Study: Horse's Behavior Can't be Determined by the Color of its CoatMarch 30, 2016Does a particular color of a horse’s coat make it more prone to being “crazy?” That’s what researchers sought to find out, and discovered the coat has nothing to do with a horse’s personality. Researchers, in their paper titled “The relationship between coat colour phenotype and equine behaviour: A pilot study,” published in published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, asked horse owners to fill out a questionnaire that covered several sections, including: Horse handling experience Basic horse information Equipment used when handling or riding the horse Behavioral responses in general and specific circumstances The responses helped researchers determine that the color of a horse’s coat had little to do with their behavior. Instead the breed, sex and age of a horse "significantly influence many of its behavior," according to the researchers. This new data may (or may not) change how people feel about chestnut horses. Female chestnut horses are often described as "crazy," but while researchers found chestnut horses there are behavioral differences between chestnuts and bay horses, “Chestnut horses are not more likely than bay horses to display adverse behaviors. So …
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Zoetis, OVC Partnership to Study Mental Health Issues Affecting VeterinariansMarch 29, 2016Zoetis Inc. and Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph are partnering up for a new research study. Zoetis has committed almost $100,000 over the next three years to help OVC researchers understand factors affecting the mental well-being of veterinarians. The goal of the study is to develop training and other support programs for both undergraduate veterinary students and graduated veterinarians. “Like many professions, veterinary work often comes with long hours, financial pressures, employee management and other stresses that can affect the mental and physical health of veterinarians,” said Jeffrey Wichtel, BVSc, Ph.D., dean of OVC. “This gift from Zoetis will help us identify ways that veterinarians can become more resilient in the face of these challenges.” OVC studies veterinarian wellness issues and research through the Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Research and Education (AWAR2E) Group. The AWAR2E Group includes: Colleen Best, DVM, post-doctoral fellow; Andria Jones-Bitton, DVM, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Population Medicine; Joanne Hewson, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Studies; Deep Khosa, BSc, BVMS, MANZCVS, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Population Medicine; and Peter Conlon, DVM, BSc, MSc, …
OVC Study Finds Homeless Youth With Pets Less Likely to Be Depressed, But Face Other ChallengesMarch 29, 2016Homeless youth can benefit from owning pets, but that comes with a few challenges. That’s according to a new study from the University of Guelph in Canada, published in March in the journal Anthrozoӧs. Led by researchers from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), the study found that homeless youth with pets are less likely to engage in potentially harmful behavior, more likely to open up to veterinarians about their personal challenges and generally less depressed. On the flip side, because of their pets, homeless people might find it difficult to obtain social services. Its findings mirror what researchers had been hearing anecdotally, said Jason Coe, DVM, an associate professor at the college. “Those homeless youth with pets don’t want to risk incarceration or anything that would prevent them from being with their pets, so they are less likely to abuse alcohol or use hard drugs,” Coe said in a press release. “We also found those without pets are three times more likely to be depressed, though we have not yet determined if this is directly relatable to having a pet.” One of the major problems is that many shelters do not …
Vet Techs! Don't Forget to Take the NAVTA Demographics Survey!March 29, 2016Time is almost running out to take the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA)’s 2016 Demographics survey! The survey ends April 1, 2016. So what is the NAVTA survey? It’s a survey that’s run every four years by the NAVTA to determine the state of the veterinary technician profession. It has 75 questions for all credentialed and non-credentialed technicians to take and covers topics such as job stressors, job satisfaction, pay range, employee benefits, etc. This is information is used by practice managers, veterinary manufactures, veterinary distributors, and practice consultants to help drive the technician profession. It’s part of the NAVTA’s goal of allowing veterinary technicians to give input on national issues involving the veterinary profession. According to the NAVTA, the survey takes about 30 minutes to take. Find out more about the NAVTA at their website. Take the survey here.
Wisconsin SVM Researcher Joins Bouchet Honor SocietyMarch 29, 2016Yashdeep Phanse, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, was recently inducted into the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. The society acknowledges scholarly achievement and promotes diversity in doctoral education. Phanse’s research focuses on novel nanoparticle approaches to design therapeutics for protecting shrimp, a major food source in developing countries, against pathogens. He is also developing next-generation tools to curb mosquito-borne diseases through vector control, according to the university, which made the announcement in late March. The Bouchet Honor Society was designated in honor of Edward Alexander Bouchet, Ph.D., the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from an American university. Society members are chosen for their academic and personal excellence and their exemplification of the five Bouchet qualities: advocacy, leadership, scholarship, character and service, university noted.
Veterinarian's New Book Explores Life as a Rural VetMarch 28, 2016William H. Green, D.V.M., has 27 years of stories and memories from his time as the owner of a rural veterinary hospital. Now he's sharing them all in his new book, "Doc, Did I Wake You?" The book, according to its synopsis, shows readers what it's like to be a rural veterinarian. "In his book, Dr. Green tells stories about animals, their owners, and other unique characters that he encountered in his years of veterinary practice. You almost feel that you were present when the events took place. Animal lovers will enjoy the heartwarming stories, the humorous stories, and the almost unbelievable true stories about animals and their caretakers. Dr. Green talks about treating cats, dogs, and cows during the daytime and then skunks, horses, or elephants at night. Each day brought something different-most of which was unplanned. Needless to say, days and nights were long, and sleep came at a premium. When he did get a chance to rest he dreaded that middle of the night phone call that began with, 'Doc, did I wake you up?'" Why did he decide to write the book? “I had accumulated the stories in …
Cat Gets Accidentally Shipped 260 Miles Via PostMarch 28, 2016Cats love boxes, no one will dispute that. But for Cupcake, a Siamese cat who lives in the Falmouth in Cornwall, England, that love of boxes got her accidentally shipped more than 260 miles away to the town of West Sussex. Cupcake’s owner, Julie Baggott, was sending out a package of DVDs, and didn’t realize that her cat had crawled into the box. That’s how Cupcake ended up with Ziffit Towers, the package receiver, a whole 8 days later. Towers immediately rushed Cupcake to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The RSPCA then took Cupcake to nearest Grove Lodge Veterinary Group, who they treated her for dehydration. Cupcake responded well to treatment, despite being “quite scared, quite nervous,” as Ben Colwell of Grove Lodge Vets told the BBC, which the ABC reported. “[Cupcake] seems quite relaxed and unconcerned and is sitting in her kennel in our cat ward waiting for her family,” the Grove Lodge Veterinary Group wrote in their blog. They pointed out that Cupcake was microchipped and that was how they were able to find her owners. “On arrival, we …
Veterinarian is Out to Change How We Feed CatsMarch 28, 2016Cats instinctively want to hunt for their food, but satisfying that need hasn’t always been easy or convenient for pet owners. That’s a problem that Elizabeth “Liz” Bales, VMD,, set out to solve, and it led her to create the No Bowl Feeding System for cats. nobowlcat.com Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Bales “I was so discouraged after years and years of my own profession knowing what cats needed but not having a way to help my patients,” Bales writes on the No Bowl Cat website. “I invented the solution myself. My invention, The NoBowl Feeding System, is the safe, clean, easy way to bring back the hunt with the dry food that you are already feeding. I consulted with the world’s leading feline veterinarians, veterinary nutritionists and veterinary behaviorists and then worked with an accomplished team of inventors and designers to create The NoBowl Feeding System — an indoor hunting system that will help keep your cat happy and healthy.” Using the No Bowl system helps satisfy a cat's natural instinct to hunt and, according to Bale, and solves a number of behavioral problems, including: Not sleeping through the night Gobbling up …
Indiana Veterinarian Running for CongressMarch 28, 2016With an 11 percent approval rating, according to Gallup, many believe Congress is in definite need of an overhaul. That was what motivated Indianapolis-based veteran and veterinarian Dr. Angela Demaree to file her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, back in January. “Like many Americans, I’m really tired of the increasing partisan divide and the do-nothing Congress,” Demaree told the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). “Hoosiers want to end the partisan gridlock just as much as I do, and in these uncertain times, we need common-sense solutions, and we need our elected officials working together to solve problems.” Facebook Dr. Angela Demaree Demaree is earned her DVM degree from Purdue University in 2002, and is a major in the Army Reserves. She serves on the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine's Alumni Board and American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) State Advocacy Committee. “In 2009, she was commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve Veterinary Corps and in 2012 was deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom,” writes the AVMA. A sixth generation Hoosier, Demaree entered the race wanting to …
Veterinarian Designs App to Help Dog Owners Determine Their Mutt's BreedsMarch 25, 2016Want to know what makes up your mutt? There’s an app for that. Best part? That app was designed by a veterinarian. Specifically, Lauren Schluterman, DVM, of the Bowman Road Animal Clinic in Little Rock, Ark., designed the “What’s My Mutt?” app. The creation came about because so many clients wanted to know the breeds made up their dogs. She had also adopted her own dog, Indy, and was working to determine what her dog's origins were. With DNA testing too expensive for many of her clients, Schluterman decided to start work on a more inexpensive approach. What's My Mutt? Lauren Schluterman, DVM, with Indy. The app took around 3 years to make. Schluterman created an algorithm that takes “dominant features of 65 different dog breeds that create mutts,” reports THV11.com. “We tested the algorithm on about 1,000 dogs before the official launch. The goal of the app is for it to become a tool for animal rescue and shelter groups or people looking to adopt a dog with a certain size or personality. The more people that use it, the more data is collected,” …
