posted by Tess on Sep 11
It may sound a bit strange but the way your dog’s head is shaped has a direct correlation with the risk of developing a nasal tumor. A dog with a long head is more susceptible to nasal tumors than dogs with a short broad heads. The benchmark is a cephalic index, which is the ratio (in percent) of the maximum breadth to the maximum length of the skull. A cephalic index of 75 or less is considered to be a long head.
The logic for a long head to be more susceptible to cancers is simple. The long head has a longer nasal passage and therefore, provides a larger area for environmental carcinogenic substances to accumulate. These substances like smoke from tobacco, indoor coal or kerosene combustion and flea sprays can harm the nasal passage significantly. Breeds with short heads are associated with abnormal narrowing of nasal passageway and are typically mouth breathers. This reduces the risk and the exposure of the spongy bones of the nasal passages to environmental carcinogens is reduced.
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