Blast the Pain Away Low level laser therapy [LLLT] or photobiomodulation has been used in veterinary and human medicine for decades. Whilst LLLT has been proposed to treat a multitude of disorders the strongest evidence for its efficacy is for three main purposes: promoting wound healing and tissue repair, relieving inflammation and swelling and as […]
Antibody Anybody? The clever folk at Zoetis [nee Pfizer] have developed a safe new therapy for chronically itchy or atopic dogs. Cytopoint is a monoclonal antibody given as a subcutaneous injection which reduces itchiness within 8 hours and lasts 30 days. It can be repeated monthly. Monoclonal Whatabody? Monoclonal antibodies are developed in a lab […]
Ticks Suck I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve been told, “No its definitely not a tick!” when, of course, it most definitely is? Last year a veterinary critical care specialist predicted that new preventatives could herald the end of paralysis tick caused fatalities. What he may not have counted on was human behaviour. […]
The Sun Giveth and Taketh Away Our star, the Sun, is the source of all of our food and most of our energy resources but the radiation and heat released can also cause adverse effects in our pets. Heat Stroke Hyperthermia can occur in as little as 30 minutes on hot and humid days especially […]
Risky Business? Several studies in the Occupational Medicine Journal analysing significant injuries to Australian veterinarians have concluded that we face “an unacceptably high risk of injury”. It was found that vets face a nine times greater risk of serious injury when compared to human medical practitioners. In the preceding 12 months, 48% of vets reported […]
Doggy Body Movin Successfully interpreting what your dog is trying to communicate through their body language allows you to respond appropriately to their underlying emotional motivations. Hearing It is unusual for dogs to vocalise a lot when they interact. Their main form of communication is through body language and smells. Behaviourist think they bark, growl […]
Do Emotions Affect Behaviour? While it is useful in behavioural management to know the context or “the with whom, when and where” a pet displays their problem behaviour, the more important question to ask may be why? The “why” helps both vets and behavioural trainers plan long term management and allows owners to predict and […]
Doggy Dementia Advances in canine nutrition, disease prevention and treatment has led to an aging population of dogs that commonly live into their late teens. Now age is not a disease but it does take its toll on the circulatory, renal, hepatic, musculoskeletal and central nervous systems [CNS]. Changes in the canine CNS include beta […]
The Eyes Have It! They may be the window to the soul but for such an important and intricately complex organ, eyes have quite limited expressions of disease. Confusingly, disease in different parts of the eye often presents with the same symptoms of; pain [squinting or holding eyelids tightly closed], ocular discharge and inflammation or […]
Lets Hopey It’s Not Atopy Doggy Hay Fever Atopic dermatitis is a common chronic relapsing itchy skin disease of dogs. Affected dogs first show symptoms between 6 months and 3 years of age and then itch more or less for the rest of their life. The easiest analogy to a human disease is “hay fever” […]
