There were 373 members of the club who responded to the survey (respondents).
Since 676 members were sent surveys, we had a response rate of 55%, which
is acceptable but lower than ideal. Keep in mind that a 55% response rate
means that almost half the people who received the survey did not reply.
There is no way to know if they did not reply because of 1) too time consuming;
2) too many dogs to include; 3) too many health problems; 4) very few or
no health problems; 5) have not owned dogs in the last 4 years; 6) some other
unknown reason. These possible reasons are why high response rates are
so important. Included in the survey was information on 2476 adult English
Cocker Spaniels.
The first page of tables includes information on the dogs included in the
study, most of whom were parti-colored. Sixty three percent of respondents
were breeders who bred an average of one litter per year. With 4 puppies
per litter, 1 litter per year, 236 breeders and 4 years of data, approximately
1888 puppies were included in the survey results. Cryptorchidism was the
most common breeding related problem with 107 male dogs affected.
Blood disorders were very rare. Bone and disk problems were also fairly
uncommon (hip dysplasia occurred in less than 2% of the dogs). One hundred
and twenty seven dogs had some kind of cancer with about 40% having a type
of cancer that was probably malignant. The exact classification of malignant
and benign was difficult to make; fibrosarcoma is generally classified as
malignant but was listed as benign and lymphoma may refer to the benign
or malignant form of the disease.
Most dogs died from old age (30%) with cancer a distant second and liver
failure a very distant third cause. Cardiovascular disease was very uncommon.
Allergies of many types were relatively common (92/2476 or 4%). The variety
of ways to describe allergies makes it difficult to classify them more precisely.
For example, inhalant allergies may include allergies to pollen, mites and
mold. Nearly half the dogs were BAER tested. Ear infections were common
with more than 6% of dogs reported to be affected.
The most common endocrine disease was hypothyroidism, probably consistent
with the general frequency of these diseases in the dog population. Hypothyroidism
also had a much younger median age at onset. Eye problems were relatively
common (in 268 or 11% of dogs). Stomach and intestinal problems were fairly
uncommon. Dogs with seizures were nearly 50:50 male:female with 59 total
cases. The age at onset is classic for idiopathic epilepsy.
Bite and teeth problems were relatively common. Aggression was most often
seen toward other dogs rather than people. There were 13 dogs with familial
renal disease.
Pica was the most common problem in the list of owner questions at the
conclusion of the survey. Eighty-seven percent of respondent s indicated
a special account for health research was important and 60% indicated that
they have or plan to contribute to this account. Almost half responded that
they had contacted a member of the Health Education Committee. None of the
respondents reported that they felt health concerns were of little importance.
This may mean that people who did not respond to the survey are the ones
who do not feel health concerns are important and either do not have health
problems or are not worried about health problems. Less than 40% of respondents
felt that breeders were honest in their evaluations of health problems in
their dogs. This seems to often be the perception among breeders.
Relative to some of the previous health surveys, the English Cocker Spaniel
seems to be a fairly healthy breed. Data on color and sex were collected
and presented in the tables. Please contact me for further analyses of
specific health problems and their relationship to sex and color.
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