The Vetpodcast

Television programmes such as CSI have shown us the power of forensic science. This same science is being used for criminal investigations involving animals. We again talk to George Sofronidis from Genetic Technologies in Australia.
For more information, have a look at http://www.animalnetwork.com.au/forensics/

Ever wondered what breeds are in your cross bred dog? This information may be more important than you may think. Different breeds have different characteristics. A Labrador Weimaraner cross will show different behaviour than for example a Labrador German Shepherd, although they may look similar. Certain breeds may be genetically more likely to suffer from a specific condition. If we know the breeds in your dog, we may be able to control these conditions. Is your pure bred dog actually pure bred. George Sofronidis from Genetic Technologies in Australia may have some answers.
The BITSA website is http://www.animalnetwork.com.au/bitsa/

Most people think of vets as the animal health professionals that look after cats and dogs and cows and horses. The normal domestic animals. There is another breed of veterinarians that look after wildlife and zoo animals. This work normally goes on behind the scenes.
Wellington Zoo has just opened an interesting new facility that they call “The Nest”. “The Nest” is an animal hospital and centre for native wildlife care. The innovative thing about this facility is that the public can, and are actually encouraged to watch what goes on in an area that is usually “behind the scenes”. On a daily basis the expert team will talk visitors through operations as they happen, providing a unique insight into their profession and dedication.
Dr Francois Lampen is the manager of veterinary science at the Wellington Zoo.
The Nest website is www.wellingtonzoo.com/thenest

A cat straining to urinate may be the indicator of a serious health issue. Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease is a nasty condition that may require urgent treatment.

Corneal ulcers are seen quite commonly in most veterinary practices. As common as they are, there is always the potential for them causing permanent eye damage, but with the correct treatment, usually there is a good outcome.

Dogs dont dig holes in the ground to annoy you, it is simply in their nature. As frustrating as it is, there are ways this behaviour can be addressed.

With more people living in apartments meaning less space for conventional pets, keeping an aquarium is a lot more common these days. Added to this, fish farming is also big business. There are now veterinarians who have taken their training to a new level. In this podcast I talk to Dr Fiona MacDonald, who is the secretary of the United Kingdom Fish Veterinary Society

The link for the UK Fish Vet Society is www.fishvetsociety.org.uk

The Link for Fionas' Fish Treatment Ltd website is www.fish-treatment.co.uk

That faintly fishy metallic smell from the back end of your dog is probably its Anal Glands. What are they there for and what can go wrong with them??

Farm animals as we know them today have been selected for desirable traits or characteristics such as fast growth rate, heavy muscling, good fibre production, good milk production or perhaps temperament. Along the way, some breeds may have been discarded from main stream farming for a variety of reasons, and their numbers have dwindled, perhaps even to the point of extinction. Some domesticated breeds may have returned to the wild, and in doing so returned to a free living state.
In New Zealand the guardians of these animals are The Rare Breeds Conservation Society, whose role is to conserve, record and promote these breeds with the particular aim of maintaining genetic diversity within our livestock species.

In this interview, I talk with Mike Willis, a spokesman for this society, and himself, a custodian of a number of rare breeds.

Have a look at the New Zealand Rare Breeds website at http://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/

The trouble with seizures in dogs is that often the owner may miss them. They may be a very transient occurrence lasting perhaps only 30 seconds, and unless you see the event occurring how would you know? When you do see them, they can be a very scary thing. Today we have a look at symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of seizures.

Have you ever walked into someone’s house and it absolutely stinks of cat urine. Worse still, have you noticed this in your own home. This is not necessarily a reflection of the cleanliness of the owner, but often caused by a behavioural problem in their cat we refer to as urine spraying.

We have probably all seen pictures of Greyhounds racing around a track. What is the history of this sport, and more importantly for me, what sets Greyhounds apart from other dogs. I discuss this with Dave Matheson, a veterinarian in Christchurch, New Zealand, who has administered veterinary care to racing greyhounds for years

In a previous Vetpodcast on Physical Therapy, mention was made in passing of the use of braces and prosthetics in the treatment of animals. Just as is the case with physical rehabilitation, this is another area of treatment where the knowledge and techniques gained over the years from human medicine are being modified and applied to veterinary medicine. Ben Blecha works in this field at a company called AceOrthoSolutions in Nebraska and discusses his work in this field.
For more information, Ben’s wbsite is www.aceorthosolutions.com

Many people know of the work that Doctors without Borders do. A little less well known (but I stand to be corrected here) is an organization called Veterinarians without Borders.
In this episode, I talk to Dr Enid Styles, the vice president of Veterinarians without Borders Canada about the work of this organization, and more specifically, about their contribution towards controlling rabies worldwide.

Follow this link to their website:
http://www.vwb-vsf.ca/english/index.shtml

Urine is usually seen as a waste product of the body, but as veterinarians we often use it as a simple window into what is going on in the rest of the body.

Unfortunately because the life expectancy of our pets is much shorter than our own, most pet owners have to deal with the death of a pet. There is a very practical problem here. What do you do with the body. There are several options. In New Zealand anyway, most veterinarians have, for the want of a better term, a disposal service. Many owners will take the pet home for home burial. Often though, this may not be an option, especially if the owner shifts houses regularly, lives in an apartment where burial is not an option or just doesn’t like the idea of their dead pet lying at the end of the garden.
From our records, probably about 50% of the euthanased animals are cremated. In this podcast I talk to Andrea Guillemot from Fond Farewells pet cremation in Christchurch, New Zealand about Pet cremation.
For more information on Fond Farewells go to:
http://www.gribblesvets.co.nz/info/general/Document/get/465/documentId/

It is a fact that cats are living longer than they used to. The American Veterinary Medical Association in their 1996 survey of pets in the US found that when looking at the records of veterinarians, cats over the age of 6 years comprised 47% of the cat population on their records. 15 years ago, a 10 year old cat was doing well, now we are seeing cats in their late teens and early 20’s. Why has this happened, and what are the ramifications of this trend?

Physical rehabilitation or physiotherapy has been the mainstay of injury management in humans for decades. Historically, as vets we have been reluctant to urge early mobility after surgery with the perhaps misguided thought that the animal will use the limb when it is good and ready. Along with the greater awareness of pain control taken from our medical colleagues, physical rehabilitation is being seen as a very useful, if not essential part of injury management.
I discuss physical rehabilitation with Danielle Robbins, a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist.
For more information, check out Danielle's website at http://www.americandogrehab.com/

Where do you store your pets medication? Obviously out of the reach of the kids, but is it better in the refrigerator, in the kitchen or in a cool dark place? What do you do with it if any is left over?

There are many different methods of flea control. With the modern products we have available, we should be able to eliminate fleas from your pets.

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