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Among the programme highlights is "Managing complaints post-CMA, what do you need to know?", featuring BVA President Rob Williams, Jennie Jones, Head of Veterinary Client Mediation Service, and Gavin Durston, Director of Thrums Vets.
In another session, "Hot topic: CMA remedies - what do they mean in practice?", Rob Williams, Kate Higgins, owner and Director of Village Vets Formby, and Lyndsay Hughes, BVNA Senior Vice President, will debate where we are with the investigation, what comes next, and the possible impact of the CMA remedies on practices.
The programme also includes sessions on clinical practice, leadership in the workplace and the role of vets in ethical decision making.
Clinical stream highlights include euthanasia in small mammals, birds and reptiles, anaesthesia in comorbid patients, updates in ocular pharmacology, optimizing hospital care for long-term patients, and managing anxiety in "pandemic puppies".
The BVA Interactive Zone will also return, with President Rob Williams, Senior Vice President Elizabeth Mullineaux and Junior Vice President Gwen Rees leading debates on overtreatment, managing and improving a toxic workplace and contextualised care.
Rob said: "As the profession emerges from the CMA investigation, BVA Live will be one of the first opportunities for vet teams to come together to access practical CPD to move forwards and comply with the CMA remedies."
https://bvalive.vetshow.com/conference-programme
The course, which has been produced as part of Dechra's collaboration with Not One More Vet, is presented by vets who specialise in mental health counselling.
The four new topics are: client communication: the human side of veterinary medicine; professional identity development for students and recent graduates; executive function management and mental health; and the science of mindfulness.
https://academy.dechra.com/learn/catalog/view/502
The new hydrolysed diet contains hydrolysed proteins, AuraGuard, fibres and Zeolite.
Dechra says the new formula featured in both diets offers superior palatability and works in a multi-action way with support of the gut-kidney axis to help optimise protein absorption and maintenance of muscle mass, gut barrier integrity and a healthy microbiome, while lowering uremic toxins in the blood.
The company says both diets control levels of protein, phosphorus and sodium and offer high levels of the Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.
Becky Morris, marketing manager at Dechra, said: "Chronic kidney disease is a lifelong progressive disease in dogs and cats, and nutrition is an important part of management to help slow disease progression, improve quality of life and reduce the risk of secondary complications.
"Our new and updated highly palatable Specific Heart & Kidney Support diets will help keep dogs and cats in good condition, prolonging the progression of the disease and the lifespan of the pet."
https://www.specific-diets.co.uk
The drug monographs in Part A were revised and updated by the Editorial Panel during 2025, and new monographs include citalopram, enflicoxib, ilunocitinib and verdinexor.
Part A also denotes drugs available as extemporaneous products, also called "veterinary specials", as VSP in the formulations section of the monographs.
Additional content in Part A includes information on drugs used for the management of urinary incontinence, while the Appendix now includes a seizure algorithm, guidance on supplements and nutraceuticals, and expanded information on contrast agents.
There are also 7 new client information leaflets in Part A, including bezafibrate, chloramphenicol, clomipramine and memantine.
Part B covers mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and its drug monographs were reviewed and updated by the Editorial Panel during 2025 under Editor-in-Chief Joanna Hedley.
New monographs in Part B include afoxolaner, atorvastatin and danofloxacin, and emergency drug doses for rabbits, rodents, ferrets, birds and reptiles have been added to the inside front cover.
Part B also adds Appendix information on barium and iodinated contrast agents for diagnostic imaging, and includes client information leaflets on inhaled medications, injectable medications, oral medications, topical ear medications and topical eye medications.
Additional information on proprietary fish medicines and drug doses for different species of British wildlife, including badgers, deer, foxes and hedgehogs, is available via the BSAVA library.
Eligible BSAVA members will receive a printed copy of Part A: Canine and Feline as part of their membership from April 2026 onwards, while all BSAVA members will have access to the online version via the BSAVA library and the BSAVA app from mid-April.
Printed copies are available for £37.70 for BSAVA members and £58.00 for non-members.
https://bsavaportal.bsava.com/s/store#/store/browse/cat/a0w8d000000Mh3FAAS/tiles
Krka says Prazemo is the first generic to offer this combination of actives in this format, and is bioequivalent to the originator product.
Prazemo is available in three dosage strengths for different cat weights and can be used from 8 weeks of age and during pregnancy and lactation.
For cats that also require ectoparasiticide treatment, it can be used alongside a mono-isoxazoline (fluralaner) treatment.
Will Ridgway, Head of Animal Health at Krka UK, said: "Prazemo strengthens our feline parasiticide portfolio with an effective spot-on solution that veterinary practices can be confident delivers affordability combined with Krka’s high standards of product efficacy and supply chain control."
For more information, email: animalhealth.uk@krka.biz
The three-day event, for which super early-bird discount tickets are now available, will offer more than 90 hours of CPD across advanced imaging, orthopaedics, reproduction, behaviour, ambulatory care and practice management.
The 2026 programme is chaired by Edd Knowles, who said: "We want people to leave Congress thinking differently about how they approach cases.
"That might be a new diagnostic approach, a different way of managing a case, or simply more confidence in the decisions they’re already making."
Programme highlights include "How Does Advanced Imaging Help Interpret Basic Imaging" on Saturday at 13:30, "Modern Equine Veterinary Businesses" on Thursday at 08:30, "From Stress to Success for Horses and Humans" on Saturday at 16:00, "On the Road with Responsibility: Ethics in Ambulatory Equine Nursing" on Friday at 15:40, "The First Year of Life" on Friday at 10:45, and "Controversies in Orthopaedic Surgery" on Friday at 15:30.
Super early bird tickets are now available with an additional 15% discount over the 50% that BEVA members get until Wednesday 1 July 2026.
The discounted three-day pass for BEVA veterinary members is £627.90, with a concessionary price of £376.74 for recent graduates and those on lower incomes.
http://www.bevacongress.org
The funds were raised through donations from dog owners who accessed the team's on-site service during the event.
One of the team, Rita Johnson RVN, said: "After learning about the challenges facing veterinary teams in Ukraine, the Crufts volunteer vet team wanted to support this appeal to help them continue their vital work."
Mark Johnston, Vice President of the Prosalus Foundation, said: "We were deeply moved to receive this generous donation from the volunteer vet team at Crufts.
"We thank them for their concern for veterinary teams in Ukraine and the millions of animals caught up in the conflict."
He added: "We hope more vets in the UK will follow their example and help us to help our dedicated Ukrainian colleagues through these desperate times."
UK veterinary professionals can support the campaign by donating veterinary medicines, equipment and supplies, making a cash donation online via The ProSalus Foundation's website, or bidding in a silent auction of Ukrainian art.
www.prosalusfoundation.org
Dignipets says that as well as supporting clients, referring this aspect of care to qualified counsellors can also reduce the emotional strain on veterinary teams.
Last year, Dignipets launched a free app for pet carers that offers quality of life scoring tools and a connection with the Dignipets hospice team.
Dignipets says that the app can strengthen the relationship between vet practices and their clients, in a partnership where the vet team provides the best care for the pet, Dignipets provides specialist hospice support and QOL guidance, and the APBC offers professional emotional support for clients, reflecting a more holistic model of veterinary care.
Merel Taal, Founder and Principal Director at Dignipets, said: "Coping with the loss of a pet can be extremely difficult and there is no shame in seeking professional support to get through such a challenging time.
"But what really excites me is that we can now reach pet carers so much sooner - before loss, during those incredibly hard weeks and months of anticipatory grief.
"This is an amazing extra feature that means we hopefully get more pet carers struggling with anticipatory grief the support that they need - sooner."
https://www.dignipets.co.uk
The study, which was led by Beth Reilly, Senior Teaching Fellow in Small Ruminant Health and Flock Management at the RVC, and JP Crilly, Lecturer in Small Ruminant Health and Flock Management, used an anonymous online survey distributed to sheep farmers across the UK via social media, with 421 farmers taking part.
The findings showed that 88.8% of respondents had identified orf lesions in their sheep, despite which only 23.8% consulted a veterinarian when orf was suspected.
Farmers reported a median treatment cost of £5 per affected lamb and £100 per affected flock, highlighting the ongoing economic impact of the disease.
Although uncomplicated orf cases do not require antibiotic treatment, topical antibiotic sprays were the most reported treatment used by 65.2% of respondents, while 26.7% used injectable antibiotics and 22.7% reported using both injectable and topical antibiotics.
A total of 13.6% of respondents reported using salt licks as part of orf treatment practices.
Only 34.5% of respondents reported using pain relief in affected animals.
The study also highlighted important human health considerations.
Nearly a third of respondents reported having contracted orf themselves.
Those who reported wearing gloves some or all the time were significantly less likely to contract orf, with their likelihood of infection only 64% of those who never wore gloves.
The researchers say that discussions between sheep farmers and veterinarians should be encouraged to cover current treatment options for orf lesions, the zoonotic risk, the importance of ensuring that other diseases with similar clinical presentations are not overlooked and that antimicrobials are used only when necessary.
Reference
The first episode features equine veterinary surgeon Fiona Farmer, BreathEazy Director and veterinary surgeon Jon Slattery, and international event rider Harry Meade.
They discuss the impact respiratory health can have on performance horses and the practical management of respiratory challenges in competition settings.
The opening episode also focuses on the relationship between respiratory health, performance and recovery, and on how veterinary understanding can inform everyday horse management.
The episode also explores the science behind nebulisation, and Jon Slattery discusses its role in administering medications and in broader respiratory management in horses exposed to dust, pollen and other environmental particles.
Fiona said: "By combining veterinary knowledge with real-world experience from the top of the sport, we hope to share useful insights that riders, owners and vets can apply."
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7FHQ6XRR3VYUawgH6sppsP
Behind the redesign was one simple question: what will make prospective candidates more likely to respond to a job advert?
Everything has been designed to reduce friction and present the information candidates want to see in a clear, professional format.
There is no requirement to create an account or apply through a messaging system.
In an increasingly impersonal world where CVs are often filtered by algorithms, many candidates simply want to pick up the phone or send an email directly to the employer.
The new format also addresses some of the limitations of recruiting through social media platforms such as Facebook, where jobs posted into feeds can quickly disappear from view and are only seen by people who actively use those platforms.
By contrast, jobs posted on VetSurgeon remain live for a month, are optimised for Google search, shared with subscribers, and featured roles are highlighted in the VetSurgeon newsletter.
At the same time, each advert provides a professional “shop window” that practice teams can easily share across their own social media channels.
VetSurgeon Jobs is currently free to use while the new advert format is beta tested.
Practices interested in trying the new format can post a vacancy now and see how their advert appears both on the site and when shared across social media.
https://www.vetsurgeon.org/veterinary-jobs
Caroline uses the five domains framework — nutrition, physical environment, health, behavioural interactions and mental state — to provide welfare assessments to help owners navigate some of the increasingly difficult choices that modern veterinary medicine now offers.
In particular, Pet Lighthouse aims to bridge the gap between Dr. Google and clinical reality, to support informed decision-making, and to give clients the long consultations that they may need to process difficult news, which may be difficult to provide in general practice.
Caroline, who has over 15 years experience in first-opinion work and eight years as the RSPCA's Chief Vet, does not prescribe or treat, and clients are directed back to their local practice for clinical care.
She said: "I am here to ensure that when a family returns to your consulting room, they are informed, calm, and focused."
"My goal is to support the profession by providing the intensive advocacy and client support that a standard consultation window simply cannot accommodate."
Caroline is inviting practices to signpost clients directly to the Pet Lighthouse website or reach out for an initial discussion.
www.petlighthouse.co.uk
Julia Albright, MA, DVM, DACVB, and Martha G. Cline, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition) will share the latest insights on how nutrition influences behaviour, cognition, and learning in dogs and cats.
https://events.purinainstitute.com/login/purinainstitute/CollaborativeCare-2026
The charge was that between June and October 2022, the vet imported or arranged for the importation of approximately 1950 to 2010 tablets of a medicine which purported to be norethisterone when there had been no Special Importation Certificate (SIC) issued by the VMD.
The vet was also charged with supplying or arranging the supply of the medicine to a number of greyhound trainers, with a view to the medicine being administered to greyhounds.
Finally, the vet was also charged that he knew there was no SIC, that the medicine contained substances other than norethisterone, that he had made no assessment of whether any or all of the other substances were appropriate for administration to the greyhounds, and that the Greyhound Board of Great Britain did not permit greyhounds to race with the other substances found in the medicine in their system.
The vet admitted all the charges against him at the start of the hearing.
The Committee said aggravating factors included risk of injury to an animal or human, recklessness, and break of client trust.
It also noted that despite his practice being rated 4 out of 5 in a 2025 Veterinary Practice Premises Inspection Report in relation to the VMD’s most recent inspection of his practice, the report raised four matters relating to the issuing and labelling of medication.
In mitigation, the Committee accepted that the vet had imported the norethisterone from India with good intentions, in that he believed he was assisting the greyhounds to keep them racing.
It also noted that while this was not an isolated incident, he only ordered the norethisterone twice and supplied it over a five-month period in 2022.
He had also practised without incident since importing and supplying the norethisterone.
The Committee decided that the conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct, and that he had breached sections 1.5, 6.4 and 6.5 of the Code of Practice for Veterinary Surgeons in 2022.
Deciding the sanction, the Committee also noted that the vet had a previous disciplinary finding against him relating to findings of dishonesty regarding his communications with the Animal and Plant Health Agency in the taking of blood samples for horses due to be exported to Serbia, which resulted in a six-month suspension from the Register.
Neil Slater, chairing the committee, said a six-month suspension would allow the vet time to “develop insight and understanding of the importance of regulatory compliance” and reflect on his practice, while also signalling to the profession and the public that such compliance is essential.
He said the committee had considered whether removal from the register was warranted, particularly given a previous similar disciplinary finding, but concluded that this could be “career ending”. A longer suspension was also ruled out on the same basis.
However, the committee expressed significant concern that the case, alongside the earlier finding, demonstrated a “persistent disregard for regulatory legislation”. It said the sanction imposed was necessary to protect animal welfare and maintain confidence in the profession.
The vet will be suspended for six months following the expiry of the appeal period.
https://www.rcvs.org.uk/veterinary-professionals/conduct-and-guidance/concerns-for-veterinary-professionals/disciplinary-committee-hearings
Serotonin has been implicated in several canine diseases, including myxomatous mitral valve disease, pulmonary hypertension and dilated cardiomyopathy, but direct measurement in blood is challenging because of its short half-life in serum.
In humans, urinary 5‑HIAA is considered a more accurate marker of serum serotonin concentration.
However, whilst urine 5-HIAA has previously been measured in dogs using gas chromatography mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, these techniques are expensive and not widely available.
For the study, which was funded by BSAVA PetSavers and published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice, researchers collected urine samples from 26 dogs undergoing routine diagnostic evaluation at a referral hospital.
Each sample was analysed using both a commercially available ELISA testing kit, BA-E-1900 from Immusmol, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, the current gold standard method.
The ELISA was found to be reliable with acceptable precision and repeatability, particularly at low concentrations, although it had a slightly higher observed error at higher concentrations.
The researchers recommended further validation work to improve understanding of the various preanalytical factors that may influence measurement of 5-HIAA concentrations.
They also said further work should investigate whether measuring urinary 5-HIAA will be a good surrogate marker for physiologically active circulating serotonin in dogs, and whether it will be useful in studying disease pathogenesis.
Dr Penny Watson, senior author of the study, said: "I am very hopeful that, after further validation, this ELISA will prove to be a reliable, simple and cheap test for 5-HIAA in the urine, facilitating further research into the role of serotonin in the pathogenesis of canine diseases.
"We have long suspected that some individual dogs and breeds may have higher circulating serotonin than others and that this might predispose them not only to heart disease but also some common diseases such as chronic pancreatitis and kidney disease.
"They would also be more susceptible to serotinergic syndrome when medicated with drugs such as tramadol or trazadone.
"Further research in this area would thus be directly relevant to small animal practitioners."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.70123
Krka says Robexera injectable acts within an hour, has a 24-hour duration and that its high COX-2 selectivity reduces wider systemic impact.1
The company says that in cats, the perioperative case is particularly strong, pointing to research which it says showed robenacoxib to have the best proven safety profile in cats of all NSAIDs.1
Krka adds that it is also highly effective in reducing post-operative pain, with evidence of superior efficacy to meloxicam,2 and a proven anaesthetic-sparing effect during feline surgery.3
Will Ridgway, Head of Animal Health at Krka UK, said: “Practices want product assurance and commercial value. As a bioequivalent to the originator product,4 Robexera injectable delivers both."
https://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/productinformationdatabase/files/SPC_Documents/SPC_3090863.PDF
References
The webinar will focus on how vaccination programmes can be successfully integrated into dairy herds.
The session will explore how the five-point cryptosporidiosis control plan can guide client discussions, how extended colostrum feeding can be implemented on-farm, and practical strategies covering hygiene, transition milk, and wider scour control.
Alex Cooper MRCVS from Fenton Vets (pictured) and his client, dairy farmer Lottie Wilson from Mountain Park Farm, Pembrokeshire, will talk about the challenges they faced with cryptosporidiosis and how they implemented management changes to overcome these issues, resulting in a herd now largely free from scour.
MSD Veterinary Adviser, Kat Baxter-Smith MRCVS, said: “Vaccination plays a crucial role in controlling cryptosporidiosis, and strong vaccine sales reflect the clear demand for effective on-farm solutions.
"This webinar will explore those challenges, share the latest research and provide first-hand farm experience to help vets move scour management from reactive treatment to proactive prevention.”
https://thewebinarvet.com/webinars/making-cryptosporidiosis-vaccination-work-on-farm-practical-insights-for-vets
For the research, published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, the team studied osteoarthritic tissues from dogs with osteoarthritis treated with total hip replacement surgery at the RVC's Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, using ultra-high-resolution micro-computed tomography to map the entire femoral head in three dimensions.
Using this technique, as opposed to more localised analysis previously conducted on human samples, researchers identified that different areas of the femoral head simultaneously responded differently.
In particular, the findings revealed that in the earliest stages of osteoarthritis, the inner regions predictably change their bone structure pattern, allowing early identification of osteoarthritis.
As the disease progresses, the dense layer of bone immediately below the joint surface becomes more porous in proportion to the increasing severity of osteoarthritis, distinguishing mild from severe changes.
The researchers say that the next step is to match these changes with clinical scans to develop improved non-invasive approaches to assessing joint health at much earlier stages of disease.
Professor Richard Meeson, Professor of Orthopaedics at the RVC, and senior author of the paper, said: "Osteoarthritis is a devastating disease affecting both people and our pets.
"Every day in our orthopaedic referral clinic, I see dogs suffering from its severe effects.
"What is truly exciting is that through our clinical work, we can transform the lives of dogs through hip replacement surgery, and we have also been able to drive forward pioneering research at the RVC.
"This research has provided new insights into the disease and, crucially, brings us closer to diagnosing osteoarthritis at a much earlier stage."
The study, led by Svenja Springer from the Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, used an online questionnaire in March 2022 to investigate dog and cat owners in Austria, Denmark and the UK, with a final sample of 2,117 owners.
The survey found that differences in insurance uptake across income groups were seen only in the UK, where 65.6% of owners in the high-income group (more than £44,800 a year) had insurance compared with only 35.1% in the low-income group (less than £22,400 a year).
Overall, 51.5% of UK households in the sample had insurance and 48.5% did not.
Among owners without insurance, UK respondents were much more likely to say policies were too expensive (48.9%) compared with 28.1% in Denmark and 29.9% in Austria.
However, when it comes to how much owners are prepared to spend on veterinary treatment, the paper concludes that emotional attachment to a pet was the most important factor, over and above income or insurance status.
Nevertheless, only around 20% of UK dog owners said they would spend over £3000 of their own money — that is, over and above any insured sum — on treatment.
Some 24.8% of the owners of uninsured dogs and 34.7% of the owners of insured dogs said they would spend £101 to £1000 of their own money.
Around 11% said they would spend £1001 - £3000 and 19.8% of insured vs 27.1% of uninsured said they didn't know.
In the first report1, which concerned an outbreak on a busy competition yard after the introduction of a new horse without an isolation period or pre-movement blood ELISA screening for recent S. equi exposure, no horses developed signs of strangles after the second vaccination with Strangvac was administered.
In the second report2 strangles was confirmed in three unvaccinated and unwell horses and 17 healthy horses on the same yard were subsequently vaccinated with Strangvac.
Blood samples in this group of vaccinated horses demonstrated that over half had recent exposure to S. equi, despite which, none of them developed strangles.
Bex Glasgow, veterinary surgeon and equine veterinary advisor at Dechra said: “Strangles vaccination, alongside good biosecurity measures, are essential tools in disease prevention and recent studies have also demonstrated its protective effect during outbreak situations.”
Strangles Awareness Week, which is supported by Dechra, takes place from 4 to 10 May 2026.
The initiative is aimed at increasing screening throughout the year and helping identify cats living with untreated hypertension.
Challenge 20 encourages vet professionals to screen and record over 20 new feline blood pressure measurements per practice in cats at increased risk, including those with concurrent diseases such as chronic kidney disease and hyperthyroidism, those with signs of target organ damage and all cats over seven years of age.
After the feedback session, the Ceva vet will work with the practice to identify any training requirements and create a tailored plan, before repeating the challenge to track progress and fine-tune the approach.
Ceva is also providing marketing materials focusing on hidden hypertension and concurrent disease, including a cat owner poster, leaflet, owner email content and a social media toolkit.
The company is also offering dedicated time and guidance from its territory managers to help implement better screening protocols.
A feline hypertension bitesize video CPD series is also available at the Ceva Academy: https://ceva.vbms-training.co.uk
Andrew Fullerton, senior product manager at Ceva, said: "Over 1,200 cats were screened during Ceva's 2025 feline hypertension campaign and a third of them were identified as hypertensive1."
He added: "We continue to encourage vet professionals to test for feline hypertension in all cats over seven years of age, with a particular focus on those more susceptible to high blood pressure, such as those with concurrent diseases and those with signs of target organ damage through our Challenge 20 initiative."
https://easethepressure.co.uk
The clinical team at the RVC analysed anonymised clinical data from dogs from the UK, Europe and the USA undergoing mitral valve repair at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals at the RVC.
One study evaluated the anaesthetic management and outcomes of 176 dogs undergoing surgery, focusing on complications during and around the time of anaesthesia1.
The second study assessed 66 dogs to identify features on heart scans that could help predict whether the heart would remain enlarged after surgery2.
The findings showed that mitral valve repair is associated with significant intraoperative and postoperative risks.
Longer cardiopulmonary bypass duration was associated with increased risk.
Dogs with greater pre-surgical heart enlargement and higher body weight were more likely to have persistent left heart enlargement after surgery.
Close perioperative monitoring and rapid-response protocols were found to be essential in managing anticipated complications.
The study also found that recovery outcomes vary, meaning individual patient factors must be considered when advising owners.
Finally, the research demonstrated that most beneficial changes in heart size, known as reverse remodelling, occurred within the first three months after surgery.
Professor Dan Brockman, Professor in Small Animal Surgery and Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service at the RVC, said: "Establishing and maintaining open heart surgical capability at the RVC has been both the most challenging and the most rewarding activity of my 36 years as a specialist small animal surgeon.
"Our team are rightly proud of what we have achieved, but we all know that the route to even greater consistency of results lies in the constant process of reflection, refinement and improvement in every aspect of what we do."
The RVC is currently the only centre in the UK offering this specialist surgical procedure.
https://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-vet/specialist-referrals/advanced-techniques/cardiothoracic-surgery/mitral-valve-disease
The software is designed to help practice managers plan rotas across roles including vets, nurses, receptionists and support staff.
Agilio says that iTeam Rota can help practices spot staffing gaps earlier, manage leave, sickness and CPD on a single screen, and give team members access to an up-to-date rota from any device.
The company also says the system can support repeatable shift patterns and multi-site rota management.
Emma Barnes, Managing Director of Emerging Markets at Agilio (pictured), said: "Anyone who's ever wrestled a rota in a spreadsheet knows that sinking feeling when you've just got it straight, and then someone changes their hours or calls in sick and you're back to square one.
"It's a constant firefight, and never a finished job."
"We've built iTeam Rota specifically for veterinary practices because their staffing challenges are unlike other sectors, and generic tools simply don't cope with that.
"Practices are dealing with more part-time roles, flexible working patterns and multi-site teams, and need a rota system that mirrors how their people actually work, and not the other way round."
agiliosoftware.com/veterinary/iteam-rota
The six-month group coaching scheme is for experienced equine vets and vet nurses and is delivered through monthly online group coaching sessions.
Applications for the 2026 cohort are open until Wednesday 27 May 2026, and 25 places are available.
The coaching team includes Lucy Grieve, Claire Goodban, Kate Blakeman and Gemma Dransfield—all veterinary professionals with coaching training—now joined by vet nurse Rosina Lillywhite to give dedicated support for veterinary nurses.
Kate Blakeman, BEVA vice president, programme founder and a Back in the Saddle coach, said: "Coaching is becoming increasingly recognised as a key factor in building professional resilience, restoring confidence and supporting career transitions."
Rosina Lillywhite said: "Back in the Saddle is about creating the time and space for both vets and veterinary nurses to step back, reflect and move forward with renewed confidence."
"Whether someone is navigating a period of change or simply reassessing their direction, the programme offers structured support, practical strategies and the reassurance that they're not alone in the challenges they're facing. It's a really valuable opportunity to reconnect with your career and regain a sense of purpose within the profession."
https://www.beva.org.uk/Career-support/Vets/Back-in-the-Saddle
Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, the model is a "hybrid causal Bayesian network" designed to enhance existing tools by analysing complex relationships between risk factors1.
It combines data from electronic health records, owner questionnaires, previous studies and veterinarian expertise.
Waltham says the model confirms the importance of risk factors including breed and size, age, head shape and quality of home dental care, and quantifies the probability of a dog having periodontal disease based on the presence of these factors.
Dr Stephen Makin, Vice President Waltham Petcare Science Institute, said: "This breakthrough is more than just a scientific achievement; it's a potential game-changer for canine oral health.
"Supported by AI, we are moving from detection to prediction, empowering veterinarians and owners with the ability to provide proactive and personalised oral care.
"This could fundamentally change the health and wellbeing of our canine companions."
The new model is now being used within the Linnaeus group to flag risk for newly-registered clients.
It has also been deployed on a risk checker at: https://www.uk.pedigree.com/gum-disease-risk-checker.
In both cases, Linnaeus says the objective is to get information to pet owners earlier, particularly for breeds where risk is substantially higher, to help drive early preventive care.
However, the company says this is only a fraction of what this kind of foundational model can do, and that it is exploring a range of further applications — including how it might work in combination with other clinical tools and diagnostics to support decision-making more directly at the point of care.