Pets

I chose veterinary medicine as a career because I love science, humans, and animals, and it seemed like the perfect way to combine all three passions.
 
Transcript: "What made me choose veterinary medicine as a career? Well, I love science, humans, and animals. So all three together make for an awesome career choice in vet med. But I didn't choose veterinary medicine, it chose me. That sounds really cliché. But I knew from a very young age that I could find fulfillment by helping animals and helping people. And that's why I chose to be a veterinarian."
 Ask Vet Christine 

Ferrets are my favorite species to treat in the clinic. They are fun and rewarding to work with, and I enjoy helping them and their owners.
 
Transcript: "What is my favorite species to treat in the clinic Barrett's? I love ferrets. There's so much fun. I would be a terrible ferret owner. They require so much attention. So I just love seeing them at the Veterinary Clinic, they also can be very easily brought back from the brink of death when they get ill. So they're very rewarding to treat also because I can really really help them and their owners. So ferrets their my fave."
 Ask Vet Christine 

Weight management is an effective strategy for reducing the impact of hip dysplasia and arthritis in dogs because it reduces the amount of weight on sore, painful joints, which decreases compression that can accentuate cartilage damage. Additionally, excess fat increases inflammation throughout the body, which can exacerbate pain from arthritis.
 
Transcript: "Can you explain how weight management can be an effective strategy for reducing the impact of hip dysplasia and arthritis in dogs? Well, the first is the most obvious and that is if you have a sore painful joint, then the more weight you put on that joint, the more pain there is, the harder it is to be mobile and active, and mobility and movement can actually improve comfort, and the more compression on that joint, which sort of accentuates cartilage damage. The other reason being overweight impacts joint health and pain from arthritis is that fat is inflammatory, and so any person or animal that has a lot of excess fat, that increases inflammation throughout the body, and so that's going to perpetuate that problem as well."

For dogs with hip dysplasia and arthritis, it is important to stay active but modify their activity to minimize the impact on their joints. This can include frequent leash walks of 15 minutes or less and avoiding activities that involve jumping or running.
 
Transcript: "What type of exercise modifications do you recommend for dogs with hip dysplasia or arthritis? Well it is really important for dogs with arthritis and hip dysplasia to stay active but we want to modify their activity to minimize the impact on the joints but maximize their cardiovascular health. It is true that if you don't use it you lose it and so what you don't want to do with an arthritic patient, human or animal, is have them sit around all week long and then over the weekend take them on a long hike or a really long walk because they're gonna be very sore after that. Instead you want very frequent regular flatline exercise so low amount of time but increased frequency. So that might be like three or four 15 minute leash walks per day, maybe a little bit longer if you go to the beach or something like that, but you really want to minimize heavy impact activities such as throwing a ball, a frisbee, something where the dog is taking off running and making quick turns. That is really going to negatively impact their pain and make it harder for them to move in the subsequent days. So frequent flatline activity is really good and then if it's hips that are painful you really want to prevent them from having to jump up onto high surfaces such as into the car, onto a bed, things like that. If they're used to getting up on the bed maybe you want to put a bench at the end of the bed just to cut that distance in half making it a little easier for them to get up and then pick them up or hoist them into cars or or any place that they might have to jump up onto a high surface."

The type of toy doesn't matter when teaching a dog to fetch; it's best to start inside with short distances and use two identical toys to get the dog to drop what it has.
 
Transcript: "Hello, Dale Ward here, dog trainer and behavior consultant. The question is, what toys can I get to teach my dog how to fetch? Actually, the toy itself doesn't really matter. I mean, dogs will fetch whatever you teach them to fetch. So a lot of people will use a ball or a Frisbee or a favorite toy, but it doesn't really matter. The idea though is to start easy. So you start teaching inside. For example, a hallway is a good place to start where there's not very many places to actually go except back to you. So you sit on the floor, close all the doors in the hallway, and then just toss the toy just a couple of feet away and say, fetch as you do it. And then when the dog goes runs to get it, then you can you can say, bring it, and the dog will come back to you and you can give the dog a little treat and he'll drop the toy. So and then repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. Once the dog is fluent with that, then you can maybe increase your distance and then start to move it outside. One of the ways that's really good to get them to drop something is to have two of the exact same toy. So when they bring it back, if they don't want to drop it, you just shake that, oh look at this one, and then throw that one and then they'll drop the one they have. So they'll recognize they're repeating. But remember there's a genetic piece to this and some dogs are just not into retrieving. They're into sniffing or something else. Thanks! Bye."

Avoid giving your dog antlers and bones, as they are too hard for their teeth. Stick with Kong toys that you can stuff with food or a banana and freeze it to make it last longer. Additionally, try to avoid rawhides with knots at the end of them, as they can get stuck in the stomach. Instead, look for toys that you can engage and play with while still providing something soft enough for their teeth.
 
Transcript: "What can I give my dog that is safe to chew on, well, for safe. You want to avoid choking hazards, but you also want to avoid fractured teeth. So even though your dog might like to chew on something like an antler, do not give them antlers or bones, don't give them anything. That's harder than their teeth. Stick with things like a Kong toy. This is a nice one and they're not going to just chew on a boring old tongue. You got to stuff it with something good. Good like a banana. Push a banana in here. Freeze it give it to your dog to chew on. It's a great pacifier for the kennel. When you're training, a puppy getting him used to a kennel using toys that you can stuff with food biscuits, peanut butter, frese it to make it last longer. I try to avoid things that are rawhides that have knots at the end of them. Those knots can get a bit stuck in their stomach. Rides in general, try to avoid if you can there I would try to stick with things that you can engage play with. But are also have give for their teeth."