Veterinary Big Data: When Data Goes to the Dogs

Dogs provide an ideal model for study as they have the most phenotypic diversity and known naturally occurring diseases of all non-human land mammals. Thus, data related to dog health present many opportunities to discover insights into health and disease outcomes. Here, we describe several sources of veterinary medical big data that can be used in research. These sources include medical records from primary medical care centers or referral hospitals, medical claims data from animal insurance companies, and datasets constructed specifically for research purposes. No data source provides information that is without limitations, but large-scale, prospective, longitudinally collected data from dog populations are ideal for further research as they offer many advantages over other data sources.