Guide Dogs

Although Japan has an established welfare system for individuals with visual impairments, medical-welfare coordination remains limited. To address this gap, the Low Vision Care Hub (LVCH) was established within a university hospital. We evaluated the impact of LVCH on visitor satisfaction before and after consultation STUDY DESIGN: A single-center, one-group pre-post study METHODS: Individuals with self-reported functional vision difficulties who visited LVCH between July 1 and December 20, 2024 were included. Consultation was provided based on seven domains of low vision care outlined by the Japan Society for Low-Vision Research and Rehabilitation. Satisfaction was measured on a custom 6-point ordinal scale (0-5) pre/post consultation. Changes in satisfaction scores were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders RESULTS: Ninety-three participants were included. Satisfaction scores significantly increased after consultation (p < .001) and improvements were consistent across sex, age groups, and visual impairment classification using the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) criteria (all p < .001). Notably, participants not meeting the ICO-defined low vision criteria also improved (p < .001). On multivariable logistic regression, only older age (≥ 60 years) remained significantly associated with a markedly improved satisfaction score (OR = 2.98, 95% CI 1.10-8.05, p = .03) CONCLUSION: Consultations provided at LVCH significantly improved visitor satisfaction, including those who did not meet the ICO low vision criteria. Consultation may be particularly effective in individuals aged over 60 years. Overall, early-stage intervention through structured consultation may benefit individuals with functional vision difficulties.

Screening schemes for hip dysplasia have long been used to guide breeding. However, the risks of clinical disease for dogs with high versus low scores are not well documented. Longitudinal data were used to quantify the risk of clinical hip disease in dogs with 'low' and 'high' hip scores, as determined by radiographic examination at 10‒14 months of age, using survival and risk analysis. Survival probabilities indicate that diagnoses of hip disease occurred throughout the lifespan of dogs, but the 'high' hip score cohort was 2.1‒3.0 times more likely than the 'low' hip score cohort to have a diagnosis of hip arthritis. This pattern was repeated in breed-specific analyses of Labradors and Golden Retrievers, with a possible breed influence on hip score and risk of arthritis at comparable scores. Diagnoses may include both false positives and negatives, and the threshold for the determination of 'clear' dogs at 12 years of age used in the risk analysis may have had an influence on the results. This study provides empirical evidence that dogs with a high hip score at about 1 year of age are at greater risk of being diagnosed with arthritis of the hip later in life than dogs with a low hip score at the same age.

There are scant studies of associations between the pubertal status at neutering and subsequent health outcomes of female dogs. This study examined health data for Labrador and Golden Retriever crossbreed bitches neutered by ovariohysterectomy either before (PrePN, n = 155) or after (PostPN, n = 151) puberty using a prospective study design. Data were extracted from an electronic database containing detailed health records for all bitches. Cruciate ligament disease occurred in significantly more PrePN (n = 11) than PostPN bitches (n = 1; Yates Chi-square = 6.784, D.F. = 1, p = 0.009), and PrePN bitches had lower probabilities of remaining free from osteoarthritis (χ2 = 5.777, D.F. = 1, p = 0.016). Additionally, PrePN bitches were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis (PrePN: 3.9 ± 0.6 years, PostPN: 1.6 ± 0.3 years; Mann-Whitney U test = 90.5, p = 0.008) and perivulval dermatitis (PrePN: 4.7 ± 0.9 years, PostPN: 0.8 ± 0.1 years; Mann-Whitney U test = 40.0, p = 0.002) at significantly older ages and had lower probabilities of remaining free from otitis externa (χ2 = 7.090, D.F. = 1, p = 0.008). No associations were identified between the pubertal status at neutering and the incidence of any urogenital disease, including urinary incontinence, which was diagnosed in a small number of bitches (one PrePN and six PostPN). The results suggest that prepubertal neutering may have a detrimental effect on some future musculoskeletal and immune diseases in bitches of these crossbreeds, providing important information to support neutering policies and to help maintain optimal dog welfare.

Quality of life (QoL) measures are often used to assess the effectiveness of services and interventions. For individuals living with vision impairment (VI) this is potentially problematic, given that QoL is characteristically assessed using instruments designed with non-VI norms and may not accurately represent issues specifically associated with VI. Hence, the authors designed an instrument (Vision Impaired Quality of Life [VIQoL]) tailored for adults living with VI. This article reports on VIQoL’s psychometric properties and outlines its utility for the VI sector. Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) was used to assess VIQoL’s construct validity, conducted on a combined dataset of adults with VI ( n = 582), and adults without VI ( n = 1992). To assess factor integrity, analyses were conducted on these groups separately. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. VIQoL display high construct validity and reliability. PAF analysis presented a two-factor solution: ‘functional confidence’ (items encompassing autonomy and frequent demands of life), and ‘personal flourishing’ (items related to affect and feeling). VIQoL is a valid and reliable tool for assessing QoL for people living with VI. It affords a basis for meaningful evaluations and insights into how differences in QoL are appraised by VI and non-VI populations; although factors were fundamentally similar, the importance of the two factors was reversed across the groups, which highlights the importance of condition-specific QoL measures and implies the need for research to assess other variables that can affect the QoL of people living with VI.

Abstract: The difficulties that the visually impaired people go through is often been not considered. They have difficulty reading written materials on a daily basis such as newspaper or posters or many other things used frequently. Their everyday life is very difficult as communication is totally based on speech and text .Based on the literature survey, the research work until now is limited to the accessibility of using software also, the products are not cost effective. Hence, the main objective of the paper is to make a software that is easily accessible and cost effective. This paper is a prototype software that helps the visually impaired people as well as the people with low vision to read and understand the text from the image they are scanning. The prototype is based on the OCR tool and a google text to speech function. The software is tested on numerous photos after completion.The software correctly identified the text. This will make easier for them to read more efficiently.

Simple SummaryNo previous studies have been identified that have investigated the impact of neutering before or after known puberty on growth and physical development in a large number of bitches. This study was designed to examine data on the physical development, vulval size, and conformation of 306 bitches neutered before (n = 155) or after (n = 151) puberty. Data were gathered for bitches at six- and 17-months of age using bespoke physical assessment forms and digital photographs of the vulva. Bitches neutered before puberty had significantly greater changes in height and smaller changes in measurements of vulval length and width between six- and 17-months of age than those neutered after puberty. Although not significant, bitches neutered before puberty were taller and heavier with smaller vulval size measurements at 17-months of age. At 17-months of age, significantly more bitches neutered before puberty had vulvas that appeared juvenile and recessed at the physical assessment, and significantly more bitches neutered before puberty had vulvas that appeared ‘recessed/inverted’ on the examination of digital images. The results from this study could suggest that neutering before puberty may be a suitable option for large breed bitches. However, any longer-term health consequences of the differences in physical development seen need to be investigated and better understood before recommendations can be made.No previous large prospective cohort studies have been identified that have investigated the impact of the surgical neutering of bitches before or after known puberty on their growth and physical development. This study was designed to examine the data on physical development, vulval size, and conformation for bitches neutered by ovariohysterectomy before puberty (PPN, n = 155) or after puberty (control, n = 151) using a prospective cohort study design. Data were gathered at six- and 17-months of age using bespoke physical assessment forms and digital images of the vulva. PPN bitches had greater changes in height measurements (mean difference = 2.039, SEM = 0.334, 91% CI = 1.471 to 2.608, p < 0.001) and smaller changes in the measurements of vulval length (mean difference = −0.377, SEM = 0.079, 91% CI = −0.511 to −0.243, p < 0.001) and width (mean difference = −0.221, SEM = 0.063, 91% CI = −0.328 to −0.113, p < 0.001) between six- and 17-months of age than for the control bitches. Although not significant, the PPN bitches were taller (mean 58.5 vs. 56.6 cm) and heavier (mean 28.3 vs. 27.3 kg) with smaller vulval size measurements (mean vulval length 2.8 vs. 3.2 cm, mean vulval width 1.7 vs. 2.1 cm) at 17-months of age. At 17-months of age, significantly more PPN bitches had vulvas that appeared juvenile (Yates’ Chi-square = 14.834, D.F. = 1, p < 0.001) and recessed (Yates’ Chi-square = 7.792, D.F. = 1, p = 0.005) at the physical assessment, and significantly more PPN bitches had vulvas that appeared ‘recessed/inverted’ on the examination of digital images (Chi-square = 9.902, D.F. = 1, p = 0.002). The results from this study suggest no contraindications to prepubertal ovariohysterectomy for large breed bitches. However, any longer-term health implications of these differences in physical development need to be investigated and better understood prior to recommendations being made.

There are contradictory findings in the literature relating to the effects of timing of neutering on bitch behaviour that make decision making regarding neutering timing difficult. A scoping review was designed to identify and chart the evidence on the effect of neutering timing in relation to puberty on the behaviour of female domesticated dogs. A protocol was registered, and literature searches were conducted in CAB Abstracts, Medline and Web of Science. Studies were reviewed against the inclusion criteria. Data on study and population characteristics and behavioural outcomes were extracted for the final included studies. A total of 1048 publications were reviewed; 13 were retained for inclusion and charting. Only one of the two studies that classified bitches as pre- or postpubertal presented results for the analysis of behaviours. The remaining 11 studies classified bitches by age at neutering. Since the scoping review searches were conducted, further relevant studies may have become available. The search strategy may not have identified all available literature; however, databases were used that provide high levels of coverage of veterinary literature. This scoping review identified a lack of evidence to document the impact of neutering bitches before or after puberty on behaviour.

Simple SummaryThe quality of life for domestic and captive animals can be enhanced and improved by providing additional stimuli and activities, known as environmental enrichment (EE). However, it is important to ensure the enrichment provides benefit to the animal, and as such the behaviour of the animals can be monitored to understand the activities’ impacts. A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of seven different EE activities on the behaviour of 10 training dogs housed in an office environment during training within an assistance dog charity. Results suggest there is a need to diversify thinking around EE, shifting common thinking of EE as one entity to instead consider EE in different categories and to ensure animals receive a mixture of EE types.Environmental enrichment (EE) can be used to enhance the environment of various animals. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of seven EE activities (Bonding, Bubble machine, Conspecific play, Interactive toy, Playhouse, Stuffed food toy and Tug play) on dog behaviour, pre- and post-EE for dogs housed in an office environment during training as part of an assistance dog training programme. EE activities resulted in a significant increase in the frequency of relaxation behaviours (p < 0.01) and a significant reduction in alert (p < 0.01) and stress behaviours (p = 0.02). Results suggest various benefits of the different activities with Conspecific Play and Playhouse activities having the greatest overall positive behaviour change when compared to the other activities. The food-based EE activities (Interactive toy and Stuffed food toy) had the least behaviour change of all the activities provided. Findings will be of interest to pet owners, animal rescue centres, dog trainers and working dog organisations.

In response to the Coronavirus disease, the United Kingdom (UK) government introduced lockdown measures requiring people to isolate and adhere to social distancing. This article uses Constraints Negotiation Theory to examine effects of the lockdown on people with vision impairment (PwVI). The research is based on an online survey of 639 PwVI in the UK. The analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modelling in SmartPLS. The findings show that the lockdown had a negative effect on the participation and well-being of PwVI. However, they also show that the negative effects could be negotiated by adapting activities. This emphasises the need for a more inclusive response to current or future pandemics that recognises the vulnerabilities of PwVI and helps them to overcome the challenges associated with any measures that are introduced.