Author Archives: skeptvet

Hair and Saliva Test for Allergies are Worthless Pseudoscience

There is a lot of mythology out there about food allergies. The recent concern about the potential risks of grain-free diets is only an issue at all because such diets became wildly popular with no evidence that grains were a … Continue reading

Posted in General | 25 Comments

Evidence Update: Prolotherapy

Back in 2011 I wrote about a therapy popular with alternative practitioners called prolotherapy. I try to check in from time to time to see if there is any new evidence for the treatments I consider, and in doing so … Continue reading

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Evidence Update: Associations between Environmental Chemical Exposure and Hyperthyroidism in Cats

One of the great mysteries of veterinary medicine if hyperthyroidism in cats. Benign tumors of the thyroid glad in older cats can produce excessive amount of thyroid hormone, and this can lead to a host of clinical symptoms. Fortunately, the … Continue reading

Posted in General | 3 Comments

Evidence Update: Still no Convincing Scientific Evidence for any Benefits from Veterinary Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

It’s been a few years since I covered the subject of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), a treatment that involves placing patients in a sealed chamber and raising the air pressure and oxygen levels above those in the normal atmosphere at … Continue reading

Posted in General | 9 Comments

FDA Webinar Discussing Dietary Risk Factors for Dilated Cardiomyopathy

The FDA has recently held a webinar with a representative of the agency, a nutritionist, and a representative of the pet food industry to provide an update on the state of the ongoing investigation of certain diets and possible heart … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 24 Comments

Herbal Medicine Will not be a Recognized Medical Specialty

For over a year now, I have been covering the petition from the American College of Veterinary Botanical Medicine (ACVBM) seeking recognition as a medical specialty from the American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS). I have argued that the discipline … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 6 Comments

Grain-free Diets and Heart Disease in Dogs

For some years now, grains such as wheat and corn in dog and cat foods have been demonized by many in the alternative medicine world. There has never been any real scientific evidence to support all the hysterical claims about … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 74 Comments

Evidence Update: Promising Clinical Trial of CBD for Arthritis Treatment in Dogs

Introduction At long last, there is a published veterinary clinical trial of a cannabis-based treatment! As I say in nearly every article I write, a single study neither definitively proves nor disproves even the specific hypothesis being studied, much less … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 44 Comments

Misleading Caregiver Placebo Effects Occur with Cats as well as Dogs

I’ve written about placebo effects in animals several times. These appear in both clinical research studies and in real-world medical practice in many different ways. However, one of the most significant phenomena that fools us into thinking useless therapies are … Continue reading

Posted in General | Leave a comment

What’s the Truth behind “The Truth About Pet Cancer” Videos?

The Truth About Pet Cancer (TAPC) is a slick bit of propaganda. Although it contains some interesting, even promising ideas, these are unfortunately served with a heavy seasoning of misinformation and fear-mongering. Hypotheses and opinions are presented as established facts, … Continue reading

Posted in General | 6 Comments