Vertebral heart scale of common large breeds of dogs in Iran

In order to assess the influence of breed on the vertebral heart scale (VHS) of dogs, the VHS was measured and compared in left to right (LL) and right to left lateral (RL) views. For all dogs (n=56), the mean VHS on the RL radiographs [9.7 vertebra (v)] was significantly larger than the mean VHS on the LL radiographs (9.6 v) (p=0.047). Doberman dogs had higher mean values of the VHS in LL (9.9 v) and RL (10.1 v) views than all the other breeds, except in RL radiographs VHS of native dogs, although these differences were not significant. Native dogs had the lowest VHS in LL (9.4 v) and RL (9.4 v) radiographs than all of the other breeds. The mean VHS values for German shepherd dogs were 9.6 and 9.8 v and for mixed breeds of German shepherd and Doberman were 9.6 and 9.7 v in LL and RL radiographs, respectively. The mean VHS values in LL views were significantly smaller than in the RL view in Doberman and German shepherd dogs. No significant differences could be found between the VHS of LL and RL radiographs in mixed breed and native dogs.