#vetble

[studywithyashu]

Hii guys, sorry for the brief MIA - I was working on my research project and crying about it for about a week there making edits, and I think it’s good to submit now- it’s not entirely up to the standard I wanted it to be at originally but currently I’m hoping for a pass and I’m just trying not to be too harsh with myself right now.

We’ve been in lockdown for 11 days now in my country and it’s a weird feeling. I know we can make it though, I just feel myself going a little crazy with each passing day.

The lovely LOVELY messages and asks from you guys make me super happy though and I will get back to some of the asks this week I hope <3 feel free to share how you’ve been coping recently!

♫ Smarty, Lana Del Rey

[drferox]

So we know vets are great in a zombie apocalypse, but what about a robot apocalypse? Are you ever concerned about if a robot might replace you at your job someday?

So there’s really two questions here.

In a robot apocalypse, biosecurity and infections are less of a concern, but basic medicine and keeping humans and our food sources alive are still important, and our vet skills would likely come in handy. We don’t have a lot of anti-robot specific skills in our training, but we still have a decent broad base of skills in the keeping-people-alive department.

Depending on the type of robot apocalypse, though, there are a few extra hazards to consider around the vet clinic. One of them is the Xray machine, which generates decent amounts of radiation, and in increasing numbers of clinics may be connected to the wi-fi. I don’t know specifically what a robot apocalypse might do with that, but I can’t imagine it’s going to do much harm to robots, but it will slowly poison humans.

As for the second question, I don’t really expect to be replaced by a robot any time soon.

Sure, the knowledge, surgical techniques and so on could absolutely be replicated by a machine in the near future, but that’s not all a vet is. There has to be a degree of ‘not freaking out the animal’ and horses are included on the list of animals we need to treat, so such a robot would need to be capable of not freaking out the horse.

But there’s also the human element. People come to a vet, often, because they like that particular vet. There’s a kind of bond that develops over time, and such jobs where human interaction is important would probably be the last to be replaced by machines. It’s the fuzzy, feel-good factor.

[booprenorphine]

Lipaemic blood samples in a Yorkie with diabetes mellitus.

[drferox]

maybe a stupid, pointless question--why do so many GSD enthusiasts try to brush over how sloped and bad their backs are? so many people try to say it's "just the way they stack" and that it doesn't effect health or movement, yet you can see in videos of them at play that their back is low the whole time, and that it's surely unhealthy and uncomfortable?

Make yourself a cup of tea and take a seat.

So I wrote previously about the health of the German Shepherd, really just skimming over some of the most common issues because there are so many associated with the breed.

Then I made a post comparing a German Shepherd from the 1920s to a recent show champion who happened to display morphological features that have drawn significant criticism lately, namely the hunched back and hocks that touch the ground. And in the interest of fairness, I had picked a historical dog well known in the public eye, and as typical an example as I could find.

Many people will say “Look, I love the dogs but I can’t deny they’re a mess right now.” Other people will make comments like these:

And my personal ‘favourite’…

The simple truth is that in clinical practice I have never seen a German Shepherd dog who has been ‘healthy’ and not afflicted by something regrettable by the time it’s 6. I would call that not good enough. So lets look at these claims.

I did not pick extremes. I picked typical examples, and that should concern you if you care about this breed.

Don’t blame the Back Yard Breeders when it has been the show scene pushing for this extreme conformation and inbreeding. BYBs get their stock originally from ‘ethical’ breeders so the ‘ethical’ breeders can’t be without blame. There are also a whole bunch of breeders who are doing health screening but breeding their dogs regardless of their result to ‘preserve the lines’.

On random shapshot in time doesn’t represent the breed? I’m really sorry but I can’t post images of every single modern shepherd on a tumblr post. However, the evidence is freely available if anyone cares to look. Also, that was the question I was answering.

Breed type continues to change, as we try to change it. There’s not a way dog breeds are ‘supposed to be’, we as humans decided to make one. How about, just for something new, we try to change it with the health of the animal in mind, not to fit an arbitrary shape.

Notice how the last one tries to imply that I’m some kind of ‘rogue’ with my opinions and that they are just opinions, not backed up with a vet degree or years of experience or anything.

I don’t ‘expect people devoted to the breed to constantly bemoan its list of potential problems’, but gee, it would be nice if they actively tried to reduce those problems in their breeding plans. After all, aren’t ethical breeders supposed to be doing so to ‘improve’ the breed?

And while I certainly wont cry a river for a GSD fanatic, I have shed plenty of tears over these dogs.

The outright denial that the breed has a problem has features in common with nationalists (”Ours is the best because it is ours and how dare you question it” vs “I am proud of this thing but acknowledge its flaws and seek to improve it”) and climate change deniers (discrediting evidence, never enough evidence, discrediting the person voicing an opposing view etc). That’s a pretty difficult mix to have a discussion with.

It’s been fairly common since Pedigree Dogs Exposed. As soon as vets started speaking out about the health problems of any given breed, the response would be “But this is what they’re supposed to be” and “What would vets know”

Because, you know, what would vets know about the animals they’re treating every day? If your go-to defense is trying to claim that veterinarians, the profession entirely focused on the scientific improvement of animal health, doesn’t actually know anything about animal health, you have a weak argument.

- From your resident, Pitiful, vet.

[drferox]

Any tips on regaining a cat's trust? My youngest has always been more affection-motivated than anything else, but she was Very Offended by her recent vet-prescribed run of antibiotics and understandably isn't too keen on letting the Evil Medicine-Giving Hands anywhere near her anymore.

Cats are clever creatures, and it’s perfectly understandable for them to be wary after their dignity has been assaulted by a medication course. Regaining trust takes time, and there are a few things I do to make this happen.

First, I try to pair up the medication with a special treat. This works well for Wonka because his attentions pan is so short I am easily forgiven, and it means he practically screams for his medication each morning, even though all he really wants is the treat.

During the medication course, I specifically put time aside where I pat and play with the cat and nothing bad happens but I always show the cat my empty hands at the beginning. It doesn’t take them that long to learn empty hands = nothing bad and relax easier. They will learn that the sight of the medication means, but that’s fair and hopefully doesn’t need to last forever.

It tends to teach the cats to blame the bottle of medicine for the bad taste or unpleasant experience, which is fine with me because if I show the cats my empty hands they then allow pats and snuggles.

[drferox]

I recently started working as front desk in a vet clinic (with several years prior experience in pet care) and love it, but I dont work closely with our 3 vets like techs do and am unsure how to build good working relationships with people whose daily schedules I organize, yet see very little of. Any advice for front office staff?

We just started having a couple of vet receptionists at work and let me assure you they are a significant improvement to our quality of life! Not sure why we went so long without utilizing any but very glad to have them now.

One is even taking a page out of my usual playbook for making friends by bringing us homecooked food regularly, and no objections there either, I assure you.

And the boss likes them too, as from a practice management perspective they tend to fit more bookings in during the day than nurses or vets would, as we tend to be a bit more conservative about how many cases we’d see in a day.

One of the best bonding things we’ve done is, as a group, discuss and make a list for the new receptionists of our ‘good clients’. These clients are usually a combination of really nice people that have pets with particular needs, or otherwise favorites, who we really like and are allowed certain privledges like being squeezed in without a surcharge. You get to bomd over good things.

On the flip side of that is the other list, the Yikes clients, which are also a good bonding opportunity to talk over: the covid deniers, the yellers, the people that walk out without paying, the generally rude and offensive. You definitely don’t want to book something with one of them last thing before somebody’s break or end of day.

Also, just trying to eat lunch together and chatting about the day helps. Protecting the previous breaks people do get during the day helps (eg booking a probably routine vaccine before a lunch break instead of a complex sick patient).

[drferox]

Hello drferox, please tell me about your opinion about unwanted pregnancy in dog/cat. Especially about sterilization during pregnancy. Thank you very much.

There are still too many unwanted dogs in society, and the problem is worse in cats. Healthy adult dogs and cats are put down daily in shelters around the country, and so are puppies and kittens on a regular basis. If you raise an unwanted litter to an age where they can be adopted, then they are bot using up resources and potentially taking away homes that other animals, already born and living, could have had.

The dogs and cats already walking around on this Earth need to take priority over the unborn, even if the younger ones are ‘cuter’.

There is an abortion injection available for dogs, but it’s not 100% and has significant risk of causing pyometra, which will endanger the dog. It’s only worth considering if the dog was intended to be bred in the very near future.

Desexing (spay/spey) in early pregnancy has minimal increase risk to the female cat or dog, possibly slightly less than doing it in heat. Desexing in very late pregnancy is more difficult, and from a veterinary medicine standpoint should me treated more like a caesarian with an unfortunate outcome in terms of supporting the patient’s anaesthetic.

Dogs and cats who have been pregnant but not gone through parturition are not ‘expecting’ to have little neonates when they wake up. They don’t seem to have any behavioral change from a pregnant spay.

Unborn puppies and kittens don’t have very much in the way of senses. They want to be kept warm and secure, so once the uterus is out of the patient, the fetuses should be euthanised before the organ gets cold.

It’s unfortunate when a pregnant spay has to happen, since it is effectively aborting puppies and kittens, but the pregnant animal’s interests should be the priority. The unborn do not have more rights than the adult animal. This is especially true when the adult animal doesn’t have a home, and her kittens or puppies are likely to be adopted before she is. The potential exists in shelter situations for the pups or kittens to all be adopted, and the mother left languishing until her time is up and she’s euthanised. Morally, I think this is worse than a pregnant spay.

[studywithyashu]

I get a lot of questions about what we do at vet school to help with our clinical problem solving. I write down our clinical questions and then put answers down in pencil to change when my lecturers duscuss answers later. It’s probably my favorite format of content delivery on our course cause it gets the brain juices flowing!

as always, my ask box is always open to questions as are my messages if you ever need someone to talk to :) stay safe everyone <3

♫ Lucky Strike, Troye Sivan

[drferox]

Could you talk about the health of Australian Silky terrier?

Sure, though it’s worth noting that they’re also just called Silky Terrier’s overseas. For a small breed dog they’re actually not all that popular down here. They have a similar appearance to the yorkie, but are a bit sturdier and tougher all round.

Please note the disclaimer.These posts are about thebreed from a veterinary viewpoint as seen in clinicalpractice, i.e. the problems we are faced with. It’s not the be-alland end-all of the breed and is not to make a judgement about whetherthe breed is right for you. If you are asking for an opinion aboutthese animals in a veterinary setting, that is what you will get.It’s not going to be all sunshine and cupcakes, and is not intendedas a personal insult against your favorite breed. This is generaladvice for what is common, often with a scientific consensus butsometimes based on personal experiences, and is not a guarantee ofwhat your animal is going to encounter in their life.

(Image source: By island silks - Flickr)

If you wanted something like a yorkshire terrier but a bit less ‘toy’ and bit more ‘dog’, the Australian Silky Terrier might fit the bill. They’re pretty resilient but do get some of the usual range of common terrier problems. 

Medial Luxating Patellas (kneecaps which pop out of joint) are probably the most common health issue I see with these dogs, as it is a very common issue across all small breeds. It might be seen as dogs that ‘skip’ on three legs when they run. While many of them benefit from surgery, not every dog is clinically affected and mild cases in good fitness may not have any symptoms at all.

Aseptic necrosis of the femoral head is another common small breed problem, and it seems slightly more likely in very active dogs. (Terrier = eternal coffee bean). They are treated surgically with a good prognosis.

Allergies seem to be common, and there is a genetic quirk in the breed which can result in color dilution alopecia, where dogs that have the color dilution gene (so grey instead of black, for example) sometimes also have alopecia (hair loss) affecting those color diluted areas. It’s not lethal as such, but it is mighty inconvenient and leaves the affected skin more vulnerable to other conditions.

The breed can develop heart conditions like mitral valve dysplasia, but it seems to be mostly significantly older dogs (eg 12-14 years old), and I can forgive a breed for developing old age associated conditions in its actual old age instead of, say, 7 years of age.

And I have noticed an increased frequency of Transitional Cell Carcinoma in this breed, but it could be a skewed local sample of dogs that might all be related. This is a type of bladder cancer, and it’s fairly uncommon in general practice, but despite this some 20% of my cases have been Australian Silky terriers and Australian terriers, from which the breed was developed.