Zoetis launches noise aversion drug for dogsMay 16, 2016The explosions and whistles of Fourth of July fireworks displays may become less bothersome to dogs administered a new prescription medication from Zoetis Inc.
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BIVI's Bordetella vaccine tops 17 million dosesMay 12, 201617 million doses and counting. Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. reported the milestone sales figure Tuesday for Bronchi-Shield Oral, a four-year-old canine Bordetella vaccine.
The latest advancements in atopic dermatitis treatments in dogs and catsMay 10, 2016It’s no secret that one of the top conditions that compels people to take their pets to the veterinarian is itchy skin and the allergies that can cause it. Thankfully, treatment options for atopic dermatitis (AD) have improved greatly in recent years, and other solutions appear to be on the way.
Weather warming up? Time to talk about ticksMay 9, 2016When the weather warms it’s safe to assume that ticks are out looking for their next meal. Although the arachnids are found throughout the United States, deer ticks, also known as blacklegged ticks, are common carriers of Lyme disease.
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.
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 …
Cat-Friendly Practices Happy With ResultsMay 6, 2016Becoming a cat-friendly practice pays off, literally. A survey conducted by the American Association of Feline Practitioners found that nearly 7-in-10 hospitals designated as cat-friendly practices attracted new clients because of the status. Eleven percent gained at least 26 feline patients. Launched in 2012, AAFP’s cat-friendly practice (CFP) program aims to make hospitals more accommodating to the needs of cats and improve the animals’ handling, treatment and overall health. Reducing stress levels during a veterinary visit is of utmost importance. “Our 2015 survey results have definitively concluded that the CFP designation helps practices grow their client base of feline patients as well as positively impacts client compliance with the increase in feline visits,” said Ilona Rodan, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, co-chairwoman of the CFP Committee. Just over 950 veterinary hospitals carried CFP status as of early January. An additional 635 clinics were working to meet program requirements, AAFP reported. The time, money and effort involved in becoming more amenable to cats were worthwhile, the survey found. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents stated that they were satisfied with being designated a cat-friendly practice. The top benefits, according to the survey, included: Less stress in …
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 …
Dog Regains Mobility Thanks to UC Davis NeurologistsMay 2, 2016Not too long ago, Leah, a 4-year-old female Border Collie, got loose from her owner and went missing for the night. When a local veterinary facility found her the next day, the staff immediately called her owner and informed her that Leah had been injured. She had a facial laceration that might have been from a deer kick. Otherwise, she appeared normal, and so her wound was repaired, and Leah was on her way home. Two days later, however, Leah became acutely non-ambulatory. She had minimal motor function in all four limbs, and was unable to sit up on her own. Leah was then hospitalized with a suspected case of tetanus. She was treated with an anti-toxin and other supportive care and monitored. Her severe tetraparesis did not improve for three weeks. Leah’s veterinarians no longer suspected tetanus and were much more concerned that she might have a spinal cord injury. That was when they referred her to the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis. Once at UC Davis, specialists in the Neurology/Neurosurgery Service performed a …
