Better husbandry and veterinary care means dogs are living to much older ages. As a result, though, they will be more inclined to suffer from more than one progressive, non-curable condition, such as OA, heart disease and cancer.

Kit Sturgess joins us to discuss this fascinating area of veterinary medicine.

This podcast covers some of the reasons why dogs are living longer – including better treatments – and runs through some of the key health concerns in senior dogs. It discusses elements of diagnosis and management, and covers some of the research and product innovations introduced in this area.

An article on senior dogs, accompanying this podcast and authored by Dr Sturgess, is in Vet Times Volume 50, Issue 26, Pages 10-12, entitled “Treating and managing older dogs”.

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Dr Sturgess graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1986 and then spent six years in general practice.

He has further professional qualifications in imaging, cardiology and internal medicine, as well as a PhD, awarded for looking at the effects of FIV on mucosal immune function.

Dr Sturgess is a fellow of the RCVS, a specialist in small animal medicine and an advanced practitioner in veterinary cardiology.

He has been seeing referral cases for the past 25 years, both at university-based and private specialist practices. His love of teaching led him to develop a new, more flexible, role combining lecturing, writing and clinic time.

The majority of his clinical time is spent providing an internal medicine service at Optivet Referrals in Hampshire. He maintains a keen interest in many areas of internal medicine and has authored numerous articles and two textbooks. Dr Sturgess has also presented lectures and research abstracts at conferences worldwide.