A practitioner's guide to working dog welfare

Research conducted by the Anthrozoology Institute and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has shown that many working dogs exhibit high levels of physiologic stress in response to kenneling (Hiby et al., 2006, Rooney et al., 2007a). Furthermore, these dogs tend to perform poorly during training, establishing links between welfare and working ability (Rooney et al., 2005, Rooney et al., 2007b). Subsequently, we have been studying how kenneling affects welfare and working ability. Specifically, we have investigated which elements within housing and husbandry influence welfare, which of these seem to be the most important, and how environmental enrichment (e.g. feeding devices) can affect welfare and working ability. This paper draws together results from all of these studies, identifying signs that may be indicative of compromised welfare, and providing guidelines, based on scientific evidence, for how to improve kenneled working dog welfare. It reproduces an unpublished guide designed to primarily inform and advise practitioners who are responsible for caring for, and/or handling working dogs. This paper aims to ensure that practitioners are updated of the most recent advances in working dog welfare, and hence many of the studies summarized here are yet to be published in full, in peer-reviewed journals.     

Comparison of Methods for Gluten Strength Assessment

Five methods that employed very different testing principles and procedures for assessing gluten quality were compared for 33 North American soft red and white wheats. The three methods analyzed flour (alveograph work, lactic acid solvent retention capacity, and mixograph peak time) and two methods employed ground wheat meal (Glutomatic gluten index and SDS sedimentation volume). Compared against the normalized mean of all five assessments, the ability of the assessment methods to evaluate gluten quality decreased in the order: alveograph work, lactic acid solvent retention capacity, mixograph peak time, Glutomatic gluten index, and SDS sedimentation volume. The methods utilizing flour were substantially superior predictive methods; however, the two meal‐based methods could be sufficient for early generation screening when flour is not available.     

Vacuum Squeezing of Solids: Macroscopic Quantum States Driven by Light Pulses

Femtosecond laser pulses and coherent two-phonon Raman scattering were used to excite KTaO3 into a squeezed state, nearly periodic in time, in which the variance of the atomic displacements dips below the standard quantum limit for half of a cycle. This nonclassical state involves a continuum of transverse acoustic modes that leads to oscillations in the refractive index associated with the frequency of a van Hove singularity in the phonon density of states.     

Postparturient pelvic entrapment of the bladder in two cows

Postparturient pelvic entrapment of the bladder was associated with postpartum complications in 2 cows. The bladder was returned to its normal position by exploratory laparotomy or direct pressure applied to the bladder through the vaginal wall.