Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic species of Leptospira interrogans. Dogs can act as maintenance host for some serovars and transmit to other animals and humans through direct and/or indirect contact with urine or contaminated water and soil. A study was conducted to identify the presence of Leptospira and assessment of seroprevalence in apparently healthy dogs in Cauvery delta region (Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts) of Tamil Nadu. Serum (n=50) and urine (n=50) samples were collected randomly from 50 dogs with history of non vaccination to leptospirosis. Dark field microscopic (DFM) examination revealed the presence of Leptospira in 12.0 per cent of serum and 24.0 per cent of urine samples. Serological screening was done by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a battery of 12 Leptospira serovars (representing the serogroups of Australis, Autumnalis, Ballum, Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Hardjo, Hebdomadis, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica, Pomona, Pyrogenes and Tarassovi), which revealed 56.0 per cent seropositivity to either one or several serovars, which was Icterohaemorrhagiae (46.4 per cent), Grippotyphosa (32.1 per cent), Australis (32.1 per cent), Canicola (25.0 per cent) and Autumnalis (17.9 per cent) with highly significant difference (p<0.05) in seropositivity between serovars. The predominant serovar detected in dogs in this study was Icterohaemorrhagiae followed by Grippotyphosa. It is concluded that presence of leptospirosis in dogs in Cauvery delta regions of Tamil Nadu poses the risk of transmission to animals and humans and dogs can be used as sentinel animals for identification of leptospirosis.

The therapeutic efficacy of two formulations, one containing garlic and other lead carbonate and acetate, camphor, neem and eucalyptus oils were assessed in 18 and 29 clinical cases of dermatological disorders in dogs, respectively. None of the preparation showed satisfactory results against mange infestation. Both the preparations were almost equally effective in cases of fungal and non-specific dermatitis.

Currently the diagnosis of renal diseases is based on thorough history, clinical examination, urinanalysis and investigation of hemato-biochemical profiles. But biochemical markers are not sensitive to detect early renal damage. Also usefulness of their estimation is limited in early renal failure when marked reduction of GFR may be associated with little change in their concentration. At present imaging is an important diagnostic tool for early precise diagnosis. Scintigraphy is a less known diagnostic imaging technique in veterinary medicine, although it is similar to competitive methods such as radiography, ultrasound and endoscopy. By all the other methods only morphological objects can be visualized whereas scintigraphy has the advantage of the so-called physiological imaging. Scintigraphy is able to visualize and quantitate distribution of different materials in living organisms indicating normal [physiological] or abnormal (pathological) processes of the object. This is a sensitive, specific and non-invasive diagnostic method supporting clinician's diagnosis, as a part of combined modality-imaging systems; it gives useful data for veterinary clinicians. Present study was planned to standardize the scintigraphic profile for healthy dogs. Perfusion index Mean ± S.D. for right kidneys and left kidney was 154.7 ± 40.05 and 169.0 ± 46.0. The mean percent uptake at 2-3 minutes was 53.56 ± 6.17 and 46.46 ± 6.17 for right and left kidney. Time taken to Peak (TPP) minute, which indicates efficiency of blood flow at both the kidneys, was 3.12 ± 1.21 and 3.03 ± 1.22 min for right and left kidney respectively. The T½ from peak count [min] for right and left kidney was 5.02 ± 2.24 and 5.15 ± 3.6 min. The GFR for right and left kidneys was 68.79 ± 33.67 and 61.62 ± 31.92, respectively and the normalized GFR when both the kidneys are considered together in healthy dogs was 439.48 ± 55.67.

The study was conducted in 18 clinically healthy male dogs of about 1 year of age, weighing up to 12 kg and divided into three groups of 6 animals each. Bupivacaine alone, bupivacaine + hyaluronidase and hyperbaric bupivacaine were given epidurally at lumbosacral space @2 mg/kg. bwt. with a maximum dose of 3 ml in the animals of groups I, II and III, respectively. A significant increase (P0.01) in rectal temperature, heart rate and respiration rate was recorded at initial intervals of observation in all the groups and thereafter these values follow a declining trend in all groups consistently and reached to almost base line value at 120 min. of observation The alterations of glucose, serum urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase and creatinine estimated at 1hr, 2hrs, 4hrs and 24 hrs were remained within physiological limits in all the groups.Therefore induction of regional anaesthesia with bupivacaine and its combination revealed no permanent alteration in the biochemical and physiological parameters hence it is safe and satisfactory anaesthesia.

The canines affected with skin affections were subjected to blood biochemical profile assay. The affections included dermatitis, sarcoptic mange, demodectic mange, eczema, flea allergy dermatitis, skin allergy and bacterial dermatitis. The blood profile of serum iron, triglyceride, cholesterol, uric acid, urea, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase, and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase were compared with the blood of healthy dogs. The serum iron, urea and creatinine were comparable in both the groups. It was concluded that stress of dermatosis reflected in enzyme (higher in GGT) and lipid profile (higher in triglyceride, cholesterol) of patients, while renal parameters (urea and creatinine) remain unaffected on account of skin ailments.

An early declining trend in haemoglobin concentration, concurrent with reduced total erythrocyte count and PCV% was observed with pentazocine or lysine acetyl salicylate (LAS) analgesic premedication in thiobarbiturate intravenous general anaesthesia in atropine-primed normal dogs. While the declining trend in PCV% persisted with pentazocine, it had abated at 1.5 hr with LAS pre-medication. No evidence of intravascular haemolysis or red cell morphological aberration was found. Alterations in the values of major haematological indices appear to be a passive consequence of volume changes in the splenic pulp: initial dilatation induced by the thiobarbiturate followed by spontaneous contraction back to original biometry. The observed early lymphopoenic-eosinopoenic response might reflect enhanced glucocorticoid titre during the anaesthetic stress.

Trazodone is a commonly used medication in the United States for the treatment of anxiety in dogs.This article is intended to bring awareness among small animal veterinary practitioners of India about trazodone and its potential uses in the treatment of post-operative hyperactivity, noise phobia, separation anxiety and aggressive behavior.