2011 - 80 (3)

Paper in Dutch

The transport and artificial insemination of chilled (4°C) and cryopreserved (-196°C) dog semenhave gained increasing interest worldwide and have become very popular among dog breeders.Whereas cryopreservation of dog sperm is a complicated and time consuming procedure, which isalmost exclusively performed at universities, the chilling of dog semen can be handled by veterinariansin their private practices, provided that the basic knowledge of chilling and diluting semen isacquired. Immediately after sperm collection, the quality of the fresh sample is evaluated and recordedbefore diluting in an appropriate extender. Subsequently, the diluted semen is gradually chilledto 4°C. It can be stored at 4°C for several days or transported in a thermos flask, a styrofoambox or a Minitübe neopore box. Cryopreserved dog sperm is mostly transported in a dry-shippercontainer. The rules and legislation for the shipment of chilled and frozen dog semen are rathercomplicated. They differ between almost every country and may change over time. To comply withall the administrative procedures, it is necessary to plan the transport of semen well in advance.

The objective of this preliminary study was to investigate the relationship between the housing conditions and thehealth and welfare of horses. A survey, based on a questionnaire containing 36 multiple choice questions about variousaspects of the housing of horses was conducted. A questionnaire was sent via email to approximately 600 horse ownersin Flanders. A total of 225 horse owners completed the questionnaire. The study provides a clear picture of the riskfactors that horse owners in practice recognize and the link they see between housing related diseases. Although horseowners usually are sufficiently aware of these influences, they are not taken care of in practice. According to fifty percentof the respondents, the major reason is the impracticability of the advice of the veterinarian. According to thehorse owners, the main risk factors affecting the health of horses are: draft, the lack of quarantine measures and the presenceof (sharp) foreign objects in the stable. As a consequence, more than 50% of the respondents report nasal dischargeand coughing as common problems in their horses. Sixty-seven percent of the horse owners are satisfied withthe overall management of the stable. However, there is a widespread dissatisfaction with regard to quarantine measures,in case of a disease outbreak (30% of the horse owners) and in case of the introduction of new animals into a group(36%). Fifty percent of the respondents score their own stable infrastructure 8/10 or more while about one out of fouris less satisfied (7/10) about the floor and the walls of their stables.The results of this study can help owners and veterinarians to identify housing factors that may increase the riskto health and welfare problems in horses. This should lead to an improved well-being of the modern, often prolonged- housed horse.

A pharyngeal salivary mucocele was diagnosed in a seven-year-old male Irish softcoated wheaten terrier. Thediagnosis was based on history, clinical findings, paracentesis and histopathology. An underlying etiology was notidentified. Treatment consisted of the surgical removal of the mandibular and sublingual glands on the affected sideand the resection of redundant pharyngeal tissue. Neither postsurgical complications, nor recurrence of the mucocelewere observed ten months later.

Osteochondrosis is a pathological condition occurring in different joints. Besides the shoulder and elbow joint,the tarsal joint is the third most commonly affected joint (4-9%). The radiographic diagnosis is often difficult becausethe tarsus is a very complex joint. Computed tomographic examination provides more information about the exactnumber of fragments and the location of the lesion on the talar ridge. Minimally invasive surgery, such as arthroscopy,if necessary combined with mini-arthrotomy, results in a better long-term outcome than arthrotomy does.

Nowadays, contraceptives for birds are more en more used for the prevention of reproduction and for therapeuticreasons. In female animals, the indications for the use of contraceptives are abundant or chronic egglaying,eggbinding, dystocia, salpingitis, impaction of the salpinx, prolapse of the cloaca or salpinx, rupture of the salpinx,ovarian neoplasia or ovarian cysts. In male animals contraceptives are administered to obtain teaser males, to preventreproduction, to treat testicular neoplasia and to improve the carcass quality of poultry. For several years researchershave been studying these diseases, their treatment and prevention. This review includes the hormonal therapies aswell as the surgical and endoscopic contraceptive techniques. Furthermore, the reproductive anatomy andendocrinology of birds are described. In bird practices, the administration of chemical contraceptives as well as theperformance of surgical techniques and endoscopies are on the increase. Since specialization is increasing rapidlyin small animal practices, it can be expected that these procedures will become more frequent in the future.

Canine distempervirus (CDV) belongs to the genus morbillivirus, family Paramyxoviridae. CDV is the causativeagent of a severe systemic disease in dogs characterized by fever, immunosuppression, pneumonia, enteritis andneurologic signs. There are several diagnostic tools, pre and post mortal, for identifying CDV. Vaccination has ledto a decrease in the incidence of CDV-related disease in canine populations in our regions. Nevertheless, in the pastfew years, several episodes of CDV in vaccinated animals have been reported. This article gives a review of theagent, epidemiology, pathogenesis, injuries, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and prevention of caninedistemper virus in dogs.

When used in combination with specific radioactive markers, functional imaging modalities such as SinglePhoton Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) enable thevisualization of several neurotransmitter receptors and transporters, as well as of the perfusion andmetabolism of the brain.This paper gives an overview of the functional imaging techniques, as well as of the studies that have beenperformed on humans and canines with anxiety disorders. Thus far, most of the research in this field has beenfocused on brain perfusion and the serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmitters, and less on gammaaminobutyricacid (GABA), glutamate, norepinephrine and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

This review deals with the neurocircuitry of fear and anxiety disorders, with the focus on neuroanatomyand neurochemistry. This knowledge is required to correctly diagnose and treat dogs with anxiety-relatedbehavioral disorders.Research to date has shown the involvement of the frontal cortex, the amygdala, the thalamus and thehippocampus as core regions in regulating fear. Imbalances (hyper- or hypoactivation) in this fear circuitrycan trigger inappropriate fear responses, i.e. anxiety disorders.Serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine are the main neurotransmitters of emotion in the brain, butgamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis producingglucocorticoids are also important in the neurochemistry of anxiety.