This paper presents a survey on inbreeding (F), phenotypic traits, coat colours and prevalence of health problems in a population of English Cocker Spaniels. The aims were to analyse the health and genetic variability of the population and to check whether the population falls within the standards for the breed from a morphological point of view. In addition, we studied the influence of F on phenotypic traits and on the occurrence of various genetic diseases (progressive retinal atrophy, familiar nephropathy, hip dysplasia, patellar luxation and the juvenile renal dysplasia). All data were collected in relation to 83 adult (mean age 4.42 ± 2.528 years) dogs (20 males and 63 females) born in the period 2011–2018 and belonging to one Italian breeder. The F of each dog and other genealogical parameters were calculated. The prevalence of each highlighted disease within the population was performed. ANOVA was used to test the differences in F values among the animals subdivided into different groups (healthy and un-healthy dogs, coat colour, birth year and sex). Differences between sexes in morphological traits and proportions were also analysed showing sexual dimorphism. The predominant colours were Blue-Roan (30.12%) and Red (26.51%). We found an excellent health status and a good genetic variability of the analysed population. The only disorder that caused concern was juvenile renal dysplasia (26.51%, 95% CI 14.27–38.74%). A relationship was suggested between inbreeding and the disorder as F was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in sick (F = 0.068) than in healthy animals (F = 0.014).

中文翻译：

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英国可卡犬的近亲繁殖，表型特征，毛色和健康问题的普遍程度：意大利的首次调查

本文对英国可卡犬种群进行了近亲繁殖（F），表型性状，毛色和健康问题患病率的调查。目的是分析种群的健康状况和遗传变异性，并从形态学角度检查种群是否符合该品种的标准。另外，我们研究了F的影响表型性状和各种遗传疾病的发生（渐进性视网膜萎缩，熟悉的肾病，髋关节发育不良，pa骨脱位和青少年肾发育不良）。所有数据均收集于2011-2018年间出生的83只成年犬（平均年龄4.42±2.528岁）（20只雄性和63只雌性），属于一只意大利饲养员。计算每只狗的F和其他家谱参数。进行了人群中每种突出疾病的患病率。方差分析用于检验F的差异分为不同组的动物（健康和不健康的狗，毛色，出生年份和性别）中的值。还分析了性别之间在性状特征和比例方面的差异，显示出性别二态性。主要颜色为蓝罗兰色（30.12％）和红色（26.51％）。我们发现被分析的人群具有良好的健康状况和良好的遗传变异性。引起关注的唯一疾病是青少年肾发育不良（26.51％，95％CI 14.27–38.74％）。由于近亲病（F  = 0.068）的F显着高于健康动物（F  = 0.014）的F（P  <0.01），因此表明近亲繁殖与疾病的关系。