Gender‐Related Differences in Pelvic Morphometrics of the Retriever Dog Breed

Summary This study presents the results from a morphometric analysis of 52 dry Retriever dog pelvic bones (30 male, 22 female). A total of 20 parameters were measured using an osteometric board and digital vernier caliper. Six parameters were found to be significantly higher ( P  <   0.05) in males than in females, while one parameter was significantly higher ( P  <   0.05) in females than in males. However, none of the measured parameters demonstrated clear cut‐off values with no intersect between males and females. Therefore, we generated a stepwise discriminant analysis from all 20 parameters in order to develop a possible working equation to discriminate gender from a dog pelvic bone. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to create a discrimination function: Y  = [82.1* PS / AII ] − [50.72* LIS / LI ] − [23.09* OTD / SP ] + [7.69* SP / IE ] + [6.52* IC / OW ] + [7.67* ISA / OW ] + [20.77* AII / PS ] + [504.71* OW / ISA ] − [90.84* PS / ISA ] − [148.95], which showed an accuracy rate of 86.27%. This is the first study presenting an equation/function for use in discriminating gender from a dog's pelvic measurements. The results can be used in veterinary forensic anthropology and also show that a dog's pelvis presents sexual dimorphisms, as in humans.