Concentration of blood heavy metals in terrier dogs with some common behavior problems

Iranian Journal of Veterinary Science and Technology

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 05 خرداد 1404

نوع مقاله: Research Article

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/ijvst.2025.90435.1434

نویسندگان

Raha Bayazi¹؛ Mohammad Heidarpour²؛ Mohammad Azizzadeh³؛ Javad khoshnegah^{* 2}

¹Department of clinical sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

²Department of clinical sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³Department of Clinical sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

چکیده

Behavioral disorders in pet animals, especially dogs, are of great concern. Such behaviors can be problematic for both animals and humans. Due to the relationship between oxidative stress and behavior problems and also heavy metals’ capability of creating oxidative stress, in the current study, the effects of lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium on 13 common canine behavior problems (fearfulness, excessive barking, destructiveness, house soiling, Inappropriate inappropriate sexual behavior, coprophagia, wandering, shyness, Aggression aggression toward owner, Aggression aggression toward familiar people, Aggression aggression toward strangers, Aggression aggression toward dogs, and Excessive excessive activity) were evaluated.

According to owners’ answers to the questionnaire, 43 terrier dogs (7 dogs without any behavior problem and 36 dogs with at least one behavior problem), aged 1–10 years were chosen. The blood concentrations of lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium were measured.

No significant differences in the studied heavy metal concentrations were observed between the two groups. However, the cadmium concentration in dogs with aggressive behavior toward owner was significantly higher than that of the controls (p<0.048, n=5).Results of the study reported here cannot support the hypothesis that “blood concentration of heavy metals may influence on the occurrence or prevention of common behavioral problems in dogs”.

Our results suggest that there might be a direct relationship between higher levels of cadmium and aggression toward owner. However, these effects may be very complex, and further investigation is needed to determine the influences of specific blood heavy metals in dogs.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Behavior problem؛ Terrier dog؛ Cadmium؛ Lead؛ Mercury؛ Arsenic