Last year, nearly 5 million people were bitten by dogs in the United States, and nearly 1 million people, more than half of them children, required medical attention for dog bites. Many of these bites could have been avoided by knowing a few simple facts about dog behavior and through responsible pet ownership. To help educate the public on how best to prevent dog bites, the AVMA is again teaming up with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Postal Service, and America's plastic and reconstructive surgeons to sponsor National Dog Bite Prevention Week, held this year from May 19-25. In this podcast, Dr. Ilana Reisner, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist and owner of Reisner Veterinary Behavior and Consulting Services in Media, Pennsylvania, discusses dog bite prevention strategies.

Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) declares May to be "National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month." Nearly 50 million people in the United States suffer from allergies, according to the Foundation ... but it's not just people that are affected by allergies. Our four-footed friends fall victim to allergies more commonly than many people realize. In this podcast, Dr. Dan Morris, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, discusses allergies in pets.

As pet owners, we do all that we can to protect our pets from threats in the environment. Unfortunately, this can be a difficult task when those threats are microscopic, such as the intestinal parasite giardia, which can not only make our pets sick, but can also infect humans as well. In this podcast, Dr. Allan Paul, professor of pathobiology at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, talks about giardia.

Besides serving as our loyal companions, dogs perform a number of other tasks as well, including bomb detection, search and rescue operations, and guiding the visually impaired. To help give back to these dogs that give so much to us, the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) will be offering free vision screenings to service dogs during the ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam Event, held this year during the entire month of May. In this podcast, Dr. Nancy Bromberg, a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist at VCA SouthPaws Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Center in Fairfax, Va., talks about the event and the importance of veterinary eye exams.

We love our pets. But sometimes, when it comes to rewarding them with treats and food, we might love them a little too much. As a result, our pets are increasingly overweight and obese. To help quantify just how serious this issue has become, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) conducts annual surveys on obesity in U.S. pets. Just last week, the group released its 6th annual survey. In this podcast, Dr. Ernie Ward, founder of APOP, discusses this year's results.