• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.219-225
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• 2023

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) has a genetic basis and is primarily a skin disorder characterized by allergic features. It is caused by an excessive immune response, associated with immunoglobulin E(IgE), to allergens and shows clinical signs of itching and inflammation. The present study evaluated the allergen-specific and total IgE concentration in dogs with allergic disorders. Allergen-specific IgE analysis was performed using a Multiple Allergen Simultaneous Test (MAST) assay, and total IgE analysis was conducted using an ELISA in 82 dogs with CAD. The subjects were divided into two groups: dogs aged ≤3 years and dogs aged >3 years, enabling a comparison of total IgE concentrations between the two age groups. The results showed that the major affecting environmental allergen was Alternaria alternate, and the major affecting dietary allergen was raw chestnut. The results revealed that dogs aged ≤3 years had higher total IgE concentrations than dogs aged >3 years with significant difference. The results of this study can contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of CAD in South Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of four types of environmental enrichment on the improvement of companion dogs' behavioral problems due to separation anxiety. A total of 21 dogs of various breeds were included in the study. Data were collected to investigate the behaviors associated with anxiety in dogs, including vocalization, elimination, escape attempts, and destructiveness. A first stage, in which the dog and owner were together (P0), lasted 15 min, and a second stage, in which the dog and owner were separated (P1), lasted 15 min. After the dog and owner were separated (P1), the third stage (P2), during which the environment was enriched, lasted 20 min, and the fourth stage, following environment enrichment (P3), lasted 15 min. The results of the study indicated that compared to P0, the frequency of problematic behavior was highest during the 15 min following separation from the owner (P1). Following environmental enrichment, the average frequency of problematic behaviors in P2 decreased (P < 0.001) compared to P1. Environmental enrichment can also be used appropriately in the case of companion dogs, including shelter dogs or experimental dogs that use a limited kennel, and is a particularly effective means of improving the quality of life of dogs.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.75.1-75.8
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• 2023

Background: In veterinary medicine, previous studies regarding the diagnostic performance of shear wave elastography (SWE) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are not consistent with each other. Moreover, there has been no study evaluating the relationship between symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) concentration and renal shear wave velocity (SWV) using two-dimensional SWE (2D SWE) in dogs with CKD. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic capability of 2D SWE in dogs with CKD and to assess the relationship between renal SWV and SDMA concentration. Methods: Dogs with healthy kidneys and dogs with CKD underwent 2D SWE and SDMA assay. Renal stiffness was estimated as renal SWV in m/s. Results: SDMA concentration had a weak positive correlation with the left (r = 0.338, p = 0.022) and right renal SWV (r = 0.337, p = 0.044). Renal SWV was not significantly different between healthy kidney and CKD groups in the left (p = 0.085) and right (p = 0.171) kidneys. Conclusions: 2D SWE may could not distinguish between dogs with healthy kidney and dogs with early stage of CKD, but it would be useful for assessing the serial change of renal function in dogs.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.408-413
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• 2023

The incidence of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS), a prominent geriatric disease, is increasing because of the extended lifespan of companion animals. Various complementary therapies have been proposed for the management of CCDS. This study evaluated the clinical efficacy of the Brain Six Complex Extract^ⓒ in dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). Fifteen dogs with CDS were included, and four to five drops of Brain Six Complex Extract^ⓒ, composed of herbal extracts, were applied around the dorsal neck of all dogs twice daily for 1-3 months. Clinical efficacy was evaluated using the CCDS scale, and serum β-amyloid oligomer concentrations were measured before and after administration of the extract. The CCDS scale score significantly decreased after administration in dogs with CDS (p = 0.0313), compared to pre-administration levels. Although the serum β-amyloid oligomer concentration decreased after administration, the change was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). A notable decrease was observed between pre- and post-administration in dogs with β-amyloid levels >300 pg/mL (p = 0.0313). The laboratory results showed no remarkable adverse effects of the extract. This study suggests that Brain Six Complex Extract^ⓒ extract could be an adjunctive treatment for dogs with CDS.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.297-307
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• 2009

Animal shelters are potentially vulnerable to constant exposure to a variety of diseases for both animals and humans, because thousands of animals with unknown histories are being admitted to each shelter on a yearly basis in Korea. The control of disease spread, therefore, can be a major challenge to veterinarians in most shelters. This study investigated the health status of stray dogs admitted to the Gwangju Animal Shelter during the year of 2008, and analyzed types of disorders at the time of admission as well as newly acquired diseases while housed in the shelter. Canine heartworm disease was the most prevalent infection among stray dogs at the time of admission, while the respiratory disorder was the most common shelteracquired disease. The majority of dogs (93.5%) was either small or middle-sized breeds with Maltese (19.7%) and Shih Tzu (16.0%) being the most commonly found stray dogs. Out of 1,143 dogs admitted to the shelter, owners of 128 dogs (11.2%) visited the shelter and found their lost dogs, while 518 dogs (45.3%) were adopted to new families. Results of this study strongly indicate that stray dogs in Korea are exposed to a variety of diseases and the disease control by veterinarians is one of the most important aspects of the shelter management.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.27-34
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• 2009

Objectives: To evaluate the acute toxic effects and approximate lethal dose of Cheonggan extracts (CGX) in SD rats and beagle dogs. Methods: Male and female rats were divided into 4 groups (Control, CGX 1250, CGX 2500, CGX 5000) respectively and male and female dogs were divided into two groups respectively (Control, CGX 5000) respectively. A single oral dose of CGX was treated to the rats and dogs. Mortality, signs of gross toxicity, and behavioral changes were observed over 14 days. All animals were observed every hour for 4 hours after administration and once a day thereafter for 14 days. Body weights were determined at $0_{th}$, $7_{th}$, and $14_{th}$ days. All surviving animals were sacrificed and necrotized. Major organs were inspected visually for gross findings. Results: No animals died in any of the groups during the experimental period (2 weeks), rats or dogs. Body weights of rats and dogs during the experiment continuously increased in all groups but there was no significant change. No abnormal clinical signs were observed for 2 weeks after a single administration of CGX in any dose group of CGX, rats or dogs. No abnormal findings in major organs were observed in any group of rats or dogs. Conclusion: CGX does not have acute toxic effects in rats or dogs. Therefore, an approximate lethal dose is assumed to exceed 5000 mg/kg in both rats and dogs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.477-481
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• 2015

Giardia is a major public health concern and considered as reemerging in industrialized countries. The present study investigated the prevalence of giardiosis in 202 sheltered dogs using PCR. The infection rate was 33.2% (67/202); Gyeongsangbuk-do and Daejeon showed 25.7% (39/152, P<0.0001) and 56% (28/50), respectively. The prevalence of infected female dogs (46.7%, P<0.001) was higher than in male dogs (21.8%). A higher prevalence (43.5%, P<0.0001) was observed in mixed breed dogs than purebred (14.1%). Although most of the fecal samples collected were from dogs of ${\geq}1$ year of age which showed only 27.4% positive rate, 61.8% (P<0.001) of the total samples collected from young animals (<1 year of age) were positive for G. intestinalis. A significantly higher prevalence in symptomatic dogs (60.8%, P<0.0001) was observed than in asymptomatic dogs (23.8%). Furthermore, the analysis of nucleotide sequences of the samples revealed that G. intestinalis Assemblages A and C were found in the feces of dogs from Gyeongsangbuk-do and Daejeon. Since G. intestinalis Assemblage A has been known to infect humans, our results suggest that dogs can act as an important reservoir of giardiosis in Korea. Hence, hygienic management should be given to prevent possible transmission to humans.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.838-845
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• 1999

To determine the prognostic factors for survival of dogs infected with canine parvovirus, clinical and laboratory data of 35 dogs with clinical signs compatible with canine parvoviral enteritis admitted to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Seoul National University during the period 1997-1998 were collected. Dogs were grouped by some major covariates, which can be considered as guides to the relative prognosis of dogs in the different subgroups. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Weibull proportional hazard model were used to estimate overall survival, evaluate the comparability between groups, and identify potential prognostic factors. The overall survival rate for all dogs was 45.7% over the study period, and the Kaplan-Meier estimate of one week survival was 0.4989. Gender was the most favorable prognosis ; male dog (median, 6 days) had significantly higher risk of dying than female dog (median, 17 days ; p = 0.0023). In addition to gender, age was significantly associated with survival, with juvenile dogs less than 6-month-old having higher risk (p = 0.0359). Dogs that vaccinated with complete protocol (p = 0.0374) and those of having higher value of mean corpuscular volume (p = 0.0346) were found to be of prognostic importance. The 7 dogs in which white blood cell count of less than 2000 had shorter median survival time (3 days) than the remaining 28 dogs (8 days), but no statistical significance was found between leukopenic and survival. The distribution of packed cell volume and hemoglobin measurement was such that the overall risk of dying in the two groups was comparable. Further studies are needed to more accurately assess these results.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2011

This study was carried out to develope enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of canine brucellosis in dogs experimentally inoculated with Brucella abortus 1119-3 and B. canis RM666. Groups A, B and C of dogs (each group consisting of three dogs) were orally inoculated with approximately $5{\times}10^9$ colony-forming units of B. abortus and B. canis, and with sterile pyrogen-free PBS, respectively. The animals were monitored at regular intervals upto the 12th week post inoculation (PI) by standard tube agglutination test (STAT), plate agglutination test (PAT), Rose Bengal test (RBT), 2-mercaptoethanol rapid slide agglutination test (2ME-RSAT) and ELISA. The induced antibody titers in group A dogs were detected from the first week PI to the eighth week PI in STAT, PAT and RBT using the inactivated whole cells of B. abortus 1119-3 as antigens, while no sera in groups B and C dogs reacted with the antigens. In 2ME-RSAT using whole cells of B. canis M-strain as antigens, the induced antibody titers in group B dogs were observed at the second week PI and persisted for the 12th week PI, while sera of groups A and C dogs did not react with the whole cells. In ELISA using cytoplasmic fractions antigen of B. abortus 1119-3, the mean optical density of antibodies in groups A and B was detected from the first and second weeks PI, respectively, and persisted for 12th week PI, while sera of group C did not cross-react with the fractions antigen. However, in ELISA using the hot saline extracts of B. canis M- as an antigen, the induced antibody titers in only group B dogs were detected from second week PI and persisted for until the end of this study. These results indicate that the ELISA using B. abortus 1119-3 cytoplasmic fractions as antigens can be a good candidate for detection of brucellosis by B. abortus as well as B. canis in dogs.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2010

This study was performed to test the hypothesis that Brucella abortus strain RB51 (SRB51) might protect Korean indigenous mongrel dog against challenge with either virulent B. abortus biotype 1 or B. canis. A total of 12 Korean mongrel dogs were divided into four groups (Group A, B, C and D). Dogs belonging to Group A and C were inoculated subcutaneously with $1{\times}10^9$ CFU of SRB51 in 1ml of sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Dogs of Group B and D were inoculated subcutaneously with 1ml of sterile PBS as control. At 12 weeks post vaccination, dogs of Group A and B were challenged by oral inoculation of virulent strain of B. canis ($5.0{\times}10^9$ CFU) and dogs of Group C and D were challenged by oral inoculation of virulent strain of B. abortus biotype 1 ($4.4{\times}10^{10}$ CFU). The serum antibodies titers in all dogs were monitored at regular interval for eight weeks after challenge (AC) by standard tube agglutination test, plate agglutination test, rose bengal test, 2-mercaptoethanol rapid slide agglutination test and 2-mercaptoethanol tube agglutination test. No antibody titers in Group A and C was detected. Also, the challenge strains were not found from blood of all dogs of Group A and C from 1 week AC till the end of the experiment by culture and modified AMOS-PCR, whereas B. canis and B. abortus challenge strains were detected from blood of Group B and D, respectively. In addition, neither of two challenge bacteria was recovered from liver, spleen, kidneys, lymph nodes and reproductive tracts of Group A and C dogs after postmortem. However, B. canis and B. abortus challenge strains were isolated from these tissues of Group B and D, respectively. These data suggest that SRB51 could be a promising vaccine candidate for immunizing dogs to control canine brucellosis caused by B. canis or B. abortus.