What is your dog thinking? Brain scans unleash canine secrets
When your dog gazes up at you adoringly, what does it see? A best friend? A pack leader? A can opener?
Many dog lovers make all kinds of inferences about how their pets feel about them, but no one has captured images of actual canine thought processes – until now.
Emory University researchers have developed a new methodology to scan the brains of alert dogs and explore the minds of the oldest domesticated species. The technique uses harmless functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the same tool that is unlocking secrets of the human brain.
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Kit – Pet of the Month – May 2012
We couldn’t be more excited to introduce our Pet of the Month for May, Kit. She is an adorable 14 year old American Shorthair, who is such a delight to work with! Kit has been a wonderful patient since 1997. We get the pleasure of seeing her every two to three weeks when she comes in for her fluid treatment. Unfortunately, she has Chronic Renal Failure and requires fluids under the skin regularly to keep her perky. In addition to her fluid treatment, she is on daily medication to help control her blood pressure. This treatment plan has helped Kit out tremendously. We are all so pleased with Kit and how she is doing. We all enjoy Kit’s visits and wish for many more through the years!
Top 10 Dog And Cat Medical Conditions In 2011
Pet insurance company reveals most common causes of veterinary visits.
While the majority of these conditions are curable, they can become chronic and expensive to treat. Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI) policyholders spent more than $46 million in 2011 treating the 10 most common medical conditions afflicting their pets. VPI recently sorted its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to determine the top 10 dog and cat medical conditions in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »
Pet Food Recalls
Product recalls are nothing new, even with people foods. We don’t panic, but we check our food at home and avoid eating anything questionable.
The latest recall to share: Diamond Pet Foods is recalling specific lots of Puppy Formula dog food, due to salmonella contamination at the plant… the same plant that had mold problems in 2005. For more details, including the recalled lot numbers, please see this link: http://oregonvma.org/resources/diamond-pet-food-recalls-salmonella-spring-2012
Update May 10: Added to the list are some formulas of Canidae and Wellness.
Too Dog Tired to Avoid Danger
Like Humans, Dogs Engage in Riskier Behaviors When Their Self-Control Is Depleted
Like humans, dogs engage in riskier behaviors when their self-control is depleted. How do dogs behave when their ability to exert self-control is compromised? Are they more likely to approach dangerous situations or stay well away? According to a new study by Holly Miller, from the University of Lille Nord de France, and colleagues, dogs that have ‘run out’ of self-control make more impulsive decisions that put them in harm’s way. The work was just published online in Springer’s Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. Read the rest of this entry »
Weed Killing Causing Animal Shape Changes
The world’s most popular weed killer can induce morphological changes in vertebrate animals, U.S. biologists studying its effect on amphibians say.
University of Pittsburgh researchers said the weed killer Roundup, in sub-lethal and environmentally relevant concentrations, caused two species of amphibians to change their shape.
The study is the first to show that a pesticide can induce morphological changes in a vertebrate animal, biological sciences Professor Rick Relyea said.
Roundup is a systemic, broad-spectrum herbicide produced by the U.S. company Monsanto.
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