Canine aggression is a widespread problem which receives a lot of attention from the media. It has important consequences in terms of public health and animal welfare. To address this issue it is necessary to first determine its epidemiological characteristics in the target population. This study was aimed at exploring the characteristics and determining the risk factors for dog aggression in the Slovak Republic and, in particular, for aggression directed at humans. For this purpose, we used a questionnaire directed to dog owners which included information about dog and owner characteristics, housing, training and fear behaviour. From the 177 analysed questionnaires, 67% portrayed dogs with some type of aggressive behaviour. Half of the animals showed some degree of owner-directed aggression and almost 40% were aggressive towards unfamiliar people. The approach of an unfamiliar male was the situation that stimulated most dogs to behave aggressively (33.3%) and a small percentage (2.3%) of the animals always showed aggression when approached by an unfamiliar child. Multivariate logistic regression models found that "owner's age" (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93 - 0.99) and "neuter status" (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.13-0.98) were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the exhibiting of aggressive behaviour in different contexts. "Dog's sex" (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.09-4.27) and "type of training" (OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.19-4.80) were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the exhibiting of aggressive behaviour towards familiar people. Younger owners were more likely to have aggressive dogs and neutered dogs were less likely to be aggressive in different contexts. Male dogs and dogs with informal training were more likely to be aggressive towards familiar people. Manifestations of fear were significantly associated with the expression of aggressive behaviour in all models. This study provides the first preliminary results on the characteristics and potential risk factors for human-directed aggression in Slovakia. The analysis of these data may help in determining which preventive measures should be given priority in this country.

The aim of the study was to compare and evaluate the welfare of cows kept on two conventional and two organic farms using Animal Needs Index (ANI) system. The system is rapid and easy to use. Its most important advantage is that it provides a final score and thus allows one to rate the evaluated object on a scale reflecting the level of welfare on the respective farm and thus compare farms with different ways of housing. The system showed a very good welfare level on two of four evaluated farms, both with free housing of cows, one organic and one conventional.

This review considers the importance of safety for various species of domestic animals and explains how the need for safety may motivate them to offer a variety of unwelcome responses. We argue that the value of safety to animals is often overlooked by trainers and handlers. As a result, animal owners, handlers, trainers, and veterinarians are regularly injured, and training may fail. Reinforced responses that increase the animal's perceived sense of safety but simultaneously endanger the safety of handlers or trainers may lead to the inadvertent training of dangerous responses. This review offers suggestions about how safety can be used effectively and humanely as a resource in operant training. Training calmness in the presence of a specific stimulus that is associated with safety may deserve closer attention. The ethics of creating the need for safety in domestic animals as part of a training regime are discussed. It emerges that the highly prized attribute of so-called trust in animal–trainer dyads may, at least sometimes, be a manifestation of trainers acting as safety signals. Similarly, animals said to have confidence in and regard for their handlers may value the relative safety they afford.

With the dual purpose of selecting both breeding animals and dogs for training, all German shepherd dogs in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) breeding program are subjected to a temperament test. During the test, the dog's behavioral responses are rated with 2 different methods. In a previous study, using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) on the test items, 5 and 3 underlying behavioral dimensions from each rating method were defined. Three of the dimensions were reported to correlate significantly to training success. Using the test results from 873 dogs, we estimated heritabilities of, and genetic correlations among, the 38 test items and the 8 underlying behavioral dimensions. Parameters were estimated using a mixed linear animal model including fixed effects of sex, training level, test age and test year-location combination, and random effects of litter, genetic effect of the individual, and residual. Heritabilities ranged from 0.00 to 0.28 (standard error [SE] = 0.05-0.10), which is similar to what has been reported in previous studies of traits defined and measured in a comparable way. Genetic correlations were high (rg = 0.92-0.98, SE = 0.08-0.12) between dimensions derived from each rating method and defined as either confidence, engagement, or aggressiveness, but relatively weak among these dimensions within rating method (rg = 0.00-0.45, SE = 0.29-0.41). Our results imply that the test measures 3 separate behavioral dimensions and that the SAF temperament test as a whole is possible to use for selection of dogs for breeding, but also that some test items should be measured differently to be meaningful for genetic selection purposes. Furthermore, aggregating variables based on a PCA performed on phenotypic data might be suboptimal when defining dimensions for breeding purposes; taking genetic parameters into consideration resulted in generally higher heritabilities for the dimensions.

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of various stimuli that confound interpretation of assessed indicators of horse welfare during rest and working period by the use of non-invasive methods of sampling. In total, 40 horses of different breeds and used for different purposes in Slovakia were used. The following indicators were tested: concentration of cortisol in saliva and 11,17-dioxoandrostanes in faeces measured by Elisa methods, heart rate and heart rate variability recording with the Polar Heart Rate Monitor and presence of stereotypical behaviour assessed with a horse questionnaire survey. The evaluated physiological responses were mostly affected by the type of work undertaken, especially horse movement intensity (P < 0.001) and horse equipment used during the working period (P < 0.01). Horses that showed stereotypical behaviour were less stressed during rest (P < 0.05) compared to horses without stereotypical behaviour. Horse breed, age, sex and stabling conditions affected only some of the heart rate indicators. The type of riding style had no fundamental influence on evaluated indicators. These observations highlight the difficulties in determining the welfare status in horses, since measurements can be affected by many factors that need to be investigated for achieving relevant outcomes. This is the first study in Slovakia focusing on the evaluation of horse welfare by non-invasive sampling.

Abstract A questionnaire is an integral component of methods determining the temperaments of dogs. From the range of questionnaires used for evaluation of a dog’s temperament, we selected C-BARQ. This particular type of questionnaire allowed us to determine the degree of agreement of evaluations of the same dog by individual members of one household. The evaluation included dogs in 29 households with a total of 71 members. The degree of agreement between ratings of individual members of the same household was determined by Intraclass correlations coefficient (ICC). The correlations observed ranged between 0.53 and 0.9, depending on the category. This result is further supported by the results of other studies that showed similar perceptions of the same dog between family members.

How people perceive and respond to animals varies greatly. The relationship that can exist between humans and animals can be strongly influenced by religious and cultural attitudes. In recent years a more positive approach has begun to emerge, with emphasis on the promotion of good welfare in the animal.

Intraoperative assessment of electrode function and position is essential for cochlear implant outcomes. Electrophysiological measures and radiographic imaging modalities have been used for this purpose. This study was conducted to determine the relative utility of X-ray, impedance measurements and ECAP for cochlear implant function.A retrospective review was conducted for 132 children (age range from 5 to 13 years old) who underwent cochlear implantation. 3 months after switch on, aided free field (FF) and Ling Six Sounds were compared between patients who had intraoperative ECAP and those who had not intraoperative ECAP (but with normally located electrode array as confirmed by plain X-ray).Only 4 cases (3%) had abnormal impedance measurements that became normal after reinsertion of the same electrode array. 3 cases (2.3%) showed malposition of the electrode array on plain radiograph. They underwent immediate revision. 11 cases (8.3%) had absent intraoperative ECAP response for all electrodes, and 4 cases (3%) had absent intraoperative ECAP response for basal electrodes. These devices were not explanted at the time of surgery. 3 months after switch on, FF and the ling 6 sounds were tested for all patients. No statistical significant differences were found between cases with normal intraoperative ECAP and those who gave no response in ECAP.From the study we can conclude that plain X-ray is the guideline for backup use. Results of plain X-ray impacted surgical decision making and led to the use of the backup device. In patients with correct electrode placement in normally developed cochlea as detected by X-ray, it is not recommended to use the backup even if there is no intraoperative ECAP. Also, it is recommended to follow how those children performed after 1 or 2 years to see if making the decision of using or not a backup device based in electrophysiology measures vs X-ray made a difference.

Therapy with involvement of animals presently attracts considerable attention as a new modern method of facilitating and supporting treatment of a wide scale of diseases. In contrast to increased interest in investigating and proving the positive effects of animal therapy on people, only little attention is paid to the animals involved. Stress affects the well-being, health and performance of all live beings. It is inevitable to have sufficient knowledge of the physiological forms of animal behaviour, understand the animal's body language and be able to recognize symptoms of stress, discomfort, fear and fatigue in order to prevent the risk of potentially compromising animal welfare. Suitable methods of selection, training, care and control of animals together with appropriate professional education of therapists can increase considerably the quality of therapeutic programmes, identify the animals unsuitable for such activities and look for alternative ways of their management and other forms of their involvement.