and in some cases are working to eliminate disease or congenital disorders.
So the problem is not selective breeding itself, its just when it is done poorly without thought for the long term consequences. This happens mainly when a breed becomes trendy or overly popular (we vets cringe whenever a new movie features a very cute breed that is prone to problems with health or behavior because we know we are going to see an upsurge).
One interesting trend today is toward ‘designer breeds’ like Labradoodles and Goldendoodles, puggles, etc. If these crosses remain popular it may actually help dilute out disease carrying genetic lines in some breeds.
Brian of Atlanta,
You are correct about the short life span of Great Danes and other giant breeds but it is usually heart disease that claims their lives. The one type of cancer that is fairly prevalent in these breeds is bone cancer, which may be due to their rapid growth rate.
C Prez is right. I might have noted in my post that a big contributing factor of the crisis is the many breeders who have not looked at the long-term consequences. It can be summed up in a single word: Greed.
Holly in Cincinnati,
I know what you mean. My brother’s golden retriever, Buster, passed away earlier this year unexpectedly, at a relatively young age. He was truly the best dog ever, and I miss him terribly. Oddly (I hope it isn’t selfish to say this), it’s a bit of a relief to learn from Shaun’s post that my situation isn’t unique.
Holly:
No, the situation is not unique, but it is my impression that few golden owners know what they’re getting into. It’s time to buy a dog for their kids and off they go to a kennel or pet store. They fall in love with the first pup that licks their hands and $500 to $1,500 later home it comes.
I would recommend that anyone contemplating purchasing or adopting a golden first find a veterinarian with whom they feel comfortable, discuss the possible problems with a purchase/adoption down the road and go from there.
Marlowecan:
I meant to reply to your dog food comment earlier. I hate to use the word again, but it is my impression that commercial foods are much, much better today insofar as nutritional value than 10 or 20 years ago. That is not to say that there may not be problems, but I haven’t heard or read of any of consequence to the breed as a whole.
My dog came second-hand because her original person had the nerve to give birth to a human child. Dog didn’t like that, said so, and very suddenly came to live with me and my cats.
Commercial pet foods are much higher quality now than they were 20 years ago and this is part of the reason that pets are living longer on average than ever before (despite the health problems like cancer becoming more prevalent in some breeds). Pet owners have a choice of a number of very high quality nutritional products. One similarity with humans though is that overfeeding remains one of the biggest detriments to health!
I noticed this dilemma years ago. I grew up in a small desert town in a third world country during the 1950’s. We always had cats because dogs were illegal. Everyone had cats. And never did I ever hear about or see any evidence of any cat dying from anything other than car tires, old age, or DDT poisoning from eating sprayed vegetation. After moving to the States I began to notice in the 70’s that cats, and pets in general, were starting to turn up sick everywhere in increasing numbers, and they continued to get sicker right on into the next century.
The sad fact is it’s really across the board for anything that eats the poisoned remains of livestock, poultry and fish; human included, which is one of the reasons I’m now vegan. You might say I discovered a law of the universe. You simply can’t do what we do to animals and get away with it; and that’s the universe folks, it’s not religion, science nor health.
If you’re one of the unusually educated and informed consumers about just how bad animal products are for humans in terms of genetics, hormones, heavy metals, pesticides, etc., not to mention saturated fat and cholesterol, then you won’t have too hard of a time understanding how bad pet food is when you factor in the fact that almost zero restrictions or controls exist for the food you’re now feeding your pet.
If they have no idea exactly what it is from batch to batch that is going into the pet food bag then you’re only fooling yourself if you think you do. It is a most poisoned cocktail assembled from the last possible unused unwanted scraps of tortured and abused animal waste where never a concern was ever lifted in defense of anything other than supporting the insanity of how to be cruel, sick, and demented in the denial of fulfillment for all animals and humans for the sake of money.
We just lost our golden retriever due to kidney disease.
One lady at the pet food store told us that golden owners treasure every day they get over 10 years.
Our golden didn’t even make it to 10.
We fed the dog the high quality food, was a regular at the vet, etc.
This is our second dog this year that we lost to kidney failure. The other was over 15 and a mix breed.
http://pages.prodigy.net/themod/superdoggie.JPG
We lost our beloved 11 year old golden in June to cancer – but in a sad way were lucky. Cody was first diagnosed at age 4 with prostate cancer. Cancer resurfaced 5 years later on his upper palate (which again was dealt with surgically – only after the vet assured me that the prognosis was excellent, and that his recovery would not be difficult or painful.) Yet another tumor appeared on his front elbow joint about 18 months ago – which the doctor removed. I made a tough decision to let him go in June when the cancer resurfaced – this time in his kidneys. One of the worst days of my life.
Cody, however, was NOT an American bred golden. I adopted him while living in Switzerland. His father was Swiss Champion, his mother French Best in Breed as a puppy. This tragic problem isn’t limited to the US.
On a side note – I also lost Pasha, a Bernese Mountain Dog bred in Belgium – just shy of his 3rd birthday. It was a rapid and painful death – he dropped from 165lbs to 90 lbs in less than 3 weeks. The doctors had suspected a heart defect, but when they started the surgery – found that cancer had literally massacred his organs.
What about diet???? Just as cancer rates are going through the roof for humans certainly due in part to our consumption of processed foods, so it is for our K9 friends. We feed them as if taking a vitamin is sufficient for maximum health. Dogs never farmed yet most dog foods are full of grains. They have big stinky stools as if bulk fiber was on their list of healthy foods (compact dry stools are what wild K9s like coyotes have). Ask your vet to help? Vets went to medical school and are as likely to recommend a non-pharmaceutical based treatment as your doctor is to recommend eating a raw diet and getting energy work done. If you can find a holistic vet, go. Early. As a preventative, not just a cure. Going before something is broke is much better than waiting until you have exhausted drug based regimes. This includes commercial dog food – vets make more money off selling prescription versions of that stuff, made by the same companies, than on seeing clients.
Ian Billinghurst started the BARF (Bioloically Appropriate Raw Foods) diet after researching what dogs ate in their wild natural state. Many companies now make a commercial version so that we owners don’t have to take ‘brave hunter’ to a more primitive level (although raw co-ops do exist for the do-it-yourself martha stewart types) because Surprise! It costs more than slapping a bowl of Kirkland kibble down for your best friend. You may not be able to control what you eat, but you can control what they eat, and they deserve better.
Blessedly, my golden died at 14 of bloat and I wish I had known about the BARF diet for her even though she did not have cancer. My new dogs, Australian Labradoodles, are fed nothing but the raw diet (and even organic until 4 months of age) and they have no health issues.