Dogs: When Cancer Comes With a Pedigree

From WSJ:

Cancer is all too common in dogs, especially golden retrievers: 60% of them die of it, more than twice the average rate for all breeds.

All breeds have their health scourges. Bulldogs have respiratory problems; dachshunds have back issues; Labrador retrievers have heart disease and diabetes and even with a much lower rate of cancer, die at roughly the same age as goldens.

All purebred dogs are essentially inbred. And the genes become more concentrated with each generation, because most pet dogs aren't bred and breeders select only a few dogs with the most desirable traits to reproduce.

References:
The Cancer Risk for Purebred Dogs - WSJ.com.

How a Doctor Almost Killed Her Dog - ibuprofen, the key ingredient in Motrin, poisons dogs. NYTimes.