Declaw, debarking, tail docking, and ear cropping: justified or procedures that should be banned?

Airs Wed November 16, 2011, 9PM EST. Listen to this podcast directly from my show page by CLICKING HERE.

Dear Readers, Viewers, and Listeners:

This week, I will be talking about the very controversial and polarizing topics of declaw, debarking, tail docking, and ear dropping procedures. I plan to present these procedures objectively based on medical and scientific facts, not rhetoric or passionate feelings one way or the other. Of course, since I am here to offer my opinion, I plan to do that as well, but it does not mean that I expect you to necessarily agree with me. I am sure this podcast is likely to draw lots of comments and I invite them, either posted here at the blog or sent by e-mail to be addressed on the air in my next podcast. Your comments are welcome and encouraged, but I ask that despite the intense feelings these topics can conjure up, that you keep your posts civil and respectful.

As always, you can submit e-mail comments/questions to be address by me on the air, by sending them to comments@web-dvm.net.

Thanks as always for caring about what I have to say!

Sincerely,

Roger Welton, DVM

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Say no to extender dog leashes!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO AT MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Transcript from this week’s episode of The Web-DVM:

My report this evening concerns from my view, one of the most abysmal inventions in the history of pet products: the extender leash. Oddly, too many pet owners do not agree, and much to the dismay of those that have fallen victim to the shortcomings of these leashes, many continue to use them, and for some odd reason, even like them. For those not familiar with the extender leash, it is a type of leash that has a loaded spring/cartridge handle that allows the leash to be as short as 3 feet, or as long as 15 feet, some even extending to 20 feet. It can lock in place at whatever length the dog owner wishes it to be. Sounds convenient, right? WRONG!

The first problem we see with this kind of leash, is that once it is extended, if a dog needs to be reeled in for whatever reason, it cannot be. So here you are, a car or another dog is approaching, perhaps it is cyclist or a small child you do not want your dog to scare or boulder into. Well good luck with an excited dog with 20 feet of slack you cannot reign in! What’s more, after the first few feet, the leash narrows from a nylon strap to a thin braided nylon rope, perfect for getting the pet owner, approaching cyclist, other dog, or small child tangled up in and riddled with painful rope burns.

This is even more fun when the pet owner thinks that the lock mechanism is place, but it is not; or when the dog is about to take off and the pet owner tries to engage the lock too late, the dog is already pulling too hard and it will not lock down, giving the dog 15 – 20 feet of freedom, with a dangerous, taught rope in between. Yes, this is a most wonderful surprise for all parties involved.

Just 2 days ago, a client had her Chihuahua in my waiting room on one of these genius devices. She had forgotten to engage the lock mechanism and her Chihuahua, like many others of her breed that rarely see another dog they do not want to attack, went after a boxer sitting across the room. The boxer and his owner were minding their own business, boxer kept at bay with a short leash, when along comes an angry Chihuahua bounding across the waiting room poised to attack. The boxer outweighs the Chihuahua by 60 pounds, so naturally, the Chihuahua’s owner is mortified. Left with no other recourse, she grabs and pulls on the thin, braided extender portion of the leash, trying to reign in her determined, angry little dog, meanwhile suffering rope burns on her hands. Another client, an innocent bystander who had simply come in to pick up medication, ended up tangled in the leash as the Chihuahua circled around her, gifting her with rope burns on her legs – it’s shorts weather year round here in Florida. My waiting room descended into utter chaos. Luckily for the Chihuahua, the boxer was a gentle soul and despite being provoked, did not retaliate. Folks, this is not an uncommon consequence of these horrible leashes.

From a training perspective, a dog walked with one of these leashes, never learns leash manners. Teaching a dog to walk along with the owner on a short leash at his side, makes the walk pleasant and productive for both dog and owner. Giving the dog 15-20 feet of slack to take off, jump out into the road, go after squirrels, meanwhile tangling up the owner and other poor souls that may pass by, teaches the dog no walk discipline.
The vast majority of pet professionals whether on the health care side, grooming, or training, detest these kinds or leashes. I am sure that I speak for most when I urge all of you to say no to extender leashes.

This is Roger Welton reporting, for The Web-DVM.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Cats often overlooked for vet care.

Listen to this podcast directly from my show page by CLICKING HERE.

Podcast airs Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 9 PM EST

Greetings loyal viewers, listeners and readers,

On this week’s podcast, I discuss the interesting dichotomy of cats representing a much larger percentage of household pet ownership, yet are far more often left out in the cold when it comes to receiving regular veterinary care when compared to their canine counterparts. In fact, felines are 30% less likely to receive regular wellness veterinary care than dogs. I get into the core reasons for this discrepancy. You will learn that it is not lack of love, but the result of cat owners’ erroneous assumptions and observations that give them a different personal perspective about cats and wellness care as opposed to dogs.

Plus, as always I will be addressing listener e-mail comments throughout the broadcast, so please tune in, keep the e-mails coming, and thank you as always for caring about what I have to say.

Sincerely,

Roger Welton, DVM

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

The cat who loves babies.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO AT MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Hello viewers, readers, listeners,
As always, I posted both the video and transcript for this episode of The Web-DVM. If you are one who typically prefers to read the transcript tather than watch the video, I urge you just this once to watch the actual video, as the photographs and video footage of this cat can only be trully appreciated viewed directly. Enjoy!

Roger Welton, DVM

Transcript from this week’s episode of The Web-DVM:

I did not have to look far for this week’s news story, as this one comes right from my own home. This story is about Forrest, the cat who loves babies.

Forrest is a Devon Rex cat, a feline breed known for quirkiness and often downright eccentricity, but gentle, tolerant to their core, and very snuggly little cats.

While Forrest will enthusiastically snuggle up to any person who takes a moment to pay attention to him, he has a special affection for babies. It began with my first child Austin, when Forrest would wait by the door for my wife or me to enter his nursery in the morning, only to rush in, jump into his crib, nuzzle our infant son, and flop down next to him purring loudly.
Whether we were bathing, dressing, or changing Austin, Forrest was always right there snuggled up against him.

But Forrest was at the time only still a mere kitten himself, about 6 months of age. We thought perhaps Forrest simply saw the baby as merely another “kitten” to play with, or was just simply overwhelmed with kitten curiosity over this strange little human creature.

But then came baby Scarlett, and by the time of her birth, September 2010, Forrest was an adult cat over 2 years of age, my son Austin by now 2 ½. While Forrest remained remarkably tolerant of and affectionate toward Austin, his obsession with him was not quite as intense. And the from moment we brought home our infant little girl, his attention turned from Austin altogether and Forrest once again became a cat obsessed, with yet another baby.

My wife took this photograph [see video for image] of Forrest after he had jumped in the crib to cuddle with Scarlett when she had turned to put some of Scarlett’s clothes in the hamper. And you can clearly see, the love is not one sided.

In fact, wherever my daughter may be crawling around in the house, you will find Forrest right there, ready to cuddle her as she pleases, something she takes full advantage of often, as she does in this video my wife shot just the other day.
– Video Clip of Forrest and Scarlett cuddling on the kitchen floor [see webcast for video footage] –

Yes, Forrest loves his baby indeed and Scarlett clearly loves him back. While this friendship is a most unlikely one, it is as real as it gets, and for us and our extended family, a heartwarming spectacle that plays out every hour of every day right in our home.
I take heart in the fact that Forrest is still young, only 3 ½ years of age, and that hopefully one day he will still be with us the day Scarlett is old enough to appreciate this video and realize that her very first BFF in this world was a silver and black Devon Rex, named Forrest.

This is Roger Welton reporting, for The Web-DVM.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Pets and Halloween and your pets: Costumes, avoiding Halloween dangers.

Listen to this podcast directly from my show page by CLICKING HERE.

Podcast airs Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 9 PM EST

Greetings loyal viewers, listeners and readers,

Now 3 years old, my son Austin is aware enough of last year’s Halloween experience to look forward to dressing up (this year as Iron Man per his request), go trick or treating, and eat free candy. Seeing my son in his little get-up walking up to people’s door to enthusiastically say “twick or tweet” brings me a joy I never expected. Seeing his little friends and all the adorable neighborhood kids so happily engaging in this tradition brings us all back to more innocent and carefree time when dressing up for Halloween was one of the most important priorities of the year.

In this episode, I will be talking about the unique opportunity Halloween brings pet owners to dress up their beloved furry companions in cute, often downright hilarious costumes. With very agreeable weather this time of year here in Florida, many people spend the evening doling out candy sitting outside with tables and chairs set out on their driveways, and increasingly, with their pets at their side dressed up in some of the cutest and outrageous costumes I have ever seen on any species!

I will also be discussing some common pet dangers that present themselves during the Halloween season, how prevent them, and what to do if your pet falls victim to one of them, plus this evening we have 4 listener e-mail questions that I will be addressing on the air.

As always, thanks again for caring about what I have to say, and keep the e-mails coming! 

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Why do so many dogs (and some cats) eat grass?

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO AT MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Transcript from this week’s episode of The Web-DVM:

Your beloved canine companion clearly is not a cow, so it may be a bit strange to see him grazing on grass outside. It’s even weirder to see your cat doing this. So why in the world would they do this?

Let’s start with dogs. One bit of misinformation out there maintains that dogs are pure carnivores, meaning that they supposedly subsist predominantly on meat based protein. Realistically, however, dogs are omnivores just like people, in that they thrive ideally with a mixed diet consisting of both plant matter and meat, making the craving of plant matter like grass, not entirely unusual after all. Even their ancient cousin the wolf is omnivorous, engaging in the eating of plant matter with similar acts of grazing on grasses, as well as eating the plant matter out of the guts of their herbivorous prey.

Some dogs only seem to eat grass when they are feeling sick, prompting the owner to schedule to a vet visit because Buffy is repeatedly eating grass and vomiting it back up. Grass, after all, contains fiber which can help to expel worms and provide bulk to relieve diarrhea. Some grasses are rich in the green pigment chlorophyll, a compound that is rich in anti-oxidants and free radical scavengers that help to boost an immune system stressed with illness. Chlorophyll also has antiseptic properties, which could be helpful in cases of bacterial infections of the gut.

Many veterinarians dismiss this notion of dogs craving grass only when they are ill, maintaining that they are just not intelligent enough to know that some elements of certain kinds of grasses may be beneficial during times of GI upset, that their grass eating and GI upset are simply coincidental. I do not happen to be of this opinion.

While I would agree that dogs are not going to be smart enough to seek treatment for GI upset on their own the way we seek ant-acids for indigestion, I believe that on some instinctual level born of evolution, some dogs do indeed engage in the eating of grass only when sick.

For other dogs, the eating of grass is strictly a behavioral phenomenon, done simply out of boredom. This fact is evidenced by the numbers of grass eaters that are less apt to partake in grass grazing after the owner takes more time to play with and engage with the dog.

So what about cats? Interestingly, dietary-wise, cats are quite different from dogs and people in that they actually are true carnivores meaning they can fulfill all of their dietary needs and essential nutrients by eating a 100% meat diet. Given this fact, it seems especially strange that a cat would enjoy grazing on grass, but the truth is that many do. While the common storyline from dog owners is that Buffy only eats grass when he is sick, the same is not heard with nearly the same frequency in cats.

This seems to make the instinctual evolutionary craving for the aforementioned medicinal elements of grass less likely to be the case in cats. Still, since we cannot ask them, it cannot be completely dismissed. More likely, however, cats that tend to graze on grass do so out of boredom.

So what do you do if your dog or cat grazes on grass? Is it a problem? Well, if your dog or kitty is one of those that only seem to eat grass to vomit it up when sick, then perhaps you should schedule a veterinary visit to deal with said illness that prompted the behavior.

For all others that simply seem to enjoy it, try engaging with the pet more to alleviate potential boredom. For dogs, consider more walks, swimming, fetching, or just tickling the tummy as often as possible. For cats, try getting a cat jungle gym in the home, engage in play with cat toys or a laser pointer, or consider getting Tiger a window stand for more visual stimulation.

If in the end, your dog or cat eats grass no matter what you do, it is not likely to cause any harm, in fact, it could even stand to do them some good. The only caveat to this is that many commercial lawn pesticides can cause harm to your dogs and cats if ingested with the grass. As such, for homes of pets that have a tendency to dine on the lawn, it is wise to choose only lawn pest control products that are organic and safe for animal ingestion, or avoid them altogether if possible.

This is Roger Welton reporting, for The Web-DVM.

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Affording wellness pet care in a troubled economy.

Listen to this podcast directly from my show page by CLICKING HERE.

Podcast airs Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 9 PM EST

Greetings readers, listeners and viewers:

Tonight’s podcast deals with the veterinary care side of our ongoing and seemingly never ending economic malaise, a reality that affects both the veterinary industry and pet owners alike. On our side, patient visits are down and have been steadily decreasing over the past three years. On you the pet owners’ side, many of you have been faced with making the difficult choice between providing quality wellness care for your pets or making sure your families remain fed and clothed. It is both frustrating and at times even heartbreaking from either side of that equation.

In this podcast, I discuss some modalities that pet owners can take advantage of in order to not necessarily have to sacrifice some level of quality wellness care for your pets during tough economic times. I present these options objectively, explaining how some are indeed too good to be true, while others may be worth your careful consideration. In the end, it is not wise to let the ideal be the enemy of the good, and in tonight’s talk, I aim to help you steer through the options available to you as a caring pet owner with a limited budget.

We also have three excellent e-mail questions submitted that I will address on the air, one notably all the way from France, while another is from a fellow practicing veterinarian. Hope you enjoy the show, and please keep the comments and e-mails coming!

Thanks again for caring to hear what I have to say! 🙂

Regards,

Roger Welton, DVM

Send e-mail questions or comments for Dr. Roger to discuss on the air to comments@web-dvm.net

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Season Opener: Check your dog’s and cat’s symptoms online!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO AT MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Transcript from this week’s episode of The Web-DVM:

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to a new season of The Web-DVM. Thank you so much for continuing to take the time to watch the show. As promised, I have a big announcement about a project I dedicated a lot of time to over the summer.

Many of you who watch are YouTubers that have subscribed having come across my webcasts by chance, through search engine, or through word of mouth. What many of you are not aware of is that this webcast was originally meant to be a media supplement to a veterinary health information website I founded called Web-DVM.net. In short, this show and my BlogTalkRadio podcast were just created to add some spice and updated content to what I deemed the much bigger and more important Web-DVM.net. Little did I know that this webcast and my podcast would take on lives of their own, drawing thousands of viewers and listeners each week.

But Web-DVM.net remains, receives 50, 000 unique visitors per month, and is a project I am still very proud of, especially now that I have added a virtual dog and cat symptom checker. That is, if your pet is exhibiting signs of illness or disease, you can go to the Web-DVM.net symptom checker and use the tool to try to narrow down what may be wrong with your pet. The symptom checker provides the user a set of possible causes of disease, each with a link to an in-depth article about each given condition. Best of all, it is free to use at your leisure, without need for any registration or login. Just show up and use it. Here is a brief example of how it works.

Pause for symptom checker illustration

Pretty cool, huh? Now, while I invite you to use the Web-DVM.net symptom checker as often as, and whenever you like, please let me be clear that it is not meant to be a replacement for your veterinarian. I will repeat that one more time, it is not a replacement for your veterinarian. It is an educational tool only meant to aid pet owners understand if a certain set of signs can mean there is disease present, while also getting an idea of the urgency associated with a particular set of signs. That said, enjoy it, and thank you once again for remaining a fan of my show. Please join me next time, when I will be answering the ever so common question, “Why do some dogs and cats eat grass?”

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Wed 9-14-2011 Season Opener: Dr. Roger’s Big Announcement; The Itchy Pet!

Listen to this podcast directly from my show page by CLICKING HERE.

Hello everyone and thank you for your patience this summer during my abscence. My media work is one of my favorite aspects of my veterinary career and I am itching to get back to corresponding with all of you. Whether you are a fan of my BlogTalkRadio podcast, my YouTube webcast, or both, we are set to kick off the new season tomorrow night, Wednesday 9 PM EST with my podcast, Veterinary Advice, Animal News and Views.

In this show, I will be announcing the completion of an exciting project that I worked on all summer that will be free for pet owners to enjoy great benefits from. I will then highlight some changes that will be in effect for the new fall season and transition into the evening’s topic of The Itchy Pet.

For those of you that are waiting for return of The Web-DVM YouTube webcast, the first one is set to air one week from tomorrow, Wed 9-21-2011, where I will be discussing my project further, as well as showing it in action. My plan for this season with a very demanding schedule is to alternate every other week between my podcast and webcast. I love both genres equally for different reasons, but doing both each week turned out to be too much of a demand on my time.

Thank you all again for your patience this off season, and for caring enough to listen to little old me! I hope the my new project I have to offer you, as well as this season’s topics and formats will be such that I do not disappoint!

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.

Season Finale! Online Pet Pharmacies: Saving Money or Danger to your Pet?

Transcript from this week’s episode of The Web-DVM:

Season Finale! Online Pet Pharmacies: Saving Money or Danger to your Pet?

Their ads promise to save you lots of money and even “a stressful trip to the veterinarian”. You are encouraged by slick video and professional announcers to purchase flea medications, pain relief drugs and even heartworm prevention all from the comfort of your living room and laptop computer. But, are online pet pharmacies really the best option for you or are there hidden dangers?

With record numbers of families enjoying the benefits of pet ownership and online shopping, it should come as no surprise that the amount of money spent on our pets is huge. Experts are forecasting that pet owners will spend more than $50 billion dollars annually. A significant percentage of those expenses include veterinary care and prescription medications. So, is it any wonder that buying your prescription medications online may also look like a good deal?

At first glance, online pet pharmacies would seem to be a great option. The promise of lower prices and having the medication shipped to your door is a big selling point for busy, budget conscious people. But, there are some pitfalls when relying on Internet based sources for your pet’s medication needs.

First, they all say you can “save a trip to the vet”. Unfortunately, this is only partially true. In order to prescribe and dispense medication to your pet, most states require that there is a valid veterinarian-client-pet relationship or VCPR. This is usually defined as a veterinarian having examined your pet within the last 12 months. If the VCPR does not exist, medication cannot be dispensed.

Some websites will offer to sell the drugs without a prescription. This is not only illegal but not in the best interest of your pet! Websites that sell without needing prescriptions are most often based outside of North America, where pharmacy and drug laws may not be as strict.

The requirement for this professional relationship insures that you and your veterinarian have good, up to date facts about your pet’s health. Plus the medical records and history for your pet are all in one place. The veterinary staff also knows your whole pet family and can help prevent problems when there are multiple species present in the household.

Since pets are unique individuals, some may have unexpected reactions to certain drugs and some medications can even be deadly if given incorrectly. Others may need a special formulation for ease of administration. The online pharmacies will not know this information and this could be a problem if your pet is on several medications or has secondary conditions.

If a life-threatening emergency happens with a medication, your veterinarian is only a phone call away. Some online pharmacies only allow contact through email and this will not help you if your pet needs assistance immediately!

Finally, despite many good businesses online, there will always be a few who are looking for a quick buck at your expense. Avoid sites that offer dramatically lower prices than competing sites or your veterinarian. Likewise, if you have ordered medication online, check the drug to make sure it looks similar to what you have given before. If it looks different in any way, do not give it to your pet.

The FDA is so concerned about this, it is now warning pet owners to be aware of shady online companies. And, the National Board of Pharmacies has instituted the Veterinary Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites program (Vet-VIPPS) to help you find properly licensed and compliant online pet pharmacies. Only twelve companies so far have earned the right to display the Vet-VIPPS seal of approval.

Check with your veterinarian about online pharmacies. Many veterinary hospitals now offer their very own store on their websites. You can order your pet’s medications conveniently from home, possibly even get home delivery and you know that the source is reputable. In addition, you will know who you are talking to in case of any problems or concerns. Honest and open communication with your veterinarian about cost concerns will prevent misunderstandings about money and help you do what’s best for your pet.

This episode concludes our 2011 spring season, we will return with all new episodes in September, 2011. I will be using this time off to work on a project that stands to benefit pet owners worldwide. I plan to announce it in the first episode of the new season, so please be sure to keep in touch. This is Roger Welton reporting, for The Web-DVM.

Don’t forget to catch my live call-in radio show Wednesdays 9PM EST. Listen via podcast live or archived here:

Blog Talk Radio

Dr. Roger Welton is the President and chief veterinarian at Maybeck Animal Hospital in West Melbourne Florida, as well as CEO of the veterinary advice and health management website Web-DVM.net.