staging.vettimes.com

Tag: Dogs

  • Staying motivated

    Staying motivated

    When your course is a minimum of five years long, and your days are filled with lab work, lectures and study, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture – the real core driver behind why you wanted to be a vet in the first place.

    Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I’m sure no 18-year-old, fresh from 14 years of full-time education, has ever signed up for their degree purely for a love of spending the fleeting British summertime in an exam hall and 9am-5pm every day staring at a white board.

    For most of us, investing the money and dedicated years of our lives that university demands are all part and parcel of building the foundations for our futures.

    What’s it all for?

    For vets especially, many options are available: whether you’re driven towards specialised surgery, welfare, research or first-opinion practice, it all starts with the same degree, the same path, the same investment.

    However, while the journey may be unavoidable, the repetitive humdrum of student life (and life in general for that matter) can make it difficult to keep your eyes on the end goal.

    How bad do you want it?

    It’s not a matter of commitment. Trust me; if you even manage to get an interview for a veterinary course, you’re as committed as they come. There’s no way you’ll find a teenager voluntarily scooping poop – from a staggering variety of sources – on their weekends without a real solid mindset as to where they want to be.

    poo
    “There’s no way you’ll find a teenager voluntarily scooping poop – from a staggering variety of sources – on their weekends without a real solid mindset as to where they want to be.” Image © chelle129 / Adobe Stock

    When I was applying to vet schools, the standard requirements for work experience ranged from four to 12 weeks. I just about managed the latter, but I had friends around me doubling that – don’t ask me how.

    Getting sidetracked

    University life can be repetitive, not to mention full on… in a particularly heavy week, I managed to have a dream about revising ectoparasites, so let me tell you, sometimes there really is no escaping it.

    Through all this it’s understandable you might lose track of the driver that got you here in the first place, let alone what you want to do when you leave. When you‘re struggling to keep your head above water to deal with the task in front of you, how on earth are you supposed to look so far ahead?

    Personally, I didn’t realise I’d reached this point until very recently.

    The epiphany

    My university had organised “practice consult sessions” with some of its vet surgery’s genuine clients. Each client came to us with his or her dogs and had been told by our teaching staff to be as difficult as possible in an attempt to get us out of our shells.

    In groups, we had to practise gathering a patient history – not easy, as it turns out, when the client’s been instructed not to play ball – and describe a simple neutering, addressing both pros and cons.

    Not only did this supply a very realistic “hands-on” scenario, it forced us to use the collective knowledge provided to us in countless lectures and seminars and regurgitate it in a manner that was both professional and understandable. For example, a lot of the clinical terms we’re encouraged to memorise aren’t commonly used by the general public, so you must find easier ways of explaining things without oversimplifying anything important like surgical risks.

    Remind yourself

    I can’t describe how motivated I felt when I came home after that practical – I was buzzing.

    I had stood behind real vets in real consultations for so long, watching how they interacted with clients and patients and itching, from such a young age, to do what they did. I wish I could carry that feeling with me every day, but, of course, after a while you find yourself treading water again.

    I think the important thing is to give yourself moments every now and then to stop and reflect on how far you’ve already come, as well as where you want to go. The course, the workload, life in general – none of it’s easy. But if you want it enough, it’s so, so worth it.

  • Brachycephalic syndrome

    Brachycephalic syndrome

    The pug, shih-tzu and chihuahua are all breeds vets would describe as brachycephalic. This means their noses are proportionally shorter than the rest of their head – a far cry from their ancestors that would have these in about a 1:1 ratio.

    A lot of people find the large, puppy-dog eyes and wrinkly face charming and adorable. But, in truth, the aspects we love the most about these breeds might not be so desirable from the dogs’ own perspectives. The pug might be one of the nation’s favourite breeds – popularity for them has been on the rise in recent years – but, for vets, this is mirrored with a growing concern.

    Unintended consequences

    After cats, canines were the second animal to be domesticated by humans – and we have been selectively breeding them for thousands of years. Sometimes this is advantageous and the animal benefits from improved speed or stamina, but other breeds are less lucky – Labrador retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia, boxers to heart disease and pugs to a condition known as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome.

    The characteristic grunting and wheezing associated with pugs is not an endearing quirk, it indicates a far more sinister underlying issue.

    Pugs have changed dramatically just the past century, being purposefully bred for big eyes and a progressively flatter nose. Although, from the outside, this may not appear too big of an issue, it can lead to a severe impediment of the dogs’ ability to breathe, and the bulging eyes can also cause issues such as cherry eye, dryness and irritation.

    The big picture

    In June of 2018, Disney released Patrick, a film starring a pug as the main character, prompting the BVA to request its brachycephalic working group assist the studio in reducing any negative impacts the film might produce – particularly the anticipated interest in pugs after the movie’s release.

    Vets want to raise awareness of side effects of pedigree breeding, but it’s a fine line between showing concern for animal welfare and challenging a person’s livelihood, particularly as a lot of breeders idolise their favourite breeds and see no problem with the way they are made.

    Subsequently, a lot of the public are unaware of the link between some breeds and certain congenital diseases, and the increase in demand for pugs and similar dogs means the issues are only going to get worse over the next generations of breeding if nothing is done to raise awareness.

     

  • First time for everything

    First time for everything

    I’ve been lucky enough to not, until very recently, have a patient die on the operating table.

    Nothing quite prepares you for what you experience in that moment you realise the animal is crashing. We had CPR training at uni, we run through the practice crash box to refresh everyone of what’s in it, and I hadn’t had to use it yet.

    “There’s a potential caesarean coming down,” one of the receptions had come through to the kennel area to inform me. “I’d better shuffle those appointments I’d just opened up for you.”

    Inauspicious beginnings

    On arrival, the bitch in question was four days overdue, with no indication of labour, an open cervix, and generally looked fairly flat – but not as though death was imminent.

    A C-section was agreed as the best course of action, and she was moved through to prep where the nurses already had everything ready to go – thanks to the prior warning. More nurses than usual were hovering, as it’s all hands on deck for a caesarean.

    It took me longer than usual to get the catheter in – perhaps the flat veins should have been a warning sign that she was actually in worse condition than she seemed. I was usually pretty good at catheters, but everyone has off days, right?

    Auto pilot

    Fluids running, antiemetic given (she was drooling a bit and it has been shown to reduce anaesthetic requirements), abdomen clipped, ready to induce… a trainee nurse asked an RVN to confirm the heart rate as she was struggling.

    I picked up the propofol and instantly the bitch did the “death gasp”. At the same moment, both the RVN and I realised she was crashing. I had no time to think; I grabbed an endotracheal tube and intubated, while the nurse started chest compressions. Another nurse connected the oxygen and started ventilating.

    Somebody thrust some adrenaline into my hand and I’d barely asked “where’s the dose chart” before it had been pointed at. I hastily drew it up and administered, while asking the trainee nurse to bring the surgical kit in from theatre.

    One after another

    Image © sunnysky69 / Adobe Stock
    “I never really had time to think about how awful the whole situation was – and yet everyone just got on with their jobs.” Image © sunnysky69 / Adobe Stock

    By that point I think we’d all accepted we would likely lose the bitch, but needed to keep her going while we tried to get the puppies out.

    As soon as I incised into the abdomen, green-tinged fluid poured out (she was on an angle as the nurses were still doing compressions). I exteriorised an enormous uterus and start fishing out placentas, opening them, clamping umbilical cords, cutting and handing on to a nurse, receptionist, practice manager, anyone who was present – they all knew what to do.

    Puppy after puppy came out – I was astonished at how quickly I was working and there were still more. Meanwhile, the prep room floor was becoming a lethal sea of peritonitic fluid.

    “How are they? Any alive?” I asked, still working, hoping something would come out of this horrid mess. I already knew the answer: most of the puppies were completely rigid, seemingly long dead.

    All over

    Once every puppy was out (no survivors), I ran for the phone and rang the owner to explain we were keeping the heart going. I then gained permission to euthanise. However, as I returned to prep, I realised she was already gone.

    Everyone was quiet…I donned a pair of gloves again and solemnly started stitching up.

    Calm under pressure

    While it was happening, I never really had time to think about how awful the whole situation was – and yet everyone just got on with their jobs; each of us doing our bit to try and save some lives at least.

    On later reflection, even though we didn’t succeed, there was nothing more we could have done. We worked extremely fast from the moment she started to crash, and even though it was a miserable situation with a devastating outcome, I was extremely grateful for the calm manner in which everyone handled it.

  • Don’t tar all dogs with the same brush

    Don’t tar all dogs with the same brush

    Pit bulls, mastiffs and German shepherds are some of the breeds regarded by many as being aggressive and dangerous.

    In the same way some dogs are best known for shedding on beloved white furniture or having deep, dreamy puppy dog eyes, these breeds have an established reputation as dogs to be feared and not raised as pets.

    Mirror image

    A lot of the time, the prophecy is self-fulfilling. Dogs are incredibly intelligent and receptive animals, and unbeknown to a lot of owners, are highly tuned to our actions, expressions and moods – and will often act accordingly.

    As pack animals they are programmed to respond to the emotions and vibes given off by others – meaning that if you’re feeling angry or agitated, just your tone of voice or the expression on your face could cause your dog to begin to feel the exact same way. It’s a mirror affect.

    Last resort

    Most dogs are not inherently violent; aggression is often a last resort in the face of fear, stress or anxiety.

    The head vet at the local practice where I’ve volunteered for several years told me the first thing to do when presented with a frustrated owner, and an angry or aggressive dog, is to ask about its home life, not its genetic background.

    According to the RSPCA, no evidence suggests one breed is more aggressive than another. However, it’s a much-debated topic and four dog breeds are prohibited in the UK:

    • dogo Argentino
    • fila Brasileiro
    • pit bull terrier
    • Japanese tosa

    Selected traits

    In university, at least, I’ve been taught no dog is born aggressive.

    Mankind has been domesticating the canine for somewhere between 20,000 to 40,000 years, which has involved selectively breeding for certain traits, ranging from hair colour to docility. As a result, some breeds are easier to train than others or will react differently to scenarios that are stressful or confusing.

    Of course, some breeds are better suited to households with children or to assisting the disabled, but no dog should be entirely defined or judged by its breed.

    Socialisation

    The argument of nature vs nurture is perhaps very prevalent for this debate.

    The first 4 to 14 weeks of a dog’s life will define everything it considers normal – this is known as the “socialisation window”. For example, if, within this time, a puppy has never seen a certain breed of dog, or a large truck, they will find these stimuli stressful and may even behave aggressively around them.

    The calmest and most well-behaved dogs are often down to a responsible breeder who took the time to familiarise themselves with many different people, sounds, smells and places, before passing them on to the owner. We’ve been told that, as clinicians, it will be our responsibility to encourage clients to do the same with their puppies before this invaluable time window runs out.

    So many factors contribute to the character of a dog besides its breeding. It’s the job of vets to inform all dog owners of these in the hopes these negative stereotypes are, one day, put to rest.

  • Pedigree prejudice?

    Pedigree prejudice?

    The decision of whether or not to get a new pet is an important one, but the decision of where to get it from might be more important.

    Volunteering for two weeks this Christmas at a cattery has really made me believe we, as a society, need to undergo a significant evolution in terms of how we approach buying our furry friends.

    Every year, thousands of dogs and cats kept in rescue shelters are euthanised because they never manage to find a new home. At the same time, according to Government estimates, 560,000 puppies are born in the UK each year, at a minimum.

    Changing attitudes

    As a second year vet student with little experience as either a breeder or a dog owner, I recognise I have little position in which to tell people where to purchase their pets. But if our attitude to pet buying remains unchanged, this self-perpetuating issue will only continue – in fact, with dog and cat ownership on the rise, it might get worse.

    We appear to prefer the new to the old when it comes to pets, in the same way that, given the choice, most people would opt for a brand new car over a second-hand model.

    We also seem to be very blinded by the ideology of our favourite breeds. Pure-bred animals make up a very tiny percentage of shelter occupants and are also often the first to be adopted.

    Domino effect

    Most sheltered animals are there because their owners couldn’t cope, changed jobs, moved abroad or even passed away. The animals that never make it out of shelters aren’t necessarily aggressive, undisciplined or even unfriendly, it’s simply because they don’t match up to our idea of the perfect dog – which, to me, is truly heart breaking.

    So many advantages exist to adopting from a rescue shelter, for starters you kick off a really positive domino effect by not only creating room in a shelter for another animal to be taken in, but by educating your family and friends to an option they may never have fully considered, potentially leading to more adoptions.

    The process will also be less expensive than buying a pedigree puppy or kitten and you have the added bonus of knowing you are both changing and saving an animal’s life.

    Happy and healthy

    Even if you do decide to go with a breeder, you can still look out for animal welfare by buying from one you trust and is properly licensed.

    You can help to validate the health of the puppy/kitten by asking to see the mother – if she seems happy and healthy this is a good indication of the same for her offspring – and ensuring the animal you are taking home is fully vaccinated and treated for worms.

    By buying from recognised and responsible breeders, rather than puppy/kitten farms, you are still helping reduce the number of animals that needlessly end up in welfare and to move towards a future where shelters never have to put a healthy animal down.

  • Public health: the less recognised role of vets

    Public health: the less recognised role of vets

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow disease”, hit the news again after an isolated incident was reported in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

    In the 1990s, this disease resulted in the mass culling of hundreds of thousands of livestock, devastating the farming community and causing ripples throughout the British economy.

    Soaring meat prices, a ban on UK beef exports and sizeable public concern arising from the last outbreak led to extensive media coverage on a topic many people not involved in the medical field rarely entertain.

    Not all puppies and kittens

    Although you might not think it, food safety and public health are two of the most vital roles vets perform for society.

    I feel there’s a common misconception all vets are bound to the same path; when speaking to my uni friends about future careers, they never seem to assume I’ll end up anywhere other than small animal practice – and this may be true for the majority or veterinary graduates, at least those from the UK. Mixed practices are dwindling and veterinary food safety workers are predominantly sourced from overseas.

    That aside, veterinary involvement in the food industry is vital in keeping the public safe. Meat having the stamp of approval by professionals trained in parasites and pathology gives the British public – as well as importing countries – confidence in our farmers and serves to strengthen our economy, and build up domestic farmers and their businesses.

    Only the beginning

    Within the meat industry, the job of a vet is not over once the animal is slaughtered – they are just as involved in death as in life. Zoonotic diseases and parasites can be spread between people and animals, and vets ensure these never reach your supermarket shelves.

    At food crisis moments – such as the events that occurred over two decades ago – vets have two main responsibilities:

    • A duty of care to those animals who must be put down with a delicate combination of haste and humanity.
    • To work with farmers during the financial struggle they will most likely suffer following the loss of a large proportion of their livelihood.

    For the many, not the few

    Medical bills make up a substantial amount of costs when running a farm, and any vet going into the industry will quickly realise treating a herd animal is a far cry from treating a pet. They need to master the art of putting the needs of the herd over any individual.

    Of course, what might be the greatest responsibility of any farm vet is to aid farmers in preventing further outbreaks. To pool the resources of all field areas – researchers, clinicians, food technicians and farm workers – to improve productivity and ensure the continued safety of the public.

  • Win £100 Amazon vouchers with Moxiclear

    Win £100 Amazon vouchers with Moxiclear

    MOXICLEAR: a new IMIDACLOPRID & MOXIDECTIN SPOT-ON for the treatment and prevention of flea infestations*, treatment of biting lice***, ear mites**, roundworm**, hookworm**, whipworm***, skinworm***, lungworm*** and the prevention of heartworm disease*.

    How to enter

    Simply play the Moxiclear bubble popping game below. Pop all nine parasites for your chance to win £100 in Amazon vouchers.

    Hint: on your phone? Tilt the screen landscape for a better view.

    • Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of our Terms and Conditions.
    • For another chance to win, find the Moxiclear flyer attached to the cover of your October 15 issue (Vol 48, No 41) of Veterinary Times.
    • To find out how to get in touch with your nearest territory manager, just click here.
    • To view the data sheet for Moxiclear and how it compares to other products, click here.
    • Find out more at Norbrook’s official website 

     

     

    * indicated for dogs, cats and ferrets.

    ** indicated for dogs and cats only.

    *** indicated for dogs only.

  • Friends or food?

    Friends or food?

    The relationship between vets and animals is an odd one.

    When I tell people the course I study, 90% of them ask me if I’m vegetarian; when I say no, all of them ask me why not – and, to be perfectly candid, I never really know what to tell them.

    As a professional in practice, my relationship with animals will be as doctor to patient. This affiliation is simple enough. But when I go home, crack open the freezer and fry up a steak with a nice Sauvignon blanc, the line begins to get a little fuzzy.

    Keeping a distance

    Although the path my career is destined to take is still very much in the works, if I do decide to go into farm work then a certain emotional distance will have to be observed when treating patients. You have to find the perfect balance of respect for the animal and a desire to preserve life, but also the acknowledgement of that fact your patients are, and always intended to be, food.

    One of the big things they taught us in the first week of vet school wasn’t scientific or mathematic. They told us, through the course, our attitude towards animals – what it meant to be a vet – was going to change.

    I’d be lying if I said my own philosophy surrounding what I want to do with my life, as well as what I put on my plate, hasn’t evolved. It has, it definitely has – In fact, it still is.

    Is meat murder?

    cows-dog
    “My course has forced me to confront the fact I see a beef cow and a golden retriever in very different ways.”

    I know everybody has their own opinion on the subject. People tend to get very passionate about their own food choices and go to great lengths to defend them and convert other people to their way of seeing things, especially as the vegan lifestyle grows more popular.

    As vets and as medical practitioners we are, of course, entitled to our opinions like everyone else, but when we step behind the examination table or don the metaphorical white coat, the way we conduct ourselves cannot always be driven by our own personal beliefs, but a combination of the welfare of the animal and concerns of the client.

    The cute factor

    We like things that are cute. Although some people go through life ignoring this fact, my course has forced me to confront the fact I see a beef cow and a golden retriever in very different ways. No matter how hungry I may be, I have never considered eating a dog – and yet I will one day be required to treat both.

    I do not believe either is entitled to a higher standard of care and yet, quite obviously, I hold their lives in opposing regards.

    Perhaps it’s purely cultural or the way my parents raised me (they’re both big meat eaters), perhaps it’s an intelligence thing – the fact I assume dogs have more cognitive awareness than the average cow – but this line of thinking does threaten to drag you down an ethical rabbit hole of sentience and animal rights.

    Valuable lesson

    So, perhaps it’s not that complicated, perhaps humans, on an unconscious level, simply love fluffy things.

    As a veterinary student you are taught, from the off, to analyse your way of reasoning and question it. I think this might be one of the most valuable things they can ever teach us.

  • Reflecting on the good moments

    Reflecting on the good moments

    As me and my (non-vet) partner sat down for a rare mid-week breakfast together, I made an offhand comment about “having” to vaccinate 15 puppies that day.

    “What do you mean ‘have to’?” was his response. “Most people would love that, and you get paid for it.”

    I considered this – and, while I’m more of a kitten person than a puppy person, who doesn’t love puppies? It‘s the little things like this we, perhaps, take for granted.

    Sharing the joy

    All too often, as vets, we focus on the negatives: the long hours, on call, the stress of trying to keep to time when everything goes belly up, the emotional strain, the difficult clients, surgical complications, mystery cases with unanswered questions… the list goes on.

    In the midst of it all, while we‘re able to show enthusiasm during the puppy or kitten vaccine consult, sharing the owners’ joy is soon forgotten when it is swiftly followed by a few challenging consults or clients.

    At the end of a couple of stressful working weeks (for a number of reasons), I found some peace having formulated a plan for a couple of complicated medical cases and finally convincing a difficult client to get on board with a particular treatment.

    Living the life

    It‘s the little things such as vaccinating puppies that vets, perhaps, take for granted. Image © Gorilla / Adobe Stock
    It‘s the little things, such as vaccinating puppies, vets, perhaps, take for granted. Image © Gorilla / Adobe Stock

    It’s easy to get wrapped up in the vet lifestyle – researching cases when you get home at night (and even when you don’t), not being able to sleep because, subconsciously, you’re trying to work out the best course of action for one of your patients.

    Rattling off the list of procedures or appointments for the day will just seem the norm to other vets, but take a step back and remove the “vet blinkers” and actually think for moment about what we do.

    If you talk to any non-vet friend or family member about your working day, they often show seemingly exaggerated enthusiasm or squeamishness. It’s tempting to brush this off, but it’s usually genuine. From their perspective, our “normal” work can be fascinating.

    Everyday heroes

    We may not be saving lives in a dramatic fashion every day (or maybe you do), but, as vets, we get to help a number of animals on a daily basis and, as a result, their owners.

    This can be done in what feels like the smallest of gestures sometimes; as much as we may resent the notorious anal gland appointment, what that actually involves is giving a poor dog (or cat) almost instantaneous pain relief.

    While I don’t think any vet will particularly enjoy an anal gland appointment, my point is to look at the bigger picture: what may be mundane to us does actually make a difference to the individual – our day-to-day routine work is far more interesting than a lot of other jobs.

    Let it go

    Being a vet is mentally and physically draining at times, but no day is the same and we will always have stories to tell.

    So, if you’ve had a bit of a crap week (or haven’t), take a moment to think about what you’ve actually done in the past few days and enjoy the good moments – whether that’s the puppy vaccination or draining the really satisfying cat (or, in my case, cow) abscess. Then think of the clients who have been thankful for your help (even those who don’t show it) and let go of the bad moments in between.

  • Oh, what a month

    Oh, what a month

    What a month is has been. Surely, August 2018 will go down in the annals of history as one the most prolific in the fight for animal welfare in England.

    From the banning of puppy and kitten sales in pet shops to outlawing electric shock collars, campaigners have had a spate of notable victories to celebrate in a matter of weeks which, it is hoped, will enhance animal welfare and shape a better future for pets and owners alike.

    Indeed, such has been the influx of news, we were still filing articles on the day of going to print, to ensure the latest news – the electric collar ban – reached you hot of the press.

    But new causes and campaigns are never far away, as evidenced by the fact that, according to some organisations, cats are the latest victims of the public’s “thirst for endless novelty” with RVNs again “ideally placed” to help tackle the issue.

    Every little helps

    Yet it doesn’t matter if you are fighting on the front line of a campaign trail or caring for a forlorn feline in a small animal practice; every act, every consult and every action is an amazing feat and should be applauded.

    You transform the lives of animals and their owners daily, and make their futures a little brighter in the process.

    With so much demanded of RVNs, I imagine it could be easy to get a little overwhelmed. In the face of conflict, Second World War politicians sought to raise the British public’s morale with the ”Keep Calm and Carry On” posters. They seemed to work. Sound, and still relevant, advice methinks.

    If animals could speak – from kittens in clinic to rescued horses – I am think they would say “thank you” for all your hard work. Which is what I want to say too, as it happens.

    Whoever you are and whatever you do, keep up the amazing work and (to coin the phrase) keep calm and carry on. When future generations are reflecting on this pivotal time in animal care, you can say with pride “I was there”.