MSU Launches Chronic Diarrhea Dog StudyMay 9, 2016The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine (MSU-CVM) is seeking local practitioners to participate in a new study designed to develop more practical and cost-effective methods of managing chronic diarrhea in dogs. These protocols, according to the college, are designed to be affordable for most pet owners and, whenever possible, to reduce the need for costly or invasive referral-level diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. MSU-CVM researchers plan to recruit up to 50 dogs. To assist the veterinarian and owner in working up these patients, funding of $300 will be provided to the referring veterinarian. The funds are to help subsidize diagnostic and therapeutic management, according to the college. The college anticipates that most typical cases will not require referral to MSU-CVM, and that the management of the patient will be covered in entirety at the veterinarian’s own practice. A follow-up study will be available for those patients that do not improve with the given in-practice treatment protocols. Subsidization will be provided.
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How This Mexican Shelter Is Doing ‘What it Takes’ for PetsMay 6, 2016On the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, away from the beach sports and tourist hustle and bustle, barking dogs greet visitors to SPCA Puerto Vallarta. Dogs and cats are rescued from the streets and sometimes out of abusive conditions. Some are ill and require veterinary intervention. At SPCA Puerto Vallarta, animals with special needs may require a longer stay, but staying here isn’t so bad. They all receive the medical care they need—somehow resources are found—even if it means seeing a veterinary specialist. “We do what it takes,” says founder and President Janice Chatterton. There’s even whirlpool for rehabilitation on the premises. There’s also a veterinarian with a special interest specifically in shelter medicine, a rarity in Mexico. More than a shelter, SPCA Puerto Vallarta truly is a sanctuary. Dogs are kept in spacious indoor/outdoor runs and almost always have the company of one or more canine companions. A cadre of volunteers, ranging from residents to tourists, walks the dogs daily. Cats live in a colony and can catnap inside or outdoors in an area protected from …
Study: Labs More Interested in Food Than Other BreedsMay 5, 2016Dog owners tell their vets that Labrador retrievers are always interested in food, and new work shows there might be a biological truth to the claim. A study in the journal Cell Metabolism links a gene alteration specifically found in Labs and related flat-coat retrievers to greater food-motivated behavior, describing the first gene associated with canine obesity. The variation also occurs more frequently in Labradors chosen as assistance dogs, and might explain why these canines seem more trainable with food rewards. The study was called “A Deletion in the Canine POMC Gene Is Associated with Weight and Appetite in Obesity-Prone Labrador Retriever Dogs.” Labrador retrievers are more interested in food and tend to be more obese than other breeds, regardless of owner. "Whenever there's something more common in one breed than another, we think genetics are involved," said Eleanor Raffan, MRCVS, a veterinary surgeon and geneticist at the University of Cambridge who previously studied human obesity before investigating the canine angle. Starting with an initial cohort of 15 obese and 18 lean Labrador retrievers, Raffan and her colleagues selected …
OVC Takes Part in Bone Cancer Clinical TrialMay 3, 2016The University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College recently entered an 8-year-old Rottweiler named Cujo into a clinical trial headed by the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (NCI COTC). It’s the first such collaboration between the college and the NCI COTC. The study, funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, will include about 160 dogs from 21 veterinary teaching hospitals across North America. Researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of the therapeutic agent rapamycin for treating osteosarcoma in dogs by delaying or preventing metastases. The trial is expected to last about eight to 12 months. “This is exciting for us,” said Paul Woods, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, a veterinary cancer specialist at OVC and co-director of U of G’s Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation. “Our goal is to improve the dogs’ quality and quantity of life while living with cancer.” Dogs, especially large breeds, develop osteosarcoma 10 times as often as humans, according to the college. OVC’s Animal Cancer Center sees up to three new osteosarcoma cases each week, the college further noted. “We’re not sure why it’s so common in large dogs,” Dr. Woods said. Despite aggressive treatments …
NC University Researchers Design Hardware, Software that can Train DogsMay 2, 2016North Carolina State University researchers have developed and used a customized suite of technologies that allows a computer to train a dog autonomously, with the computer effectively responding to the dog based on the dog’s body language. “Our approach can be used to train dogs efficiently and effectively,&rdquo犀利士 ; said David Roberts, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. “We use sensors in custom dog harnesses to monitor a dog’s posture, and the computer reinforces the correct behavior quickly and with near-perfect consistency.” “Because the technology integrates fundamental principles of animal learning into a computational system, we are confident it can be applied to a wide range of canine behaviors,” said Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-author of the paper. “For example, it could be used to more quickly train service dogs. Ultimately, we think the technology will be used in conjunction with human-directed training.” The dog harness fits comfortably onto the dog and is equipped with a variety of technologies that can monitor the dog’s posture …
Study Shows that Canine AD Shares Significant Features of Human ADApril 27, 2016Atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory skin condition and the most common form of eczema, is estimated to afflict as much as 10 percent of the U.S. population, and is much more common now than it was 50 years ago. Veterinary clinical estimates also show that approximately 10 percent of dogs have atopic dermatitis. How AD arises isn’t yet fully understood, but a new study from researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, have uncovered important insights about the association of AD in dogs compared to humans. The study appears online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. To a greater extent than mouse models, canine AD shares important features of the human version. For example, in both humans and dogs AD has been linked to abnormal blooms of Staphyloccocusbacteria on the skin – mostly Staphyloccocus aureus in humans, and Staphyloccocus pseudintermedius in dogs. In the study, the research team, comprised of veterinary dermatologists, microbiologists, pathologists and primary scientists, tracked the bacterial populations, or “microbiomes,” on dogs’ skin, …
Study: Seniors Can Benefit from Having a DogApril 21, 2016The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults of all ages should engage in 150 or more minutes of moderate physical activity per week. Among adults 60 years of age or more, walking is the most common form of leisure-time physical activity because it is self-paced, low impact and does not require equipment. Researchers at the University of Missouri have determined that older adults who also are pet owners benefit from the bonds they form with their canine companions. Dog walking is associated with lower body mass index, fewer doctor visits, more frequent exercise and an increase in social benefits for seniors. “Our study explored the associations between dog ownership and pet bonding with walking behavior and health outcomes in older adults,” said Rebecca Johnson, a professor at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Millsap Professor of Gerontological Nursing in the Sinclair School of Nursing. “This study provides evidence for the association between dog walking and physical health using a large, nationally representative sample.” The study analyzed 2012 data from the Health and Retirement study sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration. …
NovaVive Goes All In on Veterinary TherapeuticsApril 21, 2016The young Canadian company NovaVive Inc. is hopeful that a biologic technology proven to stimulate an animal’s immune system may be approved at some point to treat hemangiosarcomas and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in dogs. And if one of three planned studies shows promise, mycobacterium cell wall fraction (MCWF) also might be used to improve the quality of life of dying dogs. NovaVive, established in 2014 by Bioniche Life Sciences founder Graeme McRae, sells four MCWF-based therapeutic biologics. Purchased from the French company Vétoquinol, which acquired original developer Bioniche’s veterinary division, the current lineup includes: Equimune, for the treatment of equine respiratory disease complex. Amplimune, formerly called Immunoboost, for bovine infectious disease therapy. Immunocidin, for the treatment of mixed mammary tumor and mammary adenocarcinomas in dogs and sarcoid tumors in horses. Settle, for the treatment of equine endometritis. All four immunotherapies are sold in the United States. Australian veterinarians have access to Equimune and Settle, Immunocidin is available in Canada, and Equimune is distributed in New Zealand. NovaVive has engaged two U.S. veterinary oncologists to assist with studies of how MCWF might be used in three other ways. The “ringleaders of the pack,” as McRae called them, are Philip Bergman, …
How to Recognize Animal AbuseApril 20, 2016Animal cruelty is an unfortunate, horrific reality involving innocent beings that are unable to speak up for themselves. Veterinary professionals have a moral, ethical and, in some states, legal obligation to be the voice for these victims. Animal cruelty is a catchall statement for offenses that include neglect, abuse, abandonment, animal fighting and even practicing veterinary medicine without a license. State laws vary in whether animal cruelty is deemed a misdemeanor or a felony, and they even go so far as to detail which animals are included. For example, New York laws cover “every living creature except a human being,” while in Alaska, protected animals include vertebrates but not fish. Veterinarian’s Obligation Several states have laws in place that address the issue of veterinarians reporting suspected animal cruelty and abuse. These include Arizona, which outlines a veterinarian’s duty to report suspected canine participants of dog fighting. Oregon makes it mandatory for veterinarians to report aggravated animal abuse. Additionally, Kansas requires veterinarians to report cruel or inhumane treatment, and failure to do so could result in disciplinary action. Because laws vary from state to state, it’s vital that veterinarians review local and …
Vet Explores the Funny Aspects of Cooking for Dogs in New BookApril 18, 2016Cooking for dogs is a trend that’s been around for years, but the funny side of it hasn’t ever really been talked about. That’s what a new book, “Canine Kitchen Capers: A Humorous Look At Preparing Food for Dogs (& Spouses)” is all about: how hysterical it can be. Written by Judy Morgan, DVM, a holistic veterinarian, and her husband Hue Grant, the book is full of stories of cooking misadventures, such as: Vegetarians willing to cook meat only for their dogs; The woman who spent three days canning food for her dog, forgetting her kids and feeding her husband cold cereal; and The occasional starving husband who can't stop himself from secretly scarfing the dog's homemade stew. Judy Morgan Authors Hue Grant and Judy Morgan, DVM, with two of their rescued spaniels. Morgan says the stories in the book were submitted by readers of her prior book, “What's For Dinner Dexter? Cooking for Your Dog Using Chinese Medicine Theory.” A recipe for dog food and a complementary recipe for humans accompany each story. For example, “Butternut Squash Banana Treats for Dogs” is followed by “Maple Bacon Pecan Butternut Squash …
