Dog News

Below are some of the new listings of veterinary clinical studies in the AVMA Animal Health Studies Database. Information about participation in the studies is available at the database site. AAHSD005609: “Pharmacokinetic analysis of methylnaltrexone in healthy dogs,” Veterinary Specialty Hospital–North County, San Marcos, California, and Bulger Veterinary Hospital, Lawrence, Massachusetts AAHSD005611: “Omics research-based identification

The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 allows drugmakers to use more alternatives to animals when evaluating the safety and efficacy of experimental drugs, but most alternatives are themselves still experimental, and animal research will remain the gold standard for understanding how drugs affect complex biological systems, says veterinarian B. Taylor Bennett, senior scientific adviser for the

The AVMA offered sessions at the 2023 WVC Annual Conference as part of a partnership with Viticus Group, the organization that hosts WVC. Also during the conference, Idexx Laboratories released a study on practice productivity, and Nationwide released the second of a pair of white papers on the risk of diseases in brachycephalic dogs. The

A single vaccine protects dogs from parvovirus, distemper and canine adenovirus and the series for puppies should start at six to eight weeks old, says AVMA President Dr. Lori Teller, and spring is a good time to check that animals are up to date on this and other preventive care. For animals adopted as adults,

The Auxiliary to the AVMA will be celebrating National Pet Week 2023, May 7-13, with the theme “People, Pets & Vets a Perfect Team.” The AVMA and the AVMA Auxiliary, an association founded in 1917 and primarily made up of spouses of AVMA members, created National Pet Week in 1981 to foster responsible pet ownership,

A variant of H5N1 that carried mammal-adapted mutations was found in a subset of harbor and gray seals that died amid an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild gulls and eiders in New England, researchers reported in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases. The mutated form of the virus does not appear to have

A persistent and potentially growing concern, according to experts, is the running of unsanctioned, informal horse races. On Jan. 9, the AVMA House of Delegates approved a new AVMA policy condemning unregulated horse racing (PDF) during its regular winter session. The policy states that the AVMA condemns unregulated racing of equids because of threats to

Stratford Care recalled multiple brands of omega-3 supplements for dogs and cats after a dog that was given one of the supplements showed signs of vitamin A toxicity. Brand names include Pet Health Solutions Omega Caps, animal hospital branded omega-V3 softgels, Pawstruck softgels and Vet4Bulldog V4B fish oil products.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition announced in mid-November that it has completed its first premarket consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. Upside Foods will take living cells from chickens and grow the cells in a controlled environment to make the cultured meat. The FDA

Thirteen of 79 Norway rats trapped in city parks or near buildings in Brooklyn, N.Y., in autumn 2021 had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, suggesting the animal had been infected at some point, whether through airborne transmission or through contact with contaminated fomites such as food waste, researchers reported in mBio. There is no evidence that rats

The well-being of all veterinarians is enhanced when diversity, equity, and inclusion arepromoted and applied, according to the announcement for World Veterinary Day 2023. The event falls on April 29 this year, and the theme is “Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in the Veterinary Profession.” The World Veterinary Association created World Veterinary Day in 2000

USDA officials say they are talking with poultry industry leaders about the logistics of a mass H5N1 avian influenza vaccination campaign, and tests of vaccines are underway. A virulent, deadly clade of H5N1 has killed or caused the culling of at least 58 million farmed birds in the US, but vaccinating could trigger export restrictions.

Gerald F. Brancich Dr. Brancich (Minnesota ’66), 81, Winona, Minnesota, died Nov. 14, 2022. Following graduation, he worked at Blue Cross Small Animal Hospital in Minneapolis. Dr. Brancich subsequently served as a senior veterinary medical officer with the U.S. Air Force in Turkey. In 1970, he established Itasca Pet Hospital in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where

Despite its virulence, H5N1 avian influenza doesn’t pose an imminent threat to human health, but a few strategic mutations could change that, and the virus has devastated poultry farms and wild bird populations and killed wild mammals. Scientists are studying new vaccines for poultry and considering the best ways to protect wild birds. Meanwhile, the

The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to implement a plan to require veterinary oversight for all animal drugs that contain antimicrobials important in human medicine. The agency is doing so in an effort to guide judicious use of the products and preserve their effectiveness. As part of the plan, the FDA is reminding stakeholders

Scientific and political debates have swirled around the origins of SARS-CoV-2 since the pandemic began, and a Department of Energy report concluding with “low confidence” that the virus accidentally spilled from a lab only fanned the flames instead of settling the debate. The US intelligence community is split on the topic, but many scientists who

The Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 17 announced the appointment of Tracey Forfa as director of the agency’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, effective Feb. 26. A 30-year veteran of the FDA, Forfa has been acting director of the CVM since December 2022, when previous director Dr. Steven Solomon retired. “I know she will continue

Veterinary behaviorists Valarie Tynes and Laurie Bergman say there doesn’t seem to have been a notable increase in either the number of poorly socialized dogs or the number of pets with separation anxiety since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have eased. A recent study found that cats’ heart rates rise when their owners are not in the