The Danish-Swedish farmdog is being fully recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as the purebred dog registry’s 202nd breed. The designation earns the farmdog eligibility to compete in the Working Group at more than 26,000 AKC events held annually.

According to the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America, the newly recognized breed was previously known as the Danish Pinscher. It was found primarily on farms in Denmark and southern Sweden. It once faced extinction and was saved in 1987 by Danish and Swedish kennel clubs.

In the United States, an unspecified population of purebred canines in a given breed must be geographically distributed throughout the country with an active following and interest by owners to be eligible for AKC recognition. Additionally, club devoted to the breed with responsible owners and breeders must be established for eligibility. While advocates work towards full recognition, breeds are first recorded in the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service (FSS) program, which provides support to fanciers of rare breeds.

The Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America was formed and incorporated in 2006 with 33 members. The first specialty event for the breed was held later the same year.

 The breed was accepted into the FSS program in 2011 and moved to the AKC’s Miscellaneous Group a decade later, where it spent the past 4 years.

Gina DiNardo, executive secretary for the AKC, noted the organization is excited to have the farmdog in the AKC’s registry as a Working Group breed. “This compact working dog is very versatile, loves a challenge and having a job to do. It would make a wonderful addition to a family that is able to provide it with the exercise and mental stimulation that it needs. As always, we strongly encourage prospective dog owners to do their research to find the best breed for their lifestyle,” DiNardo said in a news release.

The Danish-Swedish farmdog is known as a people-oriented, loving companion. These canines require exercise and perform jobs with vermin control a specialty.

 According to the AKC release, “these compact dogs are versatile, love to work and enjoy a challenge. They are coordinated, agile and very fast.”

Sometimes mistaken for terriers, Danish-Swedish farmdogs are more rectangular in shape. Additionally, this breed is low maintenance in grooming habits, requiring only occasional baths and brushing.

Rice J. The American Kennel Club welcomes the Danish-Swedish farmdog to the pack. News release. American Kennel Club. January 2, 2024. Accessed January 3, 2024. 

https://www.akc.org/press-releases/american-kennel-club-welcomes-danish-swedish-farmdog-pack/

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Danish-Swedish farmdog. Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America Inc. Accessed January 3, 2024. 

American Kennel Club. Accessed January 3, 2024. 

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/akc-foundation-stock-service/

DSFCA history. Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America Inc. Accessed January 3, 2024. 

https://dsfca.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=459025&module_id=401200

Articles

Assigned to the Working Group, the designation allows the breed to compete in AKC events. 

Canine breed is newly recognized by the American Kennel Club

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT, explains what veterinary acupuncture is and why it’s useful

The benefits of veterinary acupuncture

How exactly does veterinary acupuncture work? Last month, Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT, sat down with 

 to discuss his lecture on acupuncture presented at the Fetch 

 conference in Long Beach, California. In the interview, Shapley talked about what acupuncture is, as well as what its benefits are; pattern diagnosis; and how long the practice has been around for.

Below is a partial transcript. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT: 

So these are mapped out points that have been used for 1000s of years on people, a few 100 years on companion animals, and a couple 1000 years, actually on horses and oxen. There are a lot of studies showing that what it does is it targets the body or tells the body where to heal itself. So, it reduces inflammation, it reduces pain, it releases endogenous steroids in the body to reduce inflammation. It also releases like feel good hormones, like endorphins; and it obviously increases blood flow to the area and to the region. 

So basically, what I always tell my clients and other veterinarians that aren't familiar with acupuncture and using it to treat pain is, ‘I'm just telling the body where to focus its attention on healing,’ and I feel like that's the easiest way to describe it.

Videos

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT, explains what veterinary acupuncture is, and why it’s useful

Advancing statutory regulation of veterinary nurses and technologists

The Regulation of Veterinary Nurses and Technologists (RVNT) Working Party was established in August 2024 by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) and the Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia (VNCA), to advance statutory regulation of veterinary nurses and technologists across all Australian jurisdictions.

“The RVNT Working Party is making significant strides in its mission to advance statutory regulation across all Australian jurisdictions. Established to ensure professional standards, the RVNT Working Party has continued to gather industry insights and advocate for a cohesive regulatory framework that supports veterinary nurses, technologists, and the broader veterinary profession,” said Jane Bindloss, RVN (UK), DipMgt, chair of the RVNT Working Party, to 

“Through statutory regulation, the Working Party seeks to support accessible, sustainable, and resilient professions that meet the evolving demands and standards expected of the veterinary workforce in Australia.”

Bindloss explained that with the veterinary sector facing growing workforce challenges, the regulation of veterinary nurses and technologists represents an opportunity to fully integrate and utilize skilled professionals within recognized and consistent national legal frameworks.

“Statutory regulation is not only vital for improving standards of care but also crucial for supporting economic resilience in emergency animal disease response efforts, where trained and registered professionals play a central role,” said Bindloss.

“Since our first meeting in August last year, we’ve undertaken several key actions including reviewing current practices around registration and regulation across Australia and internationally, aiming to identify best practices that can be adapted for local implementation. The group has also researched both veterinary and allied human health models.”

RVNT Working Party meeting in August 2024 (Image courtesy of Australasian Veterinary Boards Council)

A critical priority for the RVNT Working Party was confirming clear terminology and definitions for veterinary nurses and technologists.

“A veterinary nurse holds a minimum Certificate IV in veterinary nursing, while a veterinary technologist has completed a bachelor’s degree in veterinary technology. We’ve also undertaken regular consultation with veterinary and veterinary nursing associations, veterinary surgeons boards, and practitioners to align on the benefits of statutory registration, from enhanced workforce sustainability to improved animal welfare outcomes,” explained Bindloss.

“The Working Party is also in the process of finalizing a set of recommendations that will provide a roadmap for implementing statutory regulation, addressing critical areas such as public protection, professional accountability, scope of practice and workforce support.”

In addition to Bindloss, the members of the RVNT Working Party include representatives from across the veterinary sector, with Susan Keane, MVB, MANZCVS; Patricia Clarke BVSc, PhD; Jennifer Hamlin BSc, RVN, RVT; Sue Godkin, BSc, BVMS; Gary Fitzgerald, BASc; Graham Pratt, MEc; Jasmine Pengelly, RVN; and Esther Callcott, Cert IV, VN, BMedSc (Hons), PhD.

“The RVNT Working Party will continue to refine its recommendations in the coming months, working closely with government and industry stakeholders. We are committed to keeping the veterinary community informed and welcome feedback from all practitioners who are invested in the advancement of our profession,” Bindloss concluded.

AMR Vet Collective's new learning modules

The AMR Vet Collective plans to release new antimicrobial stewardship learning resources after it partnered with a number of industries to develop species-specific modules in 2025. The AMR Vet Collective's mission is to translate the science around antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial stewardship into meaningful and practical information that veterinarians can call upon to make informed, evidence-based decisions in daily veterinary practice.

“We’re excited to be shortly releasing a new set of case studies, which will have a focus on feedlot production – both beef and sheep, supported by Animal Health Australia. Soon after that a new set of resources and guidelines will be released for wildlife, focusing on wildlife care for general practitioners, and including resources aimed at wildlife carers,” explained Jane Heller, BSc, BVSc, MVetClinStud, PhD, MANZCVS, a founding member of the AMR Vet Collective, to 

“These resources have been in development with input from some incredible wildlife experts across Australia, and are made possible through funding support from Wildlife Health Australia,” she continued.

The AMR Vet Collective website already has an array of learning resources for veterinary professionals, and the new content will complement existing learning modules which cover dogs, cats, sheep, poultry, and cattle.

“We are really looking forward to expanding our content to allow specific and detailed information for individual species. Longer term, 2 full modules are in development. One, funded by AgriFutures, is an equine-specific module, with sections on foals, reproduction, medicine and surgery,” said Heller.

“The other, funded by Australian Pork Limited, is a pig-specific module, with content applicable to veterinarians working with backyard and commercial herds. For all veterinary professionals, remember to continue to follow us on social media to ensure that you are made aware of the release dates of the new material.”

Updates on the group working to advance the statutory regulation across all Australian jurisdictions of veterinary nurses and technologists, and new antimicrobial stewardship learning resources 

Veterinary scene down under: New antimicrobial stewardship learning resources, plus progressing veterinary nurse and technologist regulations

Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), talks about the general practitioner’s role in the care for patients with cancer

Cancer care in the primary practice

, Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), talked about his lecture “Veterinary Oncology: What Can I Do in the Primary Care Setting?” presented at the Fetch dvm360 conference in 

In the interview, Clifford outlined what he discussed in his lecture, explaining that primary care veterinarians, not just specialists, can perform certain diagnostics and provide treatment for cancers in animal patients.

Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology): 

…the focus of this lecture is that, you know, for many years—too many years, I would say, looking back—you know, I focused a lot of my lectures on…what I can be doing cancer-wise, and why a primary care doctor should be sending me the case and how I can help. And then it really hit me, maybe about 5 years ago that was incredibly self-serving. So I've really modified the way I do my lectures, and I've really rotated everything around to being more ‘what are the things that can be done in the primary care setting?’ and focusing more on what the primary care doctor can be doing for cancer patients, not just where my role is.

We're going to talk about diagnostics that primary care doctors should be doing in their clinic. You know, oftentimes we've gotten to the point we view test as either a primary care test or a specialty test, and that's not really the case. These are veterinary tests. So we're going to talk about the idea of doing immunophenotyping for dogs with lymphoma, large cell lymphoma, and why that's important, and why that should be done in the primary care setting. It doesn't have to be done with the specialists.

 readers! To kick off 2025, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, chatted with Sebastian Gabor, MBA, cofounder of Digitail, to discuss the current landscape in of artificial intelligence (AI) as we head into 2025. Gabor and Christman discuss the strengths AI can provide to veterinary clinics, the amount of time it can save veterinary professionals, and the need for holistic AI integration in current systems due to the possibility of the systems not communicating with each other effectively. 

: Where do you think [AI's] going this year now? I mean, obviously it's on a very high trajectory for success. So where do you [think]...AI [is] heading in 2025?

So now in a super exciting moment in history, because on 1 side, practices have realized that AI is a competitive tool, is a competitive advantage, and more and more [people] want to use it. The challenge that I'm seeing is similar to the challenge that we've seen in the industry, where we had all the legacy systems, like legacy PIMs [practice information management software]...and then you had a lot of add ons on top. And the problem with those add ons like you've probably tried yourself, is that they say that you book an appointment online and it gets into your PIMs. But reality is, you get an email and then you manually put it in the PIMs, and then that doesn't communicate with the chat tool that you're using, and so on and so forth. 

So the big challenge that I'm seeing that's going to most likely happen if we continue down this path is that you'll start having a lot of AI tools that don't communicate with each other. Imagine having out of the entire patient journey, imagine you have one AI assistant that does the intake for the patient that doesn't communicate with the AI that you're using to do the medical notes, and that doesn't communicate with AI that does the discharge notes. There is no way you can actually deliver care with that. And this is the big risk, and this is why we're a big proponent that the concept of holistic AI needs to happen, and that's the way you we can actually leverage AI for good, and where we can see results, as in 40 hours per DVM per month saved, where we can see that vets can now go home on time, [and] here we can see that the pet parents have a really great experience, and everything is personalized for them.

Podcasts

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and Sebastian Gabor, MBA, discuss the evolution and future of artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine

Artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine

As more people become pet owners, the number of veterinary clinics, hospitals, and facilities continues to rise. Opening new veterinary practices improves accessibility to pet care and often brings advanced technology and expert veterinarians, raising the overall standard of care for animals. Additionally, with new veterinary medicine facilities, clients have a higher chance of being able to efficiently obtain medication for their pet.

Below are 3 new veterinary clinics opening in the United States:

Covetrus pharmaceutical compounding facility (Phoenix, Arizona)

Earlier this month, Covetrus announced the grand opening of its expanded pharmaceutical compounding facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Spanning now 50,000 sq ft—an expansion of almost 25,000 sq ft—the building now offers more products and customized medication with the use of modern, automated equipment.

"Compounding is critical to the overall wellbeing of pets, and Covetrus is proud to partner with both veterinary clinics and pet parents to deliver this important service," Abby Kaplan, senior vice president of compounding at Covetrus, said in a company release.

 "Through our expanded facility, we are not only extending our product portfolio to meet the needs of veterinarians and pet parents, but also contributing to the local Arizona economy. We are committed to fostering growth and training among the local pharmacy programs, while delivering exceptional products to the pets we serve."

Virginia Veterinary Centers emergency and specialty veterinary hospital (Short Pump, Virignia)

A new Virginia Veterinary Centers (VVC) emergency and specialty veterinary hospital is underway. Anticipated to open in March 2025, the new 32,000 sq ft hospital will be located in Short Pump, Virginia. The upcoming center will provide round-the-clock emergency care, along with specialized services like anesthesiology, critical care, dentistry and oral surgery, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, medical oncology, ophthalmology, radiation oncology, radiology, surgery, and neurology and neurosurgery, in partnership with Bush Veterinary Neurology Service. Moreover, the facility will have a critical care unit with high-flow oxygen and ventilators, dedicated isolation suites for respiratory and gastrointestinal infectious diseases, Linac radiation therapy, 7 surgery suites, 31 exam rooms, and a complete in-house lab.

"We are thrilled to open the doors to our new state-of-the-art hospital, designed with both innovation and care in mind,” Andrea Bulifant, VVC director of operations, said in a news release.

 “With the latest medical equipment and a team of world-class specialists, we are poised to offer exceptional care to pets in our community. This facility reflects our commitment to the health and well-being of animals, providing cutting-edge diagnostics and treatment options that were previously unavailable to metro Richmond area. Pet owners can now feel confident knowing that their beloved companions will receive the highest level of care in a compassionate and advanced environment."

Tennessee Equine Hospital East (Shelbyville, Tennessee)

Tennessee Equine Hospital (TEH) recently announced the opening of a new TEH in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in collaboration with Wilhelm Equine Services. TEH East will be staffed by a team of skilled veterinarians and support staff offering ambulatory services across the region. This will bring veterinary care directly to farms and homes at the convenience of horse owners, according to TEH.

 Additionally, an urgent care haul-in facility is planned to open in early 2025. TEH East expands the hospital group's comprehensive care network, with the network’s main facility in Thompson's Station serving as a referral center for 4 satellite hospitals in Gallatin and Eads, Tennessee; Harvest, Alabama; and the newly added location in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

“Our love of horses is at the heart of everything we do, and through this partnership, we are able to fulfill our dream of making quality care accessible across Tennessee and beyond,” Monty McInturff, DVM, co-owner and president of TEH, said in an organizational release.

 “Dr Richard Wilhelm [DVM,] brings a deep understanding of the East Tennessee equine community, and we are excited to combine our expertise and passion.”

Covetrus® unveils newly expanded, state-of-the-art pharmaceutical compounding facility in Phoenix Area. News release. Covetrus. December 10, 2024. Accessed December 19, 2024. 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/covetrus-unveils-newly-expanded-state-of-the-art-pharmaceutical-compounding-facility-in-phoenix-area-302326365.html?tc=eml_cleartime

Virginia Veterinary Centers to expand with new ER & specialty hospital in Henrico (Short Pump), VA. News release. Virginia Veterinary Centers. December 6, 2024. Accessed December 19, 2024. [email]

Tennessee Equine Hospital expands network of care with fifth location. News release. Tennessee Equine Hospital. December 19, 2024. AccessedDecember 19, 2024. [email]

Take a look at these 3 veterinary centers newly opened or coming soon