• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2017

Twelve dogs weighing less than 10 kg underwent unilateral TTO to stabilize the stifle joint with cranial cruciate ligament rupture. Surgical findings, intra-operative and post-operative complications were recorded. Radiographic examinations were performed for 8 weeks following surgery. Postoperative outcome was evaluated using a visual analogue lameness scoring system. Mean preoperative PTA (the angle created by the intersection of the tibial plateau extrapolation line and the patellar tendon) was 103.8 degrees. Mean tibial wedge angle was 16.6 degrees. Mean postoperative PTA was 92.1 degrees. Intraoperatively, fracture through the caudal tibial cortex occurred in all dogs, through the distal tibial crest cortex in 2 dogs, through the lateral tibial cortex in 2 dogs and through the fibula in 1 dog. Four-week postoperative radiographs demonstrated evidence of progressive bone union at osteotomy site and complete unions were identified at 8 week in 10 dogs. All dogs were healed in 11 weeks. Most of dogs revealed weak lameness in 4 weeks and normal ambulation in 8 weeks postoperatively except for only one dog returned in 11 weeks. Despite frequent minor complication, it appears that the TTO is an alternative procedure for management of cranial cruciate ligament rupture in small breed dogs.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.58.1-58.13
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• 2021

Background: The morphometry of the acetabulum is one source of information that assists in the clinical diagnosis of the hip and influences the proper selection of a prosthesis, reducing post-operative complications such as those seen in total hip replacement (THR). However, acetabular parameters in small-breed dogs are rarely reported. Objectives: To investigate acetabular parameters using radiography and computed tomography (CT) in small-breed dogs with Maltese and Shih Tzu dogs used as model breeds. Methods: Standard calibrated, extended hip radiographs and CT images were obtained. Subsequently, acetabular width (AW) in various directions was measured using radiography and CT, whereas acetabular depth (AD) was obtained by CT. Acetabular index (AI) is a ratio calculated from AD and AW. Results: The values of AW and AD were much higher in Shih Tzu than in Maltese dogs. Male Shih Tzus showed higher values of these parameters than females, while sex-based differences in most of the parameters could not be detected in Maltese. Body weight, but not age, influenced AWs and ADs. While AWs and ADs were influenced by several factors, AI was comparable among the assessed factors and between Maltese and Shih Tzu dogs (p = 0.172; 31.42 ± 1.35 and 32.60 ± 1.80, respectively). Also, AI did not vary with breed, sex, or body size. Conclusions: The obtained radiographic and CT acetabular parameters could be useful as guidelines for evaluating the acetabulum of small-breed dogs in clinical practice.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.337-341
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• 2002

In 2001, eight small-sized dogs and three medium-sized dogs with or without clinical signs such as vomiting, dyspnea and enlargement of superficial lymph nodes were diagnosed as lymphoma by radiography, ultrasonography and cytology. Among them, six were female mainly over 7 years old and others were male around 4 years old. There were six cases of multicentric form lymphoma, three cases of mediastinal form, an alimentary and an extranodal form, respectively. Radiographic findings were enlarged cranial mediastinal lymph node, sternal lymph node, and tracheobronchial lymph nodes on thorax and hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, and enlarged sublumbar lymph nodes on abdomen. Ultrasonographic findings revealed enlarged abdominal lymph nodes and multifocal hypoechoic lesions on the liver. Especially, severe wall thickness of small bowel was observed in a dog with alimentary lymphoma. Three dogs were dead during chemotherapy, and three dogs were dead without any treatment. Three dogs did not return and two treated dog showed normal status. Radiography and ultrasonography, although not giving an final diagnosis for lymphoma, are useful for assessment and diagnosis of lymphoma.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.10.1-10.11
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• 2021

The purpose of this retrospective study was to provide additional data on the use of toceranib in a wide variety of tumor types in small breed dogs, especially < 8 kg (except 5 dogs). This was a retrospective study of 31 dogs with malignant tumors treated with a 2.5 mg/kg median dose of toceranib (Palladia; Zoetis, USA) on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. Clinical benefit was observed in 13 of 15 dogs (86.7%, 3 with complete response, 4 with partial response, 6 with stable disease) with gross disease. Distant metastasis, response to treatment, and treatment setting were significantly associated with survival time. Negative prognostic factors were multiple chemotherapy and distant metastasis (affecting progression-free survival [PFS]), surgery, regional enlarged lymph nodes, underlying disease, and toxicity (affecting median survival time [MST]). Positive prognostic factors were epithelial and round cell tumor (affecting PFS), epithelial tumor, microscopic disease, no evidence of disease response, and stable disease (MST). In conclusion, a clinical benefit from toceranib treatment was noted in most of the dogs with gross disease in our study. This study suggested that the toceranib is probably selective treatment to various tumor types in small breed dogs.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.453-455
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• 2013

Heartworm infection is a fatal disease causing heart failure and pulmonary diseases in dogs. This heartworm infection can also occur in wild carnivores including Raccoon dogs. Recent study found that relatively high prevalence rate in wild Raccoon dog population. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the prevalence rate of D. immitis in free-roaming Raccoon dogs and the recovery rate of microfilariae in infected Raccoon dogs in Korea. Overall prevalence rate of D. immitis in Korean Raccoon dogs was 17.8%. Prevalence rate in male Raccoon dogs was 21.8%, while that in female Raccoon dogs was 12.8%. Microfilariae were not detected in 17 Raccoon dogs having positive in heartworm antigen test. Our study result suggested that the prevalence rate of D. immitis in Korea is twice higher than that of Japan. In addition, microfilaremia is rare in Raccoon dogs as commonly noticed in cats.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.294-301
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• 2022

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has been widely used for accurate screw and pin placement in orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. However, there are few reports comparing the accuracy between the patient-specific guides and freehand Kirschner wire (K-wire) placement in toy, small and medium breed dogs. This study aimed to assess the accuracy of 3D printed patient-specific guides (PSGs) in pin insertion in the thoracolumbar vertebrae of toy breed dogs and compare the outcomes between novice and experienced surgeons. The experiment was conducted on the thoracolumbar vertebrae of 21 euthanized toy breed dogs (median weight, 5.95 kg). The optimal insertion angle placement was determined and patient-specific guides for K-wire insertion were designed and 3D printed using computed tomography (CT) and a 3D computer-aided design program of three vertebrae (Thoracic 12-Lumbar 1). K-wire tracts were made by experienced and novice surgeons and compared to assess the accuracy based on postoperative CT. Based on postoperative CT, in the experienced group, 61 out of 63 pins (96.8%) were fully contained inside the vertebral body and lamina, whereas two pins (3.2%) had perforated the vertebral canal (grade 3, 2-4 mm breach). However, all the pins in the novice group were fully contained. The use of 3D printed PSGs for pin insertion in the thoracolumbar region is an accurate and safe alternative to freehand screw placement by novice surgeons in toy, small and medium breed dogs. Operations with 3D printed PSGs allow novice surgeons to achieve better or similar outcomes in accurate placement of pin/screws in vertebrae.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.277-282
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• 2012

This study was conducted to evaluate whether plasma homocysteine levels were related to obesity or its contributing factors (e.g., lipids, insulin, glucose, glucagon, and fructosamine) in dogs without systemic diseases such as diabetes or renal failure. For achieving our study goal, 100 client-owned dogs without systemic diseases were enrolled in this study. Fasting glucose concentration; lipid profile (i.e., total triglycerides [TG], total cholesterol [TC], highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C]); and fructosamine, insulin, and glucagon levels were determined. The dogs were subdivided by the body condition score (BCS). The median levels of homocysteine were considerably higher in obese dogs than in lean and normal dogs. Interestingly, not only was homocysteine positively associated with the level of HDL-C, but also found to have a significant positive association with TG, TC, plasma glucagon levels, and fructosamine. In contrast, LDL-C, fasting glucose and insulin did not show any association with homocysteine. The findings presented, suggest that elevated levels of homocysteine may play a biological role in obesity in dogs.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2013

This study aimed to evaluate the plasma concentration of NT-proBNP in dogs with different stages of heart failure by chronic mitral valve insufficiency (CMVI). Fifty small-breed dogs with CMVI and 7 healthy control dogs without cardiac disease and critical systemic diseases were included in the study population. As a preliminary study, we compared the plasma concentrations of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and the echocardiographic parameters between dogs of the International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council (ISACHC) classes. Then, we evaluated the associations between NT-proBNP and echocardiographic parameters. Plasma NT-proBNP levels showed a significant difference among the ISACHC groups. In the comparison between echocardiographic parameters and NT-proBNP, NT-proBNP were found to be associated with left atrium/aorta (LA/AO), early diastolic transmitral flow (E) velocity, late diastolic transmitral flow (A) velocity, end diastolic volume index (EDVI). Our study found plasma NT-proBNP might be useful to predict the disease progression in dogs with CMVI.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.32-35
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• 2013

Six English Bull dogs from the same dog training camp were referred with main complaints of stridor, gagging and coughing. Diagnostic imaging studies on these dogs revealed hypoplastic trachea with/without bronchopneumonia. The mean age of affected dogs was $4.83{\pm}2.63$ months, while the mean body weight was $9.03{\pm}5.30$ kg. The mean ratio of the tracheal diameter to the thoracic inlet distance (TD/TI) was $0.085{\pm}0.022$ (normally 0.16 or greater), whereas the mean ratio tracheal diameter to the width of the third rib (TD/W3R) was $1.36{\pm}0.36$ (normally 2 or greater). All dogs had marked inspiratory dyspnea with variable degree of coughing. Of 6 dogs, 4 dogs had either bronchitis or bronchopneumonia. Treatment with antibiotics and bronchodilators made improvement on clinical signs on these dogs. Although some dogs still had mild inspiratory dyspnea (especially after exercise or excitement), most dogs live normally.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

Hematological and serum biochemical analyses are routinely used to screen dogs for disease and monitor their clinical progression. These values in dogs may be affected by internal factors, such as breed and age, and external factors like environment, diet, and lifestyle. Apparently, subclinical breed-related variations in hematologic and serum biochemical results have been characterized for Bernese Mountain dogs, Alaskan Malamutes, English Setters, and Golden Retrievers. It is possible that some breed-related differences in clinical pathology analyses may reflect evidence of underlying disease and impact clinical decision plan. In this study, we estimated hematologic and serum biochemical parameters in small breed dogs and compared among four different breed dogs. Blood samples were collected from 38 domestic dogs that were 10 Beagles, 9 Malteses, 10 Poodles, and 9 Miniature Schnauzers. In terms of RBC count, Beagle ($7.2{\pm}0.24{\times}10^3cells/{\mu}L$) showed significantly (P<0.05) higher count than other breeds (Maltese, $6.51{\pm}0.25{\times}10^3cells/{\mu}L$; Poodle, $6.35{\pm}0.24{\times}10^3cells/{\mu}L$; and Miniature Schnauzer, $6.35{\pm}0.25{\times}10^3cells/{\mu}L$). For MCV, Miniature Schnauzer ($67.05{\pm}0.84fl$) results were significantly (P<0.05) higher than Beagle with $64.33{\pm}0.8fl$. For cholesterol value, Beagle ($163.3{\pm}9.15mg/dl$) had significantly (P<0.05) higher values than Miniature Schnauzer with $119.12{\pm}9.64mg/dl$. There was no statistically difference among breeds in terms of enzyme markers of liver diseases. In conclusion, data obtained from this study may be valuable as breed-related variability for interpretation of the results in hematologic and serum biochemical analysis among four small breed dogs.