Veterinary Vertex

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Pet food advice is everywhere, but the hardest part is what happens when an owner walks into the exam room already convinced they’ve found the “right” answer. We sit down with repeat guest Drs. Janice O’Brien to dig into what veterinarians say actually blocks effective pet nutrition communication during small animal appointments and what helps break through without shaming clients.

Janice shares insights from a large survey of 500+ veterinarians across the US and Canada, including why the top barrier often isn’t time, it’s owner preconceived notions. We talk behavior change and the pre-contemplation stage, why nuance is tough when people want certainty, and why veterinarians often feel like the last voice in a long chain of breeders, shelters, pet store conversations, online searches, ads, and influencers.

We also get highly practical: when handouts work and when they end up in the trash, how to start weight and obesity conversations with an invitation, and what “direct yet compassionate” sounds like in real life. We cover shared decision making, building trust in short visits, writing specific nutrition and calorie recommendations owners can follow, and how cost and prescription diets can affect adherence. We close with the growing impact of social media misinformation and why a whole veterinary team approach including technicians, nurses, assistants, and client service staff may be key to better outcomes.

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JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.26.01.0077
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A splenic mass shows up on ultrasound and the question hits like a brick: benign or malignant? We go straight at the uncomfortable truth behind canine splenic cytology. Even when splenic FNA feels like the “do something now” step, the match between cytology and histopathology is only moderate, and that has consequences for how we advise families, schedule rechecks, and decide when splenectomy is the safest path.

We talk with Drs. Janet Grimes and Matthew Aluisio about what their data means in the exam room: why a neoplastic cytology result tends to be more predictive than a non-neoplastic one, and why a benign aspirate does not rule out cancer. We unpack the spleen’s built-in complexity, including extramedullary hematopoiesis, mixed cell populations, and the sampling problem of trying to summarize a large, heterogeneous lesion from a tiny needle sample. We also get specific about the diagnoses no one wants to miss, including hemangiosarcoma and lymphoma, and how tumor exfoliation and overlap with reactive processes can blur the picture.

From there, we shift into action: when cytology is most useful, when serial ultrasound monitoring is a reasonable strategy for smaller, non-ruptured nodules, and when size and rupture risk should move the conversation toward surgery and definitive histopathology. We also dig into the “possibly neoplastic” gray zone and why calling your pathologist can be one of the most practical diagnostic tools you have.

If you work up splenic masses in dogs and want clearer owner conversations, better monitoring plans, and fewer false reassurances, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a rating and review so more clinicians can find the show.
JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.26.01.0006
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
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JAVMA ®  and AJVR ®  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

Send us Fan Mail
A splenic mass shows up on ultrasound and the question hits like a brick: benign or malignant? We go straight at the uncomfortable truth behind canine splenic cytology. Even when splenic FNA feels like the “do something now” step, the match between cytology and histopathology is only moderate, and that has consequences for how we advise families, schedule rechecks, and decide when splenectomy is the safest path.

We talk with Drs. Janet Grimes and Matthew Alusio about what their data means in the exam room: why a neoplastic cytology result tends to be more predictive than a non-neoplastic one, and why a benign aspirate does not rule out cancer. We unpack the spleen’s built-in complexity, including extramedullary hematopoiesis, mixed cell populations, and the sampling problem of trying to summarize a large, heterogeneous lesion from a tiny needle sample. We also get specific about the diagnoses no one wants to miss, including hemangiosarcoma and lymphoma, and how tumor exfoliation and overlap with reactive processes can blur the picture.

From there, we shift into action: when cytology is most useful, when serial ultrasound monitoring is a reasonable strategy for smaller, non-ruptured nodules, and when size and rupture risk should move the conversation toward surgery and definitive histopathology. We also dig into the “possibly neoplastic” gray zone and why calling your pathologist can be one of the most practical diagnostic tools you have.

If you work up splenic masses in dogs and want clearer owner conversations, better monitoring plans, and fewer false reassurances, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a rating and review so more clinicians can find the show.
JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.26.01.0006
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors
AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthors

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JAVMA ® :
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AJVR ® : 
Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook
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JAVMA ®  and AJVR ®  LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals

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Routine stifle exploration during canine cranial cruciate ligament surgery sounds like common sense, until you ask the uncomfortable question: what if “doing more” doesn’t reliably improve long-term function for most dogs? We sit down with Dr. Dan Low to unpack long-term outcomes after high tibial osteotomy procedures (TPLO and CCWO) performed without routine arthroscopy or arthrotomy and without proactive meniscal evaluation, a real-world approach many clinicians use but rarely see studied in depth.

We break down what high tibial osteotomy actually changes in the cruciate-deficient stifle, then get practical about evidence. Dan explains why this large case series matters, how uncommon events become easier to estimate with bigger numbers, and why validated owner-reported tools like LOAD (Liverpool Osteoarthritis in Dogs) and the Canine Orthopedic Index give us a more standardized view of recovery than vague “good” or “excellent” labels. We also discuss one of the most debated points in veterinary orthopedics: late meniscectomy. When a meniscal sparing strategy produces a low late-intervention rate that looks similar to rates reported in explored joints, it raises a bigger issue about which meniscal lesions are truly clinically meaningful.

We don’t pretend one study settles the debate. You’ll hear the strongest criticisms of this design, the patient groups where exploration still makes sense (uncertain diagnosis, revision cases), and the unanswered research questions that could reshape how we balance morbidity, time, and cost in dog knee surgery. If you treat CCL disease, refer cruciate cases, or counsel owners through surgical options, this conversation will sharpen how you explain risk-benefit decisions without defaulting to habit.

Subscribe for more evidence-focused veterinary conversations, share this episode with a colleague, and leave a rating or review wherever you listen.
JAVMA article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.11.0736
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
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Rehabilitation isn’t a luxury line item at the end of a case anymore. It’s becoming the difference between “we fixed the lesion” and “this patient truly returns to function.” We’re joined by Drs. Heidi Reesink, Denise Marcellin-Little, and David Levine to unpack a first-of-its-kind JAVMA rehabilitation Technical Tutorial Video supplemental issue and what it signals about where veterinary rehabilitation and physical therapy are headed.

We talk honestly about what makes rehabilitation challenging and exciting in real clinical practice: plans that look totally different for dogs, cats, and horses; chronic cases like osteoarthritis that demand long-term strategy; and the reality that owner goals, time, and cost shape what care can actually happen. You’ll hear why a multidisciplinary rehab team matters, how technicians and assistants help deliver consistent protocols, and why listening to the patient over time can be just as important as any single test.

From there we get practical and tech-forward. We dig into objective gait analysis using wearable sensors and motion capture, the stubborn underuse of goniometry despite validation, and how ultrasound-guided injections and arthroscopy support both diagnosis and treatment while enabling longitudinal monitoring. We also explore major modalities clinicians ask about every day, including shockwave therapy and underwater treadmill aquatic therapy, plus what we still need to learn to tighten protocols. Finally, we tackle orthobiologics and regenerative medicine evidence, why big studies are so hard in veterinary patients, and how video tutorials can bridge the gap between research and day-to-day rehabilitation outcomes.

If you care about better mobility, clearer measurements, and more predictable recoveries, listen now, share it with a colleague, and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. After you listen, leave us a rating and review and tell us: which rehabilitation tool has changed your practice most?
JAVMA editorial: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.264.s1.s3
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ®  OR AJVR ® ?
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