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Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Abstract

In veterinary medicine, various diseases and surgical procedures may require the isolation and hospitalization of dogs, allowing for more effective individual patient monitoring and increasing the chance of successful treatment by preventing unnecessary drug use. However, this process can be stressful. Our study aimed to determine the changes in cortisol levels, one of the primary stress hormones responsible for stress responses, in individually hospitalized dogs. In addition, epinephrine (EPN) levels, another stress marker, as well as hematological and some biochemical values were measured and vital signs were recorded. The dogs included in the study were divided into 3 groups: healthy, hospitalized, and those receiving daily outpatient treatment, and were monitored over a 3-day period. There was a statistically significant difference in cortisol concentrations between the groups on day 1 (p < 0.001). Dogs receiving outpatient treatment and healthy dogs had lower cortisol levels compared to hospitalized dogs. On day 2, a statistically significant difference was also observed between the hospitalized and outpatient groups (p < 0.05). However, on day 3, there was no statistically significant difference in cortisol levels between the hospitalized and outpatient groups. Repeated measurements showed that cortisol levels in hospitalized dogs on days 2 and 3 were significantly lower than those on day 1 (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in hematological and biochemical parameters within groups across repeated measurements or between groups, and no statistically significant difference was detected in EPN levels either. In conclusion, cortisol levels were found to decrease gradually in repeated measurements, suggesting that dogs may manage stress more effectively over time by becoming familiar with the veterinarian, the procedures performed, or the clinical and hospital environment. Monitoring cortisol levels in veterinary practice and animal welfare may contribute to improving canine health and stress management, and further research is warranted in this area.

Author ORCID Identifier

EMRE TÜFEKÇİ: 0000-0002-9611-586X

GENCAY EKİNCİ: 0000-0002-4551-8749

İLKNUR KARACA BEKDİK: 0000-0003-3897-5164

ALİ CESUR ONMAZ: 0000-0002-9942-5134

ÖZNUR ASLAN: 0000-0001-5479-3737

VEHBİ GÜNEŞ: 0000-0002-4047-4409

İHSAN KELEŞ: 0000-0001-5751-9450

MEHMET ÇİTİL: 0000-0001-9839-7533

DOI

10.55730/1300-0128.4401

Keywords

Biochemistry, cortisol, hematology, hospitalization, stress, dog

First Page

288

Last Page

298

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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