Vet Times

Tag: Dogs

  • The plasticity of dogs

    The plasticity of dogs

    —

    by

    “Man’s best friend” we call them, and, in retrospect, cosying up with Palaeolithic humans was the wisest move dogs could have ever made, although neither species realised it at the time. In transitioning from annoying scavenger to faithful friend, canis familiaris earned the protection of the human race as well as, for the most part,…

  • ’Tis the season to (not) be shopping…

    ’Tis the season to (not) be shopping…

    —

    by

    There are many traditions with Christmas – some you like and some you don’t. The annual onslaught of impulse puppy and kitten purchases hits us all in one way or another: there’s the heart-stopping emergency consults with the sickliest ones, the vaccine consults where you question the validity of that rabies certificate, and the disappearance…

  • ICU later

    ICU later

    —

    by

    In a few recent blogs, I have reminisced nostalgically about how things have changed in the profession since I qualified in the distant misty-swirled lands of the last millennium. However, there’s something I don’t miss: blearily sleepwalking my way through morning surgery in the numb haze only familiar to chronic insomniacs, those with young children,…

  • Remember, remember, the 5th of November… in June?

    Remember, remember, the 5th of November… in June?

    —

    by

    It’s that time of year – the daylight is getting shorter (though I somehow ended up with an extra hour on call when the clocks went back, for the second year running), the relentless summer heatwave burned itself out and, with bouts of snow at the weekend, winter seems to have appeared from nowhere. In…

  • Public health: the less recognised role of vets

    Public health: the less recognised role of vets

    —

    by

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow disease”, hit the news again after an isolated incident was reported in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In the 1990s, this disease resulted in the mass culling of hundreds of thousands of livestock, devastating the farming community and causing ripples throughout the British economy. Soaring meat prices, a ban on…

  • Win £100 Amazon vouchers with Moxiclear

    Win £100 Amazon vouchers with Moxiclear

    —

    by

    MOXICLEAR: a new IMIDACLOPRID & MOXIDECTIN SPOT-ON for the treatment and prevention of flea infestations*, treatment of biting lice***, ear mites**, roundworm**, hookworm**, whipworm***, skinworm***, lungworm*** and the prevention of heartworm disease*. How to enter Simply play the Moxiclear bubble popping game below. Pop all nine parasites for your chance to win £100 in Amazon…

  • Friends or food?

    Friends or food?

    —

    by

    The relationship between vets and animals is an odd one. When I tell people the course I study, 90% of them ask me if I’m vegetarian; when I say no, all of them ask me why not – and, to be perfectly candid, I never really know what to tell them. As a professional in…

  • IV as a sign of competence?

    IV as a sign of competence?

    —

    by

    There’s a trend in our industry that has been apparent to me since the early days of my training and I’m wondering if this attitude is prevalent elsewhere. I see, time and again, the placement of an IV being used as a marker of general nursing skill level and competence. Yet, it‘s common for vet…

  • Reflecting on the good moments

    Reflecting on the good moments

    —

    by

    As me and my (non-vet) partner sat down for a rare mid-week breakfast together, I made an offhand comment about “having” to vaccinate 15 puppies that day. “What do you mean ‘have to’?” was his response. “Most people would love that, and you get paid for it.” I considered this – and, while I’m more…

  • Oh, what a month

    Oh, what a month

    —

    by

    From the banning of puppy and kitten sales in pet shops to outlawing electric shock collars, Holly Kernot summarises the spate of notable victories for animal welfare that took place in August.