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The microchip legislation kicked in on April 6th and I find myself wondering whether I really understand the vet’s responsibilities towards this legislation. Should we be checking the microchip of every dog as they come through the door? What happens if we don’t find a microchip? Is it then our responsibility to report these owners to some kind of authority or are we supposed to force microchipping upon our client’s beloved pet?
So, you want to be happy, and you want science to help you? Seems reasonable. But what exactly should you do to give yourself the best chance for a happy life? Happiness occurs in the mind on two levels, the physical and the (for lack of a better word), spiritual. In fact, most psychologists find it’s about a 50-50 split – half of your happiness is due to how you feel about your life, and the other half is the physical mental process in your.
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In all honesty, the thought of seeing a goose on my list of consults fills me with fear. Frankly I would rather wrestle a 60kg aggressive Rottweiler than be confronted by a flapping and hissing angry goose. However, I remain faithful to my Thursday night veterinary webinars and decided I really should confront my fears and learn more about treating the pet goose.
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It was only a few weeks ago when the BBC highlighted the suffering endured by some of the increasingly popular brachycephalic breeds of dog as a result of their extreme facial anatomy. I was pleased to see it was one of the most read BBC stories of the day, and I hope it will have educated many dog owners about the problems faced by these ever popular breeds.
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Imagine a scenario, a good client (in fact you could almost call her a friend) recently set up a hedgehog rescue centre and is keen to have a stock of veterinary medicines so she can provide preventative medicine as well as treat any sick hedgehogs. She will bring occasional hedgehogs in for clinical assessment and phone for advice when necessary. What would you do? Is it okay to hand over a bottle of antibiotics, or even a bottle of pentobarbitone to euthanase a hedgehog on welfare grounds?
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The highly respected Professor Mike Herrtage from Cambridge University has legendary status in the veterinary world and can always be relied upon to deliver information packed, relevant and practical veterinary webinars for ‘The Webinar Vet’. It therefore came as little surprise that this webinar covering ketoacidosis in dogs was no exception.
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RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, Alison Moores, led last week’s Platinum Members webinar discussing all aspects of diagnosing and managing urinary incontinence in our small animal patients. Dogs did however feature predominantly as this is a condition rarely seen in our feline friends. Differentiating between true incontinence and other conditions such as UTI or partial urinary tract obstructions can be the biggest challenge, and Alison delivered a logical and practice relevant approach on how to achieve this and then go on to manage these conditions as effectively as possible.
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It can be all too easy to slip into the habit of always using the same suture material and the same technique for specific surgical procedures, forgetting at times why you ever made those choices in the first place. This habitual behaviour can be a positive factor in improving surgical technique according to RCVS recognised and European Specialist is Small Animal Medicine Alison Moores BVSc (Hons) Cert SAS Dip ECVS MRCVS who led this webinar.
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Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA or AIHA) may be primary immune-mediated or secondary. In primary IMHA, the cause is not known and there may be genetic influences in certain breeds of dogs, eg Cocker spaniels, Poodles, Old English Sheepdogs.
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West Highland White Terriers (WHWT) in their ‘twilight’ years presenting with a cough and crackles on thoracic auscultation are surely only suffering from one condition, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis IPF. According to Professor Brendan Corcoran, who led last week’s webinar covering IPF, I’m surprisingly not too far off the mark.
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Listening to speakers as passionate about their subject as Sue and Sara made participating in this webinar on hydrotherapy a real pleasure. Sue Hawkins founded Hawksmoor hydrotherapy in Warwickshire and works alongside long-term colleague Sara Marlow, a qualified vet nurse. Being new to the world of webinar speakers, both Sue and Sara confessed to being understandably nervous, but you really wouldn’t have known it, they did a fantastic job.
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Euthanasia is unfortunately a significant part of our job and although I believe my handling of euthanasia is caring and compassionate, I do detach myself from the emotion of most cases and can sometimes forget just how traumatic it can be for an owner. This is reflected in last week’s veterinary webinar organised by ‘The Webinar Vet’ led by Caroline Hewson (The Pet Loss Vet) who cited a study of 500 owners having experienced their pet being euthanased.