Keeping dogs safe when going for walks on dark mornings and evenings: podcast from Pat Kenny Show

This week on the Pat Kenny Show we covered two topics at the start:

Road safety and pets

Dark mornings and evenings make it more likely that pedestrians – including dogs and cats – may be hit by cars.

• It’s worth improving visibility of pets on the roads at this time of year
• Put a reflective collar around your cat’s neck
• Use a reflective collar/lead/ flashing light/ for dogs
• Place a reflective collar/ flashing light around arm for the person walking a dog.
• Make sure that you have a strong, short leash so that your dog does not dash unexpectedly into traffic.
• Long, spring-loaded leashes are not a good idea. I have seen dogs being hit by a car and badly injured after swerving onto the road while on a long leash

New research on heart failure in dogs

A seven-year global study by Royal Veterinary College in London has just found that early treatment of heart failure, before any external
signs of disease, can significantly extend the life of some dogs. This only applies to dogs that have a heart murmur, and X-rays and
ultrasound need to be done to confirm that affected dogs have an enlarged heart: if they do, then early treatment can give them an
extra 15 months of healthy life before they start to show signs of heart failure.
This is a big change in strategy for vets. Up till now, it has always been the case that treatment was never indicated until a dog actually
showed signs of heart failure (such as coughing, breathlessness etc). So if your vet has told you that your dog has a heart murmur, it could
be worth going back to them now to see if they would be an appropriate candidate for this early treatment.

Of course, the other aspect of this is that it serves as a reminder that heart murmurs are far more common in some breeds (such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels) than others, and it would make far more sense to introduce breeding tactics to reduce the incidence in the first place.

Question from listener

Peter called the show to ask how often two routine procedures should be carried out in dogs

• Nail clipping
• Worming

To listen to the podcast, click on the play button below.