Preliminary study of guard hair morphology in four dog breeds

Background -Morphological differences between mammalian hair types are useful for species distinction. Differences in animal hair structure are observed between species, whereas there may be breed differences within a species. Hypothesis -Guard hair structure may vary between different dog breeds. Animals -Hair samples were collected from 73 dogs of four breed types (wire-haired Dachshund, Labrador retriever, German shepherd dog and Yorkshire terrier). Methods -Hair was measured and analysed by scanning electron microscopy. The following were evaluated: hair thickness; medulla to hair cross-sectional area ratio; scale density, pattern and margins; and medulla shape, composition and structure. Results -There were significant differences in all measured parameters between breeds. Conclusions and clinical importance -These study findings may be useful for the study of classifying dog breeds and for forensic identification of a dog breed through hair sampling.