Lower-stress care for dogs starts at homeSeptember 28, 2022Recent years have seen veterinary clinics make great strides to alleviate patient stress during routine exams and procedures. Notably, many clinics have taken measures to provide stress alleviation for pets through various desensitization and counterconditioning techniques. This may include having treats on-hand as a positive distraction, providing separate waiting areas for dogs and cats, and timing appointments to allow nervous pets to bypass waiting areas and go directly into an exam room.
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Exploring alternatives to scruffing catsSeptember 27, 2022Scruffing refers to a restraining technique involving firmly grasping the loose skin of a cat’s back, located between the shoulder blades. While scruffing is often meant for safely controlling and settling a cat, research shows the contrary. The scruffing method is often counterproductive, causing many cats to resist or even fight back more aggressively than when alternative handling is performed.
Getting to the root of nutritional allergiesSeptember 27, 2022It is very common for pet owners to believe their itchy pet has a "food allergy." While cutaneous adverse food reactions (cAFR) are certainly not rare, when it comes to pruritic pets, atopic dermatitis (AD) is actually more prevalent than cAFR. Sadly, however, a physical exam is insufficient to distinguish atopic disease from a food-associated dermatopathy.
Early detection key in hip dysplasia casesSeptember 26, 2022Puppies are born with normal hips, but changes associated with dysplasia can develop rapidly with earliest changes noted as soon as 30 days after birth. In developing puppies, joint incongruity or malalignment prevents normal development of the acetabulum and femoral head, perpetuating the development of dysplasia.
Why you should increase lab complianceSeptember 22, 2022Every day, we see pets come and go from our practices. Every day, we have the opportunity to be proactive as opposed to reactive when it comes to their health. One of the greatest gifts we can offer our clients and their pets is the early detection of diseases that have the potential to be managed for many years.
Monkeypox detected in domestic dogAugust 17, 2022A greyhound in France has tested positive for monkeypox, becoming the first known domestic dog to contract with the virus via human transmission.
Spice up a pet's life through diet and nutritionAugust 11, 2022Whether pet parents are looking to support their pet’s medical needs through diet, are aiming to align their pet’s diet with their own nutritional approach and philosophies, or they are just trying to eliminate food boredom, there are ways we can safely support and guide them.
Diagnosing tooth resorption in cats and dogsAugust 11, 2022Cats almost never get cavities, but they are prone to get cavity-like tooth defects called tooth resorption. Tooth resorption has had many different names through the years, including cervical line lesions, neck lesions, feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions (FORL) and “feline odontolysis.” Recent studies have helped clarify this disease starts on the root surface and not specifically at the cervical portion of the tooth, so we now simply call it “tooth resorption” (TR).
It's time to put diagnostic tests to the testAugust 11, 2022All too often, companies develop and promote diagnostic tests in the veterinary field with no reasonable evidence that using them will benefit patients. Given the lack of meaningful regulation in this area, completely useless tests based on pseudoscience are freely sold to vets and pet owners. Even tests that work as claimed may become widespread well before there is evidence to believe their use will improve patient outcomes.
Perivulvar skin fold disease in obese catsAugust 10, 2022Have you treated a female cat for recurrent bacterial cystitis? Was it an overweight to obese cat? If both are true, you may have noted severe dermatitis was present in the perivulvar and perianal areas. This group of findings is typical when an obese female cat has perivulvar skin fold disease.
