In May 2017, at least 12 dogs showed signs of acute neurotoxicosis after swimming in or drinking from Lake Tegel, a mesotrophic lake in Berlin, Germany, and several of the affected dogs died shortly afterwards despite intensive veterinary treatment. Cyanobacterial blooms were not visible at the water surface or the shorelines. However, detached and floating water moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) with high amounts of Tychonema sp., a potential anatoxin-a (ATX) producing cyanobacterium, was found near the beaches where the dogs had been swimming and playing. Necropsies of two of the dogs revealed no specific lesions beside the anamnestic neurotoxicosis. ATX was detected in concentrations up to 8700 µg L−1 in the stomach contents, while other (neuro)toxic substances were not found. In the aqueous fraction of Fontinalis/Tychonema clumps sampled after the casualties, ATX was found in concentrations up to 1870 µg L−1. This is the first report of a dense population of Tychonema sp. in stands of Fontinalis resulting in high ATX contents. This case emphasizes the need for further investigation of potentially toxic, non-bloom forming cyanobacteria in less eutrophic water bodies and underlines the novel challenge of developing appropriate surveillance schemes for respective bathing sites.

The objective of this study was to determine sensitivity and specificity of a body temperature decline in bitches to predict parturition. Temperature loggers were placed into the vaginal cavity of 16 pregnant bitches on day 56-61 after estimated ovulation or first mating. This measurement technique has been validated previously and enabled continuous sampling of body temperature. The temperature loggers were expelled from the vagina before delivery of the first pup. The computed values for specificity (77-92%) were higher than sensitivity (53-69%), indicating a more precise prognosis of parturition not occurring. In conclusion, our findings may assist interpreting vaginal temperature measurements in order to predict parturition in bitches.

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Progressive motility is usually estimated by visual inspection using a light contrast microscope at X 100 immediately after semen collection or immediately after thawing frozen semen. Standard operating procedures have never been established for this test. The objective of this experiment was to examine time-dependent changes of motility after thawing cryopreserved canine semen. Semen of 35 dogs was collected, and volume, concentration, progressive motility, morphology, membrane integrity and HOS test were evaluated. For cryopreservation, CaniPRO Freeze A&B was used. Semen was thawed and diluted using CaniPRO culture medium. After thawing, semen was evaluated as before. In addition, every sample was evaluated for progressively motile sperm cells 0, 5, 20 and 60 min after thawing. Progressive semen motility was significantly highest five minutes after thawing.

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