For his research, Hugo visited the La Brea museum in Los Angeles, which gave him permission to study its collection of skeletal remains found in the La Brea tar pits.
“During my first visit, I concentrated on stifle diseases like cranial cruciate ligament rupture, which are very common in our modern-day dog companions.
"But in addition to cruciate disease, I also found OCD (osteochondritis dissecans) defects in the stifles and shoulders – which is again very common in modern dogs."
"My second visit was more focused on the changes in the spine of the dire wolf and the Sabre-toothed cat.”
"Some dire wolves had cruciate ligament ruptures, but it was uncommon compared to the most affected dog breeds.
"This is very similar to modern-day grey wolves which also suffer rarely from cruciate damage.
"In contrast, the prevalence of stifle OCD in these fossilised remains is amazingly high, especially in the sabre-toothed cat.
"This could indicate some degree of inbreeding, a factor which is predicated for species close to extinction.
“Malformations of the lumbosacral area are linked to inbreeding in modern grey wolves, and I found that the sabre-toothed cat also had a high prevalence of the same malformations we see in these wild modern inbred wolves, and some dog breeds today."
Hugo concluded: "The fact that some of the most common joint diseases in growing dogs can be found in the Ice Age under circumstances which could have caused inbreeding should alert pet owners and breeders to look out for inbreeding in our dog breeds.
"Careful evaluation and monitoring of dog breeding using DNA analysis could reduce painful joint damage."
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