Have you been looking for a way to save time and provide personalised feeding plans for your patients quickly and easily? Now there is a new free tool, Hill’s Quick Reco (AU or NZ), that will: Recommend the right Hill’s food for each condition Calculate feeding amounts Calculate cost of feeding 9 out of 10 […]
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Reading between the lines of pet food Labels There is a lot of information out there about the most ‘healthy’ or ‘best’ dog or cat food. This often confuses pet owners, veterinarians and nurses alike. Pet food labels are the primary way a manufacturer can communicate with pet owners. However, while there’s some educational information […]
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Reading between the lines This blog is all about how to read between the lines of pet food labels and help you to understand pet food ingredients. By reading further you will learn what the ingredient list can and can’t tell us, and which label terms are defined in Australia. In addition, you will know […]
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When I think of salt, I imagine enjoying hot salty chips at the beach or salty popcorn at the movies. Salt helps to enhance palatability, but is also far more than just a delicious condiment. Salt (in moderation) has many benefits and is a source of sodium, chloride and iodine. Sodium and chloride are two […]
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What can you do to help patients with brain ageing? In our first blog on this topic, “Doggy Dementia” – It’s more common than you might think”, we learnt about the pathophysiology and clinical signs experienced by dogs affected by brain ageing or canine alzheimer’s (or CDS). We also learnt that whilst many owners can […]
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Clients complaining about their pet itching while the family loses sleep? Skin disorders, including allergic skin disease, are a common reason owners bring their pets to the vet. Allergies in pets affect quality of life for not only the pet, but the pet owners as well – impacting the human-animal bond. Pruritic (itchy) pets are […]
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Choosing the right Derm Diet for your canine patient can be a tricky business! There is a plethora of allergy diets on the market from limited ingredient, novel protein, hydrolysed and “ultra” hydrolysed diets for food allergic patients to a multitude of diets with skin benefit claims for canine environmental allergies. At Hill’s we are […]
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Introducing Hill’s Prescription Diet Derm Complete Canine allergies are often frustrating, for the patients that suffer from them, for the owners who care for them, and for the veterinarians who treat them! It’s estimated that more than 50% of allergies in dogs are caused by environmental allergens. We know that 20-30% of food allergic dogs […]
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Veterinary professionals face many daily challenges, such as working long hours, experiencing the euthanasia of animals and attending to complex clinical cases, all whilst managing a small business and its staff and finances. So while veterinarians and their staff love helping you and your pet, providing a high level of compassionate care can take its […]
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Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) is a relatively common illness seen in general practice veterinary clinics in Australia and New Zealand, affecting up to an estimated 3% of cats each year. However, unlike the name suggests, FLUTD isn’t actually one disease, but is a term used to describe a group of conditions that can […]
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What do our clients do when they don’t have an understanding of the value of a product or service? They compare what they do know, and that’s price! To help you combat the price shopper and ensure that your clients understand the value of what you’re providing, follow these 3 top tips: Tip 1: Be […]
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Mental Health First Aid Course for Veterinary Professionals When we think about first aid, physical first aid is what first comes to mind (especially in our profession). But what about mental health first aid? Veterinary professionals are at higher risk of suicide than the general population, so taking care of our own mental health and recognising […]
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Demonstrating care and educating our clients is usually a rewarding experience, but every so often situations don’t go to plan. Learning to manage the experience of a complaining and emotional client is not easy and there is not one single technique that will work every time. There are however, skills that can be learned that […]
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For veterinary nurses, providing care for a critically ill patient can be one of the most challenging but rewarding parts of the role. Critically ill patients have complex and constantly changing care requirements. Therefore for many nurses, this uncertainty can cause some hesitation in caring for these patients. There are multiple reasons why a patient […]
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The most common presenting complaints of cats are lethargy, inappetence and weight loss. The most vague of all the clinical signs! This means that investigating,communicating and managing feline medical disease is often quite the journey. It’s very rare that we can diagnose feline patients whilst we are in the consultation room with them. We need […]
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Dental Charting is an essential step in any Dental Procedure Dental Charting is used to accurately and efficiently record all abnormal findings during an oral examination of the anaesthetised patient whilst treatment is performed. The completed Dental Chart is a valuable tool in educating clients about their pet’s oral condition and records the veterinarian’s findings […]
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Performing vet nurse dental checks The Veterinary Nurses’ role is an integral part of patient care, client education and assisting our veterinarians. One area where we can really sink our teeth into (pardon the pun) is caring for our dental patients. Our skills are called upon to assist in dental procedures, by monitoring the anaesthetised […]
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It’s more common than you might think It has lots of names: doggy dementia, canine Alzheimer’s, canine brain ageing, canine senility or canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS). This can get confusing – especially for owners – but they all mean the same thing and CDS, which is how I will refer to it in this […]
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Approaching the owner of an obese pet Effectively managing weight in pets is difficult enough, but when owners’ lifestyles, views, habits and compliance rates are added into the mix, success rates can plummet. Unfortunately, most veterinary professionals approach the “your pet is overweight” conversation in the same way every time, when we know that each […]
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Have you heard of the scientific field of nutrigenomics? Did you know that an individual’s genetic predilection for a disease is only part of the equation? Whether a disease will manifest depends on complex interactions between an individual’s genome and environmental factors. And, not surprisingly, diet is one of the most important environmental factors. The […]
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Obesity is a disease. It is one of the most significant healthcare issues being faced by both the human population and our pet cats and dogs. 40% of dogs1 and over 30% of cats2 that present to Australian veterinary clinics are overweight or obese and this prevalence is increasing. While it is well recognised that […]
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As practitioners, we realise that appropriate nutrition for gastrointestinal disease is part of the mainstay of treatment, but which diet should you choose from the plethora of options? This is a really common question and whilst every patient is different here are some general guidelines to help you choose what to try first. Types of […]
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To have optimal wellbeing we are constantly reminded to socialise, eat a healthy diet, sleep 7 – 9 hours a day, take breaks throughout the day and exercise all while working in a busy veterinary practice! Yeah right! You have no doubt heard all the statistics and are well aware veterinary staff are at an […]
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As vets and nurses, we all know that sometimes cats don’t make the easiest patients. Restraint can be difficult (for the cats and for us), administering medication isn’t always a walk in the park and stressed cats can pose a risk to our health (If you have ever been bitten by a cat, you will […]
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Challenges and Pitfalls Diagnosing food allergies seems like it should be a simple process, however, as you know, it can be very frustrating! It sounds straightforward enough: feed the pet a food that does not contain their suspected allergic triggers and monitor for changes in their clinical signs. However, many pet owners have already ‘self-diagnosed’ […]
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You want me to brush my pet’s teeth? We all know how important dental health is for our own teeth. We go to the dentist regularly and brush and floss our teeth twice a day. Dental disease is the most common health problem pets face. 70% of cats and 80% of dogs will have some […]
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What can I feed my patient with a history pancreatitis? What can I feed my patient with a history of pancreatitis is a really common question we get asked on the Veterinary Consultation Service – particularly if a patient has another concurrent disease condition. Pancreatitis, especially in the dog, is a fairly common diagnosis. We […]
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There are many of us who choose to eat plant based diets by becoming either a vegetarian or vegan. The question is, can the same choice be made for our pets? Pet nutrition is a complex science relying on an optimal selection of high quality ingredients and precisely balanced nutrients allowing for a pet’s age, […]
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Today’s pet foods have received a facelift. Gone are the days when canned food was put on the sideline for our pet’s health. While the convenience of dry food still makes it a popular feeding choice, our pets can benefit from the inclusion of wet food on a regular basis or even occasionally. There is […]
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Most vets and nurses know that the key to a dog which is a valued family member and a good community citizen is socialising them as a puppy. The best time for puppy socialisation is during their sensitive socialisation period between 3-14 weeks of age (give or take). What is socialisation? A continuing process […]
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Mental health should continue to be discussed amongst veterinary professionals, especially for those soon to graduate or recently graduated. Initiatives such as the mental health ball, and AVA Graduate Mentor Program supported by Hill’s have been fantastic in encouraging the subject to be discussed openly, even with those who might not have attended. The passion […]
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Resilience in a Vet practice: how to bounce back There is a lot of rhetoric about life, work and society getting back to ‘normal’ post the Covid-19 Lockdown. However, resilient people don’t refer to going back to how things used to be. As a very wise teacher and colleague of mine says, at this current […]
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Having worked with many Veterinarians since 2009, and having made a number of emergency calls to a Vet clinic with my brother and his dog Oscar – my furry nephew (yes, I have become one of ‘those’ people who anthropomorphises animals) – I have been granted a unique insight into the challenges in Vet practices. […]
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Part 2 If the gut works, use it! Feeding via the enteral route is preferred in the presence of a functioning gastro-intestinal tract. Gut cells receive approximately 40% of their nutrition from digesta in the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, when critically ill patients are not fed enterally, there is loss of mucosal cell […]
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Part 1 Have you ever asked yourself: “Do I provide a robust nutritional plan for my critically ill patients?” Do you even consider nutrition to be an important factor during this time? In a referral clinic study of 276 dogs hospitalised for multiple days, patients achieved a daily positive-energy balance (>95% Resting Energy Requirements, or […]
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Have you heard of the 5th Vital Assessment or 5VA or V5? No? Well, that’s not surprising because as a profession, we don’t really talk about vital assessments, but we do them every day. We all know what TPR is – Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration. These are the first three of the vital assessments and […]
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Feline Diabetes Overview Cats typically have a form of diabetes resembling Type II in humans in which cellular resistance to insulin results in impaired glucose uptake. This leads to dysfunction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and a progressive reduction in insulin production. There are many potential causes of insulin resistance, with obesity […]
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At the beginning of 2020 for many clients the terms telehealth, virtual care or telemedicine were foreign to them. However, with social and physical distancing becoming a reality and human healthcare pushing virtual care services, the concept of telemedicine has gained greater consumer and provider appeal providing huge benefits for the veterinary sector. With barriers […]
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Finally you’ve decided to take the plunge and start offering a telemedicine service to your clients. In this article, I will cover some frequently asked questions to help you get started and make the most of these consults. Consider How You Will Conduct Consults I won’t lie, consulting over the internet is never quite the […]
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For many veterinarians, telemedicine suddenly became popular as Covid-19 hit the shores of Australia. With the overwhelming sense of unease and fear for how veterinary practice would continue in a safe and reliable manner, there seemed to be only two choices: One: split work teams and perform car park animal swap overs. Two: purchase a […]
Read more >A tried and proven approach Over the last 12 months Hill’s has been running weight management workshops, designed to educate veterinary nurses on how to run their own weight management consultations. These events have not only educated nurses about diets and calculating individual feeding plans for weight loss, but also how to run consultations with […]
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