Pros and cons of commercial pet foods for dogs and cats

Sherry Lynn Sanderson, University of Georgia, Athens

The growth in the number of pet food companies and the range of products available make it increasingly difficult for pet owners to identify the most appropriate dietary choices for their pets. The situation is further complicated by the amount of misinformation circulating on social media about pet nutrition. The author examines the main issues relating to the use of commercial pet foods and assesses the risks and benefits of using unconventional diets, such as grain-free products. She suggests that pet-owners should consider veterinary staff to be the most suitable source of nutritional advice and that recommendations on appropriate dietary choices should be made at each routine consultation. She adds that recent concerns over the inclusion of grains in pet food have been the result of unreliable marketing claims rather than good scientific evidence.

Veterinary Clinics of North America https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvsm.2021.01.009

Use of a smartphone application to assess wound healing in a cat

Ioana Bodea and others, Agricultural and Veterinary University Cluj- Napoca, Romania

Various techniques have been developed for measuring the area of skin wounds in companion animal patients to monitor the progress of treatment. However, there is no established consensus on a gold standard method. The authors describe a study involving a mobile phone app, ImitoMeasure as a non-invasive method for measuring wound healing in a cat with traumatic injuries to its left hindlimb. They conclude that the method shows great promise in simplifying wound assessment and provides surface area information immediately after use, unlike conventional methods that require further processing and computation.

Topics in Companion Animal Medicine http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tcam.2020.100498

Control of canine atopic dermatitis signs with a heat- treated lactobacilli spray

Domenico Santoro and others, University of Florida, Gainesville

Atopic dermatitis is the most common chronic inflammatory disease in dogs. While there are various treatment options available, there is growing interest among owners in the use of so-called natural ingredients. The authors investigated the effects of topical applications of heat killed bacteria from two beneficial species Lactobacillus rhamnosus and L. reuteri. Applied daily for 28 days in 10 client-owned atopic dogs, there was a significant and rapid decrease in clinical signs. As this was a preliminary open label, uncontrolled trial, further studies would be needed to confirm these findings.

Veterinary Dermatology https://doi.org/10.1111/vde.12915

Comparison of different methods for collecting saliva samples in dogs

Solene Meunier and others, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Salivary cortisol collected at home is a useful test in the diagnosis and monitoring of canine Cushing's disease. However, collecting a sufficiently large sample of saliva can be challenging in many dogs. The author compared three methods for stimulating canine saliva production, involving a swab dipped in ginger powder a beef flavoured swab and a swab with an enclosed treat. Their findings suggest that a swab dipped in ginger stimulated saliva flow to the extent that a 30 second collection period would be sufficient to retrieve sufficient saliva for cortisol measurements

BMC Veterinary Research https://doi.org/10.1186/s.12917-021-02890-1

Exotic pets in Ireland – Ownership and access to veterinary services

Matt Goins and Alison Hanlon, University College Dublin

The numbers of exotic animals being kept as pets appear to increasing across the globe. There are concerns about the welfare of such animals due to imitations in knowledge of their physical and behavioural needs and their suitability for being kept in captivity In the first part of their study the authors surveyed the types of pets kept by staff employed by their university and their perceptions of the availability of veterinary care. Among the 93 individuals who responded, more than one third owned an exotic pet. Around half of these owners had not sought veterinary services for their pets during the past year.

Irish Veterinary Journal https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-021-00190-6

Exotics pets in Ireland – Provision of veterinary services and views on responsible ownership

Matt Goins and Alison Hanlon, University College Dublin

In the above study, one third of the respondents to a survey of pet ownership were keeping non-traditional companion animal species. In the second phase of their research, the authors examined the availability of veterinary services for exotic pets, the concerns of Irish vets about the ownership of such species and their recommendations for encouraging responsible pet ownership. More than 80% of Irish vets were wiling to treat exotic species. They would also support the provision of more postgraduate training in exotic animal medicine and the introduction of a "white list” of exotic species suitable to be kept as pets.

Irish Veterinary Journal https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-021-00191-5

Recommendations for the safe administration of donated blood in cats

Samantha Taylor and others, International Society of Feline Medicine, Tisbury Wilts

Blood and blood products are increasingly available for use in first opinion practices and may be crucial to the survival of patients with anaemia and various coagulopathies. However there is a significant risk of potentially fatal complications. The authors describe guidelines drawn up by the ISFM to promote the safe use of blood or blood products in practice. They describe procedures for testing the compatibility of blood from the proposed donor and for the collection, handling and administration of the donated blood.

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery https://doi.org/10.1177/10986.12X21 1007071

Lack of efficacy of folic acid supplements in preventing canine birth defects

Kris Gonzales and others, Guide Dogs for the Blind, San Rafael, California

Numerous studies in humans have shown an association between maternal folic acid levels and the risk of congenital abnormalities in babies, such as cleft palates and neural tube defects. Hence, folic acid supplements are routinely given during pregnancy in many countries. The authors examined the influence of supplementation on the incidence of birth defects in a guide dog breeding colony After examining data from 1,917 puppies, they conclude that there is no measurable benefit from giving folic acid supplements to pregnant bitches.

Journal of Small Animal Practice https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13292

Owners’ perceptions of the impact of irreversible vision loss in
their dogs

Demetrius Washington and others, North Carolina State University Raleigh

Canine sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome is a currently untreatable condition which can cause permanent sight loss within less than a month. The authors collected responses to an online questionnaire from 434 owners whose dogs had a historical diagnosis of SARDS to record their recollections of the impact and progress of the condition. The majority (65.4%) stated that the time from vision disturbance to total vision loss was less than two weeks. Those treatment options that were attempted, such as corticosteroids, produced significant systemic side effects.

Veterinary Ophthalmology https://doi.org/10.1111/vop.12855

Reliability of behavioural indicators of stress in horses

Gemma Pearson and others, University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush

Horses receiving veterinary attention often find the experience stressful and may react violently, potentially causing significant injury to the attending staff. The authors surveyed the opinions of equine veterinarians, equitation scientists and animal behaviourists on behavioural indicators of stress in horses videoed when undergoing various veterinary procedures. While different observers generally agreed that particular behaviours indicated negative emotional states, there was poor agreement on the level of distress experienced by individual horses in specific situations. Therefore, the search continues to identify more subtle indicators of the emotional status of equines.

Applied Animal Behaviour Science 237, 105291

Nonsurgical removal of foreign objects from the digestive tract of snakes

Gregory Scott and others, North Carolina State University Raleigh

Eggs are an important part of the diet of many snake species and sometimes indigestible round objects are mistaken for eggs. The authors describe four cases in which wild adult rat snakes, Pantherophis alleghaniensis were presented after swallowing foreign bodies. In three cases these were golf balls and in the other, an artificial egg. Removal was attempted by pressing the object back up the digestive tract and out through the mouth. In one case this was successfully achieved but skin ruptures occurred in the other three patients. Although two of those snakes did survive, nonsurgical removal of foreign objects is not recommended.

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 258(10), 1135—1141

Comparison of two benchtop analysers in measuring blood electrolyte concentrations

Katrina Schmitz and others, Texas A&M University College Station

Point-of-care testing is invaluable in situations where sending samples to a reference laboratory would cause unacceptable delays. However single use cartridge analysers tend to be costly and benchtop instruments may require regular maintenance and quality assurance protocols. The authors compared the results obtained using two benchtop blood gas analysers BGA 1 and BGA 2, made by the same manufacturer The second is a newer model with reduced maintenance requirements. Their findings showed good agreement between the results from the two benchtop devices with those from a reference chemistry analyser.

American Journal ofVeterinary Research 82(2), 105-109

Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 36 • August 2021