I recently had to stop on the side of the road to help out a family whose trailer had rolled over, trapping their horse inside. By the time I’d got past the queue of stationary holiday traffic, they’d already done the first aid basics, and it was great to see how well they’d coped. However, it made me think about what owners can do in emergency situations for shock, trauma and blood loss in horses.

In serious accidents, the most common injuries are probably bruises and lacerations – jagged cuts, caused by broken metal and debris cutting through the skin. However, puncture wounds and broken bones are also not uncommon, and it can be really difficult to determine what’s a mild graze, and what’s a deep, dangerous puncture wound in the field, let alone by the side of a busy road! If you’re faced with a real emergency like this, remember three things – first, make sure you and anyone else around are not at risk. Second, get someone to call a vet and any other emergency services ( e.g. the police to close the road, the fire brigade to cut horses and people out of the wreckage, and of course ambulances for any human casualties). Finally, assess the horse(s) and do what first aid you can at the scene….

It sounds like such a simple question, but the answer is actually far more complicated than we think. And it’s not just cat owners who struggle with this question, those of us who have studied these creatures for years still frequently miss signs of feline pain. Because when it comes to showing signs of pain (or any illness for that matter), cats are masters of disguise. In the feline world, complaining gets you nowhere, and showing signs of weakness can get you killed. Sure, some cats in pain will cry out, but if you see a cat crying out in pain, the problem is likely very severe indeed. Besides, cats cry out for many reasons, so even if you do see this, how can you tell if it is due to pain or some other form of stress? Next time you think your cat may be in pain, try to remember some of the following signs of feline discomfort:

• Lameness:
Ok, we’ll start with an easy one. But you’d be surprised how many people come to me with a limping cat who insist that they are not in pain….

The government has fudged the dog laws again. A written ministerial statement from the Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs was released today, with the promising title “Tackling Irresponsible Dog Ownership“.

A statement had been widely anticipated but its content had only been guessed at. In the Daily Telegraph over the weekend, Germaine Greer called for stricter controls on dog ownership, including a licence for humans to have dogs. I wrote a counter-piece, suggesting that such a radical change was not needed. My own choice would be to follow the suggestions of the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club, who have suggested simple measures such as universal microchipping of all dogs, along with new legal instruments such as Dog Control Orders which could be used to force irresponsible dog owners to smarten up.

So did the government say? You can read the full statement for yourself, but it seems to me to come down to three main actions:

1) The extension of the Dangerous Dogs Act to include private property. While this will bring some relief to postmen and other casual visitors to doggy households, intruders should be aware that this specifically excludes “trespassers”. It seems that dogs can continue to bite burglars’ bums without fear of being sued.

2) The police will no longer automatically seize and kennel dogs that are accused of being “dangerous” pending the outcome of court proceedings. This will be a great relief to owners of Pitbull-look-alikes that ran the risk of being impounded because of a mischievous complaint from a neighbour. The civil servants in charge of police budgets will be relieved that they no longer will need to pay for months of boarding for dogs “awaiting trial”.

3) The government has announced its intention to “introduce regulations under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on microchipping to promote animal welfare by making it easier for local authorities and rescue centres to quickly re-unite stray dogs with their owners.” And this is where the fudge comes in: a decision has not been made on how to do this. The government is going to have “a further consultation to give the public an opportunity to give their views”.

Four possible methods of introducing microchipping are listed:…………..

When I was training as a vet, a 20 year old horse was considered really quite old. Now, however, I regularly find myself working with healthy horses in their late twenties and thirties – even a few that go on into their forties!

That said, horses don’t age uniformly – one may be sprightly and fit at 30, while her paddock mate is really feeling his age at 20, so there’s a lot of variation. The challenge is maintaining them at the best quality of life for as long as possible.

To do so, we need to consider three things:

• Work and exercise
• Preventative health (worming, dental care etc)
• Disease management and medication

I’ll deal with these in sequence, although really they are of course all interconnected……..

The headline in today’s Daily Mail is typically attention-grabbing: “Could the drug that cost this beloved pet its life kill YOUR dog too?” The article tells the sad story of a thirteen year old Labrador who died after taking pain-relieving medication prescribed by her vet. There’s no doubt that many owners of elderly, arthritis-ridden dogs will be rushing to their vets this week to find out if their own pets are at risk of the same fate.

So what is this drug? Why do vets prescribe medicine which may risk such a severe reaction? And when they do use it, why don’t they tell owners about the potential dangers?

First, the medication was Carprodyl, a generic form of a chemical called carprofen, which is part of a group of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Carprofen has become perhaps the most widely used pain relieving medication used in veterinary medicine since it was launched as “Rimadyl” by Pfizer, around fifteen years ago. The patent on the chemical has now lapsed, so a wide range of cheaper generic alternatives have become available. Most vet clinics in the UK are likely to sell some version of the product.

Second, why do vets prescribe it? Simply put, because it’s the most effective way of treating arthritis in dogs. Many millions of older animals have been given extra, pain-free life thanks to this type of medication. Three years ago, a major review was published in the Vet Record, comparing the wide range of treatments available to help dogs with the common, painful, debilitating problem of arthritis. The review gathered together the results of research papers published between 1985 and 2007, attempting to derive the best science-based opinion of the best treatment method. The conclusion? There was strong evidence that carprofen and two other commonly used drugs from the same group were “effective in moderating the clinical signs of osteoarthritis”. There was only weak or moderate evidence that other treatments were effective. The conclusion for any vet reading this paper was clear: carprofen and other similar drugs are the most effective way of helping animals with arthritis.

Obviously, an effective drug needs to be safe, so what about those risks? While it’s true that all drugs in this group can have undesirable and potentially life threatening consequences, the incidence is very low. The most common side effect is gastric irritation: affected dogs suffer from gastroenteritis which usually resolves when the medication is stopped. Much more rarely, there’s a very low risk of kidney failure associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs…….

This week I have seen two different families who each bought a puppy with very little thought or planning and then ran into problems that caused the animals to be rehomed (with one narrowly avoiding being euthanised), as neither could cope with or afford the issues they faced. What is particularly sad is that with a little forethought and planning, all of this could have been avoided.

Before you decide to buy a dog (and tell the kids!) you must make sure you can afford them. As well as the day-to-day costs of feeding, you also have to consider vaccines, worming and flea treatment, neutering and training classes, not to mention vets fees if things go wrong. Owning a dog can cost many thousands of pounds over their lifetime, even if they don’t have any particular health problems. Pet insurance is vital but it won’t cover routine medications or surgeries. A lack of funds was what caused the problems for both the families I saw recently.

Secondly, do your research into your chosen breed and make absolutely sure they are going to be suitable for you and your lifestyle. All dogs need a reasonable amount of exercise, aim for at least an hour a day, but some require much more than others.

Sammy is a lovely, and much loved, 13 year old moggie who has always been the picture of health. Healthy appetite, healthy weight and body condition – and he seemed pretty happy too. But a few months ago his owner noticed him at the water bowl more than she used to. At first she didn’t think anything of it, but with the extra drinking came extra urination, and it also seemed to be associated with an increase in appetite. But still she assumed that this was normal as the weather was getting colder and he was spending more time inside. However, at his next annual check-up with me, we found out that he had actually lost almost a pound in the past year. I recommended a blood and urine test and his owner agreed, and when the results came back the answer was clear – Sammy was diabetic.

His owner was in tears. How could she possibly cope with a diabetic cat? She works full time and has two small children, and besides, she has no medical training so how on earth would she be able to give an insulin injection twice a day? She even thought about having him put to sleep because she simply wasn’t going to be able to handle his condition. But we had a nice long chat about what it means to be diabetic and what the treatment would and wouldn’t entail, and by the end of the conversation she was willing to give it a try.

What is diabetes?….

Once you relinquish your pet to the green fairies, you may be wondering what actually happens “out the back”.

Well, wonder no more. Firstly we make sure that we have an accurate weight for your pet as this is what we use to calculate the dose of the drugs that we give your pet. Once we have this we settle them in a kennel with nice squishy blankets while we go and get everything prepared.

If you have opted for, or we have recommended, a blood sample before anaesthesia then your pet is taken to a quiet part of the practice where we can safely take the sample. To take the sample, a patch of hair is shaved over the jugular vein which runs down the side of the neck, to one side of the windpipe and a needle is inserted to collect the blood. Most animals tolerate this quite well with the gentle yet firm restraint that we green fairies have down to a fine art. Some animals on the other hand object quite vociferously and may have to have the blood sample taken once they are anaesthetised. Not ideal but better if they are getting too stressed.

Once the results have come back and been received by the veterinary surgeon, they can decide what to pre-med with and whether the use of intravenous fluids is necessary. Intravenous fluids are usually considered if there is any elevation of the liver and kidney enzymes which show that these organs need a little help during anaesthesia as that is where most of the drugs used are metabolised. Some veterinary surgeons also advocate the use of fluid therapy during routine bitch spays as a spay is a fairly major and invasive procedure and fluids help maintain blood pressure and support the body during this procedure.

There are a few ways that we can induce anaesthesia in your pet. One way is to use the anaesthetic gas and get them to breathe the gas in via a mask or an anaesthetic chamber. This way is usually used with smaller creatures such as rabbits, guinea pigs and rats and they fit into the anaesthetic chamber and can have oxygen administered in this way before the gas is turned on.

It seems a simple enough task, to be able to tell when your pet is in pain but actually it can be a lot harder than you think. Animals have been programmed over millions of years of evolution to hide when they are sore or in discomfort, otherwise predators and competitors would pick up on the signs and target them. So, as owners, we need to be vigilant to quite subtle changes in our pet’s behaviour that could indicate they are in pain, and ensure they don’t suffer in silence.

Most of us assume that if an animal is in pain they will cry out or whine but actually the opposite is true. Chronic (low grade and continual) pain is very depressing and often animals learn to cope with it and show few outward signs of a problem, other than maybe being quieter than normal or sleeping more. The problem with is that this sort of pain is common in older pets, for example with arthritis, and this is what we expect them to do anyway. However, even in excruciating pain our pets can be very quiet and withdrawn. I once saw a cat with a very badly broken leg who had managed to drag himself home, curl up in his basket and was so calm his owner didn’t think he was in any discomfort, until she saw the x-rays! Often with this type of pain, it is not until you give your pet some pain killers, and see the difference in their behaviour, that you realise how sore they were in the first place.

I’ve been thinking about teeth this week – horses’ teeth in particular. That’s partly because my own horses are due for a dental check up, but also because there’s been a report in one of my journals that really made me think how much dental work has moved on in the last ten or fifteen years!

When I was training as a vet, an equine “tooth check” mainly involved grabbing the tongue, having a quick feel round, then rasping away at anything that felt sharp. If you were properly equipped, you’d use a gag (aka a dental speculum); if not, many vets were happy to work around the horse’s tongue and teeth.

Nowadays, that sort of cursory examination really isn’t good enough in many cases. There are a lot of very well trained and experienced vets, as well as good equine dental technicians (EDTs) who would probably need a sit down if they saw some of the things that were commonplace not that long ago!…