Good-looking vs. Obedient, Which Would You Rather Take Home? Appearance and Behavioral Predictors Affecting the Adoption of Shelter Dogs in Slovakia.

The aim of the study was to investigate the key factors influencing the successful adoption of dogs from dog shelters in Slovakia. The study covered the following factors in relation to individual dogs: time spent at the shelter, age, body weight, sex, coat color, length of the coat, and behavior (specifically intraspecific aggression, aggression toward humans, activity, and fear-related behavior). The survey was conducted in three shelters in the territory of the Slovak Republic. The online and on-site questionnaires of about 162 successfully adopted dogs were collected and were filled in by the shelter staff, those who accepted dogs into the shelter. Non-parametric statistics (Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test followed by Dunn's multiple comparisons test with correction) confirmed that the most important factors influencing the decision-making process of potential adopters were the age of the dog and its weight. However, we found that the length or color of the coat and sex had no effect on early adoption. While behavior is important during the prospective adopter/owner's interaction with the dog, it is still not the most important criterion in making a decision.

Relation of the Norberg angle and position of the femoral head centre to the dorsal acetabular edge in evaluation of canine hip dysplasia.

Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is a locomotive-system disease in dogs, which in many countries is the target of screening programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of CHD among descendants of predisposed dog breeds. Despite the efforts to apply genetic testing or ultrasound diagnostics in diagnosing CHD (as is common in human medicine), the main diagnostic process in veterinary medicine is by radiographic examination. The main two parameters which are used in diagnosing HD are the Norberg angle (NA) and the position of femoral head centre to the dorsal acetabular edge (FHC/DAE). We examined the relationship between these two parameters in the process of the determination of CHD degree by evaluating 225 randomly selected radiographs which were made during the period from 1993 to 2008. The aim of our study was to examine the validity of these two parameters in CHD classification as used in three different classification programs. Using Pearson's correlation coefficient, the value of which was 0.85 (p <0.05), we observed a positive correlation. Comparing the three scoring systems for CHD evaluation, we found that the final degree of CHD was similar for 78% to 85% of cases using Flückiger's scoring system versus a modified scoring system of 5 parameters without FHC/DAE. Results were significant.