Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Public Health Warning

The American Veterinary Medical Association has issued a public health warning regarding rodenticides that contain phosphides, usually in the form of aluminum phosiphide or zinc phosphide. Common brand names include Gopha-Rid, Arrex, Phosvin, and Ratol. Human exposure has occurred when an animal who has ingested the rat poison vomits either from exposure to the poison or when vomiting is induced to rid the animal's stomach of the poison. The chemical produces phosphine gas in the stomach which is released into the air after vomiting. The dry form and the gas are extremely poisonous to humans and pets. If a pet ingests phosphide rodenticide and vomits in a indoor setting all humans and pets should vacate the building and call your local fire department for further instructions from Haz-Mat personel.
For more information go to www.avma.org/public_health/phosphine_gas/default.asp.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Arthritis Studies


Two recent studies on the effects of omega -3 fatty acids and arthritis in dogs were published in the January 1 and March 1 issues of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The studies involved 274 dogs with osteoarthritis. In each study one group was fed a diet supplemented with 3.5% omega-3 fatty acids (Hill's Prescription Diet JD). The other group (control group) was fed the same diet without the added omega-3 fatty acids. Each study lasted about 3 months. The first study looked for improvement of arthritis symptoms with the use of force-plate analysis, a computer assisted machine that measures how much weight the dog is placing on each limb, as well as subjective evaluations of the researchers. The study showed that 82% of the omega-3 fed group were improved versus 38% of the control group.

In the second study both groups of dogs (omega-3 group and a control group) received carprofen (Rimadyl (c) Pfizer) a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NASAID). The study showed that by supplementing omega-3 fatty acids the dosage of carprofen could be reduced. This is significant because of the relatively high cost of prescription NASAID drugs.

(The photo shows severe osteoarthritis in the knee of a 13 year old dog)