IACUC Learning Module - Dogs |
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Currently, dogs may also be obtained from select animal shelters or pounds, which are not in the research institutions area. These dogs are of various breeds, or mixtures of breeds, and have wide variation in temperament. Dogs are kept at the shelter for several weeks, to allow them every opportunity to be adopted as pets. UAC receives animals that are not adopted for various reasons. Some dogs have been born and raised on the streets and are true "strays", these dogs tend to be very frightened and may bite when cornered. Although UAC staff attempt to identify and refuse dogs which show aggressive tendencies, all dogs should be treated as though they will bite, until time has proven otherwise. Since dogs from the pound come with no medical history, they should be quarantined for an adequate time to ensure that they are not incubating a serious illness.
HUSBANDRY
Upon arrival, dogs are quarantined for up to two weeks. During the quarantine period, they are examined and vaccinated against canine distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza, parvo and corona virus. If needed, they are treated for internal and external parasites.
Although dogs live happily in groups once these groups have stabilized, the introductory period is full of fights and skirmishes. These fights and displays of aggression are normal social interactions and allow dogs to sort out dominance relationships. Research facilities may avoid such fights by housing dogs singly in runs, which allow nose to nose contact and interactions such as running side by side from one end of the pen to the other, but prevent full body contact. Another technique is to slowly introduce dogs to one another during exercise periods, before placing them together for group housing.
Dogs may be housed in runs, either with bare floors, or with wood shavings placed on the floor, or, loose in a room with wood shavings covering the floor.
Each day, dogs are let out of their pens, while cleaning takes place (this allows them some time to run about and touch noses with dogs in other pens). Bare floors are washed and disinfected each day. In runs or rooms with shavings, the excrement and soiled areas are scraped out each day but only once a week is the entire floor scraped of shavings and the bare floor disinfected, before new shavings are laid in place.
Generally a slip noose type leash is used to move the dog from one area to another. Often a dog will feel more secure if it is allowed to walk along the wall rather than in the middle of the hallway. If a dog is reluctant or refuses to move with a leash DO NOT drag the dog. Seek assistance from a UAC supervisor or the dog caretakers. They will be familiar with the animal and can best show you how to handle the situation.
Dogs are fed a dry kibble food with the quantity based on their weight. If the dog is ill or recuperating from surgery, it may be given canned food to entice it to eat.
SEX, MATING, GESTATION and PARTURITION
The male is usually just called, dog. The female dog is called, bitch. The young are called puppies or pups. A group of dogs may be referred to as a pack.
The external genitalia of a male dog consists of two testes contained in an external scrotal sac. The external orifice of the penile sheath is located just caudal to the umbilicus.
The female's external genitalia consists of a vulva. The bitch becomes sexually mature somewhere between eight and twelve months old; there is a great deal of variation between breeds and larger dogs tend to have slower onset of sexual maturity.
Mating is permitted by the female only during estrus (heat). Estrus lasts for two or three weeks and occurs at approximately six-month intervals. The start of estrus is signaled by vulvar swelling and a blood-tinged vaginal discharge. Ovulation is spontaneous and takes place during early to mid-estrus. The female is attractive to males during the entire estrus two-three week period, but usually permits mating only during a four to ten day window, beginning eleven to seventeen days after the onset of full estrus.
After some exploratory sniffing and licking by the dog, the bitch signals her readiness to mate by standing with her tail held to one side. The dog mounts the bitch, clasping her around the loins with his forelegs.
He makes thrusting motions and releases his semen within a minute. After ejaculation of the semen, a gland at the base of the dog's penis expands to lodge itself in the vagina, which serves to "tie" the two together. Often the male will turn so that the dogs are partially back to back. After about twenty minutes, the blood vessels to the penis relax, the glands and the penis return to normal size and the tie is broken. The dogs part, usually retire to lick themselves clean, after which they may play together, or just rest peacefully.
Unless UAC chooses to operate a breeding colony, dogs should not be allowed to become pregnant. Room caretakers must remain aware of the reproductive status of their charges so that bitches in heat are not allowed to mix with males during the exercise period.
The dog's gestation period on the average is sixty-three days. Swelling of the abdomen becomes more noticeable from the fifth week onwards, though if only one or two pups are being carried, or the bitch is plump anyway, this sign of approaching maternity may be difficult to spot. The mammary glands enlarge and the teats become larger and pinker from about the thirty-fifth day of pregnancy. A watery secretion can be drawn from the teats three or four days before the pups are born.
When birth is imminent, the bitch's temperature drops by a couple of degrees and she becomes restless, may go off her food, pants fitfully, and prepares her bed. This state of pre-labor usually lasts about twelve hours, but it can be much briefer or continue for a day or two, sometimes with intervals of normal behavior. True labor begins when you see the first strain by the bitch or the appearance of a colored (bottle green) discharge. The maximum time that it should take to deliver each pup, counting from the first sign of straining, is two hours. The total time for whelping an average litter of four to eight pups is up to six hours.
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