A group of diseases that affect the dog?s sight is progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) a disease that means that the photoreceptors in the retina of the eye either not develop normally or undergo degeneration and thereby causes vision loss and blindness. The disease affects many different breeds and is inherited. What have been shown is that it is different genes that had become mutated in the different breeds, this conclude that despite similar clinical symptoms, the underlying reason could be different. Also the genes that are mutated in dogs and give rise to diseases also exists in humans.

Stress is common in today?s society, but the word stress has numerous connotations. The aim of this study was to investigate how dogs are effected by stress and what the veterinary nurse can do to help dogs to avoid or at least mitigate stress within the veterinary hospital. The goal was also to see how dogs perceive the environment in the veterinary hospital and what behaviours dogs demonstrate when they enter the hospital and during their stay. Studies have shown that dogs have a reluctant feeling on entering a veterinary hospital. They can feel stressed by coming to a new environment, as well as by being put in a cage with no control over what is going to happen to them.

People in Sweden have more and more dogs in their care, and several of these dogs are kept in kennels in back yards for various reasons. According to Swedish animal welfare legislations the need for social contact for dogs has to be met. However, there are few details presented on how to meet the need and when it can be considered satisfied. Does the dog need human contact to fulfill the need, or is the company of other dogs enough? This study aims to specify what can be acceptable when it comes to fulfilling dogs? social needs in accordance with the Swedish animal welfare legislation.

In the dog-human relationship humans are the ones who provide the dog with safety and comfort. Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure (ASSP), which was originally developed in humans to study the relationship between mothers and infants, has been modified to investigate the emotional bond research dogs have to a familiar person. Twelve research dogs were tested to investigate whether the dogs performed any behaviours indicating a secure-base effect, such as more exploration and play in the presence of a familiar person and proximity-seeking behaviours when this person is or has been absent. In the ASSP the dog enters a room with a familiar person, is introduced to a stranger, is left alone for a short period of time and experiences moments of separation and reunion. A second variation of the ASSP was added where the familiar person was replaced by another, to the dog, unfamiliar person.

Too many dogs are euthanized because of different kind of behaviour problems today. Is it really necessary? Who has the main responsibility for this action? Do breed differences matter when it comes to increased risk of euthanasia of the dog? The purpose of this piece of work is to find the answers to these questions and also to find out what kind of behaviour problems that can lead to euthanasia of dogs in general. The most common reason for dogs being euthanized is aggression. The aggression can be directed toward humans or other animals, mostly other dogs. There are some important factors of the dog that increases the risk of being euthanized, and these are the breed, the gender and sexual status and also the size of the dog.

It is well known that dogs often have Helicobacter spp in their stomach. The importance of these bacteria in the development of gastrointestinal disease in dogs is still unknown. In humans, Helicobacter pylori is a causative agent of chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers. In contrast to humans, dogs seldom harbour naturally acquired H. pylori.

Humans and dogs are both mammals. One of the differences between the two species is that man walk on two legs and dogs on four legs. There are also differences in the nerve system between the two species. The human nerve system is supposed to provide opportunity for fine motor tasks- while the nerve system of the dog is more focused on the ability to perform locomotor tasks. Humans need to increase their motor control and postural control when affected by various conditions and diseases.

Rhodesian ridgeback is a dog breed that originates from southern Africa. The characteristic ridge (a dorsal ridge where the hair grows in the opposite direction to the general coat) is shared with an Asian breed, Thai ridgeback. The origin and inheritance of the ridge has been examined and defined. The ridge-mutation is a duplication that contains four complete genes, FGF3, FGF4, FGF19 and ORAOV1 and the 3´-end of CCND1. The ridge is inherited as an autosomal, dominant trait and predisposes for Dermoid sinus (DS), a disease that develops during embryogenesis.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is one of the leading causes of acute encephalitis in humans. The virus is spread by mosquitoes, mainly belonging to the Culex species. The main reservoirs are considered to be birds and pigs, with pigs constituting the most important reservoir in regard to human infection. During the last few decades the production of pork has increased significantly in Vietnam. With 90% of pigs being kept in households owning 10 pigs or less, pigs are widely spread across most parts of the country.

Today's research on animal assisted interventions (AAI) has focused on the positive effects on humans. Dogs used for AAI are an expanding market, but the research on this area hasn't followed the increasing use. The few studies on dogs in this field mostly observed their cortisol-levels and are very ambiguous. I have observed the behaviour of dogs working with AAI compared to when they are off-duty to see how they are affected by their work. Their handlers where also told to make an assessment of the dog's emotions during the session.

For centuries inbreeding has been used to refine traits in dogs, making desired traits more hereditary and thereby, different breeds have been invented. Breed standards have been written for each of these breeds, describing in detail the different characteristics of each breed. When humans start to choose which animal to breed from, so called artificial selection, taste is put before function and the laws of nature, the natural selection, cease to apply. During this development, pedigree dogs have gone towards more and more extreme exterior characteristics and the dogs may have inherited various, more or less, severe problems for example compromised vision, impaired ability to move and difficulties to breathe. However they can still survive and reproduce because humans provide them with the conditions to do so.

This is a descriptive paper based on a questionnaire- and literature study regarding how dogs are trained, what type and frequency of injuries that occur as well as how the dogs are best prepared for work. Using the results from the questionnaire, an overview is given on how members of Working dog clubs train their dogs and what kind of injuries that occur most frequently. The average age among the dogs included in the study was only about three years. This could indicate that older dogs are not trained in the same extent as young dogs. The results show that only a third of the dog owners warmed up their dogs before training.

The aim of this study was to describe how body language of humans affects the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) and how it can be implanted in the stressed situation that occur at an animal hospital. The subject is brought to notice because the author has experienced that dogs can get more stressed when a stressed and nervous owner is attending. Humans affect each other through posture, facial expression, voice and movement, and are often driven by their emotions, which can differentiate the verbal communication from the non-verbal communication. This occurs both consciously and unconsciously. Every human uses body language but not everyone knows how it is used or how to understand it.

Several diseases increase the risk of thrombosis in dogs and cats, often with a fatal outcome. Currently there are no definite treatment guidelines for the use of thrombolytic and thromboprofylactic agents in veterinary medicine. None of these drugs are approved for dogs and cats in Sweden. Medicines aimed for humans have been used tentatively. This literature study is an investigation of what is currently known about the effects and safety of these pharmacological agents when used for dogs and cats.

This study focusses on how people in Sweden commemorate their dogs and handle their demise. By examining memorial texts for dogs that are presented by their owners on internet forums, memorial texts that are used on gravestones on an animal cemetery as well as an interview with an animal nurse, the study examines how dogs are humanized and treated in human-like ways. With theories about new animism, social acceptance (nomos) and ontology as the theoretical framework, the study provides an analysis of strategies by which people tend to humanize dogs in ways that are often similar to the handling and mourning of human deceased.                                               The empirical data illustrate how dog owners in Swedish society who have lost their beloved pet express themselves in terms of religious terminology. According to memorial texts, the dogs go to heaven, where they may be reunited with their owners, become free from their diseases, and in some cases they are buried in separate graves in animal cemeteries. The study also illustrates how dogs in Sweden today have almost equal opportunities and access to medical care as human beings.