Abstract The use of dogs in military work environments has always aroused great interest in the general population and determining the stress levels they go through is extremely important to maintain their welfare. The aim of this research was to evaluate if the work shifts in military working dogs leads to stress conditions and if this working influences on the reproductive performance and life quality. The study was conducted at the Military Police Kennel located at Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Eight male dogs of four different breeds (German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois Shepherd, Doberman, and Rottweiler) were evaluated during two different shifts: Working Shifts: animals working 12 hours a day with 2 hour-interval; and Control Shifts: animals that were on their day off (36 hours). Saliva samples were collected for cortisol analysis at the control and working shifts. The study was carried out over 60 days and analyzed behavior, physiology, and reproduction quality. Saliva samples, behavior observation of stereotyping, resting and moving activities and semen analysis were collected by digital stimulation (for combined second and third fractions). The salivary cortisol levels during the control and working shifts were between 0.361–0.438 and 0.312–0.592 µg/dL, respectively; the highest values were found at the end of working shifts. The animals were resting during most of the observation period, but few showed stereotypic behaviors. The testicular consistency was firm and semen parameters were within the normal values in German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois Shepherd, and Doberman dogs. However, Rottweiler dogs had a higher rate of sperm abnormalities, higher salivary cortisol levels, and more stereotypic behaviors. Nevertheless this work highlights the importance of further research relating reproduction and cortisol levels in military dogs.

RESUMO. A pesquisa objetivou determinar o índice de conforto térmico mais adequado para búfalos criados na Amazônia Oriental, Pará, Brasil. Foram utilizados vinte búfalos Murrah. Foram registrados dados de variáveis climáticas e temperatura retal (TR), temperatura da superfície corporal (TSC) e frequência respiratória (FR), e foram calculados os índices: Índice de Temperatura e Umidade (ITU), Índice de Temperatura de Globo e Umidade (ITGU), Índice de Conforto Térmico de Benezra (ICB), Índice de Tolerância ao Calor de Ibéria (ITCI), Índice de Condições Climáticas de Conforto para búfalos geral (BCCCIg), efetivo (BCCCIe) e prático (BCCCIp) e Índice de Conforto Ambiental para búfalos geral (BECIg), efetivo (BECIe) e prático (BECIp), nos períodos da manhã e da tarde. Foram observados valores de ITU, ITGU, TR, TSC, FR, ICB, BCCCIg, BCCCIe, BCCCIp, BECIg, BECIe e BECIp mais elevados à tarde. Os maiores valores de ITCI foram encontrados de manhã. Houve correlação positiva entre as variáveis fisiológicas e ITU, ITGU, ITCI, BCCCIg, BECIg, BCCCIe, BECIg, BCCCIe, BECIp, enquanto uma correlação negativa foi encontrada para TR e TSC com ITCI. Os índices THI, GTHI, BCCCIg, BECIg, BCCCIe, BECIe, BCCCIp e BECIp são eficientes para avaliar o estado de conforto térmico dos búfalos na Amazônia Oriental.

ABSTRACT. This research aimed to determine the most appropriate thermal comfort index for buffaloes reared in the Eastern Amazon, Pará, Brazil. Twenty male Murrah buffaloes were used, and data on climate variables, rectal temperature (RT), body surface temperature (BST), and respiratory rate (RR) were recorded. Subsequently, the following indices were calculated: Temperature and Humidity Index (THI), Global Temperature and Humidity Index (GTHI), Benezra’s Thermal Comfort Index (BTCI), Ibéria’s Heat Tolerance Index (IHTI), the general, effective, and practical Buffalo Comfort Climatic Conditions Indices (BCCCIg, BCCCIe, and BCCCIp, respectively) and the general, effective, and practical Buffalo Environmental Comfort Indices (BECIg, BECIe, and BECIp, respectively) in the morning and afternoon. Higher values for THI, GTHI, RT, BST, RR, BTCI, BCCCIg, BCCCIe, BCCCIp, BECIg, BECIe, and BECIp were observed in the afternoon, and the highest IHTI values were found in the morning. A positive correlation was found among the physiological variables and THI, GTHI, BTCI, BCCCIg, BECIg, BCCCIe, BECIe, BCCCIp, BECIp, while a negative correlation was found for RT and BST with IHTI. The indices THI, GTHI, BCCCIg, BECIg, BCCCIe, BECIe, BCCCIp, and BECIp were determined to be very efficient to assess the thermal comfort status of buffaloes under the conditions of the present research.