Ceva Animal Health has launched Douxo S3 Pyo skincare pads for cats and dogs.

The pads contain ophytrium and chlorhexidine at 3%. Ophytrium is a purified natural ingredient from Ophiopogon japonicus which, Ceva says, strengthens the mechanical skin barrier¹, restores the balance of protective microbial flora² and reduces irritation, while soothing the skin¹. Chlorhexidine is both antibacterial and antifungal.

Ceva says that Douxo S3 Pyo pads, which come in packs of 30, provide antibacterial and antifungal efficacy within one minute and are free from soap, parabens, sulphates, phthalates, colourants and nanoparticles.

They are available in a new, hypoallergenic ‘summertime’ fragrance which pet owners liken to coconut and vanilla.

The pads add to the Douxo S3 Pyo range, which also consists of shampoo and a mousse.

Andrew Fullerton BVSc (Hons) MRCVS, product manager for Douxo S3 at Ceva said: "The new Douxo S3 range has been well received by both veterinary professionals and their clients since its launch, who find that the products are not only effective and well tolerated, but also easy-to-use. The Douxo S3 Pyo pads will enhance this range by offering an easy-to-administer antiseptic action while hydrating and maintaining the skin’s ecosystem.”

For further information, contact cevauk@ceva.com, your local territory manager or visit https://www.douxo.com/uk/Pet-Skin-Care/douxo-s3.

References

1. Ollivier E., Zemirline C., Amalric N., et al. (2019). Efficacy of the ingredient A97614A1 in a model of reconstructed human epidermis stressed by cytokines. Proceedings of the 62nd BSAVA Congress, Birmingham, April 4-7th
2. Ollivier E., Zemirline C., Marchand L., et al. (2019). Effect of the ingredient A97614A1 on the adhesion and biofilm formation of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in a model of reconstructed canine epidermis. Proceedings of the 62nd BSAVA Congress, Birmingham, April 4-7th.

Krka UK has launched a new podcast series  in which RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Dermatology, Professor Tim Nuttall explores practical strategies to support responsible antibiotic use in practice.

Topics include applying the principles of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), making confident diagnostic and prescribing decisions, and managing client expectations around antibiotic use within practice.

In the first episode, Tim explores how to apply the principles of AMS in the consulting room, starting with recognising when antibiotics are genuinely needed.

He explores the role of clinical signs and cytology in guiding diagnosis and treatment decisions, while also emphasising the risks of unnecessary prescribing.

The discussion also covers when empirical antibiotic use may be appropriate and how to ensure these decisions are justified.

Each episode offers practical, evidence-based insights which Krka says can be easily implemented in general practice.

The series is accompanied by downloadable Vet2Vet Insights information sheets that summarise the main take-home messages from each episode.

https://open.spotify.com/show/0uphORU03q29WncwmN2EIa 

The information sheets are available here: https://www.krka.co.uk/veterinary-knowledge-hub/articles/responsible-use-of-companion-animal-antibiotics 

As of today, VetNurse.co.uk Jobs costs £25 +VAT for advertising a job vacancy ... reduced from £99 + VAT before the coronavirus pandemic to support the veterinary profession in these economically challenging times. 

The service has been free of charge since March 15th 2020, when it first became clear how difficult things would become. However, as life has become less restricted, now seemed an appropriate time to introduce a very modest charge to help with the site's ongoing development and maintenance. 

Over the last four and a half months, there has been a significant increase in the number of jobs advertised on VetSurgeon (to the extent that VetSurgeon and VetNurse Jobs now have more jobs advertised than either the Veterinary Times or the Veterinary Record). What's more, feedback from advertisers is that they've received more enquiries both on VetNurse.co.uk and over on VetSurgeon Jobs.

On VetSurgeon, this may be due in part to a number of locum vets seeking permanent positions. However, it also seems likely to be a consequence of a 'virtuous circle' whereby more jobs advertised = more visibility on Google and other social networks = more enquiries = more jobs advertised = more visibility and so on.

For this reason, the plan for the future is to optimise the price of advertising on VetNurse.co.uk at the lowest level needed to encourage the largest number of vacancies, the greatest number of enquiries and the revenue needed to pay for the ongoing running of the sites.

For more information about recruitment advertising on VetSurgeon.org.

VetHelpDirect.com has conducted a survey of 380 vets which found that 54% have received verbal abuse referencing the Competitions and Markets Authority report.

15.3% said they had received written abuse and 13.4% had received online abuse.

One in ten (9.87%) had cited receiving generally negative grumbles from their clients and a small percentage (0.8%) said they had noticed negativity from usually supportive clients.

17% reported abuse relating to the CMA across more than one platform. 

On the other hand, the survey also revealed that 22.4% had received support in person, almost one in twenty (4.5%) had received online support, and 2.4% cited they had received supportive correspondence.

SPVS has announced that its next annual Congress will take place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, from Thursday 25th to Saturday 27th January 2024.

Designed for the whole practice team, the Congress theme will be Smarter Working – better outcomes: focussing on how individual and veterinary practice life can be transformed through consistent incremental gains.

Congress will be opened by Cath Bishop (pictured), Olympic rower turned business coach, with an insight into how working smarter revolutionised her rowing career, and the importance of continued learning to help achieve the marginal gains required to help thrive in practice.

The Smarter Working non-clinical lecture and workshop programme will incorporate the following streams:

• Self-Development – better you
• Team Dynamics – better relationships
• Leadership skills – better direction
• Business Management – better growth
• Practice Management – better productivity

Saturday workshops are also included in the full congress ticket price.

The social programme includes an afternoon Happy Hour in the exhibition hall, a networking event and the President’s Party with a reception, three course meal and party band.

There will also be a commercial exhibition.

www.spvs-congress.co.uk

Dechra is hosting a series of webinars about equine pain and locomotion, presented by Specialists David Bardell and Dr. Andy Fiske-Jackson.

The webinars will take place every Wednesday at 7pm in May.

David Bardell is a European and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia and will be hosting the first two sessions covering equine pain management for colic and orthopaedic cases respectively. 

The 5th May webinar will cover how to recognise and understand the pathology of visceral pain, physical and pharmacological methods of analgesia and dealing with violent or difficult colic cases.

The second webinar on the following Wednesday, will look at how to recognise and quantify pain, the use of pain scales, analgesic medication and techniques.  

The other two sessions of the series will be led by Dr. Andy Fiske-Jackson, Deputy Head of RVC Equine and Senior Lecturer in Equine Surgery at the Royal Veterinary College. He'll be running case-based sessions looking at the good, bad and ugly of digital flexor tendon sheath cases and unravelling the diagnosis and treatment of navicular syndrome, the associated biomechanics and treatment options respectively.

Emma Jennings, Equine Brand Manager at Dechra (pictured right) said: “The broad scope of illnesses and conditions facing those specialising in equine care means that it’s important to delve deeper into some key issues, which is what this series of webinars will do. 

“We hope the expertise of David Bardell and Dr. Andy Fiske-Jackson will be of key interest to veterinary professionals across the country and would urge anyone interested to register for the sessions throughout May.” 

• May 5 at 7pm Pain Recognition and Management – Colic, with David Bardell BVSc CertVA DipECVAA MRCVS
• May 12 at 7pm Pain Recognition and Management – Orthopaedic Cases, with David Bardell BVSc CertVA DipECVAA MRCVS
• May 19 at 7pm Digital Flexor Tendon Sheath Cases - the good, the bad and the ugly, with Dr. Andrew Fiske-Jackson BVSc MVetMed DipECVS MRCVS
• May 26 at 7pm Unravelling the Diagnosis and Treatment of Navicular Syndrome, with Dr. Andrew Fiske-Jackson BVSc MVetMed DipECVS MRCVS 

To register for the free webinars, visit www.dechra.co.uk/events. 

RCVS Council has been considering the costs, advantages and disadvantages of bringing private prosecutions against people and organisations that breach the Veterinary Surgeons Act. 

A paper introduced by the RCVS Registrar Eleanor Ferguson looked at the possibility of the RCVS prosecuting, for example, unqualified individuals undertaking veterinary work and courses falsely purporting to lead to a registerable qualification.

The paper also explored other options, including better educating animal owners about veterinary services and assisting people with concerns about the breaches of the VSA to raise them with the authorities.

Council heard that over the past year, the RCVS had assisted other agencies on investigations of suspected VSA breaches on a number of occasions.

It was considered that the RCVS could consider undertaking its own private investigations and criminal prosecutions when statutory prosecuting authorities did not have the resources to pursue these cases.

However, the RCVS has no statutory powers of investigation, so if it did pursue a private prosecution, it would have no powers to carry out a criminal investigation or compel evidence.

Council members voted for a further paper setting out a draft policy on private prosecutions, as well as what general information regarding breaches of the Veterinary Surgeons Act could be provided to members of the public and the professions.

Horiba is hosting a free webinar for vet nurses in which Charlotte Russo FdSc RVN Dip AVN NCert Transfusion Med will discuss blood transfusions in dogs and cats, on Thursday 26th September, 7.30pm - 9.00pm.

Charlotte will share practical advice on achieving successful transfusions, in particular looking at how to overcome the challenges in sourcing blood products, especially for feline patients. 

The presentation will cover:

• Donor criteria: What makes the perfect donor?
• Canine and feline blood donation
• Technique and Equipment
• Donor suitability and Welfare
• Blood types and blood typing
• Blood product options
• Preparing blood products for transfusion
• Preparing patients, calculating required volume and transfusion plan
• Case examples

There'll be a live Q&A session with Charlotte at the end, when Horiba's experts will also be available to answer veterinary diagnostics-related questions. 

https://horiba.link/canine-and-feline-blood-transfusions.

Following BBC Panorama’s expose into extreme dog breeding which aired on Monday, Dave Martin MRCVS, Animal Welfare Advisor at IVC Evidensia, has called for new legislation in the UK which would make it illegal to own a dog with cropped ears.

Ear cropping in UK dogs was exposed by BBC’s Panorama as a growing problem particularly with extreme mix breeds such as American Bullies and XL Bullies.

Dave said: “We need to urgently relook at legislation in the UK to prevent the serious rise in ear cropping which we’ve witnessed in recent years.”

It is currently illegal for a dog’s ears to be cropped in the UK, and proposals for a ban on importing dogs with cropped ears have been put forward by the Government.
 
However, Dave says this legislation doesn’t go far enough to prevent an exponential rise in dogs with cropped ears, which some owners see as a status symbol: “At the moment the legislation in the UK is very hard to enforce unless you actually catch someone in the act of cropping the dog’s ears. 

“It’s not currently illegal for someone to own a dog with cropped ears. 

"So, if an owner were challenged by enforcement agencies, they’d just say ‘I bought the dog like this’ and there’s no liability.”
 
“We propose that any dogs who already have cropped ears at the time the ban is due to come into force, must be registered on a database, which enforcement agencies and the veterinary profession would have access to.

"And for anyone owning an unregistered dog with cropped ears after the legislation comes into effect, then it’s a criminal offence.” 

The Panorama programme also exposed co-ownership – where the breeder and the pet owner share ownership of the dog, often the bitch – as a system which has enabled unscrupulous breeders to get around current laws on dog breeding in the UK.

The breeder retains ownership of the stud dog and uses the network of co-owned female dogs for reproduction purposes.
 
Dave said: “People need to be made aware of the risks of entering into a legal contract as a co-owner of one of these extreme mix breed dogs.
 
“All the contracts I have seen in my role as an expert witness are strongly weighed in favour of the breeder.
 
“So for example if the bitch does not have the requisite number of litters, or becomes ill or injured and has to be put to sleep, then the co-owner is fully liable for the full purchase cost of the dog to the breeder.
 
“Considering that the female dogs are often valued in excess of £12k and the breeder may well have connections to organised crime or have a criminal record, there are huge risks for people entering into co-ownership.”

Dechra (the maker of Vetoryl) has launched 'Prime Suspects', a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Cushing’s syndrome amongst dog owners and drive them to vet practices for diagnosis and treatment.

The company points to a survey of 1000 dog owners it conducted in July which found that 77% would put many of the top ten signs of Cushing's down to ‘old age’.

According to research carried out by CM research in July 2018, for every 100 cases of Cushing’s syndrome treated, a further 57 are suspected but not diagnosed.

The ‘Prime Suspects’ campaign will encourage dog owners to become a ‘Cushing’s Detective’ and look out for signs in their dogs.

To help, the company has developed a series of characters to illustrate the signs of Cushings: Panting Patsy, Leaky Larry, Lazy Lynn, Greedy Gus and Little Patch.

A nationwide pet-focused multimedia campaign will support the ‘Prime Suspects’ initiative and will include TV and print advertising, online banners, pay per click advertising and social media to engage owners and encourage them to seek advice from their vet if they suspect Cushing’s in their dog.

Dechra has also launched Cushing’s Connect, a digital platform single resource hub to help vets keep up to date with current best practice in managing Cushing’s. 

The hub has information and tools to enhance diagnostic protocols, advice and literature covering pathophysiology, diagnosis and ongoing case management including treatment protocols and monitoring schedules, and interactive guides and videos by top veterinary specialists.  

There's also a client communication toolkit with owner-focused resources to encourage dog owners to spot the signs and seek help from their vet.

https://www.dechra.co.uk/cushings-connect

Folkestone-based Vlad Butnaru haș been struck off by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee after it found that he'd dishonestly signed a declaration on a horse passport application.

Dr Vlad Butnaru faced two charges, the first of which was that in May 2021, he had signed a passport and/or passport application for a horse and electronically signed a declaration stating that he “had read the above microchip, which had previously been implanted for the animal” when, in fact, the microchip had not been inserted into any horse and he had not read it.

The second charge was that, in relation to the matters set out in the first charge, Dr Butnaru’s signed declaration was false, and that he had acted dishonestly and misleadingly, he risked undermining procedures designed to promote animal welfare, and failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate.

Dr Butnaru admitted the first charge on all counts, and that the declaration he had signed was false.

He also admitted that his conduct was misleading and that he had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate.

However, he denied that his conduct had been dishonest and that he had risked undermining a procedure designed to promote animal welfare.

In its decision, the committee noted that Dr Butnaru kept introducing new versions of what happened for the first time at the hearing and changed his account as he went along, as well as being evasive when answering questions.

The Committee therefore felt that Dr Butnaru could not be considered to be a reliable witness, and whilst it did not know the true reason why he was prepared to sign a false declaration on a passport application, it was satisfied that he'd made a false declaration dishonestly.

The Committee also found that Dr Butnaru had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate as, if the passport had been issued on a false premise because of misleading information provided by Dr Butnaru, then it could not function as it was meant to which, in the Committee’s view, clearly risked undermining procedures designed to protect animal welfare.

The Committee found that Dr Butnaru had breached the parts 6.2 and 6.5 of the Code of Professional Conduct, as well as Principle 1 of the 10 Principles of Certification, namely that ‘a veterinarian should certify only those matters which: a) are within his or her own knowledge; b) can be ascertained by him or her personally; c) are the subject of supporting evidence from an authorised veterinarian who has personal knowledge of the matters in question; or d) are the subject of checks carried out by an Officially Authorised Person (OAP).’

The Committee found there were no mitigating factors.

Aggravating factors, on the other hand, were that Dr Butnaru had participated in premeditated misconduct, made financial gain from his actions as he was paid to make the false declaration, abused his professional position, and showed blatant or wilful disregard of the Horse Passport System and of the role of the RCVS and the systems that regulate the veterinary profession.

The Committee found that all proven charges amounted to Disgraceful Conduct in a Professional Respect.

On considering the sanction, the Committee once again considered the aggravating factors, as well as additional mitigating factors in that Dr Butnaru had no previous disciplinary history, showed limited insight by admitting to some of the charges, showed expressions of remorse, and was provided with a positive testimonial.

Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee was cognisant of the importance of a veterinary surgeon’s signature on any document.

"This should have been obvious to any veterinary surgeon, but particularly someone of Dr Butnaru’s 11 years’ experience (at the time of signing).

"The Committee was well aware of the impact and ramifications for Dr Butnaru of any decision to remove him from the Register, but had to weigh his interests with those of the public.

“In doing so it took account of the context and circumstances of the case, all matters of personal mitigation, Dr Butnaru’s previous unblemished record and the need to act proportionately.

"However, the Committee was of the view that the need to uphold proper standards of conduct within the veterinary profession, together with the public interest in maintaining confidence in the profession of veterinary surgeons and protecting the welfare of animals, meant that a period of suspension would not be sufficient.

"His actions were fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the Register and thus the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in all the circumstances of this case was that of removal from the Register.”

https://www.rcvs.org.uk/concerns/disciplinary-hearings