Title | Prevalence of gastric lesions in racing Alaskan sled dogs. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2003 |
Authors | Davis, MS, Willard, MD, Nelson, SL, Mandsager, RE, McKiernan, BS, Mansell, JK, Lehenbauer, TW |
Journal | Journal of veterinary internal medicine / American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine |
Volume | 17 |
Issue | 3 |
Pagination | 311-4 |
Date Published | 2003 May-Jun |
Keywords | Physiological, Stress |
Abstract | Human and equine athletes are reported to have a high prevalence of gastric disease, and anecdotal evidence suggests a similar phenomenon applies to racing sled dogs. To investigate the prevalence of gastric disease in racing sled dogs, we conducted 2 gastroscopy studies on dogs competing in the annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race. A pilot study of dogs that were either dropped from the 2000 Iditarod Sled Dog Race because of illness or that finished the race indicated that, approximately 5 days after competing, 10 of 28 dogs (35%) had endoscopic evidence of gastric ulceration, erosion, or hemorrhage. The next year, an endoscopic study of 73 dogs participating in the 2001 Iditarod race was performed in order to evaluate a larger population of dogs. Data from 70 of these dogs could be used; 34 (48.5%) had ulceration, erosion, gastric hemorrhage, or some combination of these findings. When this group of 70 dogs was compared retrospectively to a control group of 87 dogs presented to the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, the Iditarod sled dogs had a significantly higher prevalence (P = .049) of gastric lesions. These findings suggest that, similar to athletes of other species, elite canine athletes have an increased prevalence of gastric disease compared to the canine population at large. |