Vet Talk Radio

This Week @ 01'20"- Fitbark - Monitor Your Pet's Activity - Dr Sarah Goldsmid @ 09'33"- Why Ingesting A Spot-On Is Bad News! - Dr Ingrid Goodman @ 16'20"- How To Keep Pets Moving This Winter - Nadia Crighton

There's plenty of 'keep fit' electronic devices nowadays to 'motivate you' to get up and moving… But if you’re one of those people who aren’t right in to all that ‘technology’. What’s the best way to keep our pets – and us - moving over winter? Former DOGSLife magazine editor Nadia Crighton has a plan - that works for her - and just might make all the difference for you and your pets to keep active this winter!

Has your vet ever told you... "ummm I think Fido is er... a little heavier than he could be for his age and breed" - to which you've probably said - "well we don't overfeed him!" - which may well be true, but how ACTIVE is Fido - or Fifi for that matter? With the exception of 'working dogs' and one or two other breeds, most of our dogs - and cats - can be pretty sedentary when we're not around. But a new product recently imported into Australia by Dr Sarah Goldsmid from the Animal Referral Hospital might just change all that! PLUS... There's a great benefit for vets as Dr Sarah explains.

aka… the 'Valentine Charlton Feline Conference' When a cat has cardiac disease or renal disease, what’s the best management for them? That question and many other controversial topics will be ‘debated’ later in June when the top feline specialists from across Australia and Internationally get together in Melbourne for the annual Valentine Charlton Feline Conference. The 4 day event covering such things as infectious diseases, immunology, cardiology, neurology and mycobacterial diseases of cats culminates with an interactive Master-class led by three key speakers including well-known feline specialist Dr Kath Briscoe who believes this year’s event will be the most enlightening yet with delegates tackling topics such as the impact of urbanisation, closer human-feline bonds and resulting earlier diagnosis of problems with fur children requiring speedy attention… More information and bookings: Conference - Mon 20 - Thu 23 June 2016 Masterclass - Friday 24 June, 2016 https://www.cve.edu.au/conference/valenti

Spot-ons Given Orally…Does It Really Matter? YES!!!! A 6-month old Labrador puppy became a real-life ‘Sleeping Beauty’ after her owners mistakenly poured a well-known flea & heartworm treatment down her throat…instead of onto her back, in what’s thought to have been an ill-conceived money-saving experiment. Emergency Vets at the Animal Referral Hospital initially feared the comatose pup would require a lengthy hospital stay under constant supervision until the effect of the drugs wore off…and then they came up with a much speedier, albeit expensive alternative, ‘Intralipid’. Dr Ingrid Goodman joins us to explain what happened. Further information: DVM360 extract: Successful use of ILE therapy has been reported anecdotally in veterinary patients for ivermectin, moxidectin, permethrin, loperamide, baclofen, bupropion, marijuana, and sertraline toxicoses. http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/case-11-1 Specific Veterinary usage of Intralipid therapy: http://www.cliniciansbrief.com/article/intravenous-lip

This week... @ 00' 33" - Never Too Old To Go Under - Dr Sarah Goldsmid @ 06' 57" - Dog Parks... The Inconvenient Truth - Steve Austin @ 13' 41" - What’s Your Pet’s Tongue Saying? - Dr Barbara Fougere

Would you play Russian Roulette with your dog’s mental and physical well-being? Caring pet parents would say ‘definitely not’… Yet thousands of them unwittingly do just that every time they take their dog to an off-leash park and set their dog free to ‘play’. How do you know your pet’s new playmates won’t attack prompting your dog to think it has to go on the attack in future to feel safe… ? And that’s just one of the problems well-known Dog Trainer Steve Austin sees with dog parks – areas he believes should be treated with extreme caution.

It’s hard to believe but Medical teams have been progressively improving anaesthetic products since they were first invented more than 170 years ago. The result being that today’s surgeries being shorter and safer than ever before for both people AND pets. However, there’s been a long-held myth by some pet owners that their aged pets shouldn’t undergo the surgery – even if they’re in pain. Specialist Surgical Vet Dr Sarah Goldsmind from the Animal Referral Hospital is keen to alleviate those fears by explaining how pre-surgery tests enable them to adjust the anaesthesia for that particular pet’s condition enabling the surgery to go ahead.

Holistic Veterinarians who look at a pet’s tongue can tell a great deal more about their patient’s state of health/disease than say a GP asking a human patient to say ‘ahh’. A rapidly rising number of vets are choosing to learn Eastern techniques to use alongside their existing western scientific training to provide combined treatments for their patients. These might include Acupuncture, TCM (Chinese herbal medicine) and nutritional regimes. Internationally renown Complementary Veterinarian, author and lecturer Dr Barbara Fougere from All Natural Vet believes this trend in bringing the best of East and West together expanding as more pets enjoy its benefits.

Ever had a dream come true? - Well 1st Year Vet Student Claire Fu is now living that dream at University in Townsville QLD, a long way from home, family, friends and her much loved birds. A veterinary science degree takes around 5-6 years of study according to the AVA and 'Future Vet' Claire Fu has jumped right in the deep end! We spoke with Claire just before she started her studies earlier this year (2016) but now in this podcast Claire shares her 'mid-year' thoughts. We asked her things like; is it harder than she expected?... What's the worst thing about studying to be a vet? What's the best?!! And does she miss her family - especially mum - at all??

Giving blood is something we humans are asked to do every year - in fact about 17,000 of us do it every week of the year! But what about our animals? Many need blood transfusions or other blood by-products. So where does this blood come from? Vet Nurse Rebecca (Bec) Charteris recognised the problem and has spent the past few years setting up the Australian Animal Blood Bank - one of only two commercial blood banks in the country. She needs more donors and explains in this podcast how easy it is (it's also free!!) and the benefits for both donors and recipients.

This week... @ 00' 47" - Tongue Worm Outbreak? - Dr David Jenkins @ 09' 23" - Dumped Dogs Now Save PTSD Sufferers - Steve Austin @ 18' 36" - Avoid New Pet Intro Dramas - Nadia Crighton

Extremely rare ‘Tongue Worms’ have been found in 60% of a sample of our wild dog population. The parasites, officially known as Linguatula Serrata are a major problem overseas where adult versions up to 9cm long can hook into the nasal cavities causing breathing difficulties and bleeding in both domestic pets AND humans. If the infestation is as widespread as suspected, domestic pets may need increased protection as Charles Sturt University Parasitologist Dr David Jenkins explains.

For many military personnel, leaving a war-zone and all its horrors doesn’t mean they can forget about their experiences and simply slot back into their old lives. It’s called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – or PTSD for short – and there’s no known cure. However, a new program providing sufferers with a dog, rescued from a pound and then retrained to support them at critical moments is making a world of difference...although more dogs and volunteer trainers are greatly needed. Project coordinator and dog trainer Steve Austin explains.

Thinking of getting a puppy or kitten in a house that already has one or two pets? Great... But it's not as simple as it sounds introducing that new dog or cat - after all "we were here first!" your current pack will be thinking. Former DOGSLife editor Nadia Crighton now with Pet Insurance Australia has written a series of blogs called 'HELLO... Introducing Pets' - starting with Cats & Kittens. You can read the blog her blog (link below) or listen to this podcast as Nadia recalls her own experiences in what can be a good or a bad occasion for you and the animals http://www.petinsuranceaustralia.com.au/hello-introducing-kitten-cat/

This week... @ 01'43" - Chinese Herbs For Pets - Dr Barbara Fougere @ 06'00" - Is This Aussie Goldfish The World’s Biggest? - Dr Richmond Loh @12'06" - Nose Bands Hurting Horses - Kate Fenner

These days our pets have just about as big a choice of food as we do! But what about medicines? The way we look after our pets is changing every year. Conventional veterinary science continues to allow us to treat all kinds of ailments in our pets from skin conditions, dodgy tummies, anxiety and more. But did you know many of the things prescribed by both human doctors and veterinarians actually originated from plants? Take Aspirin for example… apparently the ancient Egyptians used willow bark as a remedy for aches and pains yet we take that medication for granted. Dr Barbara Fougere from All Natural Vet explains how she uses both holistic and conventional methods for treating animals in her practice at www.naturalvet.com.au

The title of this story say's it all! And that’s the finding of a new study by the University of Sydney which found that even when standing still, horses displayed extreme anxiety when there was no space between their face and the noseband as commonly seen in show-rings. The report’s authors are calling on Equine Sports Authorities here and internationally to re-instate the ‘2-finger widths’ space under nose-bands on horses at all levels of competition, especially at the forthcoming Olympics. Co-author Kate Jenner is concerned that recent surveys of Dressage Events showed close to 50% of all horses competing in Australian Dressage had overly tight nosebands fitted. There’s now a petition on change.org calling on authorities to return the 2-finger width noseband rule for our equine Olympic athletes, not just for their well-being but also to see the same rule enacted right throughout equine sports. Here is the petition link: http://chn.ge/2558er5

Considering getting a pet? Why not get a tankful...of fish! It’s the hottest new trend, offering both relaxation AND the potential to take out a Guinness World record… Dr Richmond Loh, aka ‘the fishvet’ is passionate about all animals especially fish.

Mental health problems are rife within the veterinary industry but the problem is usually kept hush-hush. But not for much longer thanks to Sarah Curtis and Elizabeth Cooke, two pioneering Vet nurses who are launching a new charity to fund resources to help people in their own industry as well as drought-stricken farmers. The first event – a dinner in Wollongong on June 25th 2016 - emceed by the irrepressible duo ‘The Village Vets’. If that date has passed by the time you see this, please take a moment to listen to Greencross Vets Southcoast NSW Practice Manager Sarah Cole's very inspiring goal!!