The Space Coast Pet Podcast

Is your pet's breed of dog or cat have a greater potential to develop certain deadly diseases?  Learn what these diseases are and which breeds are particularly susceptible to them, and how they how they can be detected early for effective veterinary medical or surgical intervention.   Dr. Roger selects listener emails to be addressed on the air, so if interested in having your voice heard on the p...

The Monsters Within is an epsisode dedicated to discussing the most common internal parasites that infect dogs and cats, how they are transmitted and the diseases they cause.  Some of these parasites can infect humans, particularly small children 5 years or younger, so for the health of you entire family human and furry alike, tune in to learn how to recognize, treatment and prevent the most commo...

In light of so much lingering confusion about the disease Leptospirosis in dogs, the ris of disease, and the vaccination against it, Dr. Roger dedicates this episode to offering listeners all of the the facts about Leptospirosis in dogs.  What causes Leptospirosis?  What is the real risk?  Can peopple contract the disease?  Is the vaccine effective?  Is the vaccine safe?  Dr. Roger answers all of...

Over the past several years there have been an increasing number of studies looking at the health pros and cons associated with the age of having dogs spayed and neutered or even at all.  Some studies have shown a slight uptick in the incidence of certain orthopedic conditions in large dogs neutered before 1 year of age but at the same time do not account for several unwanted consequences of waiti...

Brachycephalic dog breeds are a group of highly selectively bred dog breeds with pushed in/flattened muzzles, often buggy eyes, and wrinkled facial expressions.  This includes English Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Shih Zhuhs, Pugs, Boston Terriers, Pekinese, Boxers and others.  As they continue to gain in popularity, the respiratory compromise and increased inability to breathe even at rest (among ot...

When pet owners implement feeding trials to address skin allergies in pets, they commonly fail to provide any improvement.  Dr. Roger discusses why this is the case and offers solutions to addressing possible food born causes for pets suffering with chronic skin allergies.   Dr. Roger selects listener emails to be addressed on the air, so if interested in having your voice heard on the podcast, em...

"Anti-vaxer" is a recent term adopted to describe people averse to vaccines and vaccine mandates.  In this episode, Dr. Roger reflects on a recent up tic in anti-vaxer pet owners he and associate veterinarians encounter in general veterinary practice and some real life consequences of this trend. Dr. Roger selects listener emails to be addressed on the air, so if interested in having your voice he...

In this episode, Dr. Roger celebrates the most enjoyable aspect of his job as a veterinarian, working with people who choose the most selfless kind of love in the world, love of innocent animals.  He recognizes that the type of people he talks about today are likely his very listener audience.  Dr. Roger shares what he loves so much about pet owners and some of the most heart warming examples of t...

Dr. Roger talks about the troubling rate of suicide among veterinarians as they have over taken dentistry as the profession with the highest suicide rate.  He highlights from his own experience as a long time practicing vet and multiple practice owner what he believes are the driving reasons behind this and how we can help.  Not One More Vet has grown from a social media movement to an actual orga...

In this episode, Dr. Roger addresses the obesity epidemic in dogs and cats that is statistically more prevalent in spayed and neutered dogs and cats.  Our host explains why obesity is higher in these pets and reports on promising, innovative new dietary strategies that may help to mitigate the physiological changes that result from altering procedures to reduce the incidence of obesity in these pe...

Dr. Roger highlights the large discrepancy between dogs and cats, where a much lower percentage of cats receive consistent regular veterinary wellness care in comparison to dogs.  Dr. Roger discusses the reasons for this solutions to the common barriers to cat owners opting in for timely, consistent wellness care, and why wellness care is even more important for cats than it is for dogs. Send list...

Just back from the North American Veterinary Conference in his first episode in 2022, Dr. Roger reports on the latest AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) updates on the grain free diets linked to the deadly heart disease in dogs, Dilated Cardiomyopathy.  As it turns out, the story is becoming increasingly complex with not just grain free diets impl...

Welcome to the Space Coast Pet Podcast Holiday Season Special.  Dr. Roger discusses the year in review as it pertains to our furry friends.  From holiday treats and toys to avoid, and ones deemed safe, Dr. Roger highlights hidden holiday dangers for your pets this time of year and how to avoid them.  From lessons learned in 2021 to helpful pet tips for hte upcoming New Year, don't miss Dr. Roger's...

Last addressed on the podcast in 2018, Dr. Roger revisits the controversial grain free dog food diets named by the FDA to cause the deadly heart disease, Dilated Cardiomyopathy, aka, DCM.  Has anything changed since the report?  Have any more diets been named?  Have the named diets addressed the issue to fix the problem?  Tune in to find out! We accept listener e-mail comments to be selected to be...

Veterinarian host Dr. Roger Welton is back with the podcast rebranded as The Space Coast Pet Podcast and ready to go in time to celebrate National Veterinary Technician Week 2021!  In this episode, Dr. Roger interviews experienced Space Coast area Certified Veterinary Technician, Jillian Eggen.  Jill has worked in both general medical, surgical, and dental veteirnary practices for many years, and...

Our veterinarian co-hosts, Dr. Roger Welton and Dr. Karen Louis, draw on their experience to talk about common pet store bought chew toys, treats, bones, and household items that can lead to serious gastrointestinal obstructions in dogs and cats.  This time of year with chew toys and treats commonly offered as stocking stuffers for our pets during the holiday season, this is an especially importan...

Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen are back!  Emerging from major career adjustments during the coronavirus pandemic and life changes, your beloved veterinary co-hosts are excited to be back and raring to go!  Have you noticed that trying to get your pet seen at your regular veterinarian has become increasingly difficult in the age of COVID-19 because the clinic is booked out days to weeks ahead of time?  Ha...

Veterinarian co-hosts Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen return from their long hiatus to tackle none other than coronavirus in dogs and cats and if there is are any concerns for transmission to people or vice versa in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.   Listeners will walk away from this episode well educated with everything they need to know about coronavirus in dogs and cats. For more content from Dr. Roger...

Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen discuss the veterinarian’s ethical duty to recommend routine parasite and disease screening, as well as appropriate diagnostics when pets present with illness.  Our veterinarian co-hosts discuss reasons why some veterinarians will refrain from making important diagnostic recommendations and some of the consequences that may result when appropriate diagnostics are not recomm...

Practicing veterinarian co-hosts Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen, open their hearts to listeners and share their experiences that brought them to their respective places in the field of companion animal health care: Dr. Roger immersed in the busy and rapid paced clinical setting of emergency, critical care, general medicine, and surgery, Dr. Karen in the highly personal concierge veterinary medicine, acup...

Summer is a very tough season for dogs that suffer from noise stress.  Between thunderstorms and fireworks, it is no exaggeration that for some dogs, summer is a terrifying time for them.  Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen discuss natural and pharmaceutical relief for noise induced stress in dogs: what works, what does not work, and what is safe.  E-mail questions or comments for Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen to...

Dr. Roger interviews guest host, newly graduated veterinarian, Dr. Amanda Johnston.  Dr. Johnston shares her perspective and experiences as she has transitioned from technician to student to new doctor of veterinary medicine.  For all that are interested in veterinary medicine as a profession or just have a curiosity about the process of transitioning from a new doctor to an experienced, seasoned...

This episode to open 2019 covers the top 5 pet resolutions pet owners should strive for, at least from the perspective of our veterinarian co-hosts, Dr. Roger Welton and Dr. Karen Louis.  Their top pet resolutions come from their review of hindsight issues and health concerns they observed in 2018 veterinary clinical practice (in addition to being avid bloggers and podcasters, our co-hosts are ful...

Veterinarian co-hosts Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen discuss the use of medical marijuana for treatment of diseases in dogs and cats.  In particularly they focus on the increasingly popular trend of CBD (aka, cannabis) oil products whose sale is popping up just about everywhere.  Our co-hosts sift through which types of products have real clinical benefits and which types of products are wastes of money…...

Dr. Roger and Dr. Karen discuss the sharp differences between chemotherapy for cancer treatment in pets versus for humans.  Both of our practicing veterinarian co-hosts reflect on pet owner apprehension and even at times shock at the mere mention of chemotherapy for treatment of cancer for dogs and cats.  With the rise in cancer in pets it is possible that your may find yourself one day in the pos...