?Tollarsjuka? is a disease with a suspected immunopathological background seen in Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers. Pyrexia, lameness, stiffness and joint- or musclepain are typical clinical signs. The purpose of this study is to describe case histories from dogs with a possible evidence of ?tollarsjuka?. 18 private dogs were included in this report. Generalised stiffness, lameness and fatigue were the most frequent manifestations of the disease.

The invasive species raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is currently under establishment Sweden and it is vital to discover invading individuals to prevent colonization. The use of wildlife cameras to discover dispersing raccoon dogs have been implemented in the north-European raccoon dog management program. In this study, I test the ability of four commercially available scent lures to attract raccoon dogs to camera stations. The study was conducted in the Åland Islands where raccoon dogs are abundant and the results could improve the effectiveness of the camera stations used in the program. I used 12 sites with five camera stations in each and tested the four lures and one control with no lure in each site.

Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) is an immune-mediated destruction of erythrocytes and is one of the most common haematological diseases diagnosed in dogs. The haemolysis is a type II immunoreaction and is initiated by IgG or IgM antibodies or complements. This retrospective study includes 63 dogs suffering from primary IMHA. The study was based on information from records from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences in Uppsala and from the Animal Hospital in Strömsholm. The aim of the study was to evaluate the progress of the disease, treatment and the prognostic factors in different breeds, gender and age. Following criteria were used for the dogs to be allowed in the study: the dogs were diagnosed with anaemia, the anaemia was regenerative and autoagglutination and/or spherocytes were seen in the blood. About 50 % of the dogs in the study were diagnosed with IMHA within 2-6 years of age. Wire-haired dachshund was remarkably one of the most common breeds in this study together with Cocker and Springer spaniel.

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.

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.

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.

There are only a few published studies on the normal variation in ovary size in bitches. All of the previous studies have been made on the beagle breed. This study was performed on indian street dogs with the objective to measure ovaries and structures in the ovaries after ovariehysterectomy to decide if smaller dogs have smaller ovaries and how small and big they can be in the normal dog. The structures (follicle and corpus luteum) where also measured to get a maximum size for normal structures in the bitch. This information can be valuable when examining the ovaries of the bitch with ulstrasound.

Hydrotherapy is a relatively new area when it comes to treatment and prevention of different problems in dogs, but an area that is growing in popularity. In Sweden, the person who performs hydrotherapy on dogs doesn?t need veterinary education, which is the case in some other countries. What makes hydrotherapy advantageous is that water has an ability to provide an environment where injured body parts can be supported, which means that rehabilitation can start early without the risk of affecting the injury and in the same time relieve the pain for the patient. There are only a few studies of hydrotherapy on dogs and these studies focus on the physical health of the dog.

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.

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition in dogs, being a common reason for death in the statistics from the insurance company Agria in Sweden. Among the different types of epilepsy, idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is the most common and is characterized by the fact that a veterinary examination does not reveal a cause for the seizures. This study has been conducted through studies of medical records and interviews with dog owners. From a total number of 103 dogs that were neurologically examined for seizures, 42 dogs met the inclusion criteria, being classified as having idiopathic epilepsy. When the study was performed, 28 dogs had died, while 14 were still alive.

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.

During the last years, meticillin resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) have caused an increasing number of infections in Swedish dogs. MRSP is resistant against a majority of the antimicrobials available for dogs in Sweden, making it difficult to treat the infection. Our knowledge of the bacterium is limited, making it hard to handle infected dogs in a proper way. The aim of this study was to investigate for how long time dogs, who have an infection caused by MRSP, become carriers of the bacterium. Other factors like treatment with antimicrobials, the correlation between clinical symptoms and carriage, common diagnoses and institutionalization where also looked upon.

The objective of this study was to study the agreement between two methods of indirect bloodpressure measurement in dogs and cats and to establish the within-method variation for the methods. The utility and practicality in the clinical setting were also evaluated for the both methods. The techniques evaluated were the oscillometric method and the Doppler ultrasonographic method. Thirtytwo dogs and 26 cats were used in the study and seven dogs and five cats out of these animals had diseases that may effect the bloodpressure. Bloodpressure was measured in both anesthetized and in conscious animals.

Assessing the emotional state in animals is important in order to establish the quality of their welfare, therefore it is important to investigate under what circumstances animals experience these emotions and to find indicators of their existence. The aim of this thesis was to detect possible behavioural indicators for positive emotions in dogs. These behavioural indicators could be helpful to increase both dogs? and humans? overall well-being in today?s society since they could help e.g. dog owners and caretakers to interpret behaviours displayed by dogs and their intentions so they can respond accordingly.The subjects used were 9 research beagles and each dog participated in three different treatments, assumed to be experienced as positive situations, where communicative interaction was initiated with the dog by engaging in 1) physical contact (P), 2) verbal contact (V) or 3) both physical and verbal contact simultaneously (PV).

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.