Urinary diversion procedures such as placement of a prepubic urinary catheter can be used pallatively. Castration can be performed for medical reasons, sterilization, or behavioral modification to reduce wandering, spraying, mounting, and aggression. Warn owners that castration may not affect the undesirable behavior. Castration as soon as possible after development of the undesirable behavior has a better chance of altering the behavior. Brucellosis affects predominately the reproductive organs of both sexes of dogs but can also cause uveitis, diskospondylitis, osteomyelitis and dermatitis.
Transmission is through genital discharges, aborted material, semen and occasionally urine.
Transmission may occur across oral, conjunctival, or vaginal membranes as well as transplacentally. The most common signs of infection are abortion in otherwise healthy females and male infertility. Serologic tests include the rapid slide agglutination test, tube agglutination and agar gel immunodiffusion. The rapid slide test is sensitive and easy but may yield false positive reactions which should be confirmed with another serologic test. Transmission to humans is possible but uncommon.