Category Archives: Wellness

Last year, just before Christmas, there were nationwide reports of an uptick in dogs with coughing, runny eyes and nose. It was a highly contagious case of canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), also known as kennel cough, and as quickly as it came, the outbreak disappeared. But now it’s back. The Delaware state veterinarian just announced a CIRDC outbreak in the state. Because of the outbreak, all Delaware animal shelters and rescues have been ordered to suspend out-of-state transports, as well as out-of-state intakes or adoptions for 30 days. In neighboring Maryland, the Carroll County Humane Society, west of Baltimore, also had to suspend operations temporarily due to a CIRDC outbreak. Kennel cough can be caused by a host of infectious agents, including bacteria and viruses, and we’ll look at how you can protect your pet in today’s blogpost.

Because I am a veterinarian, my friends constantly send me photos, videos and links to information about animals of all types. Recently, one of my friends sent me a link to a company that uses artificial intelligence to determine the best food for your dog by analyzing a photo your dog’s tongue. I told my friend I did not think this was a valid method of choosing food for their dog and that they should rely on input from their dog’s veterinarian. BUT, in the next email, my friend asked, do veterinarians ever look at the tongue for medical assessments? A great question, and one I will answer in today’s blogpost.

Every month on my Ask the Vet podcast, I answer questions from concerned pet owners. The questions I received for my latest episode were especially good questions, so I am going to share them in this blogpost for those who don’t already subscribe to Ask the Vet.

Lately, there have been a surprising number of stories in the news about respiratory illnesses in dogs. First, there is the mystery respiratory illness that has been dominating the veterinary news cycle. Now there’s a shelter outbreak of respiratory disease in San Diego. And we can’t forget about the common and persistent Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex, also known as kennel cough. I’ll summarize the latest in canine respiratory illnesses in today’s blogpost.

A recent study investigated the diets of pets with a cancer diagnosis. The results were interesting. 71% of dogs seen by board-certified oncologists ate commercially prepared pet food, compared to about 90% of randomly surveyed healthy pets. Instead of eating commercially prepared food, 11% of dogs with cancer were fed homecooked or raw homemade diets. These numbers beg the question, “Are homecooked diets safe for pets?”