{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/143617"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/143617","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Companion dog nutrition epidemiology","abstract":"Dr. Jan Sargeant once said, \"the difference between statisticians and epidemiologists is that statisticians are concerned with random error, while epidemiologists are concerned with systematic error.\" The purpose of this thesis is to identify common causes of systematic error in canine nutrition research, especially studies conducted in large populations of dogs, to exemplify such examples through several analyses, and to provide contrasting examples of how to conduct population-based studies which minimize bias, and to further describe best practices specific to dietary exposures and health outcomes research in companion dogs. Owner factors are identified as likely confounders for diet and health outcomes, which are difficult to control for outside of randomized dietary assignment. Reverse-causation bias is also demonstrated to be a significant factor limiting the validity of cross-sectional analyses conducted here, therefore repeated measures analyses should be strongly considered in the field of companion dog nutrition epidemiology.","abstract_html":"Dr. Jan Sargeant once said, "the difference between statisticians and epidemiologists is that statisticians are concerned with random error, while epidemiologists are concerned with systematic error." The purpose of this thesis is to identify common causes of systematic error in canine nutrition research, especially studies conducted in large populations of dogs, to exemplify such examples through several analyses, and to provide contrasting examples of how to conduct population-based studies which minimize bias, and to further describe best practices specific to dietary exposures and health outcomes research in companion dogs. Owner factors are identified as likely confounders for diet and health outcomes, which are difficult to control for outside of randomized dietary assignment. Reverse-causation bias is also demonstrated to be a significant factor limiting the validity of cross-sectional analyses conducted here, therefore repeated measures analyses should be strongly considered in the field of companion dog nutrition epidemiology.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["O'Brien, Janice Susan"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences","degree_department":"Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Ruple, Audrey"],"committee_members":["Volpe, Stella Lucia","Tolbert, Katie","Lee, Lisa M."],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-07-08","date_published":"2026-07-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:56:01Z","subjects":["dog","nutrition","diet","epidemiology","bias","confounding"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:46410"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:46410","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/143617","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Ruple, Audrey"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Volpe, Stella Lucia","Tolbert, Katie","Lee, Lisa M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["O'Brien, Janice Susan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-07-09T08:01:15Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-07-09T08:01:15Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-07-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["dog","nutrition","diet","epidemiology","bias","confounding"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:46410"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/143617"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Dr. Jan Sargeant once said, \"the difference between statisticians and epidemiologists is that statisticians are concerned with random error, while epidemiologists are concerned with systematic error.\" The purpose of this thesis is to identify common causes of systematic error in canine nutrition research, especially studies conducted in large populations of dogs, to exemplify such examples through several analyses, and to provide contrasting examples of how to conduct population-based studies which minimize bias, and to further describe best practices specific to dietary exposures and health outcomes research in companion dogs. Owner factors are identified as likely confounders for diet and health outcomes, which are difficult to control for outside of randomized dietary assignment. Reverse-causation bias is also demonstrated to be a significant factor limiting the validity of cross-sectional analyses conducted here, therefore repeated measures analyses should be strongly considered in the field of companion dog nutrition epidemiology."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["This thesis highlights how limited the field of companion dog nutrition still is despite mounting evidence of the importance of nutrition as it relates to health outcomes in dogs. Observational studies remain useful, but must be interpreted cautiously, as factors like diet changes just prior to or after diagnosis (reverse-causation) and owner decision-making can distort results. Owner decisions and how they impact the results of studies are difficult to control without large randomized controlled trials. Overall, this work demonstrates the need for better-designed, long-term studies using large populations of dogs in order to understand how diet affects dog health."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Companion dog nutrition epidemiology"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Ruple, Audrey"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Volpe, Stella Lucia","Tolbert, Katie","Lee, Lisa M."],"dc:contributor.department":["Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences"],"dc:creator":["O'Brien, Janice Susan"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-07-09T08:01:15Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-07-09T08:01:15Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-07-08"],"dc:description.abstract":["Dr. Jan Sargeant once said, \"the difference between statisticians and epidemiologists is that statisticians are concerned with random error, while epidemiologists are concerned with systematic error.\" The purpose of this thesis is to identify common causes of systematic error in canine nutrition research, especially studies conducted in large populations of dogs, to exemplify such examples through several analyses, and to provide contrasting examples of how to conduct population-based studies which minimize bias, and to further describe best practices specific to dietary exposures and health outcomes research in companion dogs. 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