Canine anxieties and phobias: an update on separation anxiety and noise aversions

Companion dogs commonly experience states of anxiety, fears, and phobias. Separation anxiety and noise aversions, as discussed in this article, are especially prevalent. Veterinarians are encouraged to recognize and treat such conditions on first presentation to address welfare issues and optimize successful management. New data suggest new treatment modalities, including behavioral management, pharmacotherapy, and species-specific pheromone use. Failure to treat can result in disruption of the human-animal bond and subsequent abandonment, relinquishment, or even euthanasia of the affected dog.     

Prolonged remission after immunosuppressive therapy in six dogs with pemphigus foliaceus

Limited information is available on the long-term outcome of treatment of pemphigus foliaceus in dogs. The purpose of this study is to report that a prolonged remission can occur after discontinuation of immunosuppressive regimens in some animals with this disease. Six dogs were diagnosed with pemphigus foliaceus based on suggestive clinical signs and histopathology. These patients were treated either with immunosuppressive doses of oral glucocorticoids or with a combination of oral glucocorticoids and azathioprine. After clinical signs underwent complete remission, which occurred 1.5-5 months after immunosuppression was initiated, the drugs were tapered progressively and eventually withdrawn. The total duration of immunosuppressive therapy varied between 3 and 22 months. Skin lesions of pemphigus foliaceus did not recur for 1.5-6 years after treatment was stopped. These observations suggest that, in some dogs with pemphigus foliaceus, immunosuppression can lead to long-term remission of skin lesions, and that discontinuation of treatment is not necessarily followed by a recurrence of clinical signs.     

A comparison of the clinical manifestations of feeding whole and hydrolysed chicken to dogs with hypersensitivity to the native protein

Twenty‐six dogs with known adverse food reactions were fed whole chicken for 14 days. From this group, 12 dogs with cutaneous manifestations following exposure to chicken meat were selected and randomly divided into two groups (n = 6). Each group was then fed hydrolysed chicken or hydrolysed soy for 14 days in a blinded crossover design with a 17‐day washout period between each diet. Assessments of a CADESI (Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index) score and pruritus were performed throughout the entire study, and combined in a global score (GS). Serum was collected weekly for the measurement of chicken‐ and soy‐specific IgG and IgE. Dogs displayed the most severe clinical response when eating whole chicken compared to baseline (P < 0.001). The GS was significantly reduced in 11 of the 12 dogs when fed hydrolysed chicken were compared to those fed whole chicken (3.58 ± 2.81 versus 20.38 ± 14.65, P < 0.01). Serum immunoglobulin G and E responses were variable and did not show relationship with specific dietary exposure.     

Molecular evidence for cosmopolitan distribution of platyhelminth parasites of tunas (Thunnus spp.)

Global distribution of platyhelminth parasites and their host specificities are not well known. Our hypothesis was that platyhelminth parasites of large pelagic fishes are common around the world. We analysed molecular variation in three different taxa of platyhelminth parasites infecting four species of tunas: yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares, Scombridae) from Western Australia, southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii, Scombridae) from South Australia, Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis, Scombridae) from Pacific Mexico and northern bluefin tuna (T. thynnus, Scombridae) from two localities in the Mediterranean (Spain and Croatia). Comparisons of ITS2 and partial 28S rDNA demonstrated two congeneric species of blood flukes (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) from multiple hosts and localities: Cardicola forsteri from southern bluefin and northern bluefin tunas, and Cardicola sp. from Pacific bluefin and northern bluefin tunas; and a gill fluke, Hexostoma thynni (Polyopisthocotylea: Hexostomatidae), from yellowfin, southern bluefin and northern bluefin tunas. Partial 28S rDNA indicates that a second type of fluke on the gills, Capsala sp. (Monopisthocotylea: Capsalidae), occurs on both southern bluefin and Pacific bluefin tunas. This appears to be the first report of conspecific platyhelminth parasites of teleosts with a wide‐ranging geographical distribution that has been confirmed through molecular approaches. Given the brevity of the free‐living larval stage of both taxa of flukes on the gills (H. thynni and Capsala sp.), we conclude that the only feasible hypothesis for the cosmopolitan distribution of these flatworms is migrations of host tunas. Host migration also seems likely to be responsible for the widespread occurrence of the two species of blood flukes (Cardicola spp.), although it is also possible that these were translocated recently by the spread of infected intermediate hosts.     

An Aqueous Extract of the Dry Mycelium of Penicillium chrysogenum Induces Resistance in Several Crops under Controlled and Field Conditions

We have examined the effect of Pen, an aqueous extract of the dry mycelium of Penicillium chrysogenum, on plant–pathogen interactions. Pen controlled a broad range of pathogens on several crop plants under greenhouse and field conditions. Pen protected grapevine from downy and powdery mildew (caused by Plasmopara viticola and Uncinula necator), tomato from early blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans), onion from downy mildew (Peronospora destructor) and apple trees from apple scab (caused by Venturia inaequalis) to a similar extent as fungicides such as copper and sulphur or well-known inducers such as benzothiadiazole or β-aminobutyric acid. Pen had no major direct fungicidal effect and is thus supposed to protect plants by activating their defense mechanisms. The raw material for extraction of Pen was available in constant quality, a prerequisite for commercial application. Under certain conditions, Pen caused phytotoxic side effects. The symptoms mostly consisted of small necrotic spots or, more rarely, of larger necrotic areas. The development of the symptoms was dependent on several parameters, including concentration of Pen, the number of applications, the persistence on the plant tissue, the plant species and variety and environmental conditions. In grapevine, a partially purified fraction of Pen was much less toxic than the crude Pen extract, but protected the plants to a similar extent against P. viticola. Our data show that Pen has interesting and unique properties as a plant protection agent, but more research is needed to further reduce its phytotoxic side effects.     

Splenic torsion in an alpaca

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical signs, diagnostic evaluation and surgical management of an alpaca with splenic torsion. ANIMALS: Six-year-old female alpaca. RESULTS: Splenic torsion and uterine torsion were the inciting cause for persistent abdominal discomfort in this alpaca. Rectal examination, abdominocentesis, and transabdominal ultrasonographic findings were suggestive of a splenic lesion. Surgical management involved splenectomy of a necrotized spleen. CONCLUSIONS: Although rare in occurrence, splenic torsion should be considered as a potential cause of abdominal discomfort in alpacas. Splenectomy is a reasonable and successful method of treatment for a devitalized spleen secondary to splenic torsion in alpacas. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Splenic torsion causes persistent abdominal discomfort in camelids and may be associated with uterine torsion. Rectal examination, transabdominal ultrasound and abdominocentesis are useful diagnostic tools to differentiate splenic torsion from other causes of abdominal discomfort. Splenectomy is an uncomplicated procedure in camelids and has a favorable prognosis.     

Evaluation of Growth Performance and Whole-body Composition of Juvenile Hybrid Striped Bass Morone chrysops × Morone saxatilis and Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus Fed High-protein and High-lipid Diets

To investigate potential use of increasing nutritional density of diets for rapid growth of warm‐water fishes, a feeding trial was conducted in which growth performance, body indexes, and whole‐body composition of juvenile hybrid striped bass fed diets comprising protein (49, 54, and 59%), lipid (16, 20, 23, and 28%), and energy (22.0–25.1 kJ/g) concentrations beyond established minimum levels were compared to those of fish fed a more typical commercial reference diet (37.5% crude protein, 10.5% crude lipid, and 19.6 kJ/g energy on a dry matter basis). A subset of the experimental diets and the commercial reference diet also were fed to juvenile red drum. After 6 wk of feeding, hybrid striped bass fed the high‐protein and high‐lipid diets showed much greater growth performance compared to fish fed the commercial diet. Increasing dietary protein level, but not lipid level, tended (P ≤ 0.1) to enhance weight gain and feed efficiency of hybrid striped bass. Hepatosomatic index (HSI), intraperitoneal fat (IPF) ratio, and whole‐body protein were significantly (P < 0.01) influenced by dietary protein level. The dietary lipid and associated energy level had significant negative linear effects on daily feed intake. Linear regression analysis showed that dietary energy : protein ratio, largely influenced by dietary protein level, moderately but significantly influenced weight gain, HSI, IPF ratio, and whole‐body protein of hybrid striped bass and red drum. Red drum grew very similar to hybrid striped bass in response to the experimental diets. However, significant differences in HSI, IPF ratio, whole‐body protein, lipid, moisture, and ash between hybrid striped bass and red drum were observed, indicating species differences in protein and energy partitioning. In particular, the excessive lipid in the diet increased HSI and whole‐body lipid of red drum but not of hybrid striped bass.