ArticleCompanion animal health and genetics2025
Modern pedigree dogs in the United Kingdom Kennel Club: a journey through shifting population landscapes and demography.
Article in Companion animal health and genetics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pedigree structure, inbreeding, and survival analysis in an Irish Wolfhound cohort.Companion animal health and genetics · 2026Article
- Quantitative genetic analysis of respiratory function and related traits in Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs.PloS one · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe limited genetic diversity in pedigree dog populations and the associated increased burden of inherited disease have led to calls for the development and implementation of effective population management strategies. Such strategies must be rooted in a thorough understanding of the genetic reserves and demographics of each population to be managed. Although numerous studies have examined the genetic diversity within various dog breeds, information on the structure of breeding populations and the characteristics of the dogs used for breeding is scarce. Furthermore, the few existing estimates typically represent the most common breeds, which may not be directly relevant for many of the numerically smaller breeds. We examined the demographic parameters of all 222 pedigree breeds recognised by The Kennel Club (KC) in the UK between 1990 and 2021. A meta-analysis was used to test whether all breeds can be represented by a single pedigree dog population, establish reference values for that population and determine the presence of significant variability between breeds.
resultsOverall, the KC-registered pedigree dog population is declining in size, and the percentage of dogs used in breeding is low. Dogs which have been successful in activities such as conformation shows and field trials have been popular in breeding. However, their use in breeding is in decline, partly in favour of imported dogs. The number of imported dogs, and their use in breeding have increased over time, particularly following amendments to the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) in 2012. Across analyses, the within-breed estimates varied significantly, with the proportion of variation attributed to true variability between breeds exceeding 90% for the majority of estimates.
conclusionThe results of this study provide reference values which can be used to describe the demographics of the KC-registered pedigree dog population and its changes over the last three decades. However, the significantly high variability observed between breeds does not support the hypothesis of a single pedigree dog population and underlines that population management strategies must be tailored to the unique circumstances of each breed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.