Virbac has launched a reformulated dental chew for dogs.

The company says the new VeggieDent chew is thicker in order to prolong the chewing time, but retain its palatability and characteristic Z shape, designed to facilitate prehension and enhance the mechanical cleaning action.

Product manager Chris Geddes MRCVS says the longer chewing time means increased contact between teeth and chew: "Optimum plaque removal is achieved by physical abrasion of the tooth surface during chewing. What is important is both the nature and the duration of contact between tooth and chew. These chews have been reformulated to optimise both of these factors.

"Whilst regular tooth brushing is always the gold standard, the chews provide enhanced plaque removal above brushing alone, and are particularly suited for those difficult cases where brushing is not possible".

"Many dogs are offered treats or chews during the day with limited nutritional or health benefits. VeggieDent chews are highly palatable, natural, and meat-free. They help to sustain tooth and gum health and are a great way to encourage the provision of treats that have a health benefit".

The chews are available in packs of 15 in sizes suitable for small, medium and large dogs and can be obtained from your veterinary wholesaler. Look out for a relaunch promotion coming soon. For further information please speak to your Virbac Territory Manager, phone Virbac on 01359 243243, or email enquiries@virbac.co.uk.

Dechra Veterinary Products has published a range of case studies to support its new campaign focused on the diagnosis and treatment of otitis externa.

The studies have been written by Referral Dermatologist Sue Paterson MA, VetMB, DVD, DipECVD, MRCVS, RCVS European Specialist in Veterinary Dermatology and Peter Forsythe BVM&S, DVD, MRCVS, RVCS Specialist in Veterinary Dermatology.

Developed as part of the Time to Change campaign, the real-life examples feature a series of problems and solutions associated with otitis, supported by clear images and photomicrographs.

Larry King, Senior Brand Manager, Dechra Veterinary Products, said: "We have created a range of in-depth case study materials for use by vets and vet nurses which will support identification and management of otitis externa, one of the more frequent conditions seen in general practice.

"As veterinary professionals are aware, otitis is common and can be challenging to diagnose and treat. These studies address individual cases and demonstrate how the Dechra dermatology range can be used effectively.

"Topics covered in the case studies include the types of otitis presented by each animal, how individual organisms were identified using cytology and how long treatment was continued."

The case studies, which feature Malassezia, staphylococcal and Proteus infections, also discuss the underlying causes and steps taken after treatment with Canaural and various ear cleaners.

The Time to Change campaign has been launched to support a best practice approach to otitis which includes the identification of the organisms causing infection through cytology, support the selection of the correct treatment and assist with educating clients on how to apply and use products correctly.

For further information visit www.dechra.com/timetochange. The website also highlights the benefits of Dechra Veterinary Products' range of topical treatments and ear flushes, including Canaural, CleanAural, CerumAurual, TrizAural and MalAceticAural.

Vets, consultants and other advisors should encourage dairy farmers to make use of available information to help improve their herd's performance and profitability through breeding.  This is the message from DairyCo breeding+ director, Marco Winters, who says farmers should use genetics to improve not only milk production, but also health, welfare, management and type traits.

Breeding briefs, a new booklet from DairyCo, identifies some genetic improvement tools that allow farmers to make better breeding decisions and concentrates on how to use them in practice.  And for those who feel confronted by an overload of information, the booklet helps identify the figures to seek out and prioritise.

Breeding decisions are cumulative: their effects build up over the generations so a problem can be introduced or cured over just a few years.  A series of poor breeding decisions can mean the difference between profit and loss; even between a business's survival and failure.  Yet the time, cost and effort needed for a good breeding decision to be made is much the same as those needed for a bad one.

Mr Winters says: "High quality cattle are at the heart of profitable dairy farming and this requires good quality genetics.  Without these, however good farmers' management, there is a ceiling to their herd's performance and profitability.  Vets, consultants and other dairy advisers have an important role to play in helping farmers access the information they need to make informed decisions."

DairyCo Breeding briefs is available to download from http://www.dairyco.org.uk/.  To request a pdf version by email call 01285 646510 or email: publications@dairyco.org.uk.

Vetoquinol has announced that it will continue to offer a wetlab service to support Alfaxan®, its injectable anaesthetic for dogs and cats, throughout 2009.

The company has hosted 101 Alfaxan® wetlabs around the UK since the product was launched in April 2007, and says that they've been very well received. A wetlab day starts with a presentation outlining the purpose of the wetlab service, explaining how the drug works, what to expect and how to use it properly. The day's patients are then anaesthetised using Alfaxan® under the supervision of the Vetoquinol vet, who talks through the procedure.  Following the practical session there is a chance to discuss the morning's events.  The aim is to leave the practice feeling comfortable and positive about using Alfaxan® routinely in its operating theatres.

According to Vetoquinol, anaesthesia is a discipline which carries with it much trepidation, especially when it comes to trying new products. The company says that education has therefore been paramount to ensure that practices use Alfaxan® appropriately and are able to appreciate the benefits that it can give them. Vetoquinol believes it is important that ALL members of staff involved in patient anaesthesia are educated about Alfaxan® before they start using it on a day-to-day basis, and practice meetings and wetlabs have been an invaluable tool to help practices develop a smooth transition between products.

For more information on Alfaxan® and holding a wetlab at your practice, please contact your Vetoquinol representative or telephone the dedicated free Alfaxan® technical support number 0800 345 7560.

Pfizer has sponsored the publication of a new English-Polish dairy health guide for vets to give farmers.

The guide has been published to help farm staff from Poland improves their knowledge, skills and performance at work. Topics covered including milking routines, causes and control of clinical mastitis, intramammary tube infusion and dry cow therapy.

Copies are available free of charge from Pfizer Animal Health's Dairy Territory Managers, or by calling 01737 330727.

A survey of more than 3,000 farms has found that 16% employed foreign workers, among whom more than half were from Poland.¹ According to Pfizer's livestock business director Tomas Rosival, Polish workers are keen on training and eager to put it into practice and get results.

He said: "Communication is the key. By presenting each topic in English and Polish on facing pages, the booklet helps develop workplace vocabulary and language skills as well as improving technical knowledge."

[1] Farm Business, 2009. The significance of migrant labour in UK agricultural employment. Survey of 3,375 farms.

The WSAVA has launched a petition to save ketamine from being placed under international scheduling, a move which the association says would prevent those who most need the drug having access to it.

The proposal to schedule ketamine is likely to be considered at the 59th UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs (CND) taking place between now and the 22nd March 2016 in Vienna.

Apparently, the proposal stems from a widespread misconception that ketamine is only a recreational drug. WSAVA argues that it is in fact the only anaesthetic suitable for use in middle and low income countries, and it also has particular value 'in the field' for trauma, traffic and sporting injuries. It is also the common and often only product used for sterilization initiatives - instrumental in the feral dog/cat population and critical for the control of zoonotic diseases, such as rabies.

To sign the petition, visit: http://chn.ge/1RFSou6. You can also share the petition post on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSAVA/.

A new eBook from electronic publisher Quicklook Books aims to give outsiders a broad overview of the veterinary profession.

According to author, veterinary surgeon Bob Lehner, Quicklook@Vets offers readers the opportunity to get below the surface of the veterinary working practice and gain insight into the profession, without becoming 'bogged down' in complicated medical terminology.

He said: "The veterinary world, although considered by many to be an enthralling subject, is accessible to very few people. Texts are, more often than not, written for veterinary graduates instead of the general public.

"In Quicklook@Vets, I wanted to explore all the aspects of this exciting subject in a clear, coherent manner, without unnecessary jargon, to enable anyone to read and learn about the captivating world of veterinary practice."

As a vet with over 35 years of experience, Bob Lehner worked with a wide range of animals and has experience in commercial deer farming, working with zoo animals and as a veterinary surgeon for the pharmaceutical industry. Now retired, Bob Lehner works part-time in practice, as an inspector for the RCVS Practise Standards Scheme and work with an animal charity in Botswana neutering feral village dogs.

The book is available for download here 

Vets Now has announced its selection centre dates for young vets applying for a place on the new 'Cutting Edge' Emergency and Critical Care fast track programme.

With the 20 August deadline for applications fast approaching, Vets Now has confirmed that interviews for the first intake in October will take place on 25^th and 26^th August.  Applications received after this date will be considered only if the applicant meets the necessary criteria and is able to take up a place on the programme if extra places become available.

According to the company, the 'Cutting Edge' initiative is the first training programme of its kind in the UK. It'll see 40 vets who are likely to have graduated between 2006 and 2009 selected for a place on one of two 10 week fast track training programmes which will take them straight to the heart of emergency, working as a veterinary surgeon in a Vets Now clinic.

The induction courses will be held in October and January, each taking up to 20 vets through 10 weeks of intensive ECC training on a robust programme which has been designed by Vets Now Clinical Director and ECC Diplomate, Amanda Boag.

Amanda said: "The recruits who we select will embark upon an intensive period of training over the 10 week period which will give them the necessary skills and knowledge to launch their career in ECC. They will also receive ongoing support during their first two years as a Veterinary Surgeon in a Vets Now clinic with a very generous CPD allowance.  The initial 10 week period will be a combination of lectures and interactive seminars, practical training in our clinical skills laboratory and mentored work in our clinics. Developing clinical expertise and problem solving skills will clearly be the most significant component of the training but there will also be support and training in other vital skills including communication." 

She added: "Initial response to the programme has been very promising and we are delighted to see so many veterinary surgeons interested in developing their career in ECC."

Vets Now will continue to accept applications for the January intake to the 'Cutting Edge' programme throughout September and October.

Graduates who are interested in applying for a place on the 'Cutting Edge' training programme should contact the Vets Now recruitment team on 01383 841181 or email cuttingedge@vets-now.com

Royal Canin has announced it is to launch Catom, a piece of software developed to help educate cat owners during veterinary consultations, at this year's London Vet Show.

Initially, the software will be available for PC and Mac, with iPad and Android versions coming by the end of the year.

You can can find out more by visiting Royal Canin's stand at the London Vet Show, where the company says it will have a large touch-screen TV displaying the software, along with laptop demos running throughout the exhibition.

Postgraduate Glasgow student Hamaseh Tayari MRCVS, who holds an Iranian passport, was caught up in Donald Trump's ban on nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Libya entering the US last Saturday, as she tried to return home from holiday in Costa Rica via New York.

Talking to The Guardian, Hamaseh said: "This has really shocked me. We just discovered at the airport when we went to check in. I want people to know that this is not just happening to refugees. I am a graduate and I have a PhD. It has happened to a person who is working and who pays tax."

Hamaseh, who thought she'd have to find thousands of pounds to pay for an alternative flight home via another country, was quickly saved by a crowdfunding appeal by Women for Independence, which raised over £6000 in a matter of hours. The charity says it is donating everything in excess of the £2600 needed to get Hamaseh home to the Scottish Refugee Council.

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal of the University of Glasgow, said: "When I became aware on Saturday evening that one of our postgraduate veterinary students, Dr Hamaseh Tayari, was being prevented from travelling back from a holiday in Costa Rica through the United States and on to Glasgow I was both concerned and appalled. Concerned for the safety and well being of a young woman who, through no fault of her own, was stranded in Central America. Appalled because the reason for her predicament was not because she had done something wrong. Not because she was a danger to the security of the United States. But simply because she holds an Iranian passport."

He added: "Having spoken with Hamaseh I have been hugely impressed at how she is coping with the nightmare situation in which she finds herself. But I have been impressed too by the huge outpouring of support that has been shown across Scotland and the UK, particularly on twitter and through direct emails that have come in to the University from people who are outraged and want to help. All of this, I know, has greatly touched and heartened Hamaseh. I think it also confirms what we all like to believe is true. In this country we value individuals for what they are and the worth they bring, not for the stamp on their passport, the colour of their skin or the religion they practise."

Photo courtesy University of Glasgow

Genitrix has announced that HY-50 Vet^®, a sodium hyaluronate treatment for equine joints, has now been authorised for intravenous (IV) use.

Available until now for intra-articular (IA) use only, the company says HY-50 delivers the highest concentration of sodium hyaluronate on the market for the treatment of non-infectious joint inflammation and the enhancement of joint function. 

Genitrix also says that, as IV application requires less specialist preparation than IA, HY-50 is now a practical solution for mixed practices with a smaller equine case load.  Injected intravenously, the product will also benefit horses with multiple joint injuries.

HY-50 is presented in a 3 ml pre-loaded syringe, delivering 50 mg of sodium hyaluronate.  It costs £55.50.

Rob Watkins, Marketing Director of Genitrix, said: "The efficacy of sodium hyaluronate is well established and we're delighted to be able to offer the IV route of administration.  We know it will meet a real need in the market for a lameness treatment which is proven and simple to administer."

"Perhaps most importantly, in these financially difficult times, the high concentration of the product makes it a cost-effective approach compared with competitive products.  We believe it will offer an affordable treatment option for owners who are anxious to treat their horses but may be discouraged by the high cost of many treatments."

For further information, see http://www.genitrix.co.uk/ or ring 01403 786345.

Genitrix has launched a new Essential Fatty Acids (EFA)-based treatment to aid the management of skin conditions in cats and dogs.

Called Omegaderm+, and offered in an airless pump applicator for mess-free use, it helps to soothe irritated skin and can be used for the long term maintenance of normal skin in pets prone to allergic skin conditions, such as flea allergy dermatitis, atopy and food allergy. It can also be used as a supplement to help prevent shedding, scratching, dull coat and dry flaky skin in cats.

Omegaderm+ has been formulated to be highly palatable to ensure easy dosing by pet owners, an important consideration when client compliance with long term therapy is required. Both products are rich in salmon, sardine and anchovy oil and, in tests, Omegaderm+ Dog offered without food was accepted by 69% of dogs while the majority of cats preferred food with Omegaderm+ on it than the food alone.*

Commenting on the launch of Omegaderm+, Howard Wilder, Managing Director of Genitrix, said: “The value of EFAs in managing skin conditions in cats and dogs is widely recognised but they are a supplemental requirement in dogs and cats due to the inability of mammals to synthesize them.