Doc of All Trades

22/05/2024

Ambitious to think one could hold a full time job, raise a cattle dog, and find time to post about it.

More to come. ✍️👩‍💻

07/02/2024

A Vet's Pet: Socializing!

According to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), the first three months (0-12 weeks) of a puppy's life are "the primary and most important time for puppy socialization." Those with dogs may recognize that this window of time is before puppy vaccines are completed-- 16-20 weeks depending on breed and lifestyle.

'Socialization' is sometimes mistaken as literally being social with other people or animals. In reality, it refers to all types of exposure to stimuli-- sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. This is the period when puppy learns what things are safe and normal vs worthy of fear. Taking puppy out into wet grass for walks, doing something fun and positive during a thunder storm, feeding treats or playing a game when the garbage truck comes by, or acclimating your pup to paws and ears being touched are all forms of socialization, none of which require socializing.

With behavior being one of the number one causes of pet surrender, setting puppy up for behavioral success is considered higher benefit than the minor risks associated with age-appropriate socialization.

In this photo, Truffle is in a Marshalls! Pet-friendly, non-pet retail stores (nix on the Petsmart and Petco for now) are a great place to take a puppy for exposure to novel sights, sounds, and people, without close contact with other dogs and risk of preventable illness.

Playdates with healthy, vaccinated, friendly adult dogs that don't live a social lifestyle are also a good way for puppies to socialize, as well as puppy classes with a similar age group- as long as all puppies have received a minimum of their first vaccinations 7+ days prior to class.

You can read AVSAB's position statement at this link:
https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Puppy_Socialization_Position_Statement_Download_-_10-3-14.pdf

How did you socialize your puppy?

Dr C

19/01/2024

A Vet’s Pet - Training

From my partner:
“We aren’t training this dog, it’s more like we’re aggressively negotiating with her.”

For Truffle’s training, I’m focusing on a primarily positive reinforcement, ‘LIMA’ (least invasive, minimally aversive) style of training. I highly recommend Dr Sophia Yin’s book “Perfect Puppy in 7 Days” which features step-by-step photo guides for early good manners training, and the model is a blue heeler puppy named Lucy!

Truffle is doing relatively well with her training, and future posts will go into more detail— but one of our struggles right now, and the reason for the negotiation remark, is that her intelligence and independence, parts of her nature by breed, mean she is challenging boundaries already, and trying to train us as much as we are her.

Every interaction is a learning moment, whether she’s learning something we want her to or not!

17/01/2024

A Veterinarian’s Pup: Diet and Feeding

Truffle is eating Purina Pro Plan Puppy (not a sponsor) dry and wet. Here are my do’s and don’t for her diet and feeding:

✅ AAFCO label for complete and balanced diet for *growth* of puppies. Puppies need specific nutrient ratios to grow properly, and feeding adult food to a puppy can lead to disorders of skeletal development

✅ Reputable manufacturer (employs numerous full time experts including food scientists, toxicologists, and PhD and DVM boarded nutritionists, conducts feeding trials and product research, performs end-product nutrient analysis, publishes in peer-reviewed journals, and has a long-standing history of strong performance and good quality control— other options I like include Royal Canin, Hill’s, Iams, and Eukanuba, with Pedigree as a runner-up)

✅ 90+% of her calorie intake is commercial dog food

✅ All food is used for reinforcement training of desired behaviors, fed through a puzzle feeder, or scatter fed, to help keep her busy cattle dog brain stimulated and reduce boredom

❌ No food from a bowl (see above), it’s boring for her and a bored puppy is a puppy that gets into trouble

❌ Nothing raw, raw-coated, or freeze-dried raw, it’s a general public health risk due to antibiotic resistant bacterial contamination, but puppies in particular are extra susceptible to food-borne illness

❌ No excessive treats, including fresh additions like fruits and veggies, as well as commercial treats and chews. These things need to be less than 10% of daily calories or they may cause nutrient imbalance to her overall diet

See the comments for links to more resources on these topics! Follow along for continued Truffle updates on how I’m caring for her.

Dr C

14/01/2024

Big Announcement!

I've adopted a puppy 🐾

Truffle is 10 weeks old and was in rescue with her littermates and parents.

She is an Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a 'red heeler' (or 'blue heeler' depending on coat color). The breed has recently been popularized in the Australian children's show, Bluey. ACDs are a working breed, bred for herding cattle, and they do so by nipping at the ankles to shift and direct movement (hence the term 'heelers'). High drive and highly intelligent, they can easily develop behavioral problems when living a pet type lifestyle if they aren't given tasks and work, and the challenges they can pose mean they frequently end up surrendered early in life. They can also have a headstrong, stubborn streak if not given strong direction.
_______________

As a veterinarian, I'm frequently asked the question, 'what would you do for your own dog?'

Generally speaking, I tend to dislike that question, because the right decision for any given pet can depend on a lot of factors that differ between people, including finances, risk tolerance, desired outcome, and family circumstances. However, I also recognize the spirit of the question, which is: given your experience and education, what is your informed opinion on this?

So... I'll be documenting Truffle's journey, and through it, providing educational content on how I'm approaching her care, including diet, parasite prevention, vaccination, spaying, dental care, grooming, and training. I hope that you'll join us and maybe learn something along the way!

Happy New Year,

Dr. C

06/09/2023

Avoiding bias is a laudable goal. But there aren’t always “two sides” to every story.

Giving equal weight to an unsupported position is a false balance, and it can mislead and confuse the audience.

While false balance often results from an attempt at impartiality, the irony is that the “balance” results in bias.

Not giving equal weight to an unsupported position isn’t censorship. There’s no conspiracy. It’s just good journalism.

Image: John Cook Cranky Uncles Skeptical Science

For more on false balance and other fallacies: thinkingispower.com/logical-fallacies/

28/08/2023

Equal parts infuriating and tragic for the state of scientific inquiry and for our pet’s health.

A similar situation in Latvia years ago pertaining to a disease called Mega-esophagus that was traced back to food was only resolved with public awareness. Similar industry interests shut down investigation from the government side.

You can hear one researcher’s story via Ted Talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/ilze_matise_vanhoutana_i_did_my_research_blew_the_whistle_and_found_myself_at_war/transcript

House report on AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2024. This report is by the Appropriations

21/08/2023

🥩 Raw meats are harmful for people and pets! 🥩

In April of this year, a report out of Ontario linked a multi-drug resistant Salmonella outbreak to raw dog foods. Dr Scott Weese has summarized these findings on the Worms & Germs blog: https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2023/08/articles/uncategorized/human-multidrug-resistant-salmonella-linked-to-raw-pet-diets/

Excerpt - “It was based on an investigation following identification of 15 human infections with a multidrug resistant Salmonella enterica serotype 4,[5],12:i:- (not all Salmonella serotypes have specific names).
* The 15 infections were identified by 10 different health regions between July 2020 and December 2022. They then found 2 more cases in Dec 2022.

* As is typical, kids bore the brunt of the problem, and 9 of cases were in kids less than 2 years of age.

* The bacterium was resistant to a variety of antibiotics, including ampicillin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and trimethoprim sulfa and resistant or of intermediate susceptibility to fluoroquinolones and azithromycin. That’s pretty concerning since if you end up in hospital with salmonellosis, that covers the typical go-to drugs for initial treatment. If someone is seriously ill with Salmonella and gets started on one of those drugs pending culture results, that’s a problem.

As is typical, when the investigation started, they asked questions about the common sources of Salmonella. Initial results indicated some had contact with cattle farms and some with raw pet foods.

This led to a more detailed investigation and they found that 14/17 people reported contact with raw pet foods.

The same bacterium was also found in 2 dogs that were fed raw diets, further supporting the link to pet food.

The report also briefly mentions 10 cases in Ontario with the same strain, at least 2 of which had contact with raw diets.”

—————————

In August 2023, the FDA issued an advisory not to feed certain lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products because they tested positive for Salmonella (https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-advisory-do-not-feed-certain-lots-darwins-natural-pet-products-dogs-cats-due-salmonella)

The FDA recommended the company issue a voluntary recall. The company did not comply.

Instead, the company issued a statement disagreeing with the FDA’s assessment.

“Recently, the FDA issued a public notice regarding some of our products after finding traces of salmonella during routine testing.
It is important to know that salmonella is not typically harmful to pets. Nonetheless, the food samples were flagged under the FDA’s zero-tolerance policy, which is largely designed for human safety and for food that humans will consume, not pets.

It is also very important to know that we have not received any complaints from customers who have received products from the same lot numbers of the pet food cited in the FDA notice.

While there are no risks to pet health, we felt it important to notify you regardless. We believe the FDA’s action is wholly unnecessary, and ultimately, based on flawed regulatory decision-making.”

https://www.petfoodindustry.com/safety-quality/pet-food-recalls/article/15544646/darwins-natural-responds-to-fda-advisory-about-salmonella

In other words, while these diets and others like them pose a major public health risk, the companies producing them have a vested interest in assuring consumers that there is nothing to be worried about.

Worry about it. Don’t put yourself, your pets, or the people, including children, who interact with your pets at risk. Don’t feed raw.

14/08/2023

Worried about your vet recommending even more vaccines for your new puppy (or kitten)? They have your pup’s best interests in mind.

Read more: https://www.alltradesdvm.com/topics/why-does-my-vet/wdmv-puppy-vaccines

13/08/2023

Do you give Cerenia “in the bubble” or out? Will this change your practice?

As a veterinary assistant, technician, student, and veterinarian, I've worked with doctors and at practices on both sides of the 'Cerenia in the Bubble' debate.

For those outside of the field, Cerenia, or Maropitant, is an injectable and oral medication often used for treating nausea or vomiting. When used in the clinic as an injectable for outpatient care, pets are often also receiving fluids under the skin for hydration support (since vomiting can be dehydrating).

Some clinics and practitioners give Cerenia in the same spot as the fluids, reasoning that it stings less and likely works just as well.

Others recommend against it, because effectiveness has not been validated for that use, and the stinging caused by the injection seems to be very short-lived.

When talking about this, I was once challenged, “well are there any studies showing it DOESN’T work as well in the fluid bubble?”

At the time, no.

However, a paper published in JAVMA this year found that when administered into subcutaneous LRS, a commonly used fluid, Cerenia was absorbed slower and had a lower peak concentration.

The study did not assess the clinical impact of this; but it would follow that effectiveness of the drug could theoretically be reduced due to lower absorption.

The study: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.22.09.0409

13/08/2023

Do you know how to critically evaluate your online reading and find reputable sources? It can be really difficult.

Read more: https://www.alltradesdvm.com/topics/information-literacy/how-to-be-a-savvy-internet-skeptic

13/08/2023

NEW Article: Why Does My Vet ... Require An Exam Before Sending Home Meds?

Read More: https://www.alltradesdvm.com/topics/why-does-my-vet/wdmv-exam-before-meds

22/07/2023

Do you know the signs of a pet emergency? What about the right course of action to take if you suspect one?

Read more: https://www.alltradesdvm.com/topics/preventative-care/preparing-for-pet-emergencies

What’s your most helpful tip for an emergency?

16/07/2023

There are good reasons that your veterinarian may recommend testing your dog or cat annually for heart worms or intestinal parasites.

What other things do your wonder "Why Does My Vet..?"
Comment below! Or email [email protected]

16/07/2023

Why might your vet insist on additional vaccines for your new furry friend?

Read the latest “Why does my vet…?” installment here: https://www.alltradesdvm.com/topics/why-does-my-vet/wdmv-puppy-vaccines

Send topic requests to [email protected] or comment them below!

12/07/2023

You can find the first articles in this series at this link: https://www.alltradesdvm.com/topics/why-does-my-vet/annual-hw-testing

Requests can be emailed to [email protected]

09/07/2023

In this thought-provoking episode of Real Talk Unleashed, we're joined by the remarkable Dr. Eve Harrison. As a seasoned full-time concierge house call veterinarian in Los Angeles, Dr. Harrison has pioneered the practice of true veterinary concierge medicine, offering personalized care to her patients within the comfort of their own homes.
During the episode, Dr. Harrison shares her motivations for pursuing house calls and assisting fellow veterinarians in embarking on their own house call journeys. She discusses the House Call Vet Academy, providing insights into the resources and support it offers to veterinary professionals seeking to transition from clinical practice to relief or house calls.
Dr. Harrison also candidly reveals her experiences with corporations in the veterinary industry and the influence that led her to decline corporate sponsorships for her House Call Academy Conference. She provides thought-provoking advice for veterinary students preparing to enter the workforce in the coming years and offers guidance to current veterinarians who may feel disillusioned with the direction of the industry.
In this engaging conversation, Dr. Eve Harrison proves to be an inspiring force for change within the veterinary industry, encouraging veterinarians to break free from the constraints of traditional practice and forge their own paths toward fulfillment and success.

Listen to the episode now: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realtalkunleashed/episodes/Escaping-the-Hamster-Wheel-and-Unlearning-the-Corporate-Mindset-with-Dr--Eve-Harrison-e26nglo

Resources:
⁠www.dreveharrison.com⁠
⁠www.thehousecallvetacademy.com⁠
⁠https://www.facebook.com/TheHouseCallVetAcademy⁠
⁠https://www.instagram.com/the_house_call_vet_academy/⁠
Listen to her podcast: ⁠https://pod.link/1604252727⁠
Book recommendation: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/If-Betray-These-Words-Clinicians/dp/1586423541

28/06/2023

Please don’t expect your veterinary office to fill last minute medications immediately before a holiday. If your pet will need medications refilled, call today!