Science reveals why Roy Keane's like a Rottweiler
1 Feb 2023
What does Roy Keane have in common with a Rottweiler? Physiologically, quite a lot – or rather a shared vulnerability to cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture.
Research by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) reveals that certain canine breeds are especially prone to the classic football injury, in particular the Rottweiler, Bichon Frise, West Highland White Terrier and Golden Retriever.
In the human world, cranial crucial ligament ruptures have claimed a number of high profile sporting victims, notably Keane and Alan Shearer. For pet owners, the injury represents a potentially costly medical problem.
So researchers led by the college’s VetCompass Programme, examined some 1,000 CCL rupture cases, together with records for a random selection of 0.5 million other dogs without CCL injury.
Injury scores by breed were then compared against the figure for crossbreed dogs.
The findings were published in a paper ‘Risk Factors for unilateral cruciate ligament rupture diagnosis and for clinical management in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK’, in The Veterinary Journal.
Lead author VetCompass PhD student at RVC Camilla Pegram said it was hoped the team’s research would enable owners and vets to identify dogs at most risk of CCL rupture.
“This study has used the power of Big Data to robustly address the risk factors for cruciate ligament rupture diagnosis and management in dogs,” stated Pegram.
“The factors affecting the decision to surgically or non-surgically treat dogs with cruciate rupture are now clearer, with work underway to address the clinical outcomes of this decision.”
A common complaint among dogs, CCL does not evenly affect all breeds, with Rottweilers having a 3.66 times great likelihood of suffering the injury than a crossbreed dog. This is markedly greater than the other high-scoring breeds: Bichon Frise scored 2.09, West Highland White Terriers 1.80 and Golden Retrievers 1.69.
The average age for rupture occurrence is 7.4 years within the most 6-9 year age group. The report also offers an epidemiological analysis of clinical management treatment choices, helping determine the factors that influence decisions to opt for surgery or non-surgical options.
Medical insurance cover and larger weight were key factors associated with surgical management, dogs over 9 years old and those with one or more major clinical problem were least likely to receive surgical management.
