Careau's research indicates that "More obedient dogs like German shepherds and bichon frisés live long for their size...Hard-to-train dogs like beagles and Pomeranians generally die earlier than do other, similarly sized breeds." He found that longevity was related to energy expenditure--for example, Labs tend to expend less energy than other dogs their size. Franjo Weissing of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands says that this is a little like the live-fast-die-young saying. What does that mean for mutts like me? Sure we all know a lab that has low-energy expenditure (read:lazy), but what does that mean for poorly behaved german shepherds or well behaved beagles? I think the research is inconclusive...
Wags to my 12 year old buddy Shep (a perfectly behaved german shepherd) for the tip. [Image courtesy of PhotoBucket]
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My dogs say Vincent Careau is in the pocket of people who like cleanliness and structure in their lives. They also feel there is a conspiracy between dog trainers and companies who make collars, leashes and other restraining devices to oppress the masses and depress the spirit of dogs. They are sure that if they "dig" into Dr. Careau's project, they will find that it was supported by Cat Fancy Magazine and cat lovers from all over the world.
ReplyDeleteAs their human (and a dog trainer), I told them to go lay down!
(this was said tongue-in-cheek and was not meant to cast aspersions against Dr. Careau and his reserch).