ONE of the BIGGEST Pet Problems in the Spring

This is one really common problem that us vets see every single spring..and it's already started. You want to take your dog out on a car ride but you can't find their harness or don't want to deal with a crate, and you know that they love to stick their head out the window to enjoy the breeze. You have an idea that it might not be the best idea, but they just love it so much and just a little can't hurt them...right?

Every spring and summer, vets see countless injuries caused by dogs riding with their heads out car windows. What seems cute at a stoplight can be very dangerous as your car picks up speed.

Here are just a few of the things that can happen to your dog when they're allowed to ride with their head out the window.

1. Jumping or running away  - it doesn't take much (an interesting smell, a scary noise, or the sight of another dog) to get dogs to make a run for it. If they get loose into traffic they can be hit or even cause an accident.

2. Abrasions and soft tissue injuries - anything from major to minor injuries can occur should your dog hit the pavement or get hit by flying debris. Eye injuries are particularly common.

3. Dogs can get lost. If your dog leaps out while you are driving, it can take merely seconds for them to become lost. By the time you are able to stop the car and turn around they could be long gone. This is why it's so important to make sure they have at least one form of identification with your current address.

So....if you drive with your dog in the car, please make sure they are properly secured. A good seatbelt harness can save their life. For more tips on safe driving with your dog, go to: The Dangers of Driving With Dogs.

3 Simple Things That Could SAVE Your Sometimes it's the little things that count.

We all want our pets to be safe, but how we do that can be quite different. Some people are so concerned over their pets' well-being that they are constantly watching for danger. In other cases, the owners figure that "dogs will be dogs" and don't watch too carefully.

Honestly, the best way is something in between these two. It's important to be aware of dangerous situations, but some of the best choices you can make for your pet are very simple-and they can save your dog's life. You may not realize how important these things are until something happens. And things always happen--my vet friends and I see it all the time.

Vets do talk about the cases that they see, and about how to prevent them. I love having these discussions as it helps me find more great tips that can really help keep dogs safe and healthy. There aren't many as simple as the tips I'm sharing today, though.
Here are the 3 things that we've seen that can REALLY help save your dog's life.

1. Keep Your Dog On A Leash . People don't realize how important this is ... until it is too late. If you are walking your dog by a highway or anywhere that has cars (and that's pretty much everywhere) this may be the #1 way to save your dog's life. Do you know what separates good leashes from the bad? Learn more; go to The Best Leash For Your Dog.

2. ID Tags . Yep, this is another simple one. I've seen so many lost dogs with no identification that are never returned to their owners, or injured dogs without an ID tag that are euthanized because the shelter doesn't know who owns them. Don't underestimate the power of a simple ID tag. There are several different forms of identification for your dog, and having at least one can definitely save their life.

3. Use the Right Kind of Fence. Many people purchase a fence that looks great, but neglect to notice that their small dog can wiggle right between the slats. Others install an invisible fence but don't train their dogs to use it, resulting in dogs who are either terrified of the fence or will fearlessly run through it. Learn the best type of fence for you dog. Go to: Fencing For Your Dog.

A few other things you can do to keep your dog safe: 

• Keep all toxins out of reach. This is especially important in your garage, where oil and cleaning solutions pose danger.
• Keep a current picture of your dog on hand in case he goes missing. Posters with photos are much more effective than those without.
• Invest in basic obedience school. Teaching your dog to come back when called can mean the difference between life or death.                                    Pl.visit www.veterinary.tk

Attitudes to antimicrobial use: making a difference

Veterinary Record 2012;170:644-645 doi:10.1136/vr.e4277 Alan Radford, BSc, BVSc, PhD, MRCVS1 and Eithne Comerford, MVB, PhD, CertVR, CertSAS, PGCertHE, DipECVS, MRCVS2

1Institute of Infection and Global Health

2Institute of Aging and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Leahurst Campus, Chester High Road, Neston, Cheshire CH64 7TE e-mail: a.d.radford{at}liverpool.ac.ukATTITUDE. It is an interesting word. Of course it generally just means our disposition or feeling towards something. According to Sir Winston Churchill no less, attitude is ‘a little thing that makes a big difference’. Our attitudes are shaped by our life experience, and impact on everything we do, as well as the decisions we make. We own our attitudes, and you might say we are the sum of them. However, and perhaps surprisingly, we may not be aware of how our attitudes form, or how they impact on our daily choices.

As veterinary surgeons, we confront attitudes on a daily basis. We are trained to take on board our clients' attitudes, and to help them make informed decisions. Curiously, however, we don't often reflect on our own attitudes. A review of publications in Veterinary Record since 1982 finds only 24 research papers with the word attitude in the title. Of these, most relate to our desire to understand the attitudes of others (producers, owners, students, policymakers) and only eight to understanding our own attitudes. Of course, this is a crude analysis, but you get the point. Our attitudes as veterinary surgeons shape what we do, but there is a dearth of evidence about them. If veterinary surgeons' attitudes are important, why are most scientists ignoring them? We suspect the answer lies partly in the fact that most of us are not trained that way. As veterinary surgeons, we do ‘quantitative’ science, and are less familiar with what some call ‘qualitative methods’ that seek to answer ‘Why?’ and not just ‘What, how and when’.

It is in this context that it is nice to see, in a paper summarised on p 646 of this week's Veterinary Record, Knights and others (2012) grappling with veterinary attitudes to the use of …

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