Increased prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi infections in Bernese Mountain Dogs: a possible breed predisposition

Table 2 Evaluation of replies to questions regarding health status of the dogs by questionnaire

		Bernese Mountain Dogs			Control dogs
		B. burgdorferi serology		total	B. burgdorferi serology				total
		positive	negative		positive		negative
					hair color		hair color
					fair	dark	fair	dark
Does your dog often have attached ticks?¹	Yes	40	18	58	1	2	7	3	13
	No	40	33	73	1	4	24	11	40
Do you perform tick prevention?	Yes	52	38	90	2	6	23	5	36
	No	26	14	40	0	0	7	7	14
Did your dog suffer from infectious diseases?	No	62	47	109	2	3	25	12	42
	Yes	15	4	19	0	3	5	2	10
General health	Normal	80	52	132	2	6	30	14	52
	Abnormal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Endurance	Normal	76	50	126	2	6	28	14	50
	Decreased	4	2	6	0	0	2	0	2
Weight loss	No	75	52	127	2	6	30	14	52
	Yes	3	1	4	0	0	0	0	0
Skin normal	Yes	69	48	117	1	6	28	14	49
	No	9	4	13	1	0	2	0	3
Appetite	Normal	72	50	122	1	6	30	14	51
	Decreased	5	2	7	0	0	0	0	0
	Increased	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1
Thirst	Normal	72	52	124	2	6	29	14	51
	Decreased	5	0	5	0	0	1	0	1
	Increased	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Vomiting	No	77	52	129	2	6	29	14	51
	Yes	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1
Coughing	No	77	52	129	2	6	30	14	52
	Yes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Urine volume	Normal	74	52	126	2	6	30	14	52
	Decreased	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	Increased	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Defecation	Normal	76	51	76	2	6	30	14	52
	Diarrhea	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Lameness	No	46	36	46	1	6	24	14	45
	Yes	5	3	5	1	0	6	0	7
Fever	No	80	53	80	2	6	30	14	52
	Yes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edema	No	51	39	51	2	6	30	14	52
	Yes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

¹Significant difference between Bernese Mountain Dogs and control dogs (p = 0.01).

ISSN: 1746-6148