Author Archives: skeptvet

Evidence-Based Medicine in Song

Posted in Humor | Leave a comment

Nativis Voyager–A “Revolutionary” New Cancer Therapy for Dogs?

The Nobel Disease is a well-known tongue-in-cheek reference to the apparent tendency of Nobel laureates, who have obviously made substantial legitimate contributions to scientific knowledge, to develop strong irrational attachments to questionable theories or outright pseudoscience in their later years. … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous CAVM | 22 Comments

Book Review: Bad Pharma by Dr. Ben Goldacre

Introduction Most of the articles I write concern unconventional or alternative therapies. The primary reason for this is that the overwhelming majority of the information available to pet owners about such therapies comes from practitioners and true believers, often with … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | 3 Comments

Benefits and Risks of Neutering, an Evidence Update: Study Investigates Effects of Neutering in Golden Retreivers

Given that I recently presented a couple of evidence-updates on the subject the health effects of neutering, the timing was excellent for the release last week of a new research study looking at the same issue. Torres de la Riva … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 12 Comments

The Myth of Antioxidants?

I have written often about the popular notion that vitamins, dietary supplements, herbs, and other things which can be identified as “antioxidants” based on in vitro laboratory studies must automatically be good for our pets. This sort of simplistic reasoning … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 10 Comments

Benefits and Risks of Neutering, an Evidence Update: Neutering and Mammary Cancer in Female Dogs

This is another in my series of evidence updates on the risks and benefits of neutering in dogs and cats. I will be updating the evidence and conclusions of my original 2010 review based on a series of systematic reviews … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 11 Comments

Benefits and Risks of Neutering, an Evidence Update: Neutering and Urinary Incontinence in Female Dogs

A couple of years ago, I wrote a review of the risks and benefits of neutering. This handout, originally intended for clients, was also turned into a journal article for veterinarians: Evaluating the benefits and risks of neutering dogs and … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 1 Comment

Measuring Arthritis Pain in Dogs: Are Owner Surveys as Good as Force Plate Analysis?

I have written about a wide variety of conventional and alternative therapies for arthritis pain in dogs. A recurring issue in evaluating these therapies is how we know whether or not interventions designed to reduce pain in animals are effective. … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 4 Comments

Repeat After Me: “Dogs are not Wolves”

It should be obvious that there is a difference between acknowledging domestic dogs evolved from wolves (which is a widely accepted theory with strong supporting evidence) and saying that dogs essentially are wolves (which is nonsense). Try to picture a … Continue reading

Posted in Nutrition | 35 Comments

New Review of Complemetary and Alternative Therapies for Arthritis

I’ve written extensively about alternative arthritis therapies, largely because that is one of the most common conditions for which complementary and alternative treatments are used. While a few are promising (such as fish oils), there is little good evidence to … Continue reading

Posted in General | 37 Comments