Coping with childhood stress: could a dog be the answer?
Nana is one of the great dogs of children’s fiction. As “nursemaid” to the Darling family in J M Barrie’s Peter Pan, she fulfils not just day to day housekeeping duties, but provides emotional support...
Walking the dog helps keep owners healthy and promotes community cohesion
The study carried out by Dr Hayley Christian from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in collaboration with the WALTHAM™ is the first to consistently examine the relationship between dog walking...
A new way to test new umami flavours that might appeal to cats
How many taste sensations do you have? Until recently, most of us were taught at school that there are four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Scientists have been able to show that we have ...
Shining a light on pet dental health
Scientists often look to fellow experts, other professions and published work for inspiration, or more simply, stand on the shoulders of giants. This is exactly what ...
A starch-rich horse diet impacts hormone levels used to diagnose equine disease
It’s an unfamiliar look for a horse: a long coat all year, abnormal sweat patches, and unusual body fat distribution. Yet a proportion of aged horses may be exhibiting these signs as part of the chang...
Do the microbes in a dog’s gut change with their waist line?
Ghent University early career researcher wins ESVCN-WALTHAM research grant in 2017As with people, obesity in pets is an increasing problem. The challenge is multi-faceted, but the more we can understa...
Grass length can affect muzzled grazing behaviour in ponies
Grazing muzzles can be an effective tool to help with equine weight management, according to new research, but longer grass can be more difficult for muzzled ponies to graze. This can cause frustratio...
Animal therapy: can the human-animal bond treat mind and body?
Barely a week passes without a media story claiming that pets benefit human health and well-being. Companion animals are increasingly used as ‘therapeutic tools’ in medical and mental health care. But...
