Idiopathic Issues

When addressing a possible rodenticide toxicity, the first step is to determine which type of rodenticide the pet may have ingested. There are four common types of rodenticides: anticoagulants, cholecalciferol, bromethalin, and zinc phosphide.

Each of these rodenticides has a different mechanism of action, affecting prognosis and treatment. While you can always look up the details once you’re out in practice, it’s important to have at least a general understanding of each of the four types of rodenticides. 

Mozart, a 6 yo MN Pomeranian, presents to your small animal general practice on a busy Monday morning. When his owners woke up this morning, they noticed that Mozart wasn’t quite acting like himself. They didn’t think much of it at first and assumed he was just sleepy, but his signs seemed to worsen over the last hour or two and now they are becoming concerned.

We have long known that there’s something about grapes that is toxic for dogs. Until earlier this year, however, the source of that toxicity was a mystery.

In the April 1, 2021 issue of JAVMA, a Letter to the Editor titled “Unique sensitivity of dogs to tartaric acid and implications for toxicity of grapes,” written by a team of veterinarians from ASPCA Animal Poison Control and two different veterinary hospitals, presented a possible explanation.

These authors noted that Cream of Tartar (which contains tartaric acid) causes clinical signs and pathologic findings that are very similar to those associated with grape ingestion in dogs. These veterinarians also noted that grapes and raisins can vary significantly in tartaric acid composition, but some grapes or raisins do contain tartaric acid at levels that have previously been found to be toxic. This may not only explain why grapes and raisins are toxic but also why the toxicity is so unpredictable. 

When I graduated from veterinary school in 2006, acupuncture was still relatively uncommon in veterinary medicine. I received some exposure to it during vet school (Dr. Xie of Chi University was a professor at the University of Florida), but it wasn’t discussed very often and I knew of few vets who were offering the service to their clients. In recent years, however, that has changed. Acupuncture services have gradually become more widespread and more accessible to pet owners.^1,2 

Have you ever assisted with an equine lameness exam? If so, you are probably well aware of how complex these exams can be! In many cases, a physical exam alone is insufficient to localize the cause of a horse’s lameness.

An exam may allow you to localize the lameness to a particular limb but, unlike in small animal medicine, you can’t image an entire limb in a single radiographic view.