Male Irish red setters, boxers, bulldogs, bull mastiffs and fox terriers are more likely to develop urinary incontinence than the males of other dog breeds, according to new research.
Furthermore, purebred male dogs generally are 1.45 times more likely to suffer from involuntary leakages compared with their crossbred counterparts, suggesting a likely genetic component to the disease.
The Royal Veterinary College’s (RVC) VetCompass™ programme studied anonymised clinical data from 119 first opinion veterinary practices across England and found that one in every 100 male dogs is affected by urinary incontinence. Irish red setters were found to particularly suffer, with one in 12 of them affected, and the breed is 14 times more likely to have leakages than a crossbred dog.
Follow the link to read the article in full on the RVC website