Category: Health

2011 Top 10 Pet poisons

Keep these out of reach of dogs !
Pet Poison Helpline reported their Top 10 list of poisons for dogs:

  1. Foods: chocolate, xylitol, and grapes/raisins.
  2. Insecticides.
  3. Mouse and rat poison.
  4. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for human (ibuprofen, naproxen etc).
  5. Household cleaners.
  6. Antidepressant drugs for humans (Prozac etc).
  7. Fertilizers.
  8. Cough & cold human drugs.
  9. Amphetamines for humans (ADD/ADHD meds etc).
  10. NSAIDs for dogs (Rimadyl, Deramaxx & Previcox).

Canine Lymphoma

A new immunotherapy for companion dogs with advanced-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has been shown to improve survival while maintaining quality of life, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports. The study resulted from a collaboration between The University of Texas MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital in Houston and Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine in College Station.

seeMedical News

Epstein Barr type virus and Lymphoma in Dogs

A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine has the first evidence that an Epstein Barr-like virus can infect and may also be responsible for causing lymphomas in man’s best friend.
Dogs develop lymphomas that share some characteristics with the human equivalents. These conditions are relatively common in certain breeds. In golden retrievers, for instance, one out of every eight dogs develops lymphoma. Read the entire article at Medical News.

Spinal cord injury in dogs

Department of Defense Funds UCSF and Texas A&M Collaboration to Test Therapy that May Help People

An experimental drug being tested by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — may help dogs with spinal cord injuries.

The U.S. Department of Defense,funded the study to test a drug to mitigate damage and it has already proven effective in mice at UCSF. Now the Texas team will test how it works in previously injured short-legged, long torso breeds of dog like dachshunds, beagles and corgis, who often suffer injuries when a disk in their back spontaneously ruptures. Continue reading Spinal cord injury in dogs

Cauda Equina Syndrome

(Degenerative Lumbosacral Stenosis)

Cauda equina syndrome (degenerative lumbosacral stenosis) is caused by compression of the nerve roots (cauda equina) coursing through the lumbosacral spinal canal in the lower back. Nerve root entrapment and pressure can result from an arthritic process, infection, a degenerative disc rupture, or tumors. Most dogs affected by lumbosacral degeneration are middle aged or older large, athletic breeds. Continue reading Cauda Equina Syndrome

Oral Bordetella Vaccine Approved

April 02, 2012
Bronchi-Shield ORAL – First Oral Bordetella bronchiseptica Vaccine Approved for Use in Dogs

Veterinarians have a new, innovative vaccine choice available for protection from the primary pathogen of canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD). The vaccine, Bronchi-Shield® ORAL from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI), recently has been approved by the USDA for use in dogs. This vaccine is unique because it is the first live, avirulent Bordetella bronchiseptica vaccine licensed to be administered orally to dogs .
Continue reading Oral Bordetella Vaccine Approved