Bone Cancer Risk by Breed

Osteosarcoma is rare overall — about 0.037% of dogs in a UK primary-care population were diagnosed with it in one year — but the risk isn't spread evenly across breeds. A 2023 study of 905,552 UK dogs found 11 breeds with significantly higher odds than crossbred dogs, led by the Scottish Deerhound at roughly 118 times the odds, and 6 breeds with significantly lower odds. Enter a breed below to see where it falls.

Every breed named in the study

What this can't tell you

Median age at diagnosis in the study was 9.6 years — this is a disease of older dogs, which is why it's on a senior-dog site at all. The numbers above are odds ratios from one national veterinary-record study, not a lifetime-risk percentage for your individual dog, and a breed not listed here means the study didn't find (or didn't test for) a significant difference from crossbred dogs — not that the breed is risk-free. The study also found that dogs at or above their own breed's average weight had higher odds than lighter dogs of the same breed, and that long-headed (dolichocephalic) breeds ran higher odds than flat-faced (brachycephalic) ones. None of that replaces a vet's evaluation of a specific lump, limp, or swelling.