Fear is a common behavioral problem in dogs. In this paper, we studied the association between behavioral and physiological responses in two potentially fear-eliciting situations. The aim was to establish whether it is possible to separate dogs of the collie breed that are fearful of floors and gunshots from those that are not by studying changes in heart rate and hematocrit, plasma cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, vasopressin, and -endorphin concentrations. Thirteen privately owned male dogs of the collie breed were studied during a floor test, using different types of floors, and a subsequent gunshot test. Seven of the dogs were identified as being fearful of floors and six were declared as fearless. Out of the 13 dogs, seven were fearful of gunshots and six were fearless of gunshots. Since fear of floors did not always occur concomitantly with fear of gunshots, there were consequently four different groups of dogs. The heart rate increased during the floor test in all groups, but dogs that were fearful of floors had higher heart rates than dogs that were fearless of floors. Dogs that were fearful of gunshots had higher heart rates, higher hematocrit levels and higher plasma concentrations of cortisol, progesterone, vasopressin, and -endorphins during the gunshot test than did dogs that were found to be fearless of gunshots. Plasma cortisol and progesterone increased drastically during the gunshot test in dogs identified as being fearful of gunshots. In fearful dogs, the testosterone concentration increased after completion of the floor test and before the gunshot test started, but there were no significant differences in testosterone between the groups. Since dogs fearful of gunshots had increased levels of several physiological parameters, the results demonstrated that this fear is a serious stress for the individual, a fear which it is possible to register with physiological variables.

The clinical and pathological findings in 45 shih tzu dogs with progressive nephropathy due to renal dysplasia are described. There was no sex dependence and the age at death/euthanasia varied from seven weeks to nine years, with a mean age of two years. The most common clinical signs were depression, polydipsia and vomiting. All dogs showed elevated blood urea levels and most passed dilute urine. Proteinuria and anaemia were the most common findings. At necropsy all dogs had small, lobulated, pale kidneys with capsular adhesion. Multiple cysts in the cortex and in the intermediary zone were found in most cases. The morphological changes were three different types based on microscopic examination: 1 Primary dysplastic lesions; where fetal glomeruli were the most consistent finding.2 Compensatory changes; where hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the glomerular tufts and tubules were most frequently observed.3 Inflammatory lesions and fibrosis were found in all cases.A genetic study of 37 dogs suggests a simple recessive mode of inheritance. Based on this information a control scheme against renal dysplasia has been instigated.

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By using information derived from questionnaires sent to registered owners of drever dams and sires in Sweden with offspring born in 1992 and/or 1994, two groups of offspring were identified: one with one parent said to have had breathing difficulties after hunting, and another with both parents unaffected. Questionnaires were sent to the owners of these offspring, and multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the offspring data, with the status of their sire and dam with respect to breathing difficulties after hunting included as covariates. For the outcome 'breathing difficulties after hunting' in the 266 offspring, the odds ratio (OR) was 4.4 (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 1.8 to 10.8) if the dam was affected and 3-9 (95 per cent CI 1.2 to 11.1) if the sire was affected. The OR for male offspring was 2.4 (95 per cent CI 1.1 to 5.7). The heritability of the condition was estimated to be 0.34 from the dogs born in 1992, and 0.28 from the dogs born in 1994.