Dogs riding in the bed of the truck

Yesterday I saw a young dog riding in the back of a pickup truck.  Wow.  I just don't get it.  Are dogs disposable?  A dog has no awareness of how fast they are going or how high they are.  They do not have any way of understanding the level of danger of any given situation.  No one is sitting back there with the dog in an attempt to control their movement (it's against the law because it's too dangerous).  Even if they were, no training is foolproof.  Imagine the dog sees a bunny rabbit on the side of the road, or they are peering over the side with their front feet up when you drive over a big bump in the road, or they just decide they want out...

No, having them tied back there is not a solution.  Now we add hanging to the list of dangers.

If you travel with your dogs in this fashion or you know someone who does, please consider these things.  It takes only one fall out of the vehicle to end the dog's life.  Every time you travel this way, there is a 50/50 chance your dog will be in the back of the truck when you arrive at your destination.  Please help put an end to this bad habit through thoughtful consideration and discussion of the consequences. 

Dr. Amy's most recent CE: Class IV Laser Therapy

I have attended several CE courses in the past month.  The most recent was a discussion hosted by a laser manufacturer about the benefits of laser therapy.  Of course this leads to immediate skepticism: a lecture hosted by a company that wants me to purchase their product...

Nonetheless, I found the lecture intriguing and have continued to ponder the pros and cons.  Here is some basic information for you.  Class IV lasers are simply those lasers in a category that indicates the level of harm they can do.  These lasers, when used in practice, require that we wear a special type of eye protection.  They also have healing effects.  The therapy is supposed to reduce pain, reduce inflammation, and speed up the healing process.  It can be used on wounds, fractures, abscesses, sprains, and dermatitis, just to name a few modalities.  The therapy is the result of energy interacting chemically and biologically with tissue.  This causes "photobiostimulation".  Lasers produce a single wavelength beam of light that is uniform (in "phase").  It penetrates deeply into tissue to produce changes at the cellular level.  The lecture stated that pain is reduced through affecting stimulation thresholds and essentially reducing pain perception.  Inflammation is reduced by decreasing the body's production of inflammatory mediators as well as dilating lymphatics and helping to eliminate fluid build up.  Healing is said to speed up though vasodilation (increased blood flow) as well as stimulation of new cell infiltration. 

Further research is needed and there is still only anecdotal reporting on the benefits of this laser therapy.  I have not yet seen a scientific study in a peer reviewed journal.  I will continue to keep a watch on the development of this new modality and will let you know if it proves beneficial and useful.

Obesity management and probiotics in pets

A few days ago I attended a symposium where the topics of obesity and probiotics were discussed.  It was an informative set of lectures.  Let me give you a few facts relating to these subjects.

Obesity in dogs is a primary precursor to torn ligaments in the knees of dogs.

The surgery to correct the torn ligament can be done a few ways, but arthritis will absolutely be a factor for the affected pet.

One of the primary modalities to address knee problems is weight loss.

Fat releases pro-inflammatory hormones.

The digestive tract is an important player in the body's immune defense system.

Probiotics are live cultures of bacteria that promote proper digestive function.

Probiotics typically resolve diarrhea through regulation of the population of bacteria in the gut.