Change their minds about a trip to the vet: Anesthesia starts at home

• Sedating and anesthetizing fractious/scared/aggressive patients takes a higher drug dose, putting the patient at risk for dose-related adverse effects.
• Utilization of drugs administered pre-visit, gentle handling and early sedation can improve anesthetic safety.  

Pain Syndromes: Sometimes it IS all in the head!

• Drugs like tricyclic antidepressants, SNRIs, ketamine – and others that we might not think of as analgesics – can be quite effective for some pain syndromes. We have just begun to explore all of the pain treatment options that are already on our hospital shelves!

What’s new in anesthesia & analgesia?

• Let’s discuss what’s new and what’s true regarding new products in anesthesia and pain management and how to REALLY use those new drugs.

Local blocks for oral, facial and aural surgery

• Stop ‘headaches’! Use local blocks. There are numerous blocks that we can use for analgesia for surgery on structures of the head.

Anesthesia & Analgesia for Patients with Head Trauma/CNS Disease

• Patients with head trauma and some CNS diseases can have complicated pathologic responses that can complicate anesthesia.

How come what I taught is not what my pet does?-conundrums in learning

Why is it when we believe we have been perfectly clear in what we want the animal to do and they don’t get it?

Learn about poisoned cues, misidentified causes of undesirable behaviors, and alternate triggers to help you fine tune your treatment plans.

What makes anxiety such an insidious cause of behavioral illnesses in dogs and cats?

• Anxiety can provide an underlying backdrop for behavioral disease. Without recognition of what might be creating this anxiety, many treatment plans are doomed to fail. Learn how to recognize subtle signs of anxiety and tease out the symptoms from confusing behavioral histories.

What is social conflict and why does it lead to aggression?

• Canine aggression is undoubtedly one the most common complaints presented to veterinarians and behavioral specialists alike. Discover what it is in the social relationship between dogs and people that underlie these issues, how to identify them and treat them.

Creating harmony and preventing fighting in multiple cat homes

• If two cats are not enough is three too many? How about 5, 6 or 7? How to keep things from becoming cat fights in multi-cat homes. 

Periodontal Disease – what you need to know and what to do

• Periodontal disease is one of the most common diseases you will ever have to treat. Learn the best ways to identify, diagnose and determine when you can make a difference with treatment and when its best to extract. 

Extractions – the good, the bad and the just plain ugly.

• When periodontal disease goes bad, when you find that broken or discolored tooth, or you just feel like it – extractions can be rewarding or frustrating. Proper selection of cases, following the steps of extraction and using the correct, sharpened instruments can make your efforts successful. Even when complications happen, those same steps and instruments will help.

Intraoral Radiology – Ya gotta visualize what you can’t see

• Whether it is dealing with periodontal disease, managing extractions or dealing with trauma, dental radiography is absolutely necessary for dental treatment. Proper techniques of intraoral radiology will allow you to accurately diagnose, evaluate treatment and follow-up with patients. Positioning techniques may be as challenging as reading the images, but it’s worth doing it!

Feline Dentistry – how many ways can cats try to get rid of their teeth?

• Cats are definitely not small dogs when it comes to dentistry: instead of a regular progression of periodontal disease, they range from minimal issues to stomatitis. Added to that, the presence of tooth resorption is prevalent, making modified extractions necessary. 

When dentistry can actually be an emergency

• Most dental conditions are somewhat chronic in nature, and typically don’t put the patient in immediate risk. However, some tooth fractures, especially in younger animals, can benefit from timely treatment. Orofacial injuries often requirement immediate attention, once the patient is stabilized.