Risk factors associated with canine obesity include the amount of walking a dog receives. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between canine exercise requirements, socio-demographic factors, and dog-walking behaviors in winter in Calgary. Dog owners, from a cross-sectional study which included a random sample of adults, were asked their household income, domicile type, gender, age, education level, number and breed(s) of dog(s) owned, and frequency and time spent dog-walking in a usual week. Canine exercise requirements were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) positively associated with the minutes pet dogs were walked, as was the owner being a female. Moreover, dog walking frequency, but not minutes of dog walking, was significantly associated with residing in attached housing (i.e., apartments). Different types of dogs have different exercise requirements to maintain optimal health. Understanding the role of socio-demographic factors and dog-related characteristics such as exercise requirements on dog-walking behaviors is essential for helping veterinarians and owners develop effective strategies to prevent and manage canine obesity. Furthermore, encouraging regular dog-walking has the potential to improve the health of pet dogs, and that of their owners.

Objective: To determine the pharmacokinetics of methylprednisolone (MP) and the relationship between MP and hydrocortisone (HYD) concentrations in plasma and urine after intra-articular (IA) administration of 100 or 200 mg of MP acetate (MPA) to horses. Animals: Five 3-year-old Thoroughbred mares. Procedures: Horses exercised on a treadmill 3 times/wk during the study. Horses received 100 mg of MPA IA, then 8 weeks later received 200 mg of MPA IA. Plasma and urine samples were obtained at various times for 8 weeks after horses received each dose of MPA; concentrations of MP and HYD were determined. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic estimates for noncompartmental and compartmental parameters were determined. Results: Maximum concentration of MP in plasma was similar for each MPA dose; concentrations remained greater than the lower limit of quantitation for 18 and 7 days after IA administration of 200 and 100 mg of MPA, respectively. Maximum concentration and area under the observed concentration-time curve for MP in urine were significantly higher (approximately 10-and 17-fold, respectively) after administration of 200 versus 100 mg of MPA. Hydrocortisone concentration was below quantifiable limits for ≥ 48 hours in plasma and urine of all horses after administration of each MPA dose. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Pharmacokinetics of MP may differ among IA MPA dosing protocols, and MP may be detected in plasma and urine for a longer time than previously reported. This information may aid veterinarians treating sport horses. Further research is warranted to determine whether plasma HYD concentration can aid identification of horses that received exogenous glucocorticoids.

Objective: To determine whether vaccine virus can be detected by use of reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR assays for pooled and individual skin samples obtained from cattle after vaccination with a commercially available modified-live bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) vaccine. Animals: 12 BVDV-seropositive steer calves and 7 BVDV-seronegative (antibody titer < 1:4) heifers; all cattle were free of persistent infection with BVDV. Procedures: 2 experiments were conducted. Cattle were vaccinated on day 0 with a commercially available modified-live BVDV vaccine. Skin samples were collected on days 0, 3 to 14, 16, and 18 for virus detection by use of RT-PCR assay on individual and pooled samples. In addition, blood samples and nasal swab specimens were collected for virus isolation. Results: All cattle, regardless of serologic status, had negative results for BVDV as determined by use of RT-PCR assay of individual and pooled skin samples. Virus was detected via virus isolation in serum or the buffy coat in 5 of 7 heifers that were seronegative when vaccinated. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: These findings indicated that it would be unlikely to detect BVDV vaccine virus in skin by use of RT-PCR assay of individual or pooled skin samples obtained from cattle after vaccination with a commercially available modified-live BVDV vaccine. Veterinarians and producers should be confident that positive test results for BVDV on skin samples would not likely be caused by the vaccination virus after administration of a modified-live virus vaccine.

This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of equine&#xD;lameness and metabolic disorders in endurance horses during an endurance race. Out of 67 horses that participated in the race, 19 horses completed the race successfully without any derangement while 48 horses were eliminated from the race for various disorders. Fifty-three (53.73%) percent of these horses had metabolic disorders and&#xD;17.91% were eliminated due to lameness. The study showed that the highest number of endurance horses that were eliminated were due to metabolic disorders followed by lameness. These findings may assist veterinarians in designing laudable measures in the management and&#xD;conditioning protocols of endurance horses during training and further prevent the morbidity and mortality during endurance races.

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of prolong&#xD;submaximal exercise on heart rate reflecting the performance of endurance horses after covering distances of 40 and 80 km races. This study was conducted in Malaysia to determine the post-race&#xD;heart rates of endurance horses based on distances for the eliminated horses and those that completed the races with good&#xD;performance. Heart rates of competing endurance horses were examined at pre and post-race. Thirty-four endurance horses were sampled; N = 9 (40 km) and N = 9 (80 km) were the good performance horses while, N = 3 (40 km) and N = 13 (80 km) were the poor performance horses&#xD;eliminated from the race. The mean heart rate of the good performance horses in the 40 km category was 53 ± 8 bpm and that of&#xD;the 80 km in the good performance category was 56 ± 7 bpm, while the eliminated horses of the 40 km group had 74 ± 17 bpm and those in the 80 km group had 78 ± 7 bpm. The study showed that eliminated&#xD;horses in the 40 and 80 km categories both exhibited high heart rates compared to the good performance horses that were in the same racing category. Thus, the heart rates of horses during training may be used to predict performance based on distances covered in endurance races.

A trial and pig performance data collection was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of Luodong Bio- Fermentation Treatment Technology with zero discharge effect in a pig close house system at Tanjung Sepat, Selangor. This trial was done to gather and monitor the pig growth performance and the pig acceptance of using the Loudong Bio-fermentation Waste Treatment Technology in close house enviroment. Growth performance of the pigs were monitored by an average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, behaviour and veterinary observations. Close house temperature, moisture measurement and&#xD;bedding sampling were also conducted.