Pete the Vet's Podcast

This week's podcast discusses feeding vegetarian or vegan food to pets, as well as using insect-based pet food as an alternative to meat-based pet food as an environmentally-friendly and animal-welfare friendly option.

In this week's podcast, we highlight the fact that today is International Dog Day, and discuss the plight of dogs in Ireland in 2022. We also highly the upcoming dog festival, Pups In The Park, that is happening on the weekend of September 10th and 11th in Marlay Park, Dublin.

Nutritional supplements are given to around 20% of pets every day. But are they really necessary? Listen to this ten minute podcast to find out more.

This week's podcast starts with a light piece about some recent research which shows that a man is more appealing to women if he is accompanied by a small dog. Then we discuss a more serious topic: helping dogs stay comfortable in the recent hot sunshine.

After a new outbreak of Parvovirus in the Dublin area, dog owners have been warned to keep their pets up to date with their vaccinations to ensure that they stay safe. To learn more about this, listen to the podcast.

If a dog bites a person, the dog's owner is usually legally liable for damages, and sometimes they may be covered for this by insurance (either pet insurance or home insurance). But why do dogs bite in the first place? And what can be done to prevent dog bites? Listen in to find out.

This week, Pete discusses the common summer problem of heatstroke in pets: how can it be prevented, and what to do if your pet is affected?

This week, I was delighted to be interviewed by Andrea Hayes, who I have worked with previously in a television series called Animal A&E. Andrea is passionate about animal welfare, and we had a useful discussion about the latest developments in Ireland, including the recent discussion in the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) about dog licences, microchips, dog breeding establishments and greyhounds.

A new report highlights that pugs are 54 times more likely to suffer from breathing issues compared to other types of dog. The report authors say that Pugs can "no longer be considered typical dogs". To find out more, listen to this podcast.

In my home town of Bray, Co Wicklow, a new bridge over a local river has been proposed. The design includes a screen of vertical cables that will create an obstruction to the many swans that live in the area. To find out more, listen to this podcast

Over 600 pets have been imported into Ireland in recent weeks as companions for refugees from Ukraine. To hear more about the details of how this is being organised, listen to this podcast.

In this 5 minute podcast, Pete outlines the essentials behind the serious issue of chocolate poisoning in dogs. This is especially important at Easter when chocolate eggs are so common in our homes.

In this week's podcast, we discuss puppy farms and online advertising of pets, the risk of dogs being poisoned by chocolate over Easter, and the background to the pets of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland.

In this podcast, Pete discusses the ways that the crisis in Ukraine is having adverse effects on animals.

It's been made illegal to breed British Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on animal welfare grounds in Norway. To hear more about this, listen to this podcast.

My weekly podcast from East Coast FM this week featured the common problems of asthma and chronic bronchitis in cats and dogs

In news from Hong Kong, hamsters were blamed for the introduction of COVID from overseas. This podcast goes on to discuss the background to how COVID can affect - or not affect - different types of animals.

Dogs are prone to chewing - and swallowing - objects that then become lodged in the stomach or intestines. Listen here to find out about this common cause of vomiting in dogs.

Pete is just back from the Pet Innovation Summit in Boston, USA, where he learned about the latest happenings at the cutting edge of newness in the pet world.

Pet obesity is an increasingly common problem, shortening the life of many dogs and cats, and adversely impacting on their quality of life. Listen to this podcast to learn how find out if your pet is carrying too much weight, and to discover what you can do about it if they are.

In this podcast, Pete explains the reasons why it's a mistake to get a puppy as a Christmas present

In this short discussion, Pete discusses steps to take to ensure that your pets stay comfortable and safe when there are fireworks going on outside

This short podcast discusses the issues that have arisen at this time when COVID lockdowns are over and people are returning to work, leaving their pets at home.

In this interview, Pete discusses the options when a puppy has grown into a tough-to-manage young adult dog.

In this week's podcast, Pete discusses the latest development sniffer dogs from Helsinki airport, where they are being used with 100% accuracy to screen incoming passengers for Covid19.