Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infections among dogs are more common than previously thought. In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was investigated in two dog populations. The first group was comprised of 1069 dogs admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for any given reason. The second group included dogs that shared households with confirmed COVID-19 cases in humans. This study group numbered 78 dogs. In COVID-19 infected households, 43.9% tested ELISA positive, and neutralising antibodies were detected in 25.64% of dogs. Those data are comparable with the secondary attack rate in the human population. With 14.69% of dogs in the general population testing ELISA positive, there was a surge of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the dog population amid the second wave of the pandemic. Noticeably seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the dog and the human population did not differ at the end of the study period. Male sex, breed and age were identified as significant risk factors. This study gives strong evidence that while acute dog infections are mostly asymptomatic, they can pose a significant risk to dog health. Due to the retrospective nature of this study, samples for viral isolation and PCR were unavailable. Still, seropositive dogs had a 1.97 times greater risk for developing central nervous symptoms.

The beneficial effect of physical activity on the musculoskeletal health in dogs is well recognized, but the level of intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise is not fully described. Measurement of serum markers of bone metabolism (bone alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin as bone formation markers and C-terminal telopeptide as bone resorption marker) during four months of organized moderate-intensity physical training in Labrador retriever and Golden retriever dogs aged between 11.7–24.4 months, showed variations of bone metabolism. Dogs were included in treadmill running sessions for 25 min, three times per week. Blood samples were taken at the beginning of the program (baseline), after two months (mid-term) and at the end of the study after four months. The values of bone alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin significantly decreased following two months of exercise program. Bone alkaline phosphatase increased by the end of four-month training cycle, but did not reach baseline value. Osteocalcin levels continued to decrease towards the end of the study. C-terminal telopeptide concentrations did not significantly change throughout the study duration. The results of this study show that aerobic exercise of moderate-intensity caused an initial decrease in bone formation followed by an increase of bone alkaline phosphatase and a further decrease of osteocalcin concentration. The response of two formation markers can be explained by the different stage of osteoblast activity that they express. In summary, moderate exercise resulted in no change in bone resorption, and a mild bone formation in young developing dogs.

Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infections among dogs are more common than previously thought. In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was investigated in two dog population. The first group was comprised of 1069 dogs admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for any given reason. The second group included dogs that shared households with confirmed COVID-19 cases in humans. This study group numbered 78 dogs. In COVID-19 infected households, 43.9% tested ELISA positive, and neutralisation antibodies were detected in 25.64% of dogs. Those data are comparable with the secondary attack rate in the human population. With 14.69% of dogs in the general population testing ELISA positive, there was a surge of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the dog population amid the second wave of the pandemic. Noticeably seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the dog and the human population did not differ at the end of the study period. Male sex, breed and age were identified as significant risk factors. This study gives strong evidence that while acute dog infections are mostly asymptomatic, they can pose a significant risk to dog health. Seropositive dogs had a 1.97 times greater risk for developing central nervous symptoms.

ABSTRACT:The prepubic urethrostomy procedure has been shown to be a long-term diversion technique in dogs with intrapelvic urethral damage. This case report describes the clinical presentation and successful surgical management of an intrapelvic urethral stricture in a four month old male intact Labrador Retriever with hypospadias. The dog was presented for assessment of dysuria, stranguria, urinary incontinence, and urethrocutaneous fistula. After the diagnosis of perineal hypospadias with intrapelvic urethral stricture was made, surgery was performed to relieve the urethral obstruction and repair the urethrocutaneous fistula. A prepubic urethrostomy was made and the transected urethra was pulled through the inguinal canal into the prepuce. The postoperative recovery was uneventful. This technique can reduce postoperative peristomal skin irritation and leads to better cosmetic appearance than the standard technique.

The objectives of the current case report are to describe and report the diagnostics and surgical treatment of colonic diverticulum in a dog. A 13-year-old intact male Labrador retriever, suffering from the inability to defecate for 10 days, was diagnosed with a mass between the colon and the urinary bladder, filled with faeces. The diagnosis of a colonic diverticulum was obtained using plain abdominal radiography, ultrasonography, cystography and irigography. Native and contrast abdominal radiography and ultrasonography detected an abdominal mass with a diameter of 9 cm, filled with faeces, connected to the descending colon, and an enlarged prostatic gland. The dog was treated surgically with orchiectomy, exploratory celiotomy, partial resection of the colonic diverticulum wall, followed by reconstruction of the colon using the wall of the colonic diverticulum as a flap. The dog defecated 24 hours after surgery. On the 5th postoperative day, a wound infection was observed (redness, serous discharge from the ventral midline wound). The functional outcome was satisfactory. To the best of our knowledge, such a case report has not been reported before.

The study presents a retrospective case study. This aim was to determine whether lactate, glucose and total protein in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be used as specific biochemical markers for rapid differential diagnosis between intervertebral disk herniation and spinal tumors. Canine blood (n=9) and cerebrospinal fluid (n=9) were collected for chemistry analysis in nine dogs divided into two groups: intervertebral disk herniation group (IVDHG) (n=6) and spinal tumor group (TG) (n=3). Absorption spectrophotometry was used for quantitative determination of the concentrations of lactate, glucose and total protein in serum and CSF. Lactate concentration in serum and CSF and glucose concentration in CSF were 40-60% higher in subjects in TG compared to the IVDHG group. Serum lactate concentrations in the IVDHG group were 60% lower than physiological values. The results indicate that elevated concentration of glucose, lactate and total proteins in CSF and serum are indicative of a tumor, while a decrease of serum lactate and other parameters within normal range indicate disk herniation.

The aim of this retrospective study was to show the prevalence of hip dysplasia (HD) in the indigenous dog breed Bosnian and Herzegovinian - Croatian Shepherd Dog (Tornjak) in the period from 2001 to 2016. A total of 735 radiographs were evaluated according to the FCI protocol. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica 13.5.0.17. (TIBCO Software Inc.) software. Significant differences between categorical variables were analysed using the Chi-square test. The median value of age of examined dogs was 18 (13.8-26.0) months, with majority of dogs (523) under 24 months. In the overall examined population 74.97% of hip radiographs were interpreted as healthy (grades A and B) and 25.03% were interpreted as dysplastic (grades C, D and E). In dogs under 24 months of age, the most common age for HD survey, 76.86 % was interpreted as healthy and 23.14% as dysplastic. Comparing the frequency of diagnosed HD according to the breeding licence during the 15 years period there was a statistically significant increase in dogs with HD grades A, B, C, D and a decrease in dogs with grade HD E restricted for further breeding (P

________________________________________________________________________________________ Hađina, S., J. BoraS, i. Bata, B. ŠkrLin, V. StareŠina, LJ. BarBić, V. MoJčec Perko, Z. Štritof, V. SteVanoVić, J. HaBuŠ, M. PerHarić, Z. MiLaS, n. turk, LJ. Pinter: Isolation and molecular characterization of Malassezia pachydermatis from a cutaneous lesion in a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). Vet. arhiv 89, 211-221, 2019. ABSTRACTMalassezia pachydermatis is an opportunistic yeast regularly isolated from the healthy and diseased skin of various animal species. There is scarcity of data about its presence on pinnipeds' skin and even less information about its pathogenicity in aquatic animals. In this study, a twenty-seven year old California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) was presented with alopecia and a cutaneous lesion on the right side of the trunk that had appeared in the spring, worsened through the summer and significantly improved in the winter months. Swab samples were obtained from the lesion and healthy skin sites (tail, posterior flippers, and trunk) and M. pachydermatis was recovered from all samples. The number of colonies grown from the lesion site was significantly higher than those cultured from the healthy skin. Employing the ITS-1 molecular marker we investigated whether there is any connection between sequence types of M. pachydermatis isolates recovered from the lesion, and those isolated from the healthy skin sites. Sequencing of the ITS-1 region of all isolates revealed a 99% match to the sequence of M. pachydermatis. In addition, all sequences belonged to the same genotype and there was no difference found between the isolates obtained from the lesion site and the healthy skin.