The Veterinary College at Texas A&M University has put out some very helpful tips on how to provide your pet birds with environmental enrichment and mental stimulation. They report that birds are happiest when given many different forms of enrichment. Not surprising given their intelligence, curiosity,...
House rabbits are becoming an increasingly popular pet among animal lovers. Fancy rabbits, such as tiny dwarf breeds, fluffy lionheads, or floppy eared lop breeds, are top choices among rabbit fanciers. If you’re thinking about adding a floppy eared lop rabbit to your family, check out...
October 1-7 is National Walk Your Dog Week, an event designed to raise awareness about the importance of regular exercise for your dog’s health. According to the official website, many dogs (and their humans) do not get enough exercise, which can lead to health problems like...
The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) is a UK charity that runs hospitals which provide free and low-cost veterinary care. Each year they produce a report on animal well-being known as the PAW Report. The latest PAW Report (click HERE for the full text) has...
As responsible pet parents, we want to do what’s best for our dogs and cats, including protecting them from harmful parasites like fleas and ticks. But did you know that it’s possible to “overdose” your pets on too much topical flea and tick medication? Veterinarians have...
Cats are very good at hiding their pain. It can be difficult for owners and vets to determine the severity of a cat’s pain, and many often look to body language as a key. Besides the position in which they hold their bodies, a cat’s face...
The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) has dedicated the month of September to raising awareness about pain and pain management in our pets. According to the IVAPM, animals suffer from the same kinds of acute and chronic pain as humans, from causes like arthritis,...
Researchers in the UK recently conducted a large-scale survey of owners of flat faced dog breeds like the Pug and French and English Bulldogs. The findings show that while these breeds are very popular, owners often downplay the health problems associated with brachycephaly in their dogs. Brachycephaly...
Veterinarians around the country are warning dog owners about the hazards of exposing your dog to bodies of standing water that have algae containing a poisonous bacterium known as cyanobacteria. Toxic blue-green algae was responsible for the deaths of several dogs in the US and Canada...
The folks at the rover.com website have created a very useful new list of poisonous plants for dog and cat owners. The list includes photographs of each plant to help in identification, as well as the plant’s common name and scientific name. You can find plants that...
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the US Food and Drug Administration, recently issued a health warning to pet owners who feed their dogs pig ear treats. They are advising people not to buy pig ear treats for their pets, and not...
Researchers at Canada’s Ontario Veterinary College analyzed the electronic veterinary health data of over 19 million cats and found that not only do cats tend to put on weight as they age, but they also have been getting fatter over the past few decades. The study,...
We’ve all seen a lot of news stories about the dangers of leaving your dog in a hot car, but did you know that a simple stroll on the sidewalk can blister your pup’s paws when the weather is hot? KUTV in Salt Lake City talked...
The US Food and Drug Administration has been investigating a possible connection between grain free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs. DCM is a heart condition that is most commonly seen in certain medium to large breed dogs. The heart becomes enlarged and loses its...
Banfield Pet Hospital’s annual State of Pet Health Report analyzes data from over 2.5 million dogs and half a million cats that are patients at their veterinary offices in the US. You can check out the full report on the Banfield website, including interactive features like...
USA Today recently published an interesting article about all the different ways warming temperatures have a negative effect on the health of our dogs, cats, and other pets. According to veterinary epidemiologists interviewed for the article, certain diseases, many of them spread by parasites, are moving...
A large-scale study of dogs in the UK has identified the most common canine health disorders seen by veterinarians. The electronic health data of over 450,000 dogs under veterinary care in the UK was analyzed by researchers conducting this study. Let’s take a look at some key...
Pet owners commonly seek out dog and cat food information online, whether it’s product reviews, advice on alternative diets, or how to manage your pet’s weight. But how do you know if the information you are looking at is trustworthy and accurate? The World Small Animal Veterinary...
Researchers at the University of California--Davis have found that homemade diets for cats are often lacking in essential nutrients and could even contain potentially toxic ingredients. The study, shared in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, evaluated over 100 published recipes and found significant...
Just like humans, our dogs, cats, and other pets can suffer from many different kinds of cancer. Studies of canine cancer suggest that as many as half of dogs over 10 years old will develop some form of cancer. In recognition of Pet Cancer Awareness Month,...
Cats allowed to roam outdoors face a variety of health risks, from getting hit by cars and attacked by other animals to an increased risk for infection by internal and external parasites. A recent study of parasite infection rates for outdoor cats vs. indoor cats around...