Canine Athlete & Performance Dogs

Canine sports medicine is an established veterinary specialty and field of study. Since the early days, the AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) has been committed to being at the forefront of this field - providing grants for cutting-edge research into orthopedic concerns, proper nutrition and conditioning to achieve maximum performance while preventing injury, and innovative rehabilitation techniques.

Since its founding in 1995, CHF and its donors have invested more than $2.8 million to advance the study of canine orthopedic disease and topics related to the health of performance and working dogs.


Why Study It?

  • All dogs are athletes. Whether they chase squirrels in the yard, compete in agility, hunt with their owner, or enjoy neighborhood walks, they deserve the best care and treatment to help maximize their enjoyment in life.

  • Physiologic adaptations for exercise and sport are often species-specific. Techniques adapted from human and equine sports medicine must be validated and tailored to the canine athlete.

  • Cruciate ligament rupture is one of the most common orthopedic diagnoses in small animal practice and represents a significant financial burden for owners of affected dogs. A better understanding of the risk factors and preventive and treatment strategies for this condition will significantly impact quality of life for these families.

  • Recovery from neurologic or orthopedic surgery is faster and more complete when rehabilitation therapy is added to the treatment plan. Additional study will refine and augment these treatment techniques.

  • Breeding, raising, and training service and working dogs requires a significant financial investment. Studying ways to breed healthier dogs and keep them working longer benefits everyone - including the dogs.

Grants

Current CHF-Funded Studies

 03076 The Effect of Overweight and Obesity on Adult Stem Cell Function for Regenerative Therapies in Dogs
 03227 Genetic Testing for Cruciate Ligament Rupture Using Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) Prediction
 02851-A Development of Regional Anesthesia Techniques to Treat Chronic Painful Conditions of the Stifle and Elbow in Dogs
 03181-A Characterization of Canine CD39 and CD73 for Use in Regenerative Medicine
 03068-A AGILE (AGility Innovations Leveraging Electronics) - An Initial Study of Technology for Quantifying Canine Agility-specific Activity
 02849-A Development and Validation of a New Body Condition Scoring System for use in Canine Athletes
 02868-A Characterization of Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Properties of Canine Culture-expanded Articular Chondrocytes
 02682-A The Effect of a Modified Approach on Early Weight Bearing in Dogs Following a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy for Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture
 02107 Landmark Clinical Trial to Establish the Evidence-Based Use of Regenerative Medicine to Treat Tendon Injury in Dogs
 02624 Embracing Polygenicity of Common Complex Disease in Dogs: Genome-wide Association of Cruciate Ligament Rupture
 2646 Effect of Hyperthermia on Skeletal Muscle Energy Efficiency
 02610-A The Role of Motilin Signaling in Canine Osteoarthritis
 02400-MOU Basis of Dwarfism in Great Pyrenees
 02275 Disease Risks Associated with Spay and Neuter: A Breed-Specific, Gender-Specific Perspective
 02229-A TPLO Surgery and Recovery: A Comparison of Arthroscopy and Arthrotomy
 02226-A Pilot Clinical Trial to Test the Efficacy of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Over-Expressing IL-10 to Treat Osteoarthritis in Elbows of Senior Dogs
 2109 Studying Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy (HOD) In Irish Setter Dogs
 02142-A Development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Non-Invasive Tool to Accurately Evaluate Elbow Dysplasia
 2120 Investigating Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy in Weimaraner Dogs
 01828 Mapping of Genetic Risk Factors for Canine Hip Dysplasia
 02078 Development of a Regenerative Medicine Technique to Treat Cartilage Disorders in Dogs
 01782 Defining the Elements of Successful Cranial Cruciate Ligament Repair
 01762 Use of Plasma-Derived Growth Factors to Heal Cruciate Rupture
 01901-A Identifying the Gene Responsible for Dwarfism in Malamutes
 01893-A A Novel, Practical, and Cost-Effective Treatment for Canine Arthritis
 01892-A Development of Novel Knee Braces As an Alternative to Surgical Intervention in Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease
 01856-A Identifying the Best Source of Stem Cells for Treatment of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease
 01869-A Addendum to 1584: Creation of a Conformation Score To Evaluate Susceptibility to Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease
 01783-A Mechanical strength of three patella-ligament-tibia allograft fixation techniques for ruptured cranial cruciate ligament repair
 01718-A Preventing Osteoarthritis after Elbow Dysplasia Surgery
 01584 Creation of a Conformation Score to Evaluate Susceptibility to Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease
 1424 Genetic Analysis of Cleft Palate/Lip
 01533-A Development of a Canine Stifle Computer Model for Evaluation of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Deficiency
 1312 Association mapping study of Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease in the West Highland White Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, and Cairn Terriers
 1311 Genome-wide association mapping study of hypertrophic osteodystrophy in Irish Setters
 01364-A Heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) as a biomarker for acclimation to, and performance in high level physical activity in pure-bred military working dogs
 01063-A Knee Kinematics, Kinetics and Neuromuscular Patterns in Labrador Retrievers at Low Risk to Cranial Cruciate Disease
 01062-A Knee Kinematics, Kinetics and Neuromuscular Patterns in Labrador Retrievers Predisposed to Cranial Cruciate Disease
 01186-A Evaluation of the Soft Tissue Compartments of the Canine Manus
 01066-A Predictive Serum Biomarkers for Canine Endurance Exercise
 01037-A The Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for the Diagnosis of Meniscal Lesions in Dogs with Naturally Occurring Cranial Cruciate Ligament Insufficiency
 00741 Polymicrobial Bacteria-Associated Inflammatory Stifle Arthritis/Degenerative Cranial Cruciate Ligament Rupture in Dogs
 01019-A Characteristics of Relaxin Expression in Dogs with Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease
 752 Tissue Expression and Breed-Related Pharmocogenetics of Cytochrome P450 3A12
 00833-A Synoviocyte Phenotypes and Antibodies Associated with Partially Disrupted Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligaments
 792 Dermatomyositis in the Collie
 00795-A Efficacy of Coxofemoral Denervation for the Treatment of Chronic Hip Dysplasia and Pain in Dogs: An Objective Analysis Using Ground Reaction Forces
 600 Linkage Analysis of Craniomandibular Osteopathy (CMO) in Terrier Breeds
 580 Patella Luxation in Dogs: A Molecular Approach
 00451-A Histological and Immunohistochemical Characterization of Synoviocytes Surrounding the Normal Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament
 00344-A Tacrolimus 0.1% Ointment in the Treatment of Canine Familial Dermatomyositis
 00294-A Enhancement of Current Background Information and DNA Material Necessary for the Future Development of a Molecular Genetics Study in Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs with Dermatomyositis
 2616 Molecular Analysis of Contributory Factors of Osteoarthritis in Canine Hip Dysplasia
 00325-A A Candidate Gene Approach for Skeletal Dysplasia in the Newfoundland, Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
 247 The Study of the Genetics of Cranial Cruciate Ligament Disease in the Dog
 00212B Development of a New Resource for Positional Cloning of Hip Dysplasia Genes: A High Density SNP Map of Canine Chromosome One
 000212AT Development of a New Resource for Positional Cloning of Hip Dysplasia Genes: A High Density SNP Map of Canine Chromosome One
 0002405 Inhibition of Collagenolysis in Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament During Rupture
 2628 The Effects of Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture and Transcutaneous Cranial Electrical Stimulation on Isoflurane Requirements in Dogs: A Comparative Study
 2460 Molecular Genetic Characterization of Mucopolysaccharidosis Type VI for the Development of a Carrier Test and Relationship to Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
 0022113 Radiographic Analysis of Tibial Plateau Angle Development in Maturing Labrador Retriever Dogs
 2030 Development of a Dna-Based Test for Forelimb Anomaly in Newfoundlands: The Pedigree Collection Phase
 2045 Bone Mineral Densitometry in Dogs: Effect of Body Size and Exercise on Bone Size and Bone Density
 1836 Identifying the Genetic Cause of Canine Hip Dysplasia
 1654 Mediodistal to Lateroproximal Radiographic View for Early Diagnosis of Fragmentation of the Medial Coronoid Process in Dogs
 1628 The Genetics of Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy in the Weimaraner
 1614 Development of a DNA-Based Diagnostic Test for Craniomandibular Osteopathy of the Cairn Terrier, West Highland White Terrier, and Scottish Terrier Breeds

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Participate in canine health research by providing samples or by enrolling in a clinical trial. Samples are needed from healthy dogs and dogs affected by specific diseases.

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