Frequently Asked Questions

Data Commons is an open, free database available to the research and educational communities. Qualified individuals can gain access to data generated by the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, one of the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal studies ever conducted in veterinary health research.

Data Commons provides global access to historical data from the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study cohort, covering 11 key subject areas: activity, behavior, dental, disease diagnoses, diet, environment, grooming, geographical locations, medications, physical exams and reproduction. 

Data Commons is only available to academic researchers with approved credentials, which includes anyone with an affiliation with a university, nonprofit or government agency. After agreeing to the data use agreement you’ll be guided through a series of steps to start the approval process.

If you do not yet have an account, please visit the Log In / Register page.

Your login credentials are valid as long as the associated email address is still active. If you change institutions, we ask that you re-submit a request for access.

The agreement details publication requirements and how the data can and cannot be used. We encourage everyone to read the document closely and contact the Foundation with any questions.  In general, the Data Commons can be used freely for non-commercial research (please contact us directly if you want to use the Data Commons for a commercial project).  We do not restrict publication rights, but we do request that the Foundation be acknowledged in publications and we ask that we be sent a manuscript prior to publication for review.

The data can be downloaded as a .csv file. You’ll have an opportunity to customize which data you wish to download.

For login, password or other technical problems, contact us. We’ll respond to your email within 48 hours.

We cannot provide analytic help, but if you have general questions about the data you can contact us here.

We’re happy to work with you on an individual basis. Please contact us for more information on data access. Send your request and information by clicking here.

There is questionnaire data completed by owners and veterinarians as well as samples and clinical pathology data collected. Below is a graphic explaining what a study year looks like for each participant.

EDTA blood, serum, urine, feces, hair and toenails are collected for the biorepository. All the biorepository samples are stored at -80OC until use. Serum, urine and blood are aliquoted prior to freezing. For clinical pathology testing, whole blood in EDTA tubes, serum, urine and feces are collected. These are used to run a complete blood count, serum biochemistry, T4, heartworm antigen, urinalysis and fecal parasite detection. 

A malignancy can be detected by the study team in one of three ways: 1) use of a biopsy kit connected to our diagnostic lab account, 2) direct communication from an owner or veterinarian, 3) social media posts using identifying information about the dog. Once notified, the operations team requests a malignancy related questionnaire to be completed by the veterinarian.  

This is a product of the cleaning and summarization of the data into Data Commons. For each dietary additive, the owner could indicate one or more specific added products from a checklist or add another product of their own. For example, when asked if the dog’s diet included any added dairy the possible answers included: cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ice cream/frozen yogurt, milk, soy milk, yogurt and other. If the owner selected multiple of these answers, the Data Commons algorithm summarizes the answer as various.

Each dog has a randomly generated unique ID. This ID is static across all datasets and users within the Data Commons system. It is also static over time.

The “for study year” option is a Boolean yes/no for if the dog had that condition for the study year requested. It also contains the specific responses from veterinarians and owners who selected “other” and provided additional information.  

The “through study year” option is a summary of the data for all the dogs up to the current study year available. Additional text provided under “other – specify” will not be available. The “through study year” option is a Boolean yes/no for if the dog EVER had that condition throughout the study.  

We are not currently accepting new proposals for acquisition of additional data or specimens. Please check back in late 2021 for further information. You may contact us here for more information.

Enrollment took place from 2012 to 2015 with a total of 3,044 dogs enrolled. In order to enroll, dogs must have been between 6 months and 2 years of age, provide a two-generation pedigree, live in the contiguous United States, and be deemed free of life-threatening diseases by a veterinarian. Each enrolled dog had a baseline study visit, laboratory testing and had questionnaires completed by the owner and veterinarian.