Pet Columns

Simple Things Your Reptile Might Be Missing

Feb 25, 2019 / General Care / Preventive Health / Reptiles

The right environment, diet for your reptile According to the most recent statistics for pet ownership in the United States, 4.7 million households kept 9.4 million reptiles as pets in 2016. With the interest in reptiles as pets expanding, Dr. Sarah Reich, a veterinarian who sees wildlife and exotic pets at the University of Illinois...

Police Dogs Work Hard, Play Hard

Nov 5, 2018 / General Care / Dogs

Give a wide berth to working dogs Working dogs can be police dogs (K9s), service dogs, search and rescue dogs, or even Seeing Eye dogs. Each type of working dog goes through special training for its role. These dogs have a very special bond with their human partners. Deputy Chad Beasley, with the Champaign County...

FDA Alert on Flea Medications

Oct 22, 2018 / General Care / Parasites / Toxicology / Cats / Dogs

What Pet Owners Need to Know The FDA recently alerted the pet-owning and veterinary public about the potential for neurologic adverse events in dogs and cats treated with drugs that are in the isoxazoline class. Most dogs and cats receiving these medications have not had neurologic adverse reactions.   What medications are involved in this...

Avoid Hot Weather Hazards for Dogs

Jul 2, 2018 / Emergency/Critical Care / General Care / Preventive Health / Dogs

Dehydration, Heatstroke Are Preventable Ironically, the dog days of summer—the hottest time of the year—are not always good for dogs. Dr. Jennifer Reinhart, a specialist in veterinary internal medicine at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, shares tips on preventing dehydration and other hot weather hazards that could require a trip to...

Lives Intertwined: Pets, People, and ‘One Health’

Jun 18, 2018 / General Care / Public Health / Birds / Cats / Dogs / Reptiles / Small Mammals

Pet Ownership Benefits People “One Health” is a term used to convey the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health. In their recent book, Beyond One Health: From Recognition to Results, coeditors Drs. Jack Herrmann and Yvette Johnson-Walker, faculty members at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, devote an entire chapter to the...

My Horse Has a Cough. Now What?

May 20, 2018 / Disease / General Care / Horses

Many Conditions Make a Horse Cough As a horse owner, you would not hesitate to seek veterinary care if your horse shows signs of lameness, colic, choke, or other immediate dangers. But what do you do when your horse shows signs that are less clear-cut, such as a cough? There are dozens of reasons why...

Let’s Get Physical: Annual Examinations Promote Pets’ Wellness

Mar 26, 2018 / General Care / Preventive Health

The physical examination helps prevent disease From molecular and genetic testing to advanced imaging using magnetic resonance or computed tomography, veterinarians have many tools available to diagnose their patients. Even with these technological aids, the physical examination remains the most basic yet important of diagnostic tools. Dr. Ashley Mitek, a faculty member at the University...

What to Look for on a Pet Food Label

Jan 22, 2018 / General Care / Cats / Dogs

Regulations control wording on a pet food label The seemingly endless brightly colored cans, bags, and boxes in the pet food aisles can be quite overwhelming for pet owners. Dr. Kelly Swanson, an animal sciences professor at the University of Illinois who lectures on nutrition to students at the College of Veterinary Medicine, has some...

Top Five Pet Health Columns from 2017

Jan 2, 2018 / Advances in Medicine / Behavior / Cancer Care / General Care / Cats / Dogs

Enjoy the Most-Read Columns from 2017 What topics did pet owners find most fascinating last year? We checked our website analytics, and discovered that fungal disease, behavioral issues, and cutting-edge treatments offered only at our college topped the list. Here’s a recap of our most-read columns. Blasted Blasto Blastomyces dermatitidis—the agent responsible for the systemic...

Common Sense Approach to Pets’ Cold Weather Needs

Dec 18, 2017 / General Care / Preventive Health

Monitor pets’ comfort level in the cold Just because your pet sports a fur coat doesn’t mean he’s protected from all the potential hazards of winter. Dr. Gary Brummet, a primary care clinician at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, advises pet owners to stay attuned to their pet’s behavior to keep...