Serum concentration of thyroid hormones in healthy dogs varies according to age, sex, breed or professional activity. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of both age and dogs’ work involvement on TSH and thyroid hormones values. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (tT4) and free thyroxine (fT4) were tested in the serum of 57 healthy, German Shepherd dogs. The dogs were divided into study groups according to age: dogs aged 3 to 6 years (A), dogs over the age of 6 years (B) and involvement: police-working dogs (C) and accompanying animals (D). Mean values of TSH, tT4 and fT4 ranged from 0.19 to 0.31 ng/ml, 15.58 to 17.25 nmol/L and 11.83 to 17.89 pmol/L, respectively. The highest values of TSH were in group B and the lowest were in group A, while there was an inverse dependence in case of fT4 concentration. The highest mean values of tT4 were in dogs in group C and the lowest in group B. There were statistically significant differences in TSH (p=0.007) and fT4 (p=0.003) concentrations between the age groups. The results indicate that a dog’s age is an important factor in the case of thyroid profile results interpretation.

Allergic skin diseases in cats are amongst the most prevalent dermatological conditions in this species. The objectives of this study were to evaluate different types of skin barrier measurements in healthy cats and cats with non-flea non-food hypersensitivity dermatitis (NFNFHD). 24 clinically healthy and 19 NFNFHD cats were included in this clinical trial. In each animal, the transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin hydration (SH) were assessed on six clipped body sites by VapoMeter SWL 4605 and Corneometer ®CM 825, respectively. Results of TEWL measurement were , significantly higher in one of the six examined body sites, namely on the lumbar area (p=0.0049). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was found between the average TEWL values (p=0.019). Statistically notable differences were mea- sured at least in one certain body site for SH: in the groin (p=0.02), where the values in the affect- ed cats were lower than in the healthy individuals. These results may suggest that in NFNFHD cats transepidermal water loss is higher than in healthy cats. Skin hydration is, at least, in certain body sites, lower in atopic feline patients than in healthy individuals.