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.

As a leisure time pedagogue I find it hard to have an insight into what children are playing, and how they play when it comes to free play. My experience is that in some free play, conflicts arise, which reveal hierarchies and power structures containing violations, whereas other occasions of free play suddenly come to an end as the pedagogue interferes. In this essay I investigate my responsibility as a leisure time pedagogue during children´s free play, based on two differing play situations. I also investigate the play as a phenomenon by looking into previous research on children?s play and development psychology.

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).

In this empirical study I have investigated how preschool teachers relate to the free play at the preschool. At the same time I have investigated how the free play is adapted into everyday practice in the preschool. Previous research shows that children process what they experienced in the free play. The child retrieves content to play with through things they have experienced, such as family life, preschool and so on. To play, grow and continue, it is important that free play may take place and space in the daily activities at the preschool.

A lot of various substances can be detected by dogs, as oestrous in cows, endangered species or non-biological substances like accelerants, narcotics, explosives, mines and pollutions and biological substances like identity (suspects), cancer (breast, lung, colorectal and bladder cancer), human remains (cadaver), bacteria and mould in buildings. The dogs are trained using non-scientific methods and not much research in detection training exists. This is a review of different types of dog detection, with focus on new research..

To date, the genus Helicobacter consist of 26 different species and even more species are yet to be characterized. Helicobacter has been detected in connection with diseases in the liver and pancreas in humans and animals. Helicobacter spp. are gram negative, curved, S-shaped or spiral shaped bacteria. They are microaerophilic and have flagella that make them motile. Helicobacter, present in the gastric mucosa neutralize the gastric acid through production of urease that hydrolyses urea to ammonia and bicarbonate.

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable molecular-genetic method to determine the different species of helicobacter in dogs. The study is part of a larger project to map the prevalence of Helicobacter spp in healthy and sick dogs in Sweden, and to determine the possible connection of Helicobacter spp infection with gastrointestinal diseases in dogs. Several published studies have reported on the prevalence of Helicobacter spp in dogs. The problem is that three of the most common species are so alike that a 16SrRNA-PCR with sequencing is not able to differentiate between them. In this study, DNA has been purified from samples and then a Multiplex PCR has been performed. Multiplex PCRs use multiple primers in one single PCR.

Causes of thrombocytopenia in dogs ? a retrospective study of 123 cases The purpose of this retrospective case study was to determine which diseases are associated with thrombocytopenia in Swedish dogs. Records of 123 dogs with thrombocytopenia were evaluated. The most common cause was neoplasia-associated thrombocytopenia (32%). The largest proportion within this group was unspecified neoplasia.

In 1936 a governmental breeding project was started with aim on military use. The police later came to use dogs from this project as well. In order to utilize dogs that could fit for other purposes training and education of dogs for search of different substances and of guide dogs for blind persons was performed. A political decision to privatize the whole dog programme was taken in 1992. During most part of the time one had serious economical issues since too few of the dogs that were bred could be considered to fulfil the basic demands for service. To satisfy the need of service dogs private bred dogs were bought as well.

In Sweden live badgers are used in tests in order to train and prepare earth dogs for hunting underneath ground. This has for several years causeddebate concerning the welfare of the badgers. It is questioned whether the purpose of the dog training, i.e. to reduce injuries in both dogs and prey, is worth the suffering that is reflected on the badgers. The aim of this investigation was to study 1) stress levels in badgers when used in earth dog training, 2) if the stress load differs when the badgers are exposed to dogs with varying aggression levels (low, moderate, high).

For most dog owners today it is natural to use acoustic stimuli such as talking to communicate with their pets. Words are used both to ask the dogs to perform tricks, as well as to hold ?conversations? with the dog. This literature review looks at how dogs perceive human acoustical communication and how this can influence the behaviour of the dog. This information could be used e.g.

The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is the first species ever domesticated. They can develop a close bond towards other dogs, almost like a relationship among siblings, which can be a high valuable resource for good relations and cooperation?s. Dominance in dogs is sometimes used to explain undesired behaviors and explained as a personality trait. Dominance though, is not a trait in a dog or a source for undesired behaviors, but can rather be explained as a relationship between individuals, were one of them receives more submissive signals from the other.