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Rabies is a deadly viral disease present mainly in low-income countries of Africa and Asia. Dogs are the main reservoir and the source of human deaths. Mass vaccination campaigns of dogs are pivotal to achieve rabies elimination. The monitoring of the immune response of the dog population is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns, taking into account field conditions. This study explores the feasibility and the performance of a new tool using filter papers (FPs) to collect blood samples associated with an Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) titration of rabies antibodies in dogs. A total of 216 eluates from FP samples were collected from 111 dogs kept in experimental facilities in France and 29 dogs from the field in Tunisia. Sera were also analyzed using both the Fluorescence Antibody Virus Neutralization test (FAVNt) and ELISA. A high specificity (98.0%) was obtained by testing FP blood eluates from 51 unvaccinated dogs, with the results compared with those of FAVNt and ELISA on serum samples. The coefficients of concordance between FP eluates and tested sera were 88.9% for FAVNt and 88.0% for ELISA. Blood filter papers coupled with the titration of rabies antibodies by ELISA provide a reliable, simple, and effective solution to overcome the issues of the logistics and transport of samples, especially in low-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rabies is a deadly viral disease present mainly in low-income countries of Africa and Asia. Dogs are the main reservoir and the source of human deaths. Mass vaccination campaigns of dogs are pivotal to achieve rabies elimination. The monitoring of the immune response of the dog population is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these campaigns, taking into account field conditions. This study explores the feasibility and the performance of a new tool using filter papers (FPs) to collect blood samples associated with an Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) titration of rabies antibodies in dogs. A total of 216 eluates from FP samples were collected from 111 dogs kept in experimental facilities in France and 29 dogs from the field in Tunisia. Sera were also analyzed using both the Fluorescence Antibody Virus Neutralization test (FAVNt) and ELISA. A high specificity (98.0%) was obtained by testing FP blood eluates from 51 unvaccinated dogs, with the results compared with those of FAVNt and ELISA on serum samples. The coefficients of concordance between FP eluates and tested sera were 88.9% for FAVNt and 88.0% for ELISA. Blood filter papers coupled with the titration of rabies antibodies by ELISA provide a reliable, simple, and effective solution to overcome the issues of the logistics and transport of samples, especially in low-income countries.

Postoperative complications (POC) that developed in dogs and cats that underwent elective ovariohysterectomy, castration, and declaw at a veterinary teaching hospital were determined by examining the computerized abstracts of the medical records and by examining a random sample of the paper medical records. When the computerized abstracts were examined, POC were found to have occurred in 62 (6.1%) of 1,016 dogs. One dog died and 6 others developed major complications. Postoperative complications were found to have occurred in 38 (2.6%) of 1,459 cats. Two cats died and 1 was euthanatized. Four other cats developed major complications. Complete paper medical records for 218 dogs and cats were examined. When the paper medical records were examined, the proportions of dogs and cats with POC were 19.4% and 12.2%, respectively. These proportions were 4 to 7 times higher than when the computerized abstracts were the data source. Results of this study indicate that the frequency of clinically relevant POC of elective surgeries in dogs and cats is substantial. Examination of the computerized abstracts of medical records at this hospital allowed us to rapidly identify cases that could be included in the study but the frequency of POC would be significantly underestimated if paper records were not also assessed.

Taking as its point of departure the place of the vegetal realm within Jane Campion's filmmaking, this article attends to both living and artificial plants, homing in on the exquisitely crafted paper flowers of The Power of the Dog to explore their entanglement with human power relations. Manmade flowers are clearly distinct from the flowers of the garden or the prairie, but in this Western, they form part of a broader floral aesthetic with their living kin. Drawing upon thought that stems from actual plants (Deleuze and Guattari's arboreal-rhizomatic thinking) and vegetal philosophy (Marder, Coccia), as well as parallel botany's attention to the artificial (Lionni), I follow the fate of one paper flower as it intersects with the gendered history of artificial flower making and floral sexual symbolism. Thinking with this paper flower, I engage with theories that variously question binary power relations (Cixous, Barthes, Steinbock), reading these alongside scholarship on sex, gender, and masculinity in the Western (Neale, Mulvey, Bruzzi), and broaching the hierarchies of settler colonialism. The film's floral aesthetic, I argue, challenges the either/or logic of male or female, masculine or feminine, and even though it cannot fully break away from the binaries it critiques, it is indebted to registering the importance of the nuance (Barthes) in the unthreading of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dog Aging Project is a long-term longitudinal study of ageing in tens of thousands of companion dogs. The domestic dog is among the most variable mammal species in terms of morphology, behaviour, risk of age-related disease and life expectancy. Given that dogs share the human environment and have a sophisticated healthcare system but are much shorter-lived than people, they offer a unique opportunity to identify the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors associated with healthy lifespan. To take advantage of this opportunity, the Dog Aging Project will collect extensive survey data, environmental information, electronic veterinary medical records, genome-wide sequence information, clinicopathology and molecular phenotypes derived from blood cells, plasma and faecal samples. Here, we describe the specific goals and design of the Dog Aging Project and discuss the potential for this open-data, community science study to greatly enhance understanding of ageing in a genetically variable, socially relevant species living in a complex environment., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The article discusses a study on the use of SYBR Green-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in order to develop a novel rapid genotyping technique for Collie eye anomaly (CEA). It notes the advantages of SYBR Green-based real-time PCR when combined with Flinders Technology Associates filter paper (FTA) cards. Continuous selective breeding is identified as an effective method of decreasing high CEA incidences. Such technique is recommended for large-scale screening in breeding populations of Collie-related breeds.

Biting lice are widespread ectoparasites of dogs and other animals. Their management is complicated because of growing levels of resistance to commonly applied pediculicides. Thus, the development of novel approaches to their control is of primary clinical interest. Therefore, we examined the chemical composition of garlic, clove, pumpkin, onion and marjoram essential oils through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and their individual toxicity against the dog lice Trichodectes canis using a contact filter paper bioassay. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 45 compounds in garlic oil, 15 compounds in clove oil, 24 compounds in pumpkin oil, 16 compounds in onion oil and 22 compounds in marjoram oil. 2,3,3-trimethyl Hexane (5.33%), (+-) -(1S, 3R)-4(S)(a)-Methyladamantan (44.35%), 2,6,10,14,18,22-Tetracosahexane, Ethyl-2,6,10,15, 19,23-Hexane (31.67%), (E, E)-2,4-Decadienal (18.64%) and 4-methyl-1-(1-methylethyl)-3-Cyclohexen-1-ol (CAS) (21.01%) were the most abundant compounds in garlic, clove, pumpkin, onion and marjoram oils, respectively. All treated groups except marjoram oil showed high levels of toxicity. Clove, garlic and pumpkin oils demonstrated the best loucidal activity reaching 100% mortality within 15 and 20 minutes. The LC50 values were 10.757, 9.156, 11.325, 27.296 and 15.059 % for garlic, clove, pumpkin, marjoram and onion oils. Based on the LC50 values, the relative efficacies of the tested oils after 35 minutes compared with that of the marjoram oil as a reference material indicated that, clove, garlic, pumpkin and onion oils were 3.0, 2.5, 2.4 and 1.8, respectively more effective than marjoram oil. The LT50 values, post-treatment with 25% were 40.659, 48.335, 39.261, 45.744, and 47.974% respectively. The relative speed of killing lice is almost similar in all tested oils. It could be concluded that clove, garlic and pumpkin oils may offer eco-friendly alternatives of veterinary pediculicides for the control of the dog lice T. canis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As global pet ownership rises, managing the health of aging dogs has become a growing concern, particularly due to the high costs and challenges in recognizing early symptoms. In Korea, many casual pet owners struggle to identify abnormal behaviors and address them effectively without expert knowledge. Thus, we propose a pre-diagnosis system for casual dog owners that infers possible diseases from queries based on observed abnormal symptoms. This proposed system, based on a fuzzy inference algorithm, is not to aiming to compete with veterinarians but to alert the casual pet caregiver to monitor abnormal behavior indicative of disease, to be addressed as early as possible. The experimental results verify that the proposed system is sufficiently robust under noisy input, which is very common when non-expert casual owners use this system. While the pet market is continuously rapidly increasing in Korea, pet dog owners feel uncomfortable in coping with pet dog's health problems in time. In this paper, we propose a pre-diagnosis system based on neuro-fuzzy learning, enabling non-expert users to monitor their pets' health by inputting observed symptoms. To develop such a system, we form a disease–symptom database based on several textbooks with veterinarians' guidance and filtering. The system offers likely disease predictions and recommended coping strategies based on fuzzy inference. We evaluated three fuzzy inference algorithms—PFCM-R, FHAL, and MNFL. While PFCM-R achieved high accuracy with clean data, it struggled with noisy inputs. FHAL showed better noise tolerance but lower precision. PFCM-R is a variant of well-known fuzzy unsupervised learner FCM, and FHAL is the hybrid fuzzy inference engine based on Fuzzy Association Memory and a double-layered FCM we developed. To make the system more robust, we propose the multi-layered neuro-fuzzy learner (MNFL) in this paper, which effectively weakens the association strength between the disease and the observed symptoms, less related to the body part on which the abnormal symptoms are observed. In experiments that are designed to examine how the inference system reacts under increasing noisy input from the user, MNFL achieved 98% accuracy even with non-erroneous inputs, demonstrating superior robustness to other inference engines. This system empowers pet owners to detect health issues early, improving the quality of care and fostering more informed interactions with veterinarians, ultimately enhancing the well-being of companion animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The skin microbiota interacts with the host immune response to maintain the homeostasis. Changes in the skin microbiota are linked to the onset and the progression of several diseases, including tumors. We characterized the skin surface and dermal microbiota of 11 dogs affected by spontaneous mast cell tumor (MCT), using skin contralateral sites as intra-animal healthy controls. The microbial profile differed between healthy and tumor skin surfaces and dermis, demonstrating that the change in microbiota composition is related to the presence of MCT. The number of observed taxa between MCT and healthy skin surfaces was detected, showing a decrease in number and heterogeneity of taxa over the skin surface of MCT, at both inter- and intra-individual level. Preliminary data on bacterial population of MCT dermis, obtained only on three dogs, demonstrated an intra-individual reduction of taxa number when compared to the skin surface. Taxonomy reveals an increase of Firmicutes phylum and Corynebacteriaceae family in MCT skin surface when compared to the healthy contralateral. In conclusion, we demonstrate that microbial population of skin surface and dermis is related to mast cell tumor. Our study provides the basis for future investigations aiming to better define the interaction between mast cell tumors, microbiota and host immune response.

Simple Summary: Lactococcus petauri has been described for the first time in 2017 in a sugar glider. A few years later, it has emerged as important pathogen for fish and more recently it has been reported also in terrestrial mammals and humans. A lot of these cases were misdiagnosed as Lactococcus garvieae infection due to the limitation of the available common standard diagnostic techniques used which were unable to discriminate between these two species and relatively high similarity of the two pathogens at genetic and phenotypic levels. Till today, there are only two reported cases of lactococcosis in dogs with no previous cases were reported from Italy. This report is the first description of L. petauri infection in two domestics dog cases from Italy. The results of the current report provide an update on the host tropism, and additional knowledge on virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of L. petauri. Lactococcus garvieae has been considered for a long time the only causal agent of lactococcosis. In recent years, different papers reported the involvement of other two bacterial species: Lactococcus petauri and Lactococcus formosensis. A different host tropism has been described for these species where L. garvieae and L. petauri are predominant species in fish and humans' infections, while L. formosensis in bovine. L. garvieae has been reported as rare infectious agent in dog. This paper represents the first isolation of L. petauri in two domesticated dog cases from urine and skin samples, respectively. The recovered L. petauri has been identified using PCR and sequencing based on Internal Transcribe Spacer (ITS) and phylogenetic analysis showed that it belongs to the L. petauri cluster with a 100% of identity with sequences previously reported from fish isolates while there were differences with L. petauri isolated from urinary tract infection from humans. L. petauri in human infection has been considered not necessarily deriving from the ingestion of contaminated food but rather as an opportunistic pathogen colonization intestinal tract. Differences among virulotypes have been reported for humans and dogs, and a comparison was also made between the virulotyping of L. petauri and L. garvieae in dogs. The antimicrobial pattern showed susceptibility for the election treatment molecules. These data contribute to our understanding of the host trophism of this species which was misclassified for long time and provide new data on its virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation announced that it has published a review of the current state of genetic testing in dogs to help dog breeders, dog owners, and veterinarians make sound decisions with regard to interpreting and understanding the implications of genetic test results.

Background: Rabies remains a significant public health issue in Ghana, predominantly affecting rural communities with limited access to health care and veterinary services. The disease is primarily transmitted through bites from infected domestic dogs and leads to many deaths worldwide each year. Despite various interventions, Ghana continues to struggle with rabies control and prevention. This narrative paper focuses on rabies control in Ghana, examining stakeholders' interventions, challenges faced, and opportunities available. Methods: The paper reviews existing rabies control measures in Ghana, including dog vaccination efforts and One Health strategies. It also discusses the limitations of these interventions, such as minimal vaccination coverage, weak surveillance, and inadequate intersectoral coordination. Results: Ghana has implemented dog vaccination campaigns, but coverage remains minimal. Additionally, weak disease surveillance, cultural perceptions, and inadequate coordination across sectors have hampered the country's ability to control rabies effectively. Conclusion: Adopting One Health principles, which integrate human, animal, and environmental health efforts, is emphasized as a critical strategy to eliminate rabies in Ghana by 2030. By addressing these challenges and leveraging available opportunities, Ghana can strengthen its rabies control programs and work toward a rabies‐free future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the current knowledge on the application of ultrasonography in the identification and removal of grass awns from various anatomic locations in dogs and cats. We selected and analyzed 46 papers on the application of ultrasonography in dogs and cats affected by migrating grass awns. The ultrasonographic appearance of grass awns is characteristic, although their size and location can influence visualization and removal attempt. In some cases, migrating grass awns are not directly visualized by ultrasonography, but lesions caused by their migration can be easily seen. Ultrasonography can be considered a useful diagnostic tool to localize and remove migrating grass awns; however, when the migration occurs in less accessible locations or discrete foreign bodies are present, this diagnostic tool should be considered as a part of a multidisciplinary approach with advanced diagnostic imaging modalities. Migrating grass awns are an important cause of disease in dogs and cats. Plant awns can migrate into several body tissues and cavities because of their fusiform shape and backward-pointing barbs. Their migration causes inflammatory tissue reaction and clinical signs depend upon their localization. Ultrasound has been described as a useful, noninvasive, and readily available tool to identify and guide vegetal foreign bodies removal in animals. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize current knowledge on the application of ultrasonography in the identification and removal of grass awns from various anatomic locations in dogs and cats. We selected and analyzed 46 papers on the application of ultrasonography in dogs and cats affected by migrating grass awns. The ultrasonographic appearance of grass awns is characteristic, although their size and location can influence the visualization and the attempt of removal. In some cases, migrating grass awns are not directly visualized by ultrasonography, but the lesions caused by their migration can be easily seen. Ultrasonography can be considered a useful diagnostic tool to localize and remove migrating grass awns; however, when the migration occurs in less accessible locations or discrete foreign bodies are present, this diagnostic tool should be considered as a part of a multidisciplinary approach with advanced diagnostic imaging modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog, was selected from a natural population breed of Romanian Carpathian Mountains. The aim of this study was to analyze the existence and size of sexual dimorphism in a population of 26 males and 23 females of the Mioritic Shepherd Dog breed, for 6 body measurements: ear length, ear width, distance between the ears, distance between the eyes, length hair at withers and metacarpal perimeter. Following the study on the significance of statistical differences between body measurements recorded in 26 males and 23 females, it was concluded that sexual dimorphism is not evident in the population of the Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog studied in this paper, except the distance between the ears character. Among the other characters, the differences between the individuals of the two sexes are insignificant (p>0.05). We recommend to the dog breeders to take into account the genetic improvement programs, and also the results presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Dogs that press buttons to communicate with people have attracted a lot of attention on social media recently. This paper explores how communicating with dogs has a long history—particularly as entertainment but also as science—and notes several paradoxes in the presentation of modern button-pressing dogs. These include how these animals are presented as spontaneously expressing their thoughts when they need months of training; how they appear to offer direct access to their thoughts, yet their button presses usually make little sense without someone interpreting them; and how a human skill—language—is needed for dogs to express their canine mental states. We conclude that although well intentioned and playful, this approach to communicating with dogs runs the risk of replacing the ways that dogs truly communicate with people, such as barking and whining, with an infantile form of human communication. In recent years, dogs that appear to communicate with people by pressing buttons on soundboards that replay pre-recorded English words have become very popular on social media online. We explore how these dogs belong to a historical tradition that dates back at least to the Middle Ages and peaked in the early twentieth century. Through analyses of short videos, books, and training manuals, we identify several paradoxes inherent in this phenomenon. These include how the dogs appear to provide unmediated access to their thoughts, and yet, their button presses are typically incoherent and require interpretation. They also require months of training to "spontaneously" express themselves. There is also an anthropomorphism and -centrism in claiming that a human skill—language—is required for a dog to express mental states that it already possesses. This approach to communicating with dogs quiets canine forms of expression such as barking, whining, bodily postures, and odors and replaces them with endearing but infantile human voices. We suggest that, while this endeavor may be well intentioned and often playful, it runs the risk of skewing people's perception of dogs towards fur-clad infants rather than adult members of a different species and of making people less attentive to canine nonverbal communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery of Contractile Function of Stunned Myocardium in Chronically Instrumented Dogs Is Enhanced by Halothane or Isoflurane. By Warltier DC, al-Wathiqui MH, Kampine JP, and Schmeling WT. ANESTHESIOLOGY 1988; 69:552-65. Reprinted with permission.Following brief periods (5-15 min) of total coronary artery occlusion and subsequent reperfusion, despite an absence of tissue necrosis, a decrement in contractile function of the postischemic myocardium may nevertheless be present for prolonged periods. This has been termed "stunned" myocardium to differentiate the condition from ischemia or infarction. Because the influence of volatile anesthetics on the recovery of postischemic, reperfused myocardium has yet to be studied, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of halothane and isoflurane on systemic and regional hemodynamics following a brief coronary artery occlusion and reperfusion. Nine groups comprising 79 experiments were completed in 42 chronically instrumented dogs. In awake, unsedated dogs a 15-min coronary artery occlusion resulted in paradoxical systolic lengthening in the ischemic zone. Following reperfusion active systolic shortening slowly returned toward control levels but remained approximately 50% depressed from control at 5 h. In contrast, dogs anesthetized with halothane or isoflurane (2% inspired concentration) demonstrated complete recovery of function 3-5 h following reperfusion. Because the anesthetics directly depressed contractile function, additional experiments were conducted in which a 15-minute coronary artery occlusion was produced during volatile anesthesia; however, each animal was allowed to emerge from the anesthetized state at the onset of reperfusion. Similar results were obtained in these experiments, demonstrating total recovery of contractile function within 3-5 h following reperfusion. Thus, despite comparable degrees of contractile dysfunction during coronary artery occlusion in awake and anesthetized dogs, the present results demonstrate that halothane and isoflurane produce marked improvement in the recovery of segment function following a transient ischemic episode. Therefore, volatile anesthetics may attenuate postischemic left ventricular dysfunction occurring intraoperatively and enhance recovery of regional wall motion abnormalities during reperfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To describe complications and outcomes of dogs undergoing unilateral thyroidectomy for the treatment of thyroid tumors. ANIMALS: 156 dogs undergoing unilateral thyroidectomy for a naturally occurring thyroid tumor. PROCEDURES: Dogs that underwent a unilateral thyroidectomy in 2003 through 2015 were included in a multi-institutional retrospective study. For each dog, information gathered through evaluation of electronic and paper records included perioperative complications, short-term outcome (survival to discharge from the hospital vs nonsurvival), and long-term outcome (survival time). RESULTS: In the perioperative period, complications occurred in 31 of the 156 (19.9%) dogs; hemorrhage was the most common intraoperative complication (12 [7.7%] dogs). Five of 156 (3.2%) dogs received a blood transfusion; these 5 dogs were among the 12 dogs that had hemorrhage listed as an intraoperative complication. Immediately after surgery, the most common complication was aspiration pneumonia (5 [3.2%] dogs). One hundred fifty-three of 156 (98.1%) dogs that underwent unilateral thyroidectomy survived to discharge from the hospital. One hundred-thirteen dogs were lost to follow-up; from the available data, the median survival time was 911 days (95% confidence interval, 704 to 1,466 days). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that unilateral thyroidectomy in dogs with a naturally occurring thyroid tumor was associated with a perioperative mortality rate of 1.9% and a complication rate of 19.9% and that hemorrhage and aspiration pneumonia were the most common complications. Long-term survival of dogs undergoing unilateral thyroidectomy for the treatment of thyroid tumors was not uncommon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a summary of several studies investigating the effects of rehabilitation on dogs recovering from intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) surgery. The studies examined the use of basic and intense rehabilitation techniques, including passive range of motion exercises, cold pack application, and various therapies. The findings suggest that basic rehabilitation alone did not significantly impact recovery time or rate. However, the combination of intense and basic rehabilitation was associated with a higher recovery rate. It is important to note that there is limited research specifically on basic rehabilitation techniques for postoperative IVDD patients, and further studies are needed to explore this area. The article discusses the effectiveness of different rehabilitation techniques for dogs recovering from intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) surgery. The study found that none of the papers reviewed reported increased rates of adverse effects. One study showed a lower complication rate in dogs that received a post-hospitalization rehabilitation program. However, there is contradictory evidence on the effectiveness of specific rehabilitation techniques. The article suggests that a multimodal approach to rehabilitation may be important for treating dogs with IVDD. The evidence is weak due to the lack of isolated studies on specific rehabilitation techniques. [Extracted from the article]

The recent remarkable success of generative AI models to create text and images has already started altering our perspective of intelligence and the "uniqueness" of humanity in this world. Simultaneously, arguments on why AI will never exceed human intelligence are ever-present as seen in Landgrebe and Smith (2022). To address whether machines may rule the world after all, this paper zooms in on one of the aspects of intelligence Landgrebe and Smith (2022) neglected to consider: creativity. Using Rhodes four Ps of creativity as a starting point, this paper evaluates the creative ability in visual generative AI models with respect to the state of the art in creativity theory. The most part of the reflective evaluation is performed through a case study in generating illustrations of dogs using the generative AI tool Midjourney. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: An increase in the number of free-roaming dogs and the related consequences (e.g., dog biting) has been observed across Iranian cities. So far, no clear scientific reasons for this increase were demonstrated, and a few existing domestic studies have only investigated the behaviours and frequencies of these animals in the cities. Based on online news articles, the on-the-ground reasons, challenges and dog-controlling activities mentioned by key urban and health authorities are examined in this paper. A scientific link is established between increased urbanisation, its features and its implications for dogs and humans. History has witnessed a long-term relationship between humans and animals. Historical documents and modern findings prove that humans' needs to use animals for companions or services are commonplace in many parts of the world, leading to the domestication of certain animals. Yet, modern societies have degraded many natural habitats for wildlife, confining them to small patches of landscapes or urban areas. Whether a domesticated/free-roaming animal or a wild species, their close contact with humans can create cumbersome situations for both species. This paper explores a link between online media content and on-the-ground efforts to manage free-roaming dogs as a rare case study. As indicated by news articles, the municipal costs of managing free-roaming dogs in Iranian cities have increased, and this can potentially derail the control of such dogs in the long run. This paper lays out pivotal factors for recent increasing human–animal encounters, which have led to many challenges (e.g., rabies) across cities in Iran. We show that some urban features (e.g., topography) can influence the presence and behaviours of free-roaming animals in the cities. The findings of this paper can be related to other developing countries where the plague of rabies is rising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Dogs that bite or show aggression towards humans are a worldwide problem. Whilst many dog–human relationships are valuable and bring much happiness, when the relationship breaks down and results in an aggressive encounter, the consequences are, at best, unpleasant for all those involved. It is commonly believed that the early experiences of dogs may contribute to their behaviour as adults. We reviewed and synthesised the scientific evidence surrounding this belief in order to establish what it tells us about the importance of early life experiences with regard to minimising the possibility of dogs developing aggressive responses to humans as adult animals. We found evidence in support of the potential importance of the following risk factors: the source of the animal, the age at which it was rehomed, the reason for the acquisition, the experience level of the owner, the animal's socialisation experiences, the consistent husbandry and management practices, the training, the sex ratio of the litter and the history of dogs that display aggression in the pedigree. Human-directed aggression by domestic dogs is a major worldwide public health problem. The causes of aggression are complex, and research in this area often has to balance ecological validity with pragmatic controls; accordingly, it often does not meet the thresholds for quality typically used in reviews applying a classical "evidence-based" approach. Here, we propose a method of literature assessment that makes the "best use" of available evidence to identify and synthesise evidence relating to the most likely risk factors reported in the scientific literature. We used a systematic review process to initially identify relevant literature relating to potential early life experience (i.e., in the first six months of life) risk factors in the dog for human-directed aggression in the adult animal. Fourteen papers met our initial screening process and were subsequently analysed in detail, with data extracted and effect sizes calculated where possible. This highlighted the potential importance of the source of the animal, the age at which it was rehomed, the reason for the acquisition, the experience level of the owner, the animal's socialisation experiences, the consistent husbandry and management practices, the training, the sex ratio of the litter and the history of dogs that display aggression in the pedigree as risk factors. Taken together, it seems that early experiences which limit the ability to develop effective coping strategies and routines may be particularly important. We provide guidance for the future standardised reporting of risk related to human-directed aggression by dogs to allow greater synthesis of the literature in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]