The Irish Wolfhound Foundation Life Cycle Study II

Longitudinal studies, such as the Lifetime Cardiac Study, are extremely valuable to researchers. Unlike mortality studies, gathering data on a dog over the life history provides us information on the diagnosis, course and treatment of disease. It also can provide relationships between disease and lifestyle and between different diseases, including diseases that affect quality of life but do not result in death.

It has been several years since the end of the Lifetime Cardiac Study. The initial statistics provided us with some insight and a number of spin-off studies, including a study to compare our progress with reducing the amount of atrial fibrillation and increasing the age of onset.

We learned a great deal from the Lifetime Cardiac Study, including how difficult it is to follow a thousand dogs for 10 years. As a consequence, the new process will be streamlined. The update forms will be available online and the data will be coordinated with the IWF DNA database so that DNA and clinical information can be used by researchers.

Participation Requirements

Dogs of any age are eligible for this study. The owner will be asked to fill out an entry form for the study and the Venipuncture Form for our DNA database. The dog will get an EKG, and a small sample of blood will be sent to the University of Pennsylvania for DNA extraction and storage. The owner will be given a study ID number for that dog.

The owner will be given the option to give annual update notices by e-mail, mail or telephone. Owners can also update their dog's data online at any time using this form.

In the future, if there is a new study that will benefit from your dog’s participation, you may be asked if a researcher can contact you for additional details.

Study Benefits

Statistical results, updates and any other studies being supported will be published in our newsletter.

Privacy

Owner and identifying information on dogs will not be used in any publication. The IWF does not share or publish personal data with researchers but will provide health data on dogs and associated DNA if there is an applicable research project. If your dog is eligible for a study, the IWF may contact you to ask if you are willing to work with the researcher to provide additional details needed for that study.

Study Forms

Study Entry/Update Form
Venipuncture Consent Form

Study Updates

May 2019
October 2020

Additional Study Details

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