Male dogs five times more likely to develop nose cancer
MALE dogs are up to five times more likely than females to catch a contagious cancer on the nose or mouth, vets warn.
Canine transmissible venereal tumours (CTVT) are infectious and can spread when male dogs sniff females. Study author Dr Andrea Strakova, a vet from Cambridge University, said: "We found that a very significant proportion of the nose or mouth tumours were in males."
For the study, in the journal Veterinary Record, researchers reviewed almost 2,000 global cases, with 84 percent of nose or mouth tumours in male dogs.
Although not common in the UK, case numbers have been rising.
Dr Strakova added: "Although it can be diagnosed and treated fairly easily, vets in the UK may not be as familiar with the signs of the disease."
Symptoms are snoring, sneezing, difficulty breathing, nasal deformation or discharge.