Animal Airwaves

This week on Animal Airwaves, we’re focusing on your furry friend’s peepers! Join us as we welcome Dr. Bret Moore, a veterinary ophthalmology specialist, who’ll share his expertise on recognizing and treating eye problems in pets. Dr. Moore will discuss why early detection is crucial for maintaining your pet’s vision and overall eye health. Learn about common signs of eye issues, when to seek veterinary care, and how prompt treatment can lead to better outcomes.

Has your pet shown abnormal behavior lately, such as hiding or growling? Our animals can’t tell us when they’re hurting, and assessing pain in our pets can be difficult. It’s important that pet owners be tuned in to any changes in behavior, the way your pet stands, walks or even looks at you. On this show, Dr. Elizabeth Maxwell, a surgical oncology specialist, will discuss why pain assessment is so important and why contacting your veterinarian is critical if you suspect your pet is in pain. She’ll also discuss methods of pain management.

When it comes to saving a pet’s life, every second counts. Recent updates to veterinary CPR guidelines are changing the way we approach emergency care for our furry friends. On this show, Dr. Jake Wolf, an emergency and critical care specialist, will discuss the latest advancements in pet CPR. As a key contributor to the RECOVER initiative’s 2024 CPR Guidelines, Dr. Wolf will share insights on improved chest compression techniques, safe breathing methods for cats and dogs, and critical updates in medication administration and defibrillation. Learn how these new standards are enhancing the quality of emergency care and improving survival rates for our beloved companions.

Untreated diabetes can be life-threatening to your dog or cat, so it’s important to recognize the signs.

Diabetes is more common in cats than dogs, but the signs for both are similar. Excessive drinking and urinating are the most common, but some animals may become ravenous without gaining weight. Any of these signs warrant a trip to your veterinarian, who can diagnose diabetes using blood and urine tests.

Daily insulin injections are the most common treatment, which most animals don’t mind. For cats who’ve never been on insulin, there’s now an alternative oral treatment. Diet is also important in stabilizing your pet’s blood sugar and weight. And regular veterinary checkups are key to noting changes and fine-tuning therapy.

We spend a lot of time talking about tick prevention in our pets, but these creepy crawlers bother all sorts of animals — including horses. Worse yet, they can transmit dangerous diseases, which in horses include Lyme disease and equine granulocytic [gran-you-low-SIT-ick] anaplasmosis [ann-uh-plaz-MOE-sus].

Horses encounter ticks when they graze or just brush against vegetation. Most ticks prefer a horse’s head — or just under it — as well as their belly, mane and tail. That’s why daily grooming is the best way to check for ticks.

But prevention is the real way to go. Make sure to use a tick preventative that’s approved for horses, and don’t combine products unless you check with your veterinarian. It’s also important to have your horse vaccinated against Lyme disease.

In hot dry weather, your horse’s hooves can really take a beating.

Dry, hard ground increases the risk of lameness. Risks are even worse when a horse is exposed to alternating wet and dry conditions — like evening turnout in dew-soaked grass and hot, dry conditions during the day. The cycle causes a horse’s hooves to repeatedly swell and contract, ultimately causing horseshoe nails to loosen. The process speeds up if a horse stomps at flies or often walks the fence line.

Applying a hoof toughener before evening turnout cuts moisture absorption, while using Venice turpentine toughens soles. Strong fly protection and shorter turnouts can help. Shortening your summer shoeing schedule can also help ensure your buddy’s hoof health.

As temperatures break record highs all over the world, it’s more important than ever to protect our pets from the heat.

The best way to do that is to keep them cool indoors and provide plenty of fresh water. Pets shouldn’t stay out longer than five or 10 minutes in the midday heat — just long enough to do their business. Morning or evening walks are best. And never leave them in a car.

Heat exhaustion is most common in flat-faced animals, very young or elderly pets and those with underlying health problems. Signs can include excessive panting and drooling, restlessness and overgrooming. If you’re worried, never put your buddy in ice-cold water, which can make things worse. Instead, apply cool towels and get to a veterinary clinic.

When we call out certain plants for being hazardous to pets, we’re usually talking about toxicity. But with foxtails, it’s all about physical contact.

Foxtails are seemingly innocuous seed pods that arise from all sorts of grasses across the U.S. Their salient features are long, sticky fronds that attach to an animal’s fur. From there, pieces of the seed pod can work their way into an animal’s skin, eyes, ears or nose — sometimes much deeper.

Foxtails are especially prone to burrow between a pet’s toes, where they often cause painful inflammation. Paw chewing, eye discharge, coughing or sneezing and head shaking and are all signs to check for these sinister seed pods. Left unchecked, they can cause serious problems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, was busy this spring approving medications for dogs with heart disease.

Pimobendan [pea-moh-BEN-din] and torsemide [TORE-suh-mide] were approved for dogs in congestive heart failure — that’s fluid buildup due to heart disease, when it’s caused by myxomatous [mix-OH-mah-tus] mitral valve disease, or a thickened heart valve.

Pimobendan was also approved for dogs in congestive heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy, which involves an abnormal heart muscle. Both conditions are diagnosed with imaging tests.

Torsemide has conditional approval in combination with other medications used to treat congestive heart failure. That means it can be safely while its effectiveness is studied.

If you’re a pup parent who’s planning to have your dog spayed or neutered — often referred to as “neutered” for both — you may have lots of questions.

For years, it’s been common to neuter dogs before they turn one year old — that is, before they mature. But in the past 20 years, research has shown that early neutering can increase the risk of joint disorders in certain breeds — especially the larger and heavier ones. Early neutering can also increase the risk of some cancers in some breeds. The risks of early neutering can even vary between males and females of the same breed.

Neutering age guidelines by sex and breed have recently been updated, so talk to your veterinarian about what’s best for your canine companion.