Cornell vets perform tricky cardiac procedure on shepherd puppyApril 11, 2018Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA) and veterinarians from three countries joined forces to save a young German shepherd's life. At 6 months old, Rex was by far the calmest dog the Silverman family of New York had ever owned. Their other German shepherds all bounced off the walls at that age, so at first they attributed Rex's docile behavior to temperament. Nothing in his regular checkups indicated a problem, but when Rex became violently ill, the Silvermans noticed the dog's heart was racing and knew it was something far more serious. Gretchen Singletary, DVM, DACVIM, a veterinary cardiologist in New York, stabilized him and performed a series of tests, including an electrocardiogram that confirmed the presence of an arrhythmia. The culprit turned out to be a small bundle of muscle running inside the wall of his heart, a defect he was born with and likely caused his low energy. Dr. Singletary told Silverman that Rex was a candidate for radiofrequency catheter ablation, where small areas of the heart muscle are heated through the tip of a catheter to destroy abnormal tissue. It's a complicated, precise procedure, and only two places in the U.S. offer it routinely—a …
SPONSORED CONTENTA new way to offer multi-organ supportNEW Hill's Prescription Diet Multi-Organ offers therapeutic nutrition for pets that may have conflicting nutritional needs. + Learn More
Canadian Kennel Club announces country's top breedsApril 10, 2018 The Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) released its annual list of the country's most popular dog breeds and, like the American Kennel Club's (AKC) list, Labrador retrievers maintained their position as leader of the pack, having held the honor in Canada since 1995. This year, the CKC welcomed a new breed to the official rankings of the country's best-loved: the Australian shepherd made the list for the first time in more than 25 years, taking the No. 9 position and bumping the Yorkshire terrier out of the top 10. "The Aussie can do it all," said Shawna Wiebe, president of the Canadian National Australian Shepherd Association. "They are a very intelligent, athletic dog in a moderate package. They can move from the herding arena, to the agility ring, to the rally ring, to the Frisbee field, with great ease." Australian shepherds are ideal for active families who are looking for a dog to keep up with them. The breed thrives in a home that is committed to socializing and training them, Wiebe added. German Shepherds, golden retrievers, and poodles remain in the CKC's No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 spots, respectively, while Shetland sheepdogs and …
How low-stress handling changed one patient's lifeApril 6, 2018Myla, a 5-year-old pit bull, was deemed evil by her family veterinarian and his staff. Every time she came to the hospital, even for something as benign as a wellness visit, she had to be sedated at home.
Auburn Oncology Service launches melanoma drug clinical trialApril 5, 2018The Oncology Service at Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine is using the help of man's best friend in launching a clinical trial to test a new melanoma treatment drug. "This study is designed to test a new drug that may be useful in treating melanoma, which most commonly occurs in the mouth in dogs," said Bruce Smith, VMD, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Pathobiology and director of the Auburn University Research Initiative in Cancer, or AURIC. "The drug, called MMX, is a peptide, which is a chain of amino acids, the basic building blocks of all proteins," Dr. Smith said. "This study seeks to measure the effect of this drug on these tumors. We are currently taking patients to participate in the clinical trial." Dog owners who are interested in enrolling their pets into this clinical trial must do so through the Oncology Service at the college's Wilford and Kate Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital. The treatment, as well as surgery to remove any tumor left at the end of the trial, will be provided at no cost to the owner. The trial initially is about a five-week …
AKC top breeds list features longtime faves, two surprisesMarch 29, 2018The American Kennel Club (AKC) released its annual breed popularity rankings Wednesday, and unsurprisingly, the nation still loves its happy-go-lucky Labrador retrievers 27 years after their first appearance as top dog. German Shepherd dogs and golden retrievers remain in the AKC's No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. What is surprising is the rise of French bulldogs to No. 4 from No. 76 in just 20 years. Bulldogs, beagles, poodles, Rottweilers, and Yorkshire terriers make up No. 5 through No. 9. The German shorthaired pointer made the No. 10 spot this year (a GSP won Westminster Kennel Club dog show in 2016). The dogs are cute, compact, and relatively quiet, making them a breed of choice for urbanites. But not everyone is excited about the French bulldog's rising popularity. However, they suffer from health issues common among brachycephalic breeds, as well as and spinal and eye problems, and are often born by cesarean section. Sometimes they require nasal or palate surgery. John de Jong, DVM, a Newton, Mass., veterinarian who is president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association said he acknowledges the breed's conditions and challenges, but added that other dogs face their own particular challenges. …
Could noise sensitivity in dogs be a cry for pain relief?March 26, 2018Â A study conducted by animal behavior scientists from the U.K. and Brazil found that dogs that show fear or anxiety when faced with loud or sudden noises could actually be in pain. The researchers examined cases of dogs that had developed sensitivity to variations in noise volume, pitch, and occurrence, and found they also had associated musculoskeletal pain. The undiagnosed pain could be exacerbated when auditory stimuli makes the dogs tense or jump, placing extra stress on muscles or joints that already are inflamed, causing further pain, according to the study. That pain is then associated with a loud or startling noise, leading to sensitivity to noise and avoidance of situations where they had a previous bad experience, such as at a local park or in a loud room at home. According to the researchers, veterinarians should give any dog with a behavior issue a thorough physical exam to determine that if pain is a factor, it can be diagnosed and treated, and the behavior issue can then be addressed. In the study, all dogs that experienced pain and were treated showed improvement in behavior. Pain, behavior issues, and the onset of pain "Although the average ages of the …
Dog flu goes viralMarch 13, 2018While it’s unknown how many dogs have been affected—canine influenza isn’t a reportable disease in the U.S., although it is in Canada—the figures are underreported, said Cynda Crawford, DVM, clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
An inconvenient truthFebruary 16, 2018If you’re like me, you were raised to think that all dogs should be sterilized. Veterinary school and our lives in practice further reinforced that truism. Dogs, we were reverently informed, require sterilization if they’re to live long, healthy lives.
Raw feeding trends continue to rack up risks for dogsFebruary 8, 2018In a new study, researchers at the University of Melbourne's U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital found that consuming raw chicken meat increases a dog's risk of developing acute polyradiculoneuritis (APN) by more than 70 times. The cause of APN in dogs has baffled the veterinary community for a long time, said Matthias le Chevoir, DVM, DECVN, chief investigator on the project. "It is a rare but very debilitating condition where the dog's hind legs first become weak," he said. "It can then progress to affect the front legs, neck, head and face. Some dogs may die from the disease if their chest becomes paralyzed. Most dogs eventually recover without treatment but it may take up to six months or more in some cases. "In our clinic alone we see around 30 cases per year and around three in ten cases would not recover," Dr. le Chevoir continued. "Watching your pet suffer is obviously very distressing and it can be difficult for owners to nurse their pet if the condition can gradually improve." Paralysis results from the dog's immune system becoming unregulated and attacking its own nerve roots, progressively worsening over several days. APN is the canine version …
Tell me about your puppyhood...February 2, 2018The Canine Science Collaboratory, located in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University in Tempe, is on a unique mission: to better understand the behavior and cognition of dogs and their wild relatives. It’s an ambitious goal with tremendous implications for dogs, owners, veterinarians, and others who work with one of America’s most popular pets.
