Abstract
Background and Aim:Police dogs in Iraq have been working mostly as explosive detectors since 2003. The health problems of these dogs are unique and have not been reported in literature. This investigation assessed the prevalence of health problems in Police dogs referred to Baghdad Veterinary Hospital during 2015-2017.Materials and Methods:A total of 1220 police dogs that were referred to Baghdad Veterinary Hospital in 2015-2017 were studied. The dogs were mostly German Shepherd dogs (GSDs) or Belgian Malinois (BM), with an average age of 4.6 years. The dogs’ health problems and some of their risk factors were studied.Results:Congestive heart failure (CHF), babesiosis, various malignancies, and intestinal parasites were the most commonly diagnosed health problems, followed by general aging, bronchopneumonia, otitis, nutritional deficiencies, and anemia. GSDs were more prone to CHF, while BM had more diagnoses of malignancies. Age was associated with both health conditions.Conclusion:The presence of health problems in these working dogs highlights the need for a stricter and more organized preventive schedule to keep the dogs healthy and efficient at old age.
Highlights
Dogs have been used for scent detection and are deployed daily worldwide to detect drugs, explosives, and firearms; as well as finding missing people and escaped fugitives [1,2].The uses of working dogs are expanding in many parts of the world, especially in places where conventional security systems have failed
German Shepherd dogs (GSDs) were more prone to Congestive heart failure (CHF), while Belgian Malinois (BM) had more diagnoses of malignancies
“Police dogs” is the term used to describe these dogs in Iraq; most of these dogs are military working dogs (MWDs), and they work as explosive detectors and sometimes patrol dogs
Summary
The uses of working dogs are expanding in many parts of the world, especially in places where conventional security systems have failed. Especially after the invasion in 2003, is an example of those places in which no conventional military system has proved useful to detect firearms and explosives as effectively as dogs. “Police dogs” is the term used to describe these dogs in Iraq; most of these dogs are military working dogs (MWDs), and they work as explosive detectors and sometimes patrol dogs. These dogs are distributed in various places in the country, such as army facilities, police checkpoints, airports, ministries, hotels, and other potential bombing targets. This investigation assessed the prevalence of health problems in Police dogs referred to Baghdad Veterinary Hospital during 2015-2017
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