A retrospective study on whelping seasonality of the Cirneco dell’Etna dog in Sicily, Italy

ABSTRACT

Previous to this study, there is no data relating to the reproductive physiology of the Cirneco dell’Etna breed. The birth date of 141 bitches and 104 sires registered at the National Agency of the Italian Kennel Club (ENCI) from all Sicilian breeders, and data related their fertile matings, which produced 266 whelps over a 14-year period, (2009–2022) were collected. Total whelping produced 1069 pups. The mean bitch age at first whelping was 39.13 ± 21.7 months and the mean litter size was 3.84 ± 2.08. The birth period of the bitches and sires was significantly influenced by the month of the year (p < 0.01), as was the distribution of the first (p < 0.05) and subsequent whelping periods (p < 0.01). Whelping distributions show a significant difference between the highest peak in April (which roughly corresponds to a period of heat in February) and in July (which roughly corresponds to a period of heat in May) and the lowest peak in March. No influence of month on litter size and sex ratio was found. Available data suggests that some ancient breeds such as the Cirneco dell’Etna may show seasonal patterns as a vestige of the stricter seasonality of its closest relative the wolf.

KEYWORDS:

• Seasonality
• age
• dog
• whelping
• Cirneco dell’Etna

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Dr Jonah Lloyd for his assistance in English correction.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: Daniela Alberghina, Luigi Liotta. Acquisition of data: Carmelo Cavallo. Analyzed the data: Mauro Gioè. Wrote the paper: Daniela Alberghina and Luigi Liotta.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.