• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.133-145
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• 2022

Compared to the continuously increasing dog population and industry size in Korea, systematic analysis of related data and research on breed classification methods are very insufficient. In this paper, an automatic breed classification method is proposed using deep learning technology for 14 major dog breeds domestically raised. To do this, dog images are collected for deep learning training and a dataset is built, and a breed classification algorithm is created by performing transfer learning based on VGG-16 and Resnet-34 as backbone networks. In order to check the transfer learning effect of the two models on dog images, we compared the use of pre-trained weights and the experiment of updating the weights. When fine tuning was performed based on VGG-16 backbone network, in the final model, the accuracy of Top 1 was about 89% and that of Top 3 was about 94%, respectively. The domestic dog breed classification method and data construction proposed in this paper have the potential to be used for various application purposes, such as classification of abandoned and lost dog breeds in animal protection centers or utilization in pet-feed industry.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2024

The intervertebral disc is a crucial structure located between each vertebral body, except C1 and C2 and the fused sacral vertebrae, which provides cushioning and stability. However, sometimes these discs may bulge or extrude, causing painful conditions and various neurological problems such as ataxia, paresis, motor or sensorimotor paralysis. As a result, dogs affected by intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) can suffer a significant decrease in their quality of life. The main objective of this study was to provide comprehensive data on the body size of several IVDD-susceptible dog breeds commonly bred in South Korea, which could help develop supportive devices for IVDD patients. Using standardized measurements, the study aimed to design appropriate support tools, taking into account the mobility challenges faced by IVDD patients. The findings provide valuable data to improve the quality of life of patients with IVDD. In addition, it may lay the foundation for research to establish the correlation between body size and IVDD through future research.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.45-50
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• 2022

Vertebral left atrial size can be used as a radiographic tool to evaluate left atrial size in dogs. Vertebral left atrial size has been studied in dogs; however, few studies have been conducted on breed-specific differences in healthy dogs. To study the median vertebral left atrial size differences by breed and to investigate the association between age, sex, body condition score, thoracic depth-to-width ratio, and vertebral left atrial size. A total of 220 dogs of the following breeds: Maltese (n = 73), Beagle (n = 30), Poodle (n = 41), Shih-tzu (n = 44), and Mongrel (n = 32) were reviewed retrospectively. Sex, body weight, age, and body condition score of each dog were collected. Thoracic radiography was conducted for dorsoventral and right/left lateral views in all dogs to measure the vertebral heart score, vertebral left atrial size, and thoracic depth-to-width ratio. No significant differences in the median vertebral left atrial size were found among the breeds. There were no effects of sex, age, body condition score, and thoracic depth-to-width ratio on vertebral left atrial size. There was a significant positive correlation between the vertebral heart score and vertebral left atrial size. Breed, age, sex, and chest conformation did not correlate with vertebral left atrial size.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.1947-1956
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• 2019

The gut microbiome influences the health and well-being of dogs. However, little is known about the impact of breed on the fecal microbiome composition in dogs. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the differences in the fecal microbiome in three breeds of dog fed and housed under the same conditions, namely eight Maltese (8.0 ± 0.1 years), eight Miniature Schnauzer (8.0 ± 0.0 years), and nine Poodle dogs (8.0 ± 0.0 years). Fresh fecal samples were collected from the dogs and used to extract metagenomic DNA. The composition of the fecal microbiome was evaluated by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing on the MiSeq platform. A total of 840,501 sequences were obtained from the 25 fecal samples and classified as Firmicutes (32.3-97.3% of the total sequences), Bacteroidetes (0.1-62.6%), Actinobacteria (0.2-14.7%), Fusobacteria (0.0-5.7%), and Proteobacteria (0.0-5.1%). The relative abundance of Firmicutes was significantly lower in the Maltese dog breed than that in the other two breeds, while that of Fusobacteria was significantly higher in the Maltese than in the Miniature Schnauzer breed. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, Turicibacter, Succinivibrio, and Anaerobiospirillum differed significantly among the three dog breeds. These genera had no correlation with age, diet, sex, body weight, vaccination history, or parasite protection history. Within a breed, some of these genera had a correlation with at least one blood chemistry value. This study indicates that the composition of the fecal microbiome in dogs is affected by breed.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.52.1-52.11
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• 2020

Background: Intradural-intramedullary intervertebral disc extrusion (IIVDE) is a rare condition of intervertebral disc disease. However, the diagnosis of IIVDE is challenging because the prognosis and imaging characteristics are poorly characterized. Objectives: We aimed to describe the clinical and imaging characteristics of tentatively diagnosed IIVDE in dogs to assess the prognostic utility of neurological grade and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Methods: Twenty dogs were included in this retrospective cohort study. Results: Nonchondrodystrophic breeds (n = 16) were more predisposed than chondrodystrophic breeds. Most dogs showed acute onset of clinical signs. Neurological examination at admission showed predominant non-ambulatory paraparesis (n = 9); paresis (n = 16) was confirmed more frequently than paralysis (n = 4). Follow-up neurological examination results were only available for 11 dogs, ten of whom showed neurological improvement and 8 showed successful outcomes at 1 month. The characteristic MRI findings include thoracic vertebra (T)2 hyperintense, T1 hypointense, intramedullary linear tracts with reduced disc volume, and cleft of the annulus fibrosus. None of the MRI measurements were significantly correlated with neurological grade at admission. Neurological grade did not differ according to the presence of parenchymal hemorrhage, parenchymal contrast enhancement, and meningeal contrast enhancement. Neurological grades at admission showed a statistical correlation with those observed at the 1-month follow-up (r = 0.814, p = 0.02). Conclusions: IIVDE is a rare form of disc extrusion commonly experienced after physical activity or trauma and most frequently affects the cranial-cervical and thoracolumbar regions of nonchondrodystrophic dog breeds. Neurological score at admission emerged as a more useful prognostic indicator than MRI findings in dogs with suspected IIVDE.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.138-144
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• 2024

Background: As the number of households raising companion dogs increases, the pet genetic analysis market also continues to grow. However, most studies have focused on specific purposes or native breeds. This study aimed to collect genomic data through single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip analysis of companion dogs in South Korea and perform genetic diversity analysis and SNP annotation. Methods: We collected samples from 95 dogs belonging to 26 breeds, including mixed breeds, in South Korea. The SNP genotypes were obtained for each sample using an Axiom^TM Canine HD Array. Quality control (QC) was performed to enhance the accuracy of the analysis. A genetic diversity analysis was performed for each SNP. Results: QC initially selected SNPs, and after excluding non-diverse ones, 621,672 SNPs were identified. Genetic diversity analysis revealed minor allele frequencies, polymorphism information content, expected heterozygosity, and observed heterozygosity values of 0.220, 0.244, 0.301, and 0.261, respectively. The SNP annotation indicated that most variations had an uncertain or minimal impact on gene function. However, approximately 16,000 non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) have been found to significantly alter gene function or affect exons by changing translated amino acids. Conclusions: This study obtained data on SNP genetic diversity and functional SNPs in companion dogs raised in South Korea. The results suggest that establishing an SNP set for individual identification could enable a gene-based registration system. Furthermore, identifying and researching nsSNPs related to behavior and diseases could improve dog care and prevent abandonment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2018

Recently, demographic studies of veterinary medical database have been conducted to understand patterns of disease occurrence. Understanding incidence of breed-related disease would provide appropriate guidance for future health care strategies and offer useful information for early diagnosis of disease. However, in veterinary medicine, theses research has not yet been investigated in the Republic of Korea. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of common medical disorders among dog breeds examined at primary-care veterinary clinics in Jeollabuk-Do, Republic of Korea. The data were analyzed based on World Health Organization's International Classification of Disease. A total 13,176 medical records of canine patients were analyzed from six primary veterinary clinics in Jeollabuk-Do from January to December 2016. Results showed that the most common health problems were 'disease of skin' (17.7%); followed by 'diseases of digestive system' (12.26%), 'preventive medicine' (10.08%), and 'diseases of ear and mastoid process' (10.4%). In seven out of ten breeds, the most common medical disorder was skin disease. For poodle such as Pomeranian and Chihuahua, digestive system disease was most prevalent. On the other hand, respiratory system disease was found to be higher in Pomeranian than other breeds; while ear and mastoid process disease was most common for Maltese and Poodle. This study can help owners, breeders, and veterinarians prevent and manage various diseases of popular breeds in Jeollabuk-Do in the future.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.861-869
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• 2015

One of the domesticated species; the dog has been selectively bred for various aims by human. The dog has many breeds, which are artificially selected for specific behaviors and morphologies. Dogs contribute their life to human as working dogs for guide, rescue, detection or etc. Working dogs requires good personality, such as gentleness, robustness and patience for performing their special duty. Many studies have concentrated on finding genetic marker for selecting the high-quality working dog. In this study, we confirmed quantitative expression patterns of eight genes (ABAT; 4-Aminobutyrate Aminotransferase, PLCB1; Phospholipase C, Beta 1, SLC10A4; Solute Carrier Family 10, Member 4, WNT1; Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 1, BARX2; BarH-Like Homeobox 2, NEUROD6; Neuronal Differentiation 6, SEPT9; Septin 9 and TBR1; T-Box, Brain, 1) among brains tissues from four dog breeds (Beagle, Sapsaree, Shepherd and Jindo), because these genes were expressed and have functions in brain mostly. Specially, BARX2, SEPT9, SLC10A4, TBR1 and WNT1 genes were highly expressed in Beagle and Jindo, and Sapsaree and German Shepherd were vice versa. The biological significance of total genes was estimated by database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) to determine a different gene ontology (GO) class. In these analyses, we suppose to these eight genes could provide influential information for brain development, and intelligence of organisms. Taken together, these results could provide clues to discover biomarker related to functional traits in brain, and beneficial for selecting superior working dogs.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.463-467
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• 2008

Granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (GME) is a sporadic, idiopathic, non suppurative inflammatory disease of the canine central nervous system. GME appears to have a worldwide distribution and to occur mostly in young to middle-age dogs of small breeds. A 6-year-old female mixed dog with wry neck, ataxia and rolling was submitted to the Cheju National University for diagnosis. Grossly, in the brain, cerebrospinal fluid was mildly increased and dilatation of the subarachnoid blood vessels was observed. Histopathologically, the lesions were characterized by perivascular cuffs of lymphocytes, various numbers of macrophages and plasma cells in the brainstem and cerebral white matter. Numerous granuloma composed of lymphocytes and histiocytes were scattered throughout the brainstem. Two malacic foci characterized by axonal swelling and gitter cell infiltration with hemorrhage were noted in the medulla oblongata and cerebellum. Special stains failed to demonstrate any infectious agents. Immunohistochemically, the infiltrated cells demonstrated strong positive reactions for CD3, a marker for T lymphocytes origin. Based on the clinical signs, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry, this case was diagnosed as GME in a mixed dog.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.416-420
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• 2003

We performed this study to determine the parentage verification of putative dogs. A total of 7 samples (4 Labrador Retriever dog and 3 Poongsan dog) were genotyped by using 12 international markers (PEZ1, PEZ5, PEZ8, PEZ10, PEZ11, PEZ12, PEZ17, PEZ20, PEZ21, FHC2010, FHC2054, FHC2079). This methods consisted of multiplexing PCR procedures, and it showed reasonable amplification of all PCR products. Genotyping was performed with an ABI 310 genetic analyzer. Labrador Retriever Pup I and Pup II were included according to principles of Mendelian genetics in all loci, while Poongsan Pup III was excluded with markers PEZ1 (106/118), PEZ10 (276/300), and FHC2010 (228/232). These results suggest that the present DNA typing is so useful for parentage verification of these two breeds.