Working dogs help to keep society and individuals safe, secure, and healthy. To perform their varied functions, it is critical to select dogs that are structurally sound and capable of demonstrating power, coordination and agility. Characteristics such as size and substance, head and axial skeletal structure, chest size and conformation, and thoracic and pelvic limb angulation should be evaluated to select the optimal combination of characteristics to suit the tasks to which each dog will be assigned. This review provides guidance on how to evaluate each of these structural components and discusses the contributions of those body parts to a working dog's function.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.559055 | DOI Listing |
Am J Ind Med
January 2025
Defense Health Agency, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
Objective: This study examines the incidence of injuries among active component service members in Military Working Dog (MWD) handler occupations compared to three other active component occupational groups.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with a total of 2,524,092 active component service members including, 3935 MWD handlers, 2025 veterinary personnel, 113,413 military police, and 2,404,719 all other active component service members (ACSM). Incidence rate and incident rate ratios of injuries were determined.
Front Vet Sci
January 2025
Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Introduction: Chronic disease is generally known to affect dogs' quality of life (QoL) as well as being associated with increased strain on their owners. Gastrointestinal (GI) disease is a common problem in companion animal practice, yet little is known about the QoL of dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE) and how their owners and veterinarians assess it.
Methods: The aim of this study was to explore: (i) how dog owners and veterinarians observed and evaluated QoL for dogs with chronic GI disease, (ii) how having a dog with CE affected the owner's QoL, and (iii) characteristics of the communication and relationship between the dog owner and veterinarian.
Vet Surg
January 2025
Department of Clinical Sciences, Cornell University Hospital for Animals, Ithaca, New York, USA.
Objective: To determine if prestretching (PS) of the abdominal wall provided improved working space during elective laparoscopic procedures in dogs.
Study Design: Prospective cohort study.
Animals: Fifty client-owned dogs undergoing elective laparoscopic procedures.
Front Sociol
January 2025
Section Sociology of Social Differentiation and Socio-culture, Department of Social Work and Social Welfare, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.
This paper challenges the prevailing belief that assistance dogs inherently love their roles, arguing that the notion of "unconditional love" in discourses on assistance dog perpetuates a human-centric perspective and reinforces speciesism. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the affective experiences of these working animals and of acknowledging the interdependence between people with disabilities and assistance dogs. The paper has four main objectives: (1) critiquing the concept of unconditional love attributed to assistance dogs, (2) recognizing the physical and affective labor of assistance dogs, (3) highlighting the importance of interdependence over independence, and (4) exploring the intersections of ableism and speciesism in the context of assistance dogs.
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January 2025
Department of Animal and Rangeland Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States.
Two retrogene insertions, FGF4L1 (formerly 18-FGF4, colloquially CDPA) and FGF4L2 (formerly 12-FGF4, colloquially CDDY), have recently been discovered as determinants of short leg phenotype in dogs. This case study is comprised of a family of standard wirehaired dachshunds in which the dogs lacking the FGF4L1 gene exhibit a tall phenotype. The tall phenotype in the dachshunds of this report precludes the dog's working function of den work.
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