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Author Archives: skeptvet
Neutered Dogs Live Longer than Intact Dogs
I’ve written extensively over the years about the risks and benefits of neutering. It’s a complicated subject that tends to draw a lot of passion even in the absence of robust scientific evidence. Variable such as sex, breed, age at neutering, … Continue reading
Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
21 Comments
Vegetarian Diets for Dogs & Cats
Pet owners frequently project their beliefs about human health onto their companion animals. Anxieties about purported harms from vaccines in children, for example, have spurred an anti-vaccination movement among vets and pet owners.1–4Beliefs in alternative medical therapies for people, such … Continue reading
Posted in Nutrition
12 Comments
FDA Update on Grain-free Diets and Heart Disease in Dogs
The FDA has released a new update about the ongoing investigation into dogs developing the dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a serious heart disease, which appears to be associated with the use of grain-free or exotic protein diets. The agency has received … Continue reading
Posted in Nutrition
53 Comments
Happy 10th Blogiversary to Me!
Hard to believe, but my first post, What is Open-Mindendess?, appeared June 4, 2009. Lots of things have changed in the ten years since I began this blog. My subjects and the tone of my writing are often different from … Continue reading
Posted in General
13 Comments
Should I Worry About Bacteria in My Pet’s Urine? Well, It Depends….
Veterinarians and pet owners are highly motivated to find discrete, fixable problems when pets are unwell. Owners want the reassurance and sense of control that comes with knowing what the problem is and taking action. Vets want to help our … Continue reading
Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
3 Comments
What are Screening Tests, and Should You Use them?
What is Screening?Screening is the use of diagnostic tests in apparently healthy individuals with no clinical symptoms.1-2The purpose is to detect asymptomatic disease with the presumption that this allows earlier, more effective intervention and will reduce suffering and delay or … Continue reading
Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine
40 Comments
Should we be Vaccinating Dogs at Acupuncture Points?
A couple of recent articles by acupuncturists have suggested that giving vaccines at acupuncture points may be more effective than giving them in other locations. This is clearly an attempt to demonstrate the serious, scientific legitimacy of acupuncture. However, there … Continue reading
Posted in Acupuncture
6 Comments
Herbalists Petition for Specialty Recognition is Rejected
I recently updated my coverage of attempts by the American College of Veterinary Botanical Medicine (ACVBM) to attain specialty recognition, and explained why I am opposed to this effort. The deliberations and decisions of the American Board of Veterinary Specialties … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
5 Comments
A Detailed, Evidence-based response to Petco’s Ban on “Artificial” Food Ingredients
Here is an article from Veterinary Practice News responding to the ridiculous marketing ploy by Petco declaring a ban on “artificial” food ingredients. Since the late 1980s, individuals and organizations have been trying to warn the public about a deadly … Continue reading
Posted in Nutrition
20 Comments
Herbalists try again for medical specialty status.
In 2017 and 2018, I covered extensivelythe efforts of the American College of Veterinary Botanical Medicine (ACVBM) to achieve recognition as a medical specialty by the American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS). I opposed recognition for several reasons: Prescribing of herbal … Continue reading
Posted in Herbs and Supplements
4 Comments
