Can environmental enrichment reduce stress in captive dolphins?

Delfiner i fångenskap lever i en miljö som långt ifrån liknar deras naturliga habitat. Djuren hålls i pooler av olika storlekar och djurgruppernas sammansättning speglar ofta inte gruppsammansättningen i det vilda. Dagarna är fyllda av rutiner, och många delfiner tränas för att delta i shower. Hållningen påverkar delfinernas beteenden, och leder till att de börjar uppvisa beteendemönster skiljda från de vilda delfinernas. Vissa beteenden utesluts, till exempel födosöksbeteenden, medan andra beteenden istället förstärks. Stress kan uppkomma då djuren försöker anpassa sig till miljön de lever i. Många faktorer i miljön kan fungera som stressorer för delfiner i fångenskap, men det som förmodligen orsakar mest stress är avsaknaden av möjligheten att kontrollera omgivningen. Detta kan leda till att delfinerna börjar uppvisa stereotypier, vilka är repetiviva beteendemönster som tycks sakna funktion och mening. Eftersom stereotypierna uppkommer på grund av stress kan de vara indikatorer på dålig djurvälfärd. Det finns olika metoder för att minska förekomsten av stereotypier. Det enda som eliminerar den underliggande orsaken till dessa är miljöberikning utifrån delfinernas behov. Detta kan göras på flera olika sätt, bland annat genom att ändra utformningen på inhängnaden eller genom att tillföra berikande objekt (t.ex. bollar). För att veta att berikning uppnåtts är det viktigt att utvärdera djurvälfärden före och efter berikningen tillfördes. I nuläget finns inga standardmetoder för hur detta ska göras. Dock finns förslag till att man kan mäta vissa fysiologiska parametrar eller genomföra beteendestudier för att indikera bättre hälsa och ökat välmående hos djuren.Dolphins in captivity are kept in an environment very different from their natural habitat. The animals are kept in pools of various sizes, and the composition of animal groups in captivity often differs from that of wild animals. Their lives are filled with routines, and many dolphins are trained to participate in shows. The way the animals are kept affects their behaviour, and they therefore show behavioural patterns different from wild dolphins. Some behaviours, for example foraging behaviour, are absent while other behaviours are amplified. Stress is caused by stressors, and can be shown when animals try to adapt to their captive environment. There are a lot of potential stressors in a captive animal’s environment, and the most extreme one may be its inability to control the environment. This can contribute to a behavioral pattern called stereotypic behaviour, which is a repetitive behavior that appears to be functionless. These types of behaviours can be indicators of poor animal welfare. There are several methods that reduce the presence of stereotypies, but only one of them affects the underlying cause of why the stereotypies are shown. This is called environmental enrichment, and its intention is to improve the animal welfare by changing the environment to better fulfill the animals need. These changes will also allow the animals to perform their natural behaviour. It is important to evaluate if these changes really are enriching. There are no standard methods for measuring this. However, some authors suggest that behavioral studies or measuring physiological parameters may be used to indicate improved health and animal wellbeing

Symptoms and findings in dogs with signs of polyarthritis

Immunmedierad polyartrit är en typ av ledsjukdom som karaktäriseras av hälta och ledsmärta. Sjukdomen kan yttra sig på olika sätt. Vissa individer drabbas av akut systemisk sjukdom med feber och trötthet i kombination med kraftig, tydligt palperbar ledsvullnad och smärta. Andra individer uppvisar endast lindriga och mer kroniska tecken på sjukdom i form av beteendeförändringar och subtil hälta. Detta gör att diagnosen kan vara svårställd och sjukdomens incidens är troligen underskattad. I nuläget saknas beskrivning av hur sjukdomsbilden vid kroniska, långvariga presentationer av immunmedierad polyartrit utvecklas över tid, både avseende symptom och kliniska undersökningsfynd. Syftet med denna retrospektiva fallstudie var att sammanställa och undersöka relevansen hos djurägarbeskrivna symptom och kliniska undersökningsfynd hos hundar som utifrån den kliniska sjukdomsbilden fått diagnosen immunmedierad polyartrit. Totalt 95 hundar inkluderades i studien, där alla undersökts av samma veterinär. Av dessa kom 69 hundar på återbesök och för dessa sammanställdes uppföljande symptom och undersökningsfynd samt kompletterande diagnostiska undersökningar, behandling och behandlingsresultat. Detta för att kunna följa utvecklingen av symptom och undersökningsfynd, för att se om dessa var lämpliga för att beskriva en förändring av sjukdomsbilden över tid. Frågeställningen var om förekomsten av symptom och undersökningsfynd förändrades mellan två undersökningstillfällen. Målet var att genom beräkning med McNemars test undersökta förekomst av skillnad i uppkomst/upphörande av symptom och undersökningsfynd mellan besöken. Hypotesen var att antalet individer som blev av med ett symptom skulle vara fler än antalet individer som fick symptomet mellan de två besöken. De symptom och undersökningsfynd som förändrades, det vill säga som upphörde i större utsträckning än vad de uppkom skulle kunna användas för att följa förbättring av sjukdomstillståndet över tid. Resultatet visade att förekomsten av alla symptom och 94 % av de kliniska undersökningsfynden minskade mellan de två besöken. Detta tyder på att hundarna generellt var bättre vid det andra besöket, vilket indikerar att hundarna svarat på behandling eller att sjukdomen trots behandling har ett cykliskt förlopp. Det enda undersökningsfyndet som förekom i större utsträckning vid andra besöket var generell muskelatrofi, vilket skulle kunna bero på att ett flertal hundar stått på kortisonbehandling mellan besöken. Vid beräkning med McNemars test sågs att 7 av 9 symptom och 9 av 17 undersökningsfynd upphörde i större utsträckning än vad de uppkom mellan de två besöken. De symptom och undersökningsfynd som försvann i större utsträckning i samband med att hundarna blev bättre skulle kunna vara användbara parametrar att följa vid utvärdering av sjukdomsförloppet hos en hund med polyartrit. Detta bör dock studeras vidare under mer systematiska former.Immune-mediated polyarthritis is a type of joint disease characterized by joint pain and lameness. The disease can manifest itself in many different ways. Some individuals suffer from acute systemic illness with fever and fatigue combined with heavy, clearly palpable joint swelling and joint pain. Others exhibit only subtle and more chronic signs of disease, for example changes in behaviour and mild lameness. This makes the diagnosis difficult to set, and probably also leads to that the incidence of the disease is underestimated. Currently there’s no description of how the disease evolves over time in individuals with chronic immune-mediated polyarthritis, both in terms of symptoms describes by the dog owners and clinical examination findings. The purpose of this retrospective case study was therefore to compile and investigate relevant symptoms described by dog owners and clinical examination findings in dogs, which were diagnosed with immune-mediated polyarthritis based on clinical finding. Totally 95 dogs were included in the study and all were examined by the same veterinarian at the first visit. 69 of the 95 dogs came back for at least one return visits. For these dogs, follow-up symptoms and clinical examination findings from one return visit were compiled, together with the results from diagnostic tests, treatment and treatment results. The aim was to see if the symptoms and clinical findings were suitable to describe a change in clinical picture over time and to se how they developed. The question was whether the occurrence of symptoms and clinical findings changed between the two examinations. The goal was to se if there were any difference in onset/cessation of symptoms and clinical findings between the two visits by using McNemar’s test. The hypothesis was that the number of individuals who lost a symptom would be higher than the number of individuals who got the symptom during the period between the two veterinary examinations. The symptoms and examination findings that ceased greater extent than they arose could be used to monitor the improvement of the condition over time. The results showed that the prevalence of all symptoms and 94 % of the clinical examination findings decreased between the two visits. This suggests that the dogs were generally better at the second visit, which indicates that the dogs responded to treatment or that the disease (despite treatment) has a cyclic course. The only clinical finding that occurred in a greater extent at the second visit was generalized muscle atrophy, which could be due to treatment with cortisone. The results from McNemar’s test showed that 7 of the 9 symptoms and 9 of the 17 examination findings ceased greater extent than they arose between the two visits. The symptoms and examination findings that disappeared in a greater extent when the dogs got better could be important to follow when evaluating the course of the disease in a dog with polyarthritis. However, this should be studied further under more systematic forms

Long-term outcomes in dogs with elbow dysplasia, assessed using the canine orthopaedic index

BackgroundElbow dysplasia (ED) is an important cause of lameness in dogs. This study aimed to report long-term outcomes in dogs with elbow osteoarthritis. MethodsDemographic data, medical management, and scores from The American College of Veterinary Surgeons' Canine Orthopaedic Index (COI) were collected from owners of dogs radiographically screened for ED, graded as normal, mild, or moderate. Telephone interviews were performed in 2017 (Q1), followed by an email survey in 2020 (Q2). The association between ED grade and deterioration in COI scores over time was evaluated with logistic regression. ResultsA total of 765 replies were collected for Q1 and 293 for Q2. At Q2, 222 dogs (76%) were alive, with a median age of 8 years (range 5-12 years). No association was found between ED and changes in COI score over time or between ED and survival (p = 0.071). Dogs with mild and moderate ED were treated with analgesic medications to a higher degree than dogs without ED (p < 0.05). LimitationsOnly owner-assed data were assessed; no clinical orthopaedic examination or follow-up radiographic evaluation was performed. ConclusionsNo association was found between the grade of ED and the worsening of clinical signs in dogs with elbow osteoarthritis

Evaluation of primary wound healing and potential complications after perioperative infiltration with lidocaine without adrenaline in surgical incisions in dogs and cats

BackgroundPre-emptive local analgesia with the use of lidocaine is practised increasingly in veterinary medicine as part of applied multimodal analgesia, despite its controversial impact on wound healing. The purpose of this prospective, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study was to evaluate if preoperative subcutaneous infiltration of lidocaine has a negative impact on primary wound healing of surgical incisions. Fifty-two companion animals (3 cats and 49 dogs) were enrolled in the study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score I or II, a minimum body weight of 5 kg, and a planned incisional length of at least 4 cm. Surgical incisions were infiltrated subcutaneously with lidocaine without adrenaline or NaCl (placebo). Follow-up questionnaires for owners and veterinarians and thermography of the surgical wound were used to assess wound healing. Antimicrobial use was documented.ResultsThere was no significant difference in either the total score or the individual assessment points between the treatment and the placebo group on the owner or the veterinary questionnaires in regard to primary wound healing (P > 0.05 for all comparisons). No significant difference was found between the thermography results of the treatment and placebo group (P = 0.78), and there was no significant correlation between the total score from the veterinary protocol and thermography results (Spearman's correlation coefficient - 0.10, P = 0.51). Surgical site infections developed in 5/53 (9.4%) surgeries and its occurrence varied significantly between the treatment and the placebo group as all cases of infection were in the placebo group (P = 0.05).ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that lidocaine used as a local anaesthetic did not affect wound healing in patients with ASA scores I-II. The results suggest that lidocaine infiltration in surgical incisions can be safely used to reduce pain

Risk factors for severe postoperative complications in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease-A survival analysis

Objective: To analyze the effect of surgical technique and other risk factors on severe postoperative complications in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease (CCLD). Materials and Methods: A cohort study of 255 dogs (287 stifles) surgically treated for CCLD at two veterinary university hospitals (2011 & ndash;2016) was performed. The electronic medical records were reviewed and dog owners and referring veterinarians contacted for additional information. The complications were classified as minor, major and catastrophic, where major and catastrophic were considered severe. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was applied to assess risk factors for severe postoperative complications.Results: Three surgical techniques were used; lateral fabellotibial suture (LFS, 141 stifles), tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO, 77 stifles) and tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA, 69 stifles). The most common severe postoperative complications were surgical site infections or complications related to the surgical implant. Severe postoperative complications occurred in 31 % of the stifles treated with TPLO, 22 % of the stifles treated with LFS and 25 % of the stifles treated with TTA. The multivariable Cox proportional hazards model identified surgical technique (p = 0.0258) as a risk factor for severe postoperative complications; TPLO had a significantly lower hazard than LFS (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.37, p = 0.007) when controlling for body weight and age, which also were identified as risk factors (HR = 1.05, p < 0.001 and HR = 0.91, p = 0.047, respectively).Conclusion and Clinical relevance: Although TPLO procedures had the highest occurrence of severe postoperative complications, the hazard was lower than for LFS after adjusting for body weight and age. This implies that it is important to consider potential effect-modifiers when comparing postoperative complications after CCLD surgery

The epidemiology of upper respiratory tract disorders in a population of insured Swedish dogs (2011-2014), and its association to brachycephaly

Upper respiratory tract (URT) disorders are common in dogs but neither general nor breed-related epidemiological data are widely reported. This study ' s aims were to describe the epidemiology of URT disorders in a Swedish population of dogs and to investigate whether brachycephalic breeds were overrepresented among high-risk breeds. A cohort of dogs insured by Agria Djurforsakring in Sweden (2011-2014) was used to calculate overall and breed-specific incidence rate (IR), age at first URT diagnosis and relative risk (RR) for URT disorders. For breeds with high RR for URT disorders, co-morbidities throughout the dog's insurance period and age at death were investigated. The cohort included approximately 450,000 dogs. URT disorders had an overall IR of 50.56 (95% CI; 49.14-52.01) per 10,000 dog years at risk. Among 327 breeds, the English bulldog, Japanese chin, Pomeranian, Norwich terrier and pug had highest RR of URT disorders. Eight of 13 breeds with high RR for URT disorders were brachycephalic. The median age at first URT diagnosis was 6.00 years (interquartile range 2.59-9.78). French bulldogs with URT diagnoses had a significantly shorter life span (median = 3.61 years) than other breeds with URT diagnosis (median = 7.81 years). Dogs with high risk for URT disorders had more co-morbidities than average

The genetic consequences of dog breed formation-Accumulation of deleterious genetic variation and fixation of mutations associated with myxomatous mitral valve disease in cavalier King Charles spaniels

Selective breeding for desirable traits in strictly controlled populations has generated an extraordinary diversity in canine morphology and behaviour, but has also led to loss of genetic variation and random entrapment of disease alleles. As a consequence, specific diseases are now prevalent in certain breeds, but whether the recent breeding practice led to an overall increase in genetic load remains unclear. Here we generate whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from 20 dogs per breed from eight breeds and document a similar to 10% rise in the number of derived alleles per genome at evolutionarily conserved sites in the heavily bottlenecked cavalier King Charles spaniel breed (cKCs) relative to in most breeds studied here. Our finding represents the first clear indication of a relative increase in levels of deleterious genetic variation in a specific breed, arguing that recent breeding practices probably were associated with an accumulation of genetic load in dogs. We then use the WGS data to identify candidate risk alleles for the most common cause for veterinary care in cKCs-the heart disease myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). We verify a potential link to MMVD for candidate variants near the heart specific NEBL gene in a dachshund population and show that two of the NEBL candidate variants have regulatory potential in heartderived cell lines and are associated with reduced NEBL isoform nebulette expression in papillary muscle (but not in mitral valve, nor in left ventricular wall). Alleles linked to reduced nebulette expression may hence predispose cKCs and other breeds to MMVD via loss of papillary muscle integrity

The epidemiology of stifle joint disease in dogs with a focus on cranial cruciate ligament disease

Stifle joint disease (SJD) is common in dogs and comprises many diagnoses, of which cruciate ligament disease (CLD) is often reported as the most prevalent. Several treatment options are available for CLD, but there is no consensus on which treatment yields the best results. The aims of this thesis were to investigate the epidemiology of SJD in dogs, with a focus on CLD, and to evaluate outcomes in dogs after treatment for CLD. Data from Agria Pet Insurance was used to evaluate risk factors for SJD and CLD. The diseases affected breeds of all sizes, although larger breeds, especially molosser types, were overrepresented among those at high risk of CLD. An association between breed size and age at CLD diagnosis was observed: most breeds diagnosed at younger ages were large or giant, while most that were older at diagnosis were small. Seven large breeds also had an increased risk of euthanasia due to CLD. Outcome assessments after treatment for CLD included evaluation of severe postoperative complications and survival in dogs diagnosed with CLD at two university animal hospitals. Severe postoperative complications occurred in 25.1% of surgically treated stifles. Stifles treated with tibial plateau levelling osteotomy had a significantly lower hazard of severe postoperative complications than those treated with lateral fabellotibial suture. The hazard also decreased with increasing age and increased with increasing body weight. The median survival from treatment initiation to CLD-related euthanasia was 1.3 years. Dogs treated with osteotomy procedures had a significantly lower hazard of CLD-related euthanasia than conservatively treated dogs. The hazard increased with increasing age and body weight, and was higher for dogs with concurrent orthopaedic comorbidities

Degree of osteophyte formation seen on radiographs provides useful prognostic information for dogs with cruciate ligament disease

BackgroundConcurrent osteoarthritis is generally present in the stifle joints of dogs with cranial cruciate ligament disease (CCLD), but it is not known if the degree of osteoarthritis-related changes affects the prognosis. Development of osteophytes is a key radiographic feature of osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the degree of osteophyte formation seen on radiographs and CCLD-related euthanasia in dogs with CCLD. MethodsA retrospective cohort study including 226 dogs treated for CCLD at two university animal hospitals was performed. Clinical and follow-up information was retrieved, and stifle radiographs taken during the 31 days before treatment for the CCLD were graded for osteophyte formation by three veterinary radiologists. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was applied to assess the association between the degree of osteophyte formation and CCLD-related euthanasia. ResultsAn association between the degree of osteophyte formation and CCLD-related euthanasia was found, with increased osteophyte formation associated with an increased hazard of CCLD-related euthanasia (hazard ratio 1.06, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.11, p = 0.01). LimitationsNo clinical assessment of the outcome was performed. ConclusionThe findings suggest that evaluation of stifle radiographs for osteophyte formation could provide useful prognostic information for dogs with CCLD

English Cocker Spaniels under primary veterinary care in the UK: disorder predispositions and protections

Background: The English Cocker Spaniel (ECS) is one of the most popular dog breeds in the UK but information on disorder predisposition and protection is limited. Using anonymised veterinary clinical data from the VetCompass™ Programme, this study aimed to compare disorder predisposition and protection between the ECS and the remaining dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK during 2016. Electronic patient records for random samples of ECS and non-ECS were reviewed. The most common disorders diagnosed during 2016 were extracted and compared using multivariable logistic regression, controlling for confounders.Results: The analysis included random samples of 2510/10,313 (24.3%) ECS and 7813/326,552 (2.39%) non-ECS. After accounting for confounding by age, sex, bodyweight within breed-sex, insurance status and veterinary practice group, the ECS had increased odds of 21/43 (48.85%) disorders at fine-level precision, with highest odds for aural discharge (odds ratio (OR) 14.66, 95% confidence interval (CI): 7.73–30.90, P Conclusions: This study provides evidence for strong predisposition to aural and ocular disorders and protection from hypersensitivity disorders in the ECS. These results can aid dog owners, breeders, and veterinarians to better monitor health in ECS, and promote earlier diagnosis with improved prognosis. Further, the results can help breeding organisations establish key priorities the health-based reforms of the ECS.</p