• Most street dogs are owned;
• Knowledge of the dog population numbers and behaviour is essential;
• A multi-stakeholder committee is vital in any dog population management programme;
• There is no singular recipe. What may work for one community may not work for another. One needs to be mindful of culture, geography, and reality;
• Non-formal, community education programmes are the basis for transformation;
• When resources are limited, sterilization should be targeted to specific groups of animals;
• Investing in the monitoring and evaluation of the programme is necessary, to track progress and propose adjustments.

Read related Vetlexicon articles:

Neurological Examination (dogs)

Neurological Examination (cats)

Head Trauma: Assessment of patient (cats)

Head Trauma: Assessment of Patient (dogs)

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for today's episode of VETchat is Fergus Allerton, European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine and Ian Battersby, Responsible Pharmaceutical Stewardship Lead for Mars Veterinary Health.

In this episode Anthony, Fergus and Ian talk all about antibiotics ahead of the antibiotic amnesty campaign running in the UK through the month of November. They explain both of their backgrounds, discuss how the professional opinions on antibiotic treatment lengths have changed, and the problems with inappropriate usage of leftover antibiotics.   Fergus explains the Antibiotic Amnesty Campaign and how veterinary practices can get involved. He outlines the benefits of running a campaign like this, such as offering safe disposal of unused antibiotics and the research information that will be gathered to help guide future prescription habits.  

Find out more from the RUMA website here

Find out more from the RCVS Knowledge website here

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

- Describe the dental anatomy of rabbits and common pet rodents

- Diagnose common dental disease presentations in these small mammals

- Determine the optimum diagnostic techniques based on equipment availability

- Apply treatment techniques to correct common dental problems

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for this episode of VETchat by The Webinar Vet is Mark Turner, Small Animal Practitioner and Course Director at VetQIT, a consultancy helping practices integrate quality improvement into everything that they do. In this episode, Anthony and Mark Discuss patient safety and quality improvement, ensuring we learn from our mistakes, and what contributes to the culture in practice.

They also talk about whether new graduates are less confident, the issues that come with hierarchical structures and not feeling able to speak up, and Mark explains what his company VetQIT are about.

Learn more about VetQIT here

La Dra. Southwood se graduó en la Universidad de Sydney en 1993 y realizó una estancia en el Hagley Equine Hospital en Hagley, Tasmania. Tras completar un internado en grandes animales en la Universidad Estatal de Washington (1994/1995), realizó una residencia en cirugía de grandes animales en la Universidad Estatal de Colorado (1995-1998), seguida de un doctorado en curación de fracturas (1999-2002). Obtuvo la certificación en Cirugía de Grandes Animales en 2000 y en Cuidados Críticos y de Emergencia de Grandes Animales en 2005. Actualmente es profesora de educación clínica en urgencias y cuidados críticos de grandes animales en el New Bolton Center de la Universidad de Pensilvania. Sus intereses clínicos y de investigación se centran en la cirugía de emergencia equina, especialmente en los cólicos y la cirugía gastrointestinal. Recientemente ha editado dos libros de texto: Practical Guide to Equine Colic (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) y Equine Emergency and Critical Care (Manson Publishing, 2014). Su marido, Eric Parente, y ella tienen tres hijos maravillosos, Aiden (17), Kody (14) y Kylie (12), ¡que los mantienen muy ocupados!

Most causes of PU/PD are serious diseases that require specific therapy and will not respond to empirical therapy. Therefore “symptomatic” treatment is rarely appropriate and a logical series of investigative steps, if necessary undertaken over a series of veterinary consultations, is more cost-effective. This talk will outline this approach and briefly mention more common conditions identified.

Why are cats always considered the underdog, especially with regard to how much they are understood and valued by human society?  Their mysterious nature has led to them being worship as gods but also vilified and persecuted as the companions of witches.

We can start to answer this question by looking back many thousands of years as cats and dogs have evolved very differently. Whereas dogs are an obligate social species having evolved from wolves and other wild dogs who lived in packs of related family members, domestic cats evolved from a small solitary predator, the African Wild Cat, which is also a prey species.

Humans selectively bred dogs to perform a wide variety of functions such as hunting, herding and guarding. Cats were not selectively bred (until the last 200 years) but spontaneously moved into human territories once they started farming grain and thus had large numbers of rodents around their settlements which the cats helped to control. This meant that dogs were valued more in human society and were perceived to have a stronger bond due to their social behaviour whereas cats were seen as much less social and less financially valuable. Dogs have developed complex facial muscles that other dogs can interpret and they can also read the facial expressions of humans. Cats have had no reason to do this and so seem more distant and independent and are not very well-understood by people, leading to their welfare needs often not being met.

Being a prey species, totally dependent on themselves, cats cannot afford to show vulnerability and thus do not demonstrate pain and illness overtly. This leads to the perception that they need less care and often get less analgesia.

There are many more laws in the UK relating to dogs than cats which may be seen ambivalently. Dogs are more likely to injure people through bites or causing accidents and so owners have an obligation to control them in a way that is not expected of cat owners. This freedom can be advantageous, but it does mean that when laws are proposed to protect dogs, governments often don’t see the need for cats to be given the same protection. Currently there is no licensing of cat breeding and microchipping is still not compulsory despite manifesto pledge of the government.

One area where cats are probably not the underdog is neutering and population control in the UK. There are marked differences in reproduction, size and physiology that mean that surgical neutering, including pre-pubertal neutering, is quicker, cheaper and more consistent in outcome that in dogs.

This session is designed to challenge people’s preconceptions about cats and gives an opportunity to discuss how the veterinary profession can help cat owners to understand their pets better, resulting in a better quality of life for this misunderstood and mysterious species.   

Looking at the basic economics of veterinary practice we will explain the importance of charging for professional time and the ways we can reasonably achieve this.

We will discuss Front of House and Hospital roles exploring how veterinary nurse professional time is used to benefit our patients and clients and look at ways of making this visible, highlighting the financial contribution veterinary nurses bring to practice businesses

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Canis Acute respiratory distress syndrome

Felis viral induced upper respiratory tract disease

Further Reading:

Evaluating dairy herd fertility by evaluating farm data from Vetlexicon

Fertility: beef herd management from Vetlexicon

Genomics: Overview from Vetlexicon

Vet calls for more mental health research | Vet Times

• I wish others in my team would just “get it?”
• It’s just easier to do it myself…
• I tell them over and over but it only lasts a week and they forget….
• We have meetings but only a few seem interested and there is so little time for me to implement all these changes…
• Why can’t they just get on with each other?

Most of us in business (either business owners or those working in a team) have had these thoughts….In this webinar Michelle will run through a few really practical, easy to use ways to make the initial changes, rekindle the passion and fun and create a plan to change your team forever!

bTB is invariably caused by Mycobacterium bovis – a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex which is a group of related organisms causing disease in man and a wide range of other animals.  Mycobacterium bovis has a wider host range than Mycobacterium tuberculosis which is the most common cause of tuberculosis in humans and can cause disease in a wide range of species. It is an unusual organism in that it is very well adapted to surviving both outside the host but also inside the host where it lives for long periods causing little in the way of symptoms.

Matt graduated from University of Liverpool in 2003 and spent several years enjoying mixed practice before returning to Liverpool to undertake a residency in anaesthesia and analgesia. Since 2009 he has worked at Northwest Veterinary Specialists, a multidisciplinary specialist hospital in Cheshire. Matt is a European Veterinary Specialist and an RCVS Recognised Specialist.

This is the final webinar in the PARASITE PROJECT and Jamie will focus how you can extend your influence beyond the practice door (and into the pet owner’s home) so your clients ADHERE to your treatment plan, ensuring that every patient is not just protected for the odd month here or there but instead, protected 365-days a year!

This webinar series covers the most important aspects of veterinary toxicology with updated information on how to best manage the most common intoxications seen in first opinion practice. The possibilities for intoxication in our small animal patients are endless. This course will start with a stepwise approach as to what to do with the poisoned patient including where to find information quickly and when to worry (and not!), advise what advice can be safely given over the phone, as well as what must be prioritised during the first 30 minutes when first meeting the patient. There will then be a full discussion of the best ways to decontaminate the poisoned patient covering a wide range of scenarios including some more challenging cases. Although the number of antidotes available for poisoned patients is limited, they may be life-saving in a number of situations. and their use will be discussed using case examples. The course will finish with a discussion of the latest updates on the management of some common toxins seen in clinical patients. By the end of the webinar series you will be more confident in dealing with any toxicologic emergency and able to apply the latest recommendations to the management of these emergency cases.

Further Reading:

Vestibular disease: geriatric in dogs

Vestibulocochlear neuritides in dogs

Vestibular disease in cats

This is one of the most common causes of seizures in puppies and occurs most often in toy-breed dogs. This cause of seizures should be immediately suspected in every toy-breed puppy with acute onset seizures. Treatment consists of administration of glucose.

HYDROCEPHALUS

This is the most common brain malformation. Although every breed can be affected, it occurs most often in toy and brachycephalic breeds. Affected dogs can have a dome-shaped head. Although little is known about the natural progression of this condition, selected cases can be treated medically. Surgical treatment consists of placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

THORACIC HEMIVERTEBRA

This condition typically affects ‘screw-tailed’ brachycephalic dogs. Hemivertebra can be associated with an abnormal dorsal (kyphosis) or lateral (scoliosis) curvature of the spine. Although this condition can cause progressive spinal cord dysfunction, it should most often be considered an incidental finding on diagnostic imaging studies. Up to 94% of neurologically normal French bulldogs have radiographic evidence of hemivertebra. Hemivertebra are more likely associated with clinical signs when they occur in Pugs and when they are associated with severe kyphosis. Recent information suggests a poor response to  medical management, while surgical treatment is technically challenging.

SPINAL ARACHNOID DIVERTICULA

This is probably the most clinically important spinal malformation. This condition is characterized by a focal dilatation of the subarachnoid space with progressive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid. The most common locations are the cranial cervical vertebral column in large-breed and the thoracolumbar vertebral column in small-breed dogs. Pugs, French Bulldogs and Rottweilers are predisposed to this condition. Medical management results in 30% improvement, while surgery results in 80% long-term improvement.

ATLANTO-AXIAL INSTABILITY

This condition most often affects toy-breed dogs and is characterized by a dorsal and cranial displacement of the axis relative to the atlas. It is often associated with abnormalities of the dens and failure of ligamentous support. Excessive cervical flexion in a dog with atlanto-axial instability can have devastating and even fatal consequences. Selected cases can be treated medically, while surgery is technically demanding.

STEROID-RESPONSIVE MENINGITIS AND ARTERITIS

Affected animals have a typical clinical presentation consisting of severe cervical hyperaesthesia, lethargy, pyrexia and a stiff gait. Blood work often demonstrates a leucocytosis and a diagnosis is confirmed by evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid. Although relapses are possible, most dogs respond favourably to a prolonged period of corticosteroids.

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Further Reading:

Musculoskeletal: back pain in horses

Poor Performance: overview

Spine: spinous processes - overriding in horses

Kindly sponsored by Exotic Vet Support.

The cycle of wild rabies in the Amazon basin transmitted by blood-sucking bats could not be controlled by traditional strategies in a scenario of dispersed populations, with very limited access to health services, and frequent exposures to the population. The introduction of massive anti-rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis to the population at high risk has been successful in stopping deaths from rabies in the intervened areas and has become a new paradigm for the control of human rabies. Recent research has confirmed the success of this strategy while providing evidence of the presence of pathogens in biting bats that may pose risks for emerging diseases in the region. The foundations and need to continue paradigm shifts in the approach and appreciation of the risk of biting by blood-sucking bats in the Amazon Region will be discussed, and how the strengthening of surveillance, prevention and control of wild rabies is the basis for containing risks. emerging.

The process of young stock rearing can be divided into different critical stages, such as selection of sire and dam, birth & colostrum period, milk replacer period, weaning. Each stage is characterised by specific goals and by monitoring parameters. These facilitate the evaluation of the respective process stages. To facilitate this evaluation further, evaluation parameters need to be defined for each individual dairy farm. Protocols are developed which render the monitoring, the recording of events, and the evaluation easier for farm management and farmworkers. As element of continuous education of farmer and farmworkers, working instructions are also developed (e.g. Using a colostrum feeder). When problems in calf rearing are detected, a problem analysis protocol is handled to address the problem is a stepwise manner. Great advantage of process management and protocols is that the farmer can easily see what is going on, what actions are taken for which reasons and when, which appears to highly motivate the farmer to cooperate with the vet.

“Commandment 9: Overcome anxiety”

In this module, I’ll be teaching you the process for catching your unhelpful repetitive negative thought patterns and beliefs, and how you can literally re-wire your mind to get past these blockages and think in a new way.

We’ll look at anxiety management and how you can speed up how quickly you recover from a wobble or fear attack, and also lessen the intensity when it does happen.

We’ll also tackle perfectionism and fear of failure here to really get you unstuck and happier for more of the time.

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for today's episode of VETchat is Sean Wensley, Senior Vet at the UK veterinary charity the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) and Author of the book 'Through A Vet's Eyes: How We Can All Choose a Better Life for Animals'. In this episode, Anthony and Sean talk about the great new release 'Through A Vet's Eyes: How We Can All Choose a Better Life for Animals', a book where Sean shares his first-hand experience of how animals are treated and used for our benefit. He interrogates the different levels of welfare afforded to them and reveals how we the general consumer can reduce our animal welfare footprint through the choices we make every day.' They discuss how the veterinary welfare syllabus improved over the years, the importance and the benefits of giving animals a good life and a humane death, the different levers for change, and the benefits of unions such as the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

Purchase your copy of Sean Wensley's 'Through A Vet's Eyes: How We Can All Choose a Better Life for Animals' here.

As the economy continues to grow it is important that your practice stays one step ahead.  At A4G we base our tax planning on moving your practice forward, not backwards.  We want to share with you some of the most common areas that can help make sure that you stay ahead of the tax rules.

Topics that will be covered include:

1.     The easiest way to save tax and how it works

2.     Accommodation “benefits” for Veterinary staff

3.     Investments with tax savings

4.     Practice structure options

5.     Capital gains tax and selling a practice

• The Top 10 List: 10 Recent Advances in Veterinary Oncology - Presented by Douglas Thamm

The past 5-10 years have brought about some noteworthy and exciting changes in veterinary oncology, many of which are available to the practitioner or the client willing to consider referral. A brief discussion of these advances, their applications, and potential for the future, may be helpful in informing the clinician and the dedicated client.  

• What are the latest treatment options for canine lymphoma? - Presented by Owen Davies.

Canine lymphoma is now recognised as a diverse group of different diseases
and a “one treatment fits all” approach is becoming outdated. In this
lecture we will review how to recognise different types of lymphoma and
suggest appropriate treatments for each. We will discuss new therapies
which are available to practitioners as well as budget options. It’s not all
about CHOP or COP anymore!

• Going deep into your core personal values

• Talking about your competencies, hardwiring and profiling

• Doing a review of your life timeline to uncover your own unique secret formula that makes you special and different

• Taking a good look at the working environments you might thrive in

This presentation will look at why various unwanted behaviours may occur and how they are reinforced. It will discuss how we can decipher if an unwanted behaviour is caused by pain, is primarily of behavioural origin or a combination of the two. Multiple video case studies will be used to demonstrate these points in the presentation.

We’ll be looking at the recommendations to emerge from that process under the broad headings of: -

• Embracing the vet-led team 
• Enhancing the VN role 
• Assuring practice regulation 
• Standard of proof and fitness to practice 
• Modernising RCVS registration 

This is your opportunity to share your views, as well as pose questions to our two speakers:

• Gudrun Ravetz – BVA representative on the RCVS Legislation Working Party

• Daniella Dos Santos – BVA Officer leading the development of the BVA response to the College

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for this episode of VETchat is Emma Short, Senior Nutritionist at Baileys Horse Feeds.

In this episode, Anthony and Emma discuss who Baileys Horse Feeds are and everything they are doing as a company. Emma shares information on how they produce their food on-site with their own mill, the benefits of production all being in one place, and her career to date. They also talk about the company's ongoing research into the ingredients they use, how education is at the centre of the company, and their involvement with the initiatives such as better beginnings. Moreover, Anthony asks about obesity issues in horses and what some of the company's sustainability efforts are.

Thank you to Baileys Horse Feeds for sponsoring this episode.

Learn more about Baileys Horse Feeds here

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.  

This VETChat episode is part of our series on supporting and empowering women in veterinary, hosted by Kathryn Bell. Joining Kathryn today is Silvia Janska, Equine veterinarian, Co-Founder of Flexee, Consultant at Innovating and much more. In this episode, Kathryn and Silvia talk all about hybrid veterinary roles. Silvia talks us through the different jobs she works on, how she got into her various roles and how she manages to balance everything at once. They discuss tips on managing burnout and Silvia offers advice for anyone looking to start using their veterinary degree in different ways.

Anorexia

Nick graduated from Edinburgh in 1980 with an Honours degree in Pathological Sciences and in 1982 as a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. After a year with the PDSA in London, he completed a Diploma of Veterinary Clinical Studies (Small Animal) at the University of Sydney 1985. For the following seven years he worked in Small Animal Practice undertaking a mixture of first and second opinion work. Nick joined Idexx (formerly Grange Laboratories), the largest veterinary laboratory in the UK in 1992 as Head of Clinical Pathology with responsibility for the interpretation of haematology, biochemistry and endocrinology results. His clinical interests include haematology, coagulation, endocrine and neurological disease. As well as reporting on all aspects of Clinical Pathology he also has a special interest in cytology and the laboratory evaluation of CSF. In 2003 Nick became a diplomate of the Royal college of Pathologists in veterinary clinical pathology. Nick is treasurer of the ESVCP and referees papers for The Journal of Small Animal Practice, The Veterinary Record and The European Journal of Companion Animal Practice. Nick is veterinary director for CTDS.

This webinar will use clinical cases to show what CT can reveal and how, in some cases, it supersedes conventional radiography while in others conventional radiography may give comparable results.

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Post-castration epididymal sperm extraction technique in horse

Semen: collection technique in horses

Semen: cryopreservation technique in horses

Semen: evaluation lab test

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for this episode of VETchat are Ian Battersby, Responsible Pharmaceutical Stewardship Lead for Mars Veterinary Health and Margo Mosher, Global Sustainability Director for Mars Veterinary Health.

In this episode, Anthony, Ian and Margo discuss antibiotic stewardship. They talk about how the entire lifecycle of antibiotics has an environmental impact and how managing their production and use is essential. They also discuss when we should be prescribing antibiotics, whether we should be shortening the course lengths, and the one health aspect of the issue. Moreover, Ian and Margo explain what research MARS Veterinary Health is doing in their practices to help with antibiotic stewardship knowledge.

Thank you MARS Veterinary Health for sponsoring this episode.

John qualified from the RoyalVeterinaryCollege in 1990 and gained RCVS Certificate in Zoological Medicine in 2000. He's the director of a small animal/ exotics practice in Andover, Hampshire with a 100% avian/ exotics/ small mammal caseload- referral and first opinion. john is also co-editor of two texts on avian medicine and an author of various book chapters and papers on a range of species. Ferrets have been his favourite species for many years and he has worked with various ferret clubs, rescue groups, working ferrets and pet ferrets for many years.

This webinar is in Spanish.

Learning objectives

· Understand the major organ system changes that can occur in geriatric patients

· Understand the components of an anaesthesia plan for geriatric patients

· Understand the options in anaesthetic agents and why we may select specific agents and avoid others

· Gain confidence in how to optimise recovery for geriatrics.

The fires have been particularly severe because of absolute lack of moisture in the landscape as a result of prolonged drought, combined with two large- scale climate phenomena. There is no doubt that climate change which results in increasing temperatures has contributed to the dry conditions.

Australia had its highest recorded temperatures in history in 2019. Australia is already one of the driest countries on earth with most of its inhabitants clinging to the edges. It also has unique flora and fauna and a poor record for animal extinctions. The fires have had a devastating effect on livestock and native animals, particularly the koala with at least 2,000 killed in the East. An estimated 1.3 billion mammals, birds and reptiles have died in the fires.

Those that have survived are threatened by invasive pests such as cats and foxes which quickly move into burnt out areas. The fires have caused a significant health risk with pollution in affected areas regularly reaching hazardous levels and the fires are responsible for enormous greenhouse gas emissions.

Unfortunately the fires were preceded by many years of land clearing in NSW and Queensland. Land clearing kills millions of native animals and disrupts habitats making it difficult for animals such as the koala to survive. The outlook is grim. We ask ourselves if we will ever recover and what the future holds for our unique wildlife.

Veterinarians are of course essential in treating burnt and injured animals and euthanasing those that can’t be saved. They have an essential role in providing support to wildlife carers who are known to be under stress even in non bushfire times as a result of caring for the vast numbers of wildlife that come into care in Australia each year. Veterinarians are best placed to assess animal health and welfare and make sensible decisions on the options for rehabilitation of burnt and injured wildlife keeping in mind that the fate of rehabilitated and released native animals is largely unknown. In the long term there should be adequate Government employment of veterinarians in wildlife and environmental roles for ongoing advice and oversight. And adequate employment of vets in areas such as Local Land Services to advise the livestock sector affected by fires and play a role in planning strategies to limit the effects of extreme weather events which are exacerbated by climate change.

Veterinarians play an essential role in lobbying politicians to take heed of climate scientists and plan ahead. It’s long been known that climate change will affect those areas currently suited to livestock farming in Australia. Governments also need to look at water allocation and the effects of drought. Whilst there has been mass deaths of fish in dried up rivers in NSW, 3.7 million red kangaroos have been estimated to have died during the current drought.

Veterinarians need to lobby for better use of water. More effort should be made to consider the use of native plants and animals such as kangaroos better suited to the Australian environment than European livestock.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for today's episode of VETchat is Juliet Davenport. Founder of Good Energy and Author of 'The Green Start-Up: Make Your Business Better For The Planet'.

In this episode, Anthony and Juliet discuss her new book and what people can expect from it. Juliet shares how she started good energy, including her work on changing the regulations for exporting energy to the national grid. They talk about the importance of trying to produce as much energy ourselves as we can, the shortage of engineers that can install solar panels, and Juliet's thoughts on investing in natural capital.

Order a copy of 'The Green Start-Up' here.

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/  0808 2000 247

Vetlife helpline - Confidential telephone support 0303 040 2551

https://www.vetlife.org.uk/

https://thelinksgroup.org.uk/webinar-guests

With thanks to Baileys Horse Feeds for sponsoring the Equine programme 2022.

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Myeloencephalopathy

Abortion EHV-1

Respiratory: EHV infection

Kindly sponsored by Huvepharma.

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Bovis Neonatology

Bovis herd-health

There are a number of products on the market available to farmers to monitor the health of their animals. The data can also be utilised by vets to help promote more preventative healthcare.

This presentation will discuss the most common technologies available and how these can be effectively utilised on your clients farms.

This webinar is free to watch with thanks to the kind Sponsorship from Virtual Vet Specialists who can be contacted via their website: www.vvs.vet

Please make sure you are logged in to view this webinar.

Some useful links:

https://vetspecialists.co.uk/oxygen-conservation/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4U2VFxOGg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j1zZ7_RVUU

Free resources available here:  https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/resource-hub-resources/

To register for this webinar and others by Animalcare, go to: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/register-animal-care

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for this episode of VETchat by The Webinar Vet is Sean McCormack, Head Vet and Manager, Veterinary Affairs at tails.com and Founder and Chair of Ealing Wildlife Group. In this episode, Anthony and Sean discuss Sean's career journey, including what inspired him to become a vet and why he decided to stop working in clinical settings. Sean shares his journey up to COP26 on a sailboat and what research they did along their way.

They also talk about topics such as the biodiversity crisis, wetland creation, and pet food sustainability. Finally, Sean also explains why he set up the Ealing Wildlife Group and their latest project.  

Learn more about the Ealing Wildlife Group here

This webinar will look at the most common behavioural problems seen in cats, house soiling and inter-cat conflict, and provide practical tips and advice that can be given to clients. It focuses on the over-arching theme of ensuring that the cats’ environmental needs are met at home.

FREE to attend with thanks to the Rabbit Welfare Association for their kind sponsorship.

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Cutaneous Neoplasia

Dermal Fibrosis

Lapis Dermatology: alopecia

Dermatology: Parasitic Disease - overview

• Attitudes to biosecurity
• Approaches to demonstrating good biosecurity practice
• How biosecurity occurs away from the farm gate
• How we might encourage good biosecurity practice in our clients
• It will consider BVDV and bTB as two examples of diseases which may effectively be managed, in part, by improving biosecurity on farm.

It will aim to promote a more active consideration of the role of Biosecurity in our advice on farm, and to promote consideration of the resources which are available to the practitioner to assist in this aim.

This webinar will address the following areas:

• What are the parasite risks our feline patients face?
• Do cats get ticks?
• What is the best method to reducing flea infestations on our feline patients?
• How does 12 weeks continued protection break the flea lifecycle and the easiest way to achieve this?

The FLASH (Fast Localized Abdominal Sonography of the Horse) protocol has been around for a number of years, a protocol developed to differentiate surgical from medical colic in an extremely timely manner.  This exam is most useful for small intestinal lesions.  The exam is limited; therefore there are surgical colics that can be missed, which the clinician needs to be aware of.

POCUS is frequently used to guide decision making about interventional procedures.  It is used to determine if thoracocentesis is needed and where the drainage should be performed.  It is also a quick and easy tool to diagnose pneumothorax.  It can be used to quickly look at the lung for interstitial changes consistent with pulmonary edema or viral pneumonia with ARDS compared to consolidation or pulmonary atelectasis.

In horses with puncture wounds or lacerations, POCUS can be used to determine if there is a foreign body present and if there is synovial involvement.  In areas where radiographic evaluation is not possible (such as scapula, pelvis in the field), POCUS can be used for fracture detection.

Hemodynamic status can be assessed in the emergency setting with POCUS and can help identify hypovolemia, pulmonary hypertension and myocardial dysfunction. An endocarditis check can be performed, as can a pericardial fluid check, when indicated.  POCUS is also useful in the diagnosis of venous thrombosis/thrombophlebitis.  POCUS can help with catheter placement. 

The rapid examination protocol (REP) for high-risk pregnant mares is another use for POCUS where only 3 parameters (aortic root diameter, heart rate and uteroplacental thickness) are evaluated to assess outcome in late gestation mares.  This test has been shown to be essentially equivalent to the more comprehensive biophysical profile with similar sensitivity and specificity.

POCUS has already been shown to be an excellent teaching tool for veterinary students and graduate veterinarians, providing rapid feedback about physical examination findings.  Images are stored in the cloud and can be easily viewed by others.  Students and post grads can answer questions on line and get feedback from experienced sonographers about their images, improving image acquisition skills.  Image interpretation can also be evaluated by specialists, improving their understanding.

Point of care ultrasound is not meant to replace a complete abdominal/thoracic, transcutaneous and transrectal uterine and fetal ultrasound when indicated, but instead complements findings in the acute setting to help with decision making about patient care.

We will learn:

1. What questions we can ask to determined seizure vs. other events.
2. What movement disorders can look like
3. What sleep disorders can look like
4. What diagnostic testing should we consider for seizures
5. What idiopathic epilepsy is

Kindly sponsored by Antech Diagnostics

This webinar is kindly sponsored by Mars.

Resources readily available:

http://qed.in-beta12.co.uk/Pedigree/index.html

http://qed.in-beta12.co.uk/Whiskas/index.html

Interpretation of thoracic radiographs in patients with suspected cardiovascular disease can often be challenging. The aim of this webinar is to increase attendees’ ability and confidence in assessing heart size, specific cardiac chamber enlargement, pulmonary vascularity and pulmonary parenchymal patterns.

Echocardiography is an invaluable tool for the evaluation of cardiac chamber size, wall thickness, wall motion and cardiac valve morphology. It can play an important role in general practice for diagnosis confirmation and cardiac disease staging in patients with commonly encountered acquired heart diseases e.g. MVD, DCM, HCM. However, technical knowledge and expertise in performing and interpreting a basic echocardiographic examination are fundamental prerequisites to the valid use of this diagnostic tool. This webinar will give guidance on how to obtain the standard 2D and M-mode views, how to recognise normal from abnormal cardiac morphology and which cardiac measurements are likely to give the most useful information in this setting.

Electrocardiography (ECG) can often seem quite daunting. This webinar will provide practical advice and guidance on how to obtain a good quality ECG trace and how to develop a logical and systematic approach to ECG interpretation, using examples of the more commonly encountered canine and feline arrhythmias.

In summary, technical expertise in both performing and interpreting cardiac diagnostics is very important. This webinar is designed to improve attendees’ confidence in the fundamentals of thoracic radiography, echocardiography and electrocardiography,

Five learning objectives for the webinar:

1. How to logically approach thoracic radiograph interpretation in canine and feline patients with suspected cardiac disease

2. How to obtain standard 2D and M-mode echo images in canine and feline patients

3. How to recognise normal from abnormal cardiac morphology and which cardiac measurements to perform

4. How to record a good quality diagnostic ECG

5. How to approach ECG interpretation in canine and feline patients with commonly encountered arrhythmias

By the end of the webinar, delegates should have a better understanding of:

· How to improve your radiographic technique to produce optimal radiographs

· Using a systemic approach to gain the maximum information from your radiographs

· How to integrate results of other diagnostic modalities in a logical manner to confirm a diagnosis

• Get More Valuable Clients by vastly improving the marketing of your practice
• Have more Time and More Energy to do the things YOU want to do
• Double Or Triple Your Profits with no extra work

With thanks to Burgess PetCare for sponsoring.

This webinar series covers the most important aspects of veterinary toxicology with updated information on how to best manage the most common intoxications seen in first opinion practice. The possibilities for intoxication in our small animal patients are endless. This course will start with a stepwise approach as to what to do with the poisoned patient including where to find information quickly and when to worry (and not!), advise what advice can be safely given over the phone, as well as what must be prioritised during the first 30 minutes when first meeting the patient. There will then be a full discussion of the best ways to decontaminate the poisoned patient covering a wide range of scenarios including some more challenging cases. Although the number of antidotes available for poisoned patients is limited, they may be life-saving in a number of situations. and their use will be discussed using case examples. The course will finish with a discussion of the latest updates on the management of some common toxins seen in clinical patients. By the end of the webinar series you will be more confident in dealing with any toxicologic emergency and able to apply the latest recommendations to the management of these emergency cases.

Kindly Sponsored by TVM Innovative Animal Health.

Find the BrAVO Goody Bag here:

Part 3 of our latest 6-week course.

Session 1: Hypercalcaemia in dogs & cats 

Session 2: Basic cytology for practitioners

• Alternative Diets: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Alternative diets, such as raw meat-based diets, home-prepared cooked diets, grain-free diets, and vegan diets are becoming popular choices among pet owners. The session will look at specific concerns associated with each diet type and will provide guidance for improving safety when feeding an alternative diet. The sessions will also detail how to have conversations with pet owners that provide education and support so owners can make informed decisions when deciding what to feed their pet.

• Interactive Obesity Care

For background information, please see webinars; Part 1: Obesity Care: Essential Elements and Part 2. Obesity Care Tailored Plans and Problem Cases.

Pharmaceuticals are a core component of how we, as veterinarians, care for pets. This may be medication to treat a disease, alleviate pain, prevent a disease or anaesthetics to enable us to treat a patient. This series of short talks will discuss the principles of pharmaceutical stewardship and apply them to examples such as antibiotic usage and the development of antimicrobial resistance. Clinicians can then apply them to all aspects of their daily prescribing.

The lecture includes a series of prevention and management measures to counteract the heat stress effects, with many practical suggestions such as cooling equipment on the dairy farm.

It must be stated here that there does not exist one solution against heat stress valid for all farms. Solutions are highly farm-specific, and the assistance of the veterinarian and a technical barn climate specialist is warranted.

There are now natural extracts from a blue-green algae that contain molecules that cause the bone marrow to release millions extra adult stem cells. Thus the natural repair and renewal system of the body is enhanced. We have been using these products in people and animals for over 1 year with fantastic results. There are now 6 Veterinary Practices in the UK using these products. In total over 400 dogs, 20 cats, some birds and 30 horses have been treated using these products.

Paul Boland BVSc MRCVS is a Partner at Alder Veterinary Hospital, Liverpool. He lectures on Canine Reproduction to the fourth years Students at Liverpool. Combining herbs, nutraceuticals, acupuncture and more recently natural stem cell enhancers, he is able to treat a large proportion of his patients naturally. Paul is a writer for the magazine What Doctors Don’t Tell You and his website is www.naturalhealthvet.com

You will be able to:

• State what the ideal Veterinary Practice/Group Facebook page should have on it
• List the three stages of the marketing journey
• Create different posts that are highly relevant to your target audience at each stage
of the marketing journey – or brief an agency with what you require on your
Facebook page

The veterinary profession appears to be in a crisis of mental health. This is not specific to the veterinary world as this is apparent in other professions as well. Daily I get emails and information through the media on how to create a resilient workplace, how to promote mindfulness, five ways to increase wellness and descriptions of the toxic workplace. We certainly get to know about the symptoms but perhaps not so much about the solutions.

The trouble with this approach is that we tend to manifest what we think about most. So are we manifesting the problem we need to fix? Could it be that we all have a natural innate health and wellness built in that we are not tapping into - evolution  or divine design would hardly get this wrong to get us thus far…?

In this webinar we examine the concept of Flow – a state induced in high performance and high performance athletes. If we look at how the flow state is produced there is an opportunity to recreate it as a more ‘normal’ state in everyday life - particularly in the busyness of a veterinary practice

Kindly sponsored by MSD Animal Health.

Veronica qualified from Cambridge University in 2003, having previously graduated in Biology from Oxford University. She completed an equine internship at The Royal Veterinary College, followed by a residency in equine medicine at the University of Liverpool. She then spent two and a half years in Sweden as Head of Equine Medicine at a large referral hospital and stands on the Swedish Equine Veterinary Association committee.

She is a Diplomate of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine. Clinical interests are in all aspects of equine medicine but in particular neonatal care, inflammatory bowel diseases and the metabolic causes of laminitis. Her main
research interest is in headshaking. In her spare time she rides and competes her horse at Advanced Medium dressage.

We aim to give information on how you can be paid, insurance, tax regulations, how you can find work, different types of recruitment agencies plus lots of other frequently asked questions including holiday pay, maternity pay and CPD.

Further Reading:

Hyperthyroidism in cats

Thyroid: T4 assay lab test

Thyroid: free T4 assay lab test

Victoria has had over 40 years of breeding and judging exhibition poultry and waterfowl. She is honorary avian lecturer at Liverpool Vet School, edits the British Poultry Standards, has had a column in Country Smallholding for 13 years, a Past President of the British Veterinary Zoological Society and currently their Administrator. Victoria has several books on poultry in print and her website is www.vicvet.com.

People love talking about and sharing pictures of their pets online! With an effective website, you can harness this and ensure your practice is viewed as the friendly and helpful source they can trust with their treasured family pets.

The course, led by veterinary marketing expert Justin Phillips, will cover all the major factors your website should address, including Google Analytics, content creation, User Experience (UX) and their role in generating leads for your practice, it will also focus on the importance of blogging, how it can be central to any good digital strategy, and how it links in with your practices wider PR and communications strategy.

It will also touch upon the relationship of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and how these can be used to engage clients with your website.

The course will be full of tips and tricks that are easy to implement and can achieve the best/quickest results. It will also explain the basics of search engine optimisation and how blogging and embracing digital best practice benefit your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO).

Visit Justin's website here

Learning Objectives:

You will learn how:

• to measure the performance of your practice website
• small changes to your practice website can bring clients into your practice
• a highly successful veterinary practice markets themselves online
• blogging can increase the visibility of your practice website
• to implement a blogging programme for your practice

Kindly sponsored by Adaptix.

Biography: Tobias graduated from the Tierärztliche Hochschule in Hannover in 1999 and then spent 3 years working in a mixed animal practice and a small animal clinic in Germany before starting as an emergency vet in central London. He joined Vets Now in 2003, working as a Senior Vet in Stoke-on-Trent, Edinburgh and Glasgow. He completed a Vets Now-Residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Glasgow and acquired “Specialist” status by becoming board certified as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2013 in San Diego. Tobias has lectured worldwide at different veterinary meetings, including the largest International Emergency Symposium (IVECCS, USA) and the largest European Veterinary Congress (BSAVA, UK). He has published various veterinary articles in English and German and is chairmen of the British Association of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (BAVECC). He was previously nominated for the “Pet Plan Vet of the year” award and won the “Vets Now Referral Clinician of the year” award in 2013. He is leading the ECC referral service and is the director of the internship programme at the Vets Now Hospital in Glasgow.

Learning objectives:

1. To recognise the four different skin reaction patterns and the common differential diagnoses causing pruritus cats.

2. Apply systematic knowledge and problem solving strategies to prioritise these differential diagnoses based on clinical history, signalment and physical examination findings.

3. Interpret the diagnostic testing required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of the pruritic cat.

4. Make recommendations for the diagnosis and therapeutic and management intervention of adverse food reactions in cats.

5. Make recommendations for the diagnosis and therapeutic and management intervention of atopic dermatitis in dogs and cats.

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for today's episode of VETchat is Sergio Silvetti, Veterinary Surgeon at Rutland House Referrals. In this episode, Anthony and Sergio discuss one of Sergio's recent cases, Eddie the tortoise. Eddie had unfortunately escaped his enclosure one night and his owners found him outside the next morning with serious injuries to his front legs. Sergio explains what steps he took with this case and what led to the idea of attaching some plastic wheels from a toy to Eddie's shell. They also discuss how best to approach exotic patients, the importance of good husbandry, how to look after tortoises during their winter hibernation, and ways in which we can educate our clients to provide the best care for their exotic pets.

This content is RACE approved –  program number 1448-39395 

1. To provide a brief review of the principles of wound healing and wound site preparation including differences between cats and dogs.
2. To provide a concise review of the newer wound dressings and their application.
3. To review the appropriate use and applications of wound drains including open and closed suction drains.
4. To review the use and indications of specific types of bandages and materials including the tie-over bandage, use of stretch net as a bandaging aid, and options for bandages in the head, neck and shoulder regions.
5. To review the basics of conservative fracture management including the use of splints versus casts.

Therapeutics: oral chondroprotectants

Therapeutics: musculoskeletal system

Athritis: osteoarthritis in dogs

Further reading with Vetlexicon: 

Respiratory: nasal oxygen administration

Dyspnea

Lower-respiratory tract disease

With thanks to Baileys Horse Feeds for sponsoring the Equine programme 2022.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for this episode of VETchat is Sonya Miles, Exotic Species Veterinary Surgeon & Head Of Department at Highcroft Exotic Vets.

In this episode, Anthony and Sonya discuss whether we are taking our responsibility to fish medicine seriously enough. They talk about the lack of time spent teaching exotics in university, how aquatic species are just as important to their owners as other companion animals pets, and the importance of knowing a basic clinical exam. Sonya also shares the 3 conditions she sees the most in Goldfish and Koi. Finally, Sonya shares her experience in working with the Olive Ridley Project and how important their work is.

Reserve your ticket to VC23 here

Learn more about the Olive Ridley Project here

This content is RACE approved – program number 1448-38212

Kindly Sponsored by MSD Animal Health.

Alan Robinson B.V.Sc. MRCVS DMS is a vet and independent practice management consultant. His company, Vet Dynamics, works with independent practices to improve client quality, practice profitability and vet owner choices. He is founder of the Platinum Practice Academy, working with independent Veterinary Practice Owners to attain better clients, create more profit and free up time for a better veterinary life.

]]> https://thewebinarvet.com/videos/ageing-gracefully-helping-the-older-rabbit 2026-07-13 weekly 0.8 Success in keeping and treating pets is helping them achieve older age problems- these may include arthritis, heart disease, tumours and problems with internal organ failure. These may be managed both with medications and with husbandry changes. In addition, older pets may have different anaesthetic needs. This webinar will aim to discuss these problems and help in their recognition and management.

Further reading with Vetlexicon:

Canis Surgery

Felis Surgery

Consequences can range from common, minor changes such as postoperative pain, up to rarer cases of death from inhalation pneumonia or oesophageal stricture.  We will be discussing common causes of reflux and regurgitation and what you can do to help manage and prevent it.

This session will be valuable to both vets and nurses.

Aim

To enable attendees to support staff members who have been exposed to incidents that have the potential to cause psychological distress.

Course Developed by Dr Mike Scanlan

Evaluar el bienestar animal es de los aspectos más complejos dentro de esta disciplina. La forma más común de medir el bienestar animal tiene que ver con la forma en que el animal responde y enfrenta su medio ambiente. Frecuentemente se examina la manera en que los animales toman decisiones e integran y seleccionan los diferentes factores en sus sistemas de acuerdo a sus preferencias. Los criterios para evaluar el bienestar animal se han dividido en dos tipos de indicadores, los basados en el animal o en resultados y los basados en criterios de diseño o en recursos (Rushen y Pasillé 2009, OIE 2016). Los indicadores basados en el animal se colectan directa o indirectamente del animal y son resultado de la respuesta de éste al ambiente. Son reflejo del estado del animal al momento de la observación. Los indicadores basados en el animal se pueden dividir en indicadores de comportamiento, de dolor, productivos, patológicos o de salud y fisiológicos.

Los criterios basados en el diseño o en recursos se basan en los requerimientos ambientales físicos y sociales, en estándares de manejo producto de la experiencia y del conocimiento científico de la especie y de la experiencia práctica (Webster 2009). Los indicadores basados en recursos, reflejan la compleja interacción existente entre diferentes variables, por ejemplo, la experiencia, la actitud de los operarios y cuidadores (OIE 2016). Ejemplos de estos indicadores son la temperatura ambiental, condiciones de las instalaciones y algunas prácticas de manejo.

Medir el bienestar no es simple, algunos de los factores que complican las mediciones están relacionados con el tipo de estímulo y la respuesta del animal (Barnett y Hemsworth 1990), a variaciones individuales, el tiempo de exposición al estímulo, el momento en que se realiza la medición (Fraser 1995, Asher et al. 2009), la falta de especificidad de algunas respuestas (Mason y Mendl 1993), la preferencia o aversión del animal por un determinado ambiente debida a experiencias pasadas (Nicol et al. 2009) y a la interpretación (Botreau et al. 2007) y a los juicios éticos, morales y religiosos de los evaluadores (Dawkins 2004) entre otros factores.

Para evaluar el bienestar animal es importante conocer el alcance de cada indicador y los factores externos al bienestar que afectan la respuesta del indicador, algunos indicadores presentan poca especificidad o son poco sensibles a ciertos problemas de bienestar. Otros están diseñados para ser usados a nivel experimental y no bajo condiciones comerciales. Se recomienda el uso de varios indicadores para obtener mejores resultados y conocer muy bien los factores que interfieren o afectan los problemas de bienestar antes de elegir cada indicador. 

Existen muchos protocolos de evaluación del bienestar de las gallinas y pollos de engorde a nivel comercial, privados o gubernamentales que se basan en estándares de manejo o indicadores basados en recursos para los que aplica una calificación. También existen protocolos de evaluación basados en el animal (Whay et al. 2003, EFSA 2015) y es posible encontrar guías de evaluación que combinan diferentes tipos de indicadores y abordajes, principalmente basados en el enfoque de las “5 libertades” de los animales.

Evaluar las condiciones bajo las que se crían y mantienen las aves es básico para poder garatinzar su bienestar, sin embargo; las respuestas de estos animales al estrés son complejas. Se requiere mayor investigación a nivel comercial que permita establecer citerios de evaluación que mejoren las condiciones de los animales y que respondan a los intereses de los consumidores, sin que se conviertan en barreras comerciales.

We will review the evidence base for the true impact of nutrition on canine behaviour. Does protein level impact hyperactivity or aggression? Can dietary supplements actually help with separation anxiety or noise phobias? Is there a behavioural impact of feeding raw vs cooked diets?

We'll try to answer many of the questions asked in our previous webinar series too. What is the evidence and best advice regarding feeding for dental health? What is the impact of pre- and probiotics in food products? Are dietary supplements necessary? Are life stage or breed specific diets a gimmick? If not, how important are macro- and micro nutrient profiles of the diet for different breeds and different ages? 

Finally we will give the latest update on the FDA investigation into a possible link between grain-free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy in an atypical population of US dogs.

By the end of this lecture, delegates should be able to:

• Perform rapid assessment of a mare with dystocia and formulate a plan for management
• Identify and manage life-threatening complications that may occur in the mare after foaling
• List factors that place horses at increased risk of complications following castration
• Assess and manage horses that develop life threatening complications following castration
• Assess and formulate a plan for management of  stallions / colts that develop acute scrotal or preputial swelling, persistent penile protrusion or sustain severe trauma to these regions

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

Joining Anthony for today's episode of VETchat is Dr Sarah Machell, Medical Director at Vetster, a veterinary telemedicine provider.

In this episode Anthony and Sarah discuss who Vetster are and how the company was founded. Sarah shares some insight on her career background and discusses how technology progression has helped us in the profession. Sarah tells of how people are enjoying the Vetster platform in the UK, how beneficial it is bringing the physical and virtual practices together to help complement and support each other, and how telemedicine can help people to continue to practice and stay in the profession just in a less traditional way. Finally, they talk about how Vetster will be attending the London Vet Show in 2022 and how you can get in touch with them if you are attending.

Thank you to Vetster for sponsoring today's episode.

Find out more about Vetster here

“Commandment 3: Design the life you want”

In this module we’re really starting to get clear on the life you want to design for yourself.

We’re reviewing your life roles and how in or out of balance they currently are.

We’ll be looking at your money mindset and any fears around finances and we’ll be doing a health check on how much play, rest and self-care is going on right now because this process is meant to be fun and energising, not draining and stressful!

1. Know the clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment of non-necrotizing infectious cholecystitis
2. Know the causes, clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment of necrotizing cholecystitis
3. Know how to diagnose extrahepatic biliary tract obstruction and what the main causes are
4. Know the causes, how to diagnose, and how to treat biliary mucocoeles
5. Know how to diagnose and what to do when you diagnose choleliths

Abscess

Dental Malocclusion / overgrowth

Dentistry (clipping /filing) technique in rabbits

Mike Herrtage graduated from the LiverpoolUniversity and is currently Professor of Small Animal Medicine. He is Dean of the CambridgeVeterinarySchool and is in charge of the small animal medicine and diagnostic imaging services at the Queen's VeterinarySchoolHospital. He was awarded the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (B.S.A.V.A.) Woodrow Award in 1986 for outstanding contributions in the field of small animal veterinary medicine and the B.S.A.V.A. Blaine Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of small animal medicine in 2000.

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the biology of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi.
2. Recognise the clinical signs of strangles and to differentiate atypical cases from classical cases.
3. Use of appropriate diagnostics in the acute case.
4. How to control an outbreak spreading.
5. How to screen for carriers and prevent future outbreaks.

Learning objectives:

1. Learn how to give expert husbandry and nutrition advice to keep Bearded Dragons successfully
2. Know how to take an expert history and perform a comprehensive clinical exam on Bearded Dragons in clinic
3. Learn how the most common clinical conditions present and how best to diagnose and treat them 
4. Gain practical tips in anaesthesia, diagnostic and surgical techniques when treating Bearded Dragons
5. Become more confident in providing veterinary care and advice to Bearded Dragon owners

This lunch and learn webinar has been kindly sponsored by Butternut Box.

Well, watch this video to find out a little bit more about the development, ingredients and uses of these great new products!

Visit the DOUXO S3 site here.

More information about the in-vivo testing here 

View the 'Journey So Far' document here

This webinar has been discounted with thanks to Vets Now.

If you would like more ECC content, click here.

Interactive case studies in diagnostic imaging - Part 1 & 2

These two sessions will introduce a range of clinical cases with their imaging findings. The cases will be chosen to fulfil the learning objectives, which are principally to get the most out of your imaging modalities and to recognise the advantages and limitations of these techniques and when advanced imaging is required to make a diagnosis.

Reading further with Vetlexicon:

Guinea pigs: cesarean section

Guinea pigs: limb fracture repair external coaptation

Guinea pigs: prescrotal orchidectomy

Matt graduated from University of Liverpool in 2003 and spent several years enjoying mixed practice before returning to Liverpool to undertake a residency in anaesthesia and analgesia. Since 2009 he has worked at Northwest Veterinary Specialists, a multidisciplinary specialist hospital in Cheshire. Matt is a European Veterinary Specialist and an RCVS Recognised Specialist.

• Describe the key physiological differences between beef suckler and dairy cows.
• List some key performance indicators for beef cattle reproduction.
• List the main factors limiting beef cattle reproductive performance.
• Understand how the main factors limiting reproductive performance in the suckler herd can be corrected
• Discuss strategies for reproductive management.

Adam qualified from the University of Liverpool in 2001 and entered large animal practice on the border between North Wales and Cheshire.  After five happy years in practice he moved to Norway and undertook a residency in ruminant reproduction and herd health at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences where he still works dividing his time between clinics, teaching and research.  Adam holds the diploma of the European College of Animal Reproduction and a PhD in the field of bovine theriogenology. He is European Veterinary Specialist in the field of Animal Reproduction and is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a specialist in the fields of Veterinary Reproduction and Cattle Health and Production.

• Decreased platelet production - bone marrow disease, virus (FIV/FeLV/Parvo), chemotherapy drugs.
• Leukaemia may decrease platelet numbers due to the destruction of bone marrow architecture.
• Increased platelet destruction – IMTP, chemotherapy drugs, NSAID’s
• Platelet loss or consumption – haemorrhage, DIC, sepsis, vasculitis, splenic torsion
• Splenic sequestration (blood pooling in spleen) – hypersplenism (90% of circulating platelets become sequestrated in the spleen), severe hypothermia
• Tick-borne diseases – Babesia canis, ehrlichiosis, rocky mountain fever (USA)
• Secondary to other IM diseases i.e. immune mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) or immune mediated poly arthritis (IMPA)
• Drug reactions – live virus vaccinations
• Neoplasia – lymphoma, haemangiosarcoma
• Infection
• Idiopathic

Jaundice is divided into 3 groups - pre-hepatic, hepatic and post hepatic. This talk will examine how to distinguish between these 3 types and how to investigate the specific causes. Treatment will be briefly covered at the end of the talk. Case examples will be supplied throughout.

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

This VETChat episode is part of our series on supporting and empowering women in veterinary, hosted by Kathryn Bell. Joining Kathryn today is Kel O'Neill, an Integrative Counsellor / Therapist and Educator with a special interest in the area of Eating Disorders. In this episode, Kathryn and Kel talk about the topic of eating disorders. Kel shares her expert knowledge on what they are, how many people are affected and how it can impact someone's life. They talk about whether the perfectionist mentality typical to the veterinary profession can be a catalyst to eating disorders, and similarly how dangerous busy work environments and missing meals can be. Kel also shares the key signs to spot if someone is struggling and tips on how best to approach someone if you are worried about them.  

Find more from Kel here

Find the BrAVO Goody Bag here: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/bravo-virtual-winter-conference-digital-goody-bag/ (Open until Monday 23rd November 2020)

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/  0808 2000 247

Vetlife helpline - Confidential telephone support 0303 040 2551

https://www.vetlife.org.uk/

https://thelinksgroup.org.uk/webinar-guests

This webinar will cover 10 interesting facts on the incidence, diagnosis and prevention of problems commonly seen in this interesting companion animal.

Find the BrAVO Goody Bag here: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/bravo-virtual-winter-conference-digital-goody-bag/ (Open until Monday 23rd November 2020)

Al finalizar esta presentación, los participantes serán capaces de:

1. Identificar varios patógenos zoonóticos importantes de aves y pequeños mamíferos
2. Discutir el riesgo potencial de transmisión de enfermedades zoonóticas a los propietarios de mascotas exóticas
3. Desarrollar una mayor conciencia del riesgo de enfermedades zoonóticas de las aves y las mascotas exóticas 

Find the BrAVO Goody Bag here:

This webinar is free to attend with thanks to Bayer for their kind sponsorship.

Time invested in drawing up protocols, guidelines & checklists can reduce the likelihood of errors, ensure team consistency and improve outcomes.

We will look at how to establish these in practice, then how to audit their use to ensure that they are effective.

If things do go wrong this can be a great opportunity to learn from errors or near misses and put in systems to reduce the chance of the same errors happening again. For this to be effective practice leaders need to make it clear to their teams that looking at these significant events is about changing systems not about blaming individuals.

Charlie worked in clinical veterinary practice for 11 years before Co-founding Virtual Recall. During his time in practice he became an advanced practitioner in Veterinary Ophthalmology and has a thorough understanding of the all angles of Veterinary Practice from rural mixed practice to referral medicine and surgery. He is co-founding director and joint CEO of Virtual Recall which provides iRecall®, the U.K.’s most successful client communication solution, supporting over 2 million clients worldwide.  By helping veterinary practices communicate more efficiently and effectively with their clients, iRecall® delivers significant improvements in animal health, enhances client loyalty resulting in improved practice profitability.

Charlie regularly gives CPD lectures on a broad range of clinical and business issues.  Most recently, he has written several articles on the implications of GDPR in practice for the Veterinary press, as well as giving numerous CPD lectures on the topic.  Consequently, he developed iRecall® Consent Management; the only solution that can seamlessly gain, manage and maintain client consent and communication preferences that is designed specifically for Veterinary Practices.

Suzanne Dibble is a multi-award winning business lawyer who consults with multi-nationals on data protection law and the upcoming GDPR. The Legal Services Board and the Law Society have heralded her innovative approach to helping small business owners with complex regulations. Suzanne worked with Richard Branson at Virgin where she led a group-wide data protection project which resulted in Virgin nominating Suzanne for the Solicitor of the Year Award and subsequently Suzanne was runner-up in this prestigious award. Suzanne has had second to none training and experience at a top City law firm, leading billion pound deals and being on the board of £100m+ business (resulting in her being listed in the Who’s Who of Britain’s Business Elite two years in a row). Suzanne is one of the few lawyers that really understands the online world and puts law and regulation in the context of your business. There has been a lot of scaremongering and hype about GDPR (with the headline fines of 20m) and Suzanne brings a practical, balanced approach.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.

This VETChat episode is part of our series on supporting and empowering women in veterinary, hosted by Kathryn Bell. Joining Kathryn today is Jo Keeler, Managing Director of Belbin Ltd.

In this episode, Kathryn and Jo talk about managing teams. Jo shares advice on how a manager can choose the best candidate for the position they want to fill, tips on how to manage a team in a stressful environment, and how to provide employees with varied, adaptable and flexible roles.

Find out more about Belbin here

Register for VC23 here

Kindly sponsored by Baileys Horse Feeds.

As vets and advisers, we need to understand different building designs, identify problem
areas, and be able to help farmers implement the right solutions.

In this webinar, a large number of photographic examples will be used to demonstrate
what works and what doesn’t. Three main areas will be focussed on:

1. Youngstock: the environmental requirements of youngstock, and how these
can be achieved for different management systems, will be discussed.

2. Cubicle housing: cubicle house layouts, dimensions, space allowances and
bedding types are all important. Some common problem areas with suggested
solutions will be shown.

3. Transition cow and calving facilities: management and environment are
closely interlinked and never more so than for the transition cow. Discover the
best ways of achieving success through good housing.

Five learning objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants will have an appreciation for:
• the role of the vet in building design on cattle farms

• looking after the cow’s needs, using CowSignals™ “six freedoms of pasture”
principles

• the six critical features of cubicle design

• meeting the special environmental requirements of youngstock

• designing a system to accommodate the needs of the maternity cow

Pet Remedy es una gama única y clínicamente probada de productos naturales desestresantes y calmantes para su uso por parte de los propietarios de mascotas, los profesionales de los animales de compañía y los consultorios veterinarios. Disponible en forma de difusores de tapón, sprays a base de agua y toallitas calmantes, la versátil gama ayuda a todos los mamíferos y pájaros en situaciones estresantes como las visitas al veterinario, el nuevo hogar, el adiestramiento, el acicalamiento, la creación de vínculos y la temporada de fiestas. Pet Remedy trabaja con los propios mecanismos naturales de calma de la mascota y comienza a ayudar al instante. Este vídeo ofrece 30 minutos de iniciación y formación para que los veterinarios, las enfermeras veterinarias y los profesionales de los animales de compañía comprendan y conozcan de forma práctica Pet Remedy.

This webinar provides essential, practical advice to guide your approach and techniques to identify, prevent and reduce pain in dental and oral cases.

Topics to be covered include:

• Anticipating pain – dental and oral surgery cases
• Multi-modal analgesia
• Local analgesia
• Surgical techniques

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) affects many cats in Britain, causing them, and their owners, considerable distress. Affected cats may have pain and difficulty on urination, increased frequency of urination, haematuria, inappropriate urination, and/or urethral obstruction. A number of different conditions can be involved, including bacterial (and occasionally fungal) infection, congenital defects, trauma, and neoplasia; however, in the majority of cases the cause appears to be the cat’s inability to cope with their environment, and their stress results in bladder dysfunction. Since this bladder dysfunction can even result in life-threatening urethral obstruction it is essential to understand the powerful role that behaviour plays if we are to treat these cats effectively. It is essential to understand the behavioural needs of cats, especially those with little access outside, if we are to reduce the pain and dysfunction in these cats. Treating FLUTD therefore requires behavioural, medical and, occasionally, surgical intervention. The aim of this webinar is to consider the causes of FLUTD, and examine the overlap between the behavioural and medical causes in the knowledge that stress plays such a pivotal role in medical as well as behavioural cases. In these cases, disease most commonly represents the effect of placing a susceptible individual within a provocative environment. It is only by understanding the overlap between medical and behavioural cases and addressing the underlying factors that we can hope to manage these often very frustrating cases. This webinar will cover the causes and treatment options of for feline urinary tract disorders, but will focus on FIC as this is by far the most important cause of FLUTD. Discussion will include the advances in our understanding of the causes of these conditions, as well as some very practical tips on their treatment.

Sean qualified from University College Dublin Vet School after first studying an undergraduate degree in Animal Science at the University of Essex. He started his veterinary career working in a domestic, exotics and zoo practice in Kent. After working in a domestic and exotic pet practice in West London, he joined the team at Richmond Vets in November 2012 where he has set up a dedicated exotic pets service. Having studied Animal Science in Essex before his Veterinary degree, he has a broad base of knowledge in zoology, anatomy and physiology of a wide range of animal species. During Vet school he completed Zoo Medicine elective modules, with placement at Dublin Zoo and over the years has kept and bred a huge variety of reptiles, amphibians and other exotic pets. He is a member of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS)

Sophia Tzannes is a graduate from the University of Sydney in Australia. Following four years in private practice, both in Australia and the UK, she completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Liverpool and continued working in the clinic in the internal medicine and oncology departments.  Sophia returned to Sydney in 2008 to work in private referral practice (Small Animal Specialist Hospital). Her main interests are haematology, immunology and oncology. She is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

• Clinical relevance of these differences​
• Coughing​
• Dyspnoea​
• Exercise intolerance​
• More subtle signs- weight loss, yawning, hiding​
• Appropriate diagnostics​
• Stabilisation of the respiratory patient​
• Common conditions​
• Therapeutics ​

5 learning objectives are to:

1. Recognize the need for pleural drainage
2. Determine what type of drainage is required
3. Learn how to prepare a patient for pleural drainage
4. Learn how to place a pleural drain
5. Learn how to maintain and when to remove a pleural drain

This webinar is in Spanish

Sessions included:

Session 5: Common challenges in Nurse Consulting

Session 6: Using Nutrition in Nurse Clinics Part 2

Session 7: A typical day in my life as a Consulting Nurse; clinic opportunities and community nursing

Final live Q&A session

In this final module we weave together all the knowledge and insights gained from the previous 10 weeks and see how they all link in. By now you’ll know much more who you really are so now it’s time to then build up your courage to really live into that and put loving boundaries in place to let you be you. We’ll pull together all the mindset and strategy processes so you can keep on rewiring your mind and up-levelling over time after the end of the course. And finally, we’ll look at how you turn all of this into an effective plan and roadmap for the months ahead.

Available to view from 9am 25th June.

This webinar is free for our members or £10 for full access for non-members.

Arthritis is a hugely underestimated disease that is leading to long term welfare concerns and premature loss of dogs globally.

Canine Arthritis Management (CAM) is a veterinary driven initiative, set up by vet Hannah Capon. Overwhelmed by the number of dogs with terminal arthritis brought in for euthanasia, she realised that owners were slow to recognise signs of pain, had little understanding of available treatment options, and were unaware that their suddenly “off their legs” dog has been in considerable pain for a long period of time.

Hannah Capon, who titles herself “just a vet”, has worked as a first opinion/ emergency/ locum vet in countless practices around the UK for the last 17 years. Her passion to improve awareness and management of canine arthritis has led to her and her team of volunteer professionals creating an amazing online resource and community for veterinary professionals and owners to learn and share side by side. CAM believes that through education of all involved in canine health and welfare we can challenge the misunderstanding that “just slowing down” and “just getting old” isn’t an inevitable, but may be chronic pain that can be treated effectively, enabling the dog and owner to have a longer more comfortable life together.

#yourdogmoreyears All CAM resources can be accessed vis their website www.caninearthritis.co.uk

Please use the hashtags #yourdogmoreyears and #camarthritis to find them on Facebook, Instagram and twitter.

Kindly sponsored by Bravecto, Burgess Pet Care, MWI Animal Health Typhoo Tea and Nextmune.

Part 4 of our latest 6-week course.

Further Reading with Vetlexicon:

Felis: arthritis-osteoarthritis

Felis: arthritis-septic

Felis:arthritis-infective

• I don’t get consistent, regular one-to-one feedback on my performance

• There’s no point giving my colleagues or management feedback as they will either do nothing or respond defensively

The benefits of effective feedback are well-known and much discussed, with many articles available on the WHO and HOW of giving feedback in practice, so why is it that many practices still find it hard to implement these processes successfully?

The reason is that the processes alone do not help us deal with the uncomfortable feelings that inevitably arise in us when either giving or receiving feedback.  Both positive and negative feedback can be equally uncomfortable to give or receive as you may well have found! 

Cultivating and maintaining a culture of learning, growth and creativity in practice is often accompanied by uncomfortable conversations hence the term ‘disruptive engagement’. 

Paradoxically however, a practice that fosters the ability within its team members to tolerate the discomfort needed for these vital interactions achieves a culture that is significantly less stressful, more compassionate, more effective and way more engaged.

Correct husbandry is vital to owning a healthy rabbit so the importance of diet and housing will be explored along with the types of problems that can occur when these guidelines are not followed.

Nose to tail checks will be discussed, providing a systematic approach to completing a health check, how to assess a rabbit’s body condition score and the common conditions that you may see.

Finally, preventative healthcare will be covered as prevention is always better than cure! This will also include up to date information about the RVHD2 risks and vaccination options.

Laurent graduated from Paris’ vet school, the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, in France in 1995. He then became teaching assistant in the anatomy department for a year and later qualified for a 2-year exclusively surgical internship in the same school. Following this internship, he completed a Master of Science in Biology and Physiology of Circulation and Respiration, as well as a university diploma in Experimental surgery and microsurgery.

After having worked for 3 years in a private practice outside Paris, he was a consultant surgeon for 4 years in the largest referral practice in France, the Centre Hospitalier Vétérinaire Frégis, where he completed a 3-year ECVS residency. He became a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2008 and a RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery recently.

He joined VRCC Veterinary Referrals in 2006, where he is one of the full-time soft-tissue surgeons and directors. His main fields of interest include oncologic, reconstructive and general soft tissue surgeries, as well as neurosurgery.

Excess hypoechoic fluid in the abdomen is usually a sign of a ruptured bladder, but may occasionally occur with gastrointestinal lesions. Ultrasound is useful for diagnosing intussusceptions, other small intestinal lesions and enterocolitis. Ultrasound may also be used to examine the joints.

Outline

1.     Don’t trust Owners (Or Your Colleagues)

This section will outline the common problem with trusting owners to assess for resolution and initiate treatment on their own.

2.     It’s about more than the bugs

This section will discuss what to do one the infection / infestation has resolved.

3.     You need to look deeper

Identifying the perpetuating problems, whether it is the underlying primary problem, chronic changes to the ear canals, the formation of biofilm or middle ear disease recurrent or prolonged cases require a thorough investigation to get resolution

4.     What are you teaching the patient

In our attempts to treat the dogs ears we sometimes forget that there is a thinking, feeling, emotional animal attached. Often dogs who have had recurrent or prolonged ear disease have had bad experiences associated with treatment. They may become reluctant to allow veterinarians or owners to treat them. We will consider the risk factors and options to reduce this.

5.     More medication is not always better

In many cases veterinarian and owners focusing on the indications for and benefits of medications applied to dogs ears without considering that the medications can exacerbate the problem. Most commonly there is maceration of the ear canal, but I am seeing more cases of atrophy associated with strong glucocorticoid use and sometimes even contact hypersensitivity.

Learning Objectives

Recognise owner & pet behaviour factors that may affect treatment and long term management of canine otitis.

Recognise and manage pain and discomfort associated with ear disease and its treatment. Be aware that poor pain management can trigger or exacerbate behavioural problems and affect long term management of canine otitis.

Recognise the primary causes and perpetuating factors that cause recurrent otitis.

Recognise when to refer challenging cases for medical or surgical management.

Recognise when veterinary treatment is causing more problems than it solves and identify alternative treatment options.

Listen to VETchat on Spotify here.

Listen to VETchat on Apple Music here.  

Joining Anthony for this episode of VETchat by The Webinar Vet is Andrew Perry, European Veterinary Specialist in Dentistry and Head of Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Eastcott Veterinary Referrals.

In this episode, Anthony and Andrew have a great discussion on all things dentistry! They talk about Feline Orofacial Pain Syndrome (FOPS), how often Andrew sees this and how dangerous it can be. Andrew shares the importance of dental radiography before surgeries, his general approach to different diseases and advice on what equipment to use in practice. Finally, they also discuss the use of antibiotics and whether Andrew still stitches open wounds.

• what rabbits eat and how to feed the pet rabbit
• that rabbits are fearful prey species and how this affects the clinics seeing them
• how to examine a rabbit
• preventive medicine needs of rabbits
• how to reduce the chances of a rabbit breaking its back while being handled

If I was a member of the public, right now I might well be asking what the industry is doing about the issue of antibiotic resistance on-farm. After all, a major report (Antimicrobials in Agriculture and the Environment, December 2015) published by a Government task force states antibiotic use in animals equals if not exceeds human use; global consumption of antibiotics in agriculture will increase by two-thirds between 2010 and 2030; and a bacterial gene conferring resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort, has recently been discovered. If I turned to the internet for more information, I would be horrified by the soundbites from an A-list of environmental lobbyists and pressure groups about overuse of antibiotics, factory farming and poor practice. That’s why communication is critical. The British public is being bombarded daily by messages that range from hints to accusations that its farming industry is shirking a responsibility to cut antibiotic use. By comparison, the industry itself appears ominously quiet. This presents a classic reputational issue which has less to do with fact and more to do with perception. The decommissioning of Brent Spar, bird flu at Bernard Matthews, salmonella in Cadbury’s chocolate and benzene in Perrier are well-documented cases of poorly managed issues that blew up into full crises – with serious economic and social after-effects. Whatever the industry is doing to use antibiotics more responsibly will have little impact if it’s not clearly communicated in a way that shows the required accountability, desire to change, targets, and action. For example, the government report I mentioned previously explains what a good job other countries are doing. Denmark has combined low antibiotic use with being one of the largest exporters of pork in the world. And from 2007 to 2012, antibiotic sales to Dutch livestock farms decreased 56 percent without “any reduction in production or profits”. There may be nuanced rumblings within the industry around original usage levels or impacts on welfare, but the headline is what’s remembered by the public. Similarly, as the US is congratulated for upcoming restrictions that will make it illegal for medically-important antibiotics to be used as growth promoters, the public is largely unaware that growth promoters have been banned in the EU for 10 years. It’s the clear, repeatable, action-oriented headline that wins. We have much to learn from these approaches – and those of the NGOs that batter the industry on this issue. We have an issue we aren’t dealing with: a perception that the UK farming industry is not taking this matter seriously, not accepting any responsibility, and not doing anything to address it. So what to do? Define some clear communicable targets. Work together – there’s too much fragmented activity. Adjust our tone and message to be proactive not evasive. Act, engage and secure our share of voice. We can turn this around, but not unless we get off the fence and engage in the debate.

Amy has been involved in the farming industry for most of her life, spending school holidays lambing and milking then going on to study agriculture at SAC and University of Aberdeen. She made the move into public relations 18 years ago, working with a number of agricultural businesses then mainstream clients including Cadbury, Gillette, Lafarge and Toyota before setting up her own communications consultancy, Oxtale, in 2008. Specialising in crisis and reputation management, Amy has developed communications strategies around issues as diverse as organophosphate insecticides, horsemeat contamination, international product recalls and end-of-life care. However, her first love remains farming, and after becoming involved in the Nocton Dairies project in 2011, she decided to investigate the lack of fact surrounding the debate about large scale farming more thoroughly through a Nuffield scholarship entitled ‘Can we Learn to Love the Megadairy?’. Since then, one of her goals has been to separate fact from fiction about intensification of agriculture as these debates continue, encourage the industry to communicate more effectively with communities and the public, and to better familiarise consumers with modern farming systems. Amy’s business, Oxtale (www.oxtale.co.uk), is a specialist communications consultancy which aims to help agricultural, environmental and industrial organisations handle issues and build better relationships with their most important stakeholders.

• Defining lameness

• The clinical exam

• Ancillary tests

• Advanced imaging

• Brief summary of inertial sensors

• Advice for practice

Learning objectives:

• Understand how to assess the trauma patient
• Identify common issues associated with trauma
• Gain knowledge on stabilisation of patients pre-operatively
• Understand how to manage complications associated with trauma
• Gain an improved understanding of the commonly used drugs for trauma patients

• Neonatal calf diarrhoea – the big players

• The important role of colostral antibodies

• The resecretion of antibodies and the important role played in protection at a gut level

• Vaccination – why vaccines might fail and what does that mean for your farmers

• Existing ways of boosting neonatal calf defenses

• Understand the interaction between the various pathogens that are responsible for neonatal calf diarrhoea

• Have an understanding of what makes up the various IgG components in colostrum

• What is meant by the resecretion of antibodies?

• Identify how resecretion of antibodies plays a key role in protecting the neonate at the level of the gut

• Understand the reasons why a vaccination programme may be ineffective

• What steps may be taken following the identification of a problem to alleviate the situation and lessen the impact on neonates

With thanks to Forte Healthcare for sponsoring.

NB: For those veterinary surgeons practising in Ireland this webinar is approved by the Veterinary Council of Ireland for 1 CVE point live and on demand (until 31st December 2023). Approved course no: 22-23-09

VCI compliant CPD certs for Irish attendees are available on request please email: dawn@thewebinarvet.com

Check out more rabbit content available to buy in our shop here: www.thewebinarvet.com/shop/product-category/rabbits-rodents

As a result of more accurate diagnosis, surgical and conservative treatments can be selected much more confidently – potentially leading to a more successful outcome. Many traditional surgeries can now be performed in the standing patient, using sedation and local anaesthesia, often making the procedure more straightforward and negating the risks and costs associated with general anaesthesia.

Learning objectives

· Review performance-limiting and noise-generating upper airway conditions in the horses.

· How to accurately diagnose upper airway disease in the horse.

· Determine the best management and treatment options for the patient.

· Provide an overview of how modern surgical interventions are performed.

To register for this webinar and others by Animalcare, go to: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/register-animal-care

This webinar is sponsored by: Boehringer Ingelheim, makers of Vetmedin®.

For more information on Vetmedin visit https://www.vetmedin.co.uk 

Diagnostic tests are integral in assessing the impact and epidemiology of parasitic infections even when disease is sub-clinical. However, no diagnostic test is 100% reliable when used within real-world populations, especially as parasites can evade detection (for example by hiding from the host immune system) and often cause subclinical rather than overt disease. By considering the limitations of parasite diagnostic tests, we can better utilise the results from these tests to more accurately describe a parasite’s on farm epidemiology. This enables clinicians and farmers to develop proactive sustainable control strategies.

Mainly focusing on ruminant helminths, this webinar describes how diagnostic tests can be used to describe the impact of ruminant parasites on individual farms. The webinar will also discuss the limitations of diagnostic tests commonly available and describe how diagnostic tests can be integrated into farm health plans.

Learning objectives

1. Recognise the challenges that anaesthetising small mammal patients poses
2. Reduce the risks associated with small mammal anaesthesia
3. Achieve appropriate patient and equipment preparation
4. Recognise the importance of continuous monitoring for early recognition of problems
5. Recognise the importance of adequate post-anaesthetic care

• the physical principles behind captive-bolt stunning of livestock;
• the correct stunning positions for the different species;
• the critical importance of using the correct type of ammunition;
• the critical importance of rapid bleeding or pithing of the stunned animal;
• the critical importance of regular cleaning and routine maintenance; and
• the importance, and health and safety implications, of secure transport and storage.

Find the BrAVO Goody Bag here: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/bravo-virtual-winter-conference-digital-goody-bag/ (Open until Monday 23rd November 2020)

To register for this webinar and others by Animalcare, go to: https://www.thewebinarvet.com/register-animal-care

Brought to you by Vet Sustain and kindly sponsored by TVM.

Objectives/key concepts
At the end of this session learners will be able to:
• perform a nutrition risk assessment for patients
• identify common nutritional concerns in elder dogs
• apply evidence when making feeding recommendations to optimize:
o health and wellness
o mobility
o cognitive function of aging patients

Dr. Churchill, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition is an Associate Professor, and directs the Nutrition Service at the University Veterinary Medical Center. She is passionate about all aspects of small animal clinical nutrition including the role of nutrition in maintaining wellness, obesity prevention and treatment, the nutrition needs of geriatric patients, nutritional management of kidney diseases, and critical care nutrition. She is interested in improving client communication to successfully integrate nutrition into primary patient care. She served on the task force writing the AAHA guidelines for weight management and serves on the Boards of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention and the Pet Nutrition Alliance (PNA) and serves on the PNA Educational Tools Committee.

In this final module we weave together all the knowledge and insights gained from the previous 10 weeks and see how they all link in. By now you’ll know much more who you really are so now it’s time to then build up your courage to really live into that and put loving boundaries in place to let you be you. We’ll pull together all the mindset and strategy processes so you can keep on rewiring your mind and up-levelling over time after the end of the course. And finally, we’ll look at how you turn all of this into an effective plan and roadmap for the months ahead.

• Feline GI Lymphoma: Including challenges in making a diagnosis and chronic drug management.
• Mast cell diseases: Including both cutaneous and visceral forms and the use of surgery and chemotherapy.
• Injection site sarcomas: Including the challenges to diagnosis, the role of both surgery and radiation and decision making in terms of how we vaccinate cats.
• Mammary Tumours: Including the use of adjunctive chemotherapy.

The ability to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in dogs and cats is an essential skill for small animal practitioners, as cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) will be rapidly followed by death, unless it is immediately recognised and CPR promptly implemented. 

Even so, the chances of achieving a favourable outcome are fairly poor.  Understanding the potential causes of CPA, and signs of impending CPA, are important in preventing an arrest situation and the need for CPR.  Given the fairly poor prognosis, consideration should also be given to the individual animal and situation – sometimes aggressive CPR efforts are required and appropriate, but on occasion CPR may not be in the animal’s best interests.  This can be a difficult moral decision, and prior discussion of the owner’s wishes is frequently helpful.

To give the best possible chance of success, the practice team should be trained in following a pre-planned CPR protocol.  The readiness of equipment and drugs in an arrest situation will also have a positive effect on the outcome.

The techniques of basic and advanced life support are covered in this webinar, and the importance of appropriate post-resuscitative care discussed.   The most recent evidence-based guidelines produced by the Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation (RECOVER) initiative are included and any major changes in practice highlighted. 

Following the webinar, delegates should feel confident to create their own practice ‘crash plan’, taking the aspects of basic and advanced life support that are possible in their own situation, and developing CPR training sessions appropriate to the practice facilities.  This will give the best chance of a favourable outcome in the (hopefully infrequent) situations where up-to-date CPR skills are required to prevent death following CPA.

Learning objectives

After this webinar you should be able to:

• identify CPA in dogs & cats and suggest possible causes
• evaluate the likely outcome of CPR and discuss whether or not it should be employed in different situations
• perform Basic Life Support (BLS)
• interpret the ECG and perform Advanced Life Support (ALS)
• explain the importance of post-resuscitative care
• update your own CPR protocols & crash box, and instigate practice training sessions

Further Reading:

Internal Medicine | Vetlexicon Reptiles

Surgery | Vetlexicon Reptiles

Diagnostic Imaging | Vetlexicon Reptiles

This webinar is pitched at the recent graduate.

It will consider the adult horse.

It covers a logical approach to considering the possible differential diagnoses in both acute and chronic diarrhoea

It covers the main underlying causes, the tests to take to help determine the cause and the tests to take to determine the severity of systemic illness

Treatment in the field for appropriate cases will be covered and then briefly, what can be offered in a hospital situation

With thanks to Baileys Horse Feeds for sponsoring the Equine programme 2022.

FREE to watch with thanks to CEVA for sponsoring.

Kindly Sponsored and Free to watch with thanks to Virtual Veterinary Specialists who can be contacted via their website: www.vvs.vet

Free resources available here:  https://www.thewebinarvet.com/pages/resource-hub-resources/

With thanks to Mirna Diagnostics for sponsoring.

A fundamental rethink is required to ensure we continue to progress.  With the hyperinsulinaemia model it is evident that there is very little neutrophil or even leucocyte infiltration into the lamellae tissue and therefore we should consider altering the term laminitis to laminopathy in the vast majority of cases (not including Sepsis and SIRS cases).  We should be thinking of laminopathy as a syndrome rather than a disease entity in itself and a reflection of other disease processes.  Although this does not lead to a dramatic change in the first aid treatment of these cases it does alter our ability to reduce the incidence of laminitis occurring.

Learning objectives

1. Recognise the species-specific features that make guinea pigs challenging patients in clinical practice
2. How to recognise and deal with common clinical conditions seen in guinea pigs in clinical practice
3. Recognise how to provide adequate care for these patients
4. Recognise how to meet clients ‘expectations

Hospitalization/nursing care

1. To understand the different clinical presentations of HCF that can be encountered in practice
2. To appreciate how to evaluate cases and diagnose the condition
3. To understand the challenges faced in treating dogs with HCF, and how these challenges can be overcome

Humeral condylar fissure (HCF) is a common condition in small animal practice in the UK, most commonly affecting spaniel breeds. The aetiopathogenesis of the condition is unclear, but two theories have been proposed.

1. The HCF could represent a failure of fusion of the condylar ossification centres, which could then allow the development of a fissure.

2. In adult dogs acquired fissures could be a form of insufficiency fracture.

Clinically, dogs can be presented with humeral condylar fractures or can be presented with weight bearing lameness associated with HCF. Diagnosis of fractures is straight forward, however identification of a fissure can be challenging. Craniocaudal radiographs can be helpful, but CT is the gold standard. Fractures are stabilized using standard AO techniques. Robust implants should be used, generally consisting of a transcondylar lag screw and epicondylar plates. Clinically significant fissures should be stabilised using large transcondylar implants; it is recommended that these are placed in a medial-to-lateral direction. The prognosis following surgical treatment of HCF is fair. With precise surgical technique most dogs will significantly improve, however short and long term complications are occasionally encountered. Toby graduated from the University of Bristol and spent a number of years in practice before undertaking a Residency in small animal surgery at the University of Glasgow. He holds both RCVS and ECVS Diplomas in Small Animal Surgery, and was awarded an MVM for research into canine elbow dysplasia. Clinically he is interested in all aspects of small animal orthopaedics and spinal surgery. Toby has at the Willows Referral Service since 2005.  

The introduction of transrectal ultrasound technology to visualise the reproductive tract in mares has allowed cyclical changes in the ultrasonic morphology of the reproductive tract to be studied.

Both the ovaries and the uterus need to be examined thoroughly at every examination of a mare. 

Ovarian features to note are:

• Follicle size, softness and shape 
• Echogenicity and thickness of the granulosa layer
• Presence of small echogenic particles within the follicular fluid 

The interpretation of endometrial ultrasonic morphology also forms an important part of establishing an accurate estimate of the stage of oestrus. 

For accurate prediction of ovulation, the genital tract should be evaluated daily by both palpation and ultrasonography.

Palpation remains a key component of the examination to identify all structures and provide information on their texture.

1.  The attendee should be able to recognize the most common testicular and prostatic emergencies occurring in male dogs.
2.  The attendee should be able to recognize the most common uterus-related emergencies occurring in female dogs and cats.
3.  The attendee should feel comfortable starting basic firstline treatment for male and female reproductive emergencies.
4.  The attendee should be able to recognize dystocia in a dog or cat.
5.  The attendee should understand the basics of neonatal resuscitation in dogs and cats.

Dr. Thomovsky graduated from the University of Missouri in 2001 and completed an internship at the University of Illinois.  She was a general practitioner for three years prior to pursuing her residency in Small Animal and Critical Care in 2008.  She became a faculty member first at the University of Wisconsin and now at Purdue University where she is currently a Clinical Associate Professor.  

Kindly sponsored by NationWide Laboratories.

With thanks to Baileys Horse Feeds for sponsoring the Equine programme 2022.

Further reading with Vetlexicon: 

Equine Abdomen pain

Abdomen pain-neonate

Abdomen pain-risk-factors

Kindly Sponsored by Burgess PetCare.

Kindly Sponsored by Nationwide Labs and Orivet.

Bronchoalveolar lavage - tracheal wash

Cerebrospinal fluid: cytology

Cytology: lymph node aspirate lab test dogs

With thanks to Nationwide Labs for sponsoring this FREE session.

It has long been known in human medicine that understanding the way antibiotics are prescribed to, and used by, patients is a complex and nuanced area that needs to be understood in order to help tackle the global antimicrobial resistance crisis. While quantitative measures of antimicrobial use are important, they only go halfway towards understanding the subject and it has been shown that a variety of social and cultural influences and beliefs can affect compliance when prescribing medicines.

This webinar will introduce you to the concepts underlying qualitative research and social science, help to clarify some of the dreaded “sociology jargon” and describe how these approaches can be used to provide invaluable insight into why and how antibiotics are used on farm. A summary of the current evidence-base available to vets will lead on to a discussion about the practical ways in which this can be applied on-farm to bring about responsible use.

Learning objectives

At the end of this webinar, viewers should be able to:

· Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research

· List the key methodologies of social science research and their applications

· Explain how social science can help us understand antibiotic use

· Describe what is currently understood about the way antibiotics are used on farm

· Apply this understanding in order to facilitate practical changes on-farm

Guided procedures such as needle biopsies, in which needles are used to sample cells from an abnormal area for laboratory testing can be easily performed. Due to the unique interactions of ultrasound with matter such as penetration/absorption/reflection diagnostic ultrasonography allows the further characterization of areas of soft tissue swelling either superficially or deeply located inside the body.

Diagnostic ultrasound is widely used in veterinary medicine; it is relatively less expensive compared to most advance imaging modalities and safer since do not use ionizing radiation. Although extremely operator dependent but with everyday experience the operator will be gaining the required skills to obtain diagnostic quality images as well as experience to manoeuvre the needle and obtain diagnostic quality samples from small lesions/small areas of fluid accumulation.

In summary, ultrasonography can be a very useful diagnostic tool to have readily available in your practice or hospital that could change or revolutionize your clinical experience for better patient care.

Learning Objectives:

1. The veterinarian will be able to make quick decisions as to suitability of ultrasonography to better characterize certain lesions visualized on radiographs or physical exam in different body systems
2. The veterinarian will be capable of deciding whether or not it is safe to use US guided fine needle aspirate procedures or biopsies
3. The veterinarian will have an understanding about how to apply the transducer/US probe in a systematic way to explore different body parts/systems to quickly interrogate certain lesions
4. The veterinarian will obtain general knowledge on how to apply the transducer/US probe in a systematic way to perform FNAs or biopsies.
5. The veterinarian will obtain semi-practical general knowledge of how to revolutionize everyday general small animal practice with diagnostic ultrasound

In this module, we’ll be:

• going deep into your core personal values
• talking about your competencies, hardwiring and profiling
• doing a review of your life timeline to uncover your own unique secret formula that makes you special and different
• taking a good look at the working environments you might thrive in

• Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be… A Chicken Vet

Chickens are becoming ever more popular as companion pets and as a result, learning about some more of the common quickfire conditions and diseases, is so important. The aim is to discuss and review basic, what you see, what to be aware of and what to do in a variety of situations with your chicken work ups.

• The emergency reptile patient

This webinar will take the view through the importance of obtaining an accurate clinical history and performing a clinical examination in the emergency reptile. As well as covering the importance of thermoregulation, analgesia and anaesthesia, the best ways of providing fluid therapy, medication administration and how to perform cardiopulmonary - cerebral resuscitation. Finishing with common emergency presentations seen in a wide range of reptile species.