Transcription
Welcome to the Cut the Fluff podcast. Now, we've started this podcast because we know how confusing it is to navigate pet ownership, and we're here to give you that insight you need to help you path the right way for you and your dog.
In this episode, I'm bringing Roxy, a qualified veterinary nurse. Roxy's had over 19 years experience in the veterinary industry. She studied at the Royal Veterinary College and she's worked for the likes of Fitzpatrick. So stay tuned for some tips and advice that you can do with you and your dog every day or every week and just keep watching to find out more.
So Roxy, hello. Thank you for coming.
Thanks for having me.
Um, I can't wait for this conversation because Roxy's been in the veterinary world for 20 years.
20 years.
And you are a registered veterinary nurse.
Yeah.
By trade.
By trade.
But then you're also now developing a veterinary practice, aren't you, in London?
Yeah. So I practice manage a veterinary hospital in North London emergency.
Amazing.
Okay. So 24/7 A&E type.
Yeah. Also do general practice stuff as well.
Okay. Um, but yeah, our specialism is emergency care.
Amazing. Okay. So what do you tend to see um from emergency care? Like is it injuries? Is it what sort of a lot of the clients that come in or is it could it span from everything?
Literally everything from trauma cases, um, car accidents to chronic illnesses to picking up, uh, disease on the heath, and it's everything you can possibly think of. Orthopedic, neurology, ophthalmology.
Yeah. Every everything.
Yeah. Keeping you on your toes.
Absolutely. It's very busy.
So, what are you doing at the moment as your day-to-day if it's not sort of hands-on now? What's your kind of focus? What does your day look like being in Roxy's world?
Oh, well, it's more of like looking not only just managing the financial side of things in the business, but it's making sure we've got the right skill set for what we're seeing in. So, making sure our vets are upskilled and supported, our nursing team, we have enough numbers and that they've got the right skill set to go um to continue with their day. So, like we do a lot of anesthesia as well as like hospital-based care. So making sure everyone's got what they need to be able to do the job so we can provide the best quality care for our patients.
Amazing.
Yeah. And you've worked at Fitzpatrick as well, haven't you?
Yeah. So I did six years um as a nursing manager there which saw mainly based in well it was based on orthopedics and neurology. So we saw a lot of dachshunds with their spines.
Yes.
And a lot of shepherds and Labradors with their hips. um and the trauma cases that come in too with broken bones and things. So that was that was a different very different from what I'm doing now, but amazing experience.
And did you see so obviously Fitzpatrick very very talented man. Did you see kind of how that developed over time, the surgery and what he brought out and the cases that you're able to kind of fix now is incredible. If you take it back to when you started probably at you studied at veterinary Royal Veterinary College, didn't you? Is that so um you can see how the technologies developed as well and we're replacing dogs' legs and everything really.
Yeah. Um, for the biggest things are seeing dogs with um osteosarcomas or bone tumors and things and then and the options are previously used to be remove the leg.
Yeah.
And then which is really stressful.
Yeah.
And then go through chemotherapy, radiography and radiation and things. But now well at Fitzpatrick what he did was make endoprosthetics. So created bones within so metal metal bones as a limb.
Yeah.
And creating feet for them. So like one of the biggest stories that we're known for was the cat that went through a combine harvester and lost limbs and we created little horrendous little feet.
I know.
which usually I think back in the day you'd think a cat in that much trauma you would sleep or yeah they can't deal without more than with just two legs. So that gave that cat a chance to live again happily. So it was quite innovative and new and that's what I think Fitzpatrick is known for.
Yeah.
But it helped us understand disease process and what we can actually do. Um, but balancing is it the right moral thing to do versus
Yeah, that's the hardest part, isn't it?
Yeah. Yeah. because that as owners I feel like we can be quite self-focused when we're trying to kind of keep our dog to live a little bit longer or our pet because it's for us like it's for our sake but actually there is a balance of and only you can decide that as the owner because you know your pet so well but also you can seek the veterinary advice of what they think and that's where you guys come in really valuable as a team to kind of outside perspective, objective focusing on their wellbeing and welfare.
Yeah. Versus us that bring the baggage into the room and we're emotionally charged and kind of want to be self-focused in that sense and and keep our pet with us. So yeah, and we've we've got a professional responsibility to give options to clients and say this is what your options are. We can't really sway one way or the other because it is down to the client. But here's your options, but here's the outcome, the possible outcomes and this is what your dog will go through if they went through that surgery. This is the time it takes to recover and you as a client need to balance that out and make that decision. We can only just guide.
Yes.
Love it.
Well, it's not the easiest job.
No, no, really not the easiest job. It's emotionally charged for us as well as veterinary professionals and we obviously have to maintain that professionalism with my team. I I don't like that kind of clinical way of thinking where you're just, you know, we people's pets are part of our lives every day. So, we cry with our clients and we, you know, we learn to love their pets and we love seeing them and we just want them to be better. Um, yeah, the whole thing is just super emotional and that's why I'm doing it.
Yes.
I love it.
I love it. And I guess also you get to know that client like you said, but you also a special gift is you see the dog probably sometimes from a puppy to all the way to senior.
Yeah.
And advising those clients on what to do because when you get a dog, every single dog I would say and this is every pet really is different. So like as a trainer I have not, you know, there's not a one-size-fits-all process. Same with medical. You're in a different circumstance. You're living in different areas. Uh, affordability comes into it. What can we feed our dogs? Um, and it's also breed. And I know you said earlier when we were chatting through this, breed is a really important aspect that we need to as owners look into more. We fall for the kind of clickbait. Oh, that dog's really good-looking or I've seen that dog on an advert and it looks cool. But I guess from your perspective, do you mind telling us a bit about choosing the breed and um from a medical lens and your veterinary nurse experience, what the most important parts are and what we all need to be aware of as owners.
Yeah. Um, that's a really big topic and what you touched on was what what things are being advertised and people like, "Yeah, that dog's really cute."
Yeah, but what you'll find is like the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was didn't used to look like that 100 years ago. It was developed so it had bigger eyes and was super cute and always looked like a puppy. But with that comes genetic predispositions to have heart conditions, eye issues, um something called syringomyelia which they get. So they come with health issues too.
And with a pick, what I'd say to people if they're picking a puppy, don't go on looks. Go on temperament of that dog's style, personality and how that fits in with your lifestyle.
Yes, it's so important to do that. And I did that. I love German shepherds.
Love shepherds, but for my lifestyle, I thought that's that's not going to work for me. So, I've got a golden retriever that comes to work with me in London every day.
Like, does your job to London?
She gets on the underground, sees a puppy, put her in a little bag, and she comes and she loves it. And she's she's for an environment like that I'm in. She loves that. But if you bring a highly strong anxious dog into a situation like that, it's not going to work. So, and with drive as well, drive is a big one that trainers go on about. I guess it's like you've got a dog with drive, it's not going to be relaxed all the time. It's the same sort of
Yeah.
And then you then you get a dog that's stressed and ends up seeing behaviorists, trainers and trying to figure that out when probably the environment isn't right for that dog. And then long-term stress in animals, both cats and dogs, leads to chronic disease. And that's a big link between that. And it's yeah, our responsibility to make the right choice. But um just like us, we age with stress. We like us females don't want to stress. We don't want to age.
Never.
So all the cortisol that runs through the body, yeah, it does have an effect like like with humans themselves like cats for example, you don't see their stress. We're taught as professionals to know how that looks and that presents in a cat, but long-term stress of cats leads to chronic kidney disease.
Wow, I didn't actually know that.
Yeah, there's a lot of that. If you see, obviously we're dog focused, but for now cats, what what does stress look like in cats?
Stressing cats. The way that or where they urinate, their body, their body behavior, they could just be sat there and where their ears are turned a certain way. You can go mm and it how it's expressed. And there was a story when I did my behavioral section of my training was that a cat that we had um at home was urinating everywhere and then refused to go out and refuse to eat and used to sit in the one place in the house all the time. And it turns out it's because there was a cat sat on sat in the garden just staring at it every day. And that was enough to drive that cat so unwell it had kidney disease.
Oh my gosh.
Really?
Yeah.
Wow. That is something I didn't know. So, no, it's really interesting. So, if we go back to choosing breeds, um, flat-faced breeds, what do we need to look for? because obviously there's a lot of um flat-faced breeds and little dogs that we choose to suit our lifestyle, but there is some things that we need to be aware of when we're choosing that sort of breed.
Yeah, that's a big point at the moment because obviously French bulldogs, Boston terriers, the short faces, even down to boxers, they're what we call brachycephalic, short noses.
Yeah.
And short soft pallets. um they come with a lot of health issues. So, I know we touched on we've we've spoke before about French bulldogs. They're super cute, really sociable, lovely little things. Um they can go over with you, but their inability to be able to breathe properly. They get excited. Exercise is an issue for them if they over exercise. Heat is a massive one. So they can get to a point that they can't breathe or they're so they exert themselves so much that they can faint and sometimes die.
Yeah.
Um and what those breeds need is early intervention and to test the severity of how bad that is. So there is procedures we could do to kind of correct and like open up airways for them so that they can breathe better. So if you're going to select a breed that what we call brachycephalic or short nose, make sure that you do your research with that because it's super important. See what you know it might not have a long life what you expect and bear in mind the procedures that you may have to go through to extend that dog's life.
Yeah. So say um I had a Frenchie and they were being sick and lying down a lot on a walk. What would you say as the owner? What would you suggest I did?
Well, I'd say it wasn't normal.
Yeah.
I would say definitely go and speak to a veterinary professional.
Yeah.
and kind of gauge like gauge with have a chat with them about exercise, feeding the the when when you're feeding, when you're exercising, how long for, what you can do at home to help a situation. So, um, for Frenchies in the summer, don't walk them outside. Keep them very short or walk them early in the morning or late at night. Keep cool mats down, access to water, and keep them calm.
Yeah.
But that's not always going to suit everyone that wants to go out on a nice summer picnic and bring the dog. Um, yeah. So, that's a toughy. It's definitely something that we need to consider cuz I I I would love to do a little kind of dating matching service for dogs and owners because I feel like we need it like even attachment style, personality trait. Um, a red flag for me is if an owner says, "I bought this dog to make me more active." I feel like yes, they can give you that structure and they can hold you accountable because they will remind you if they haven't been out, but if you're not active, don't buy a border collie, you know, that's kind of where we're at. So, yeah, I think researching from a health lens as well as from a lifestyle lens is so important. Um, and I think we all need to be aware and just be curious because yeah, we might love the look of an Australian shepherd, but does that match our lifestyle? Um, you know, things like that. Is the dog aloof or are we rescuing from abroad? Have they got kind of guardian instincts in them? Are you going to get a very different personality type to the dog you want to bring back to Surrey and just chill in a Surrey Hills house?
Yeah, exactly. And then it ends up being some people can't cope with these dogs and then they get put into homes and then you'll see, you know, behavioral issues because they've been put into a kennel.
Yeah.
Um and then then trying to rescue them and then rehabilitate them to normal life again. And um and no one likes seeing dogs in the RSPCA like building up. And we're running out space for all of that. We need to be more responsible when picking.
Yeah, definitely. They're for life, not for Christmas.
And that is literally
I know.
So true. And they mold you like oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
The the Mali that I've got is like next level. And she wouldn't have necessarily been my choice. Um but there's a totally different drive to a German Shepherd I've had all the time. So like it's so interesting. And my poor German Shepherd hasn't come with as many brain cells as that Mali. So she bosses him completely. But I think just even to see that and I'm aware and I'm a trainer and I'm used to these sorts of breeds, but even that with a busy job is very hard to manage. So yeah, I can imagine. So from a health perspective, what um should we be doing for our dogs to prevent instead of always cure? because I feel like um I had a veterinary nutritionist on previously and it was again how we feed our dogs and we've only got a short span cuz they don't live as long as us to figure it all out and make sure we're making the most of our dog and lengthening their life where possible. So I guess from your veterinary nurse side, how can we help our dogs be in the best condition possible? Um, and what does kind of like a good ownership look like and what sort of routine should we get into with our dogs?
So, I would say always keep in touch with a veterinary professional.
Yeah.
But kind of like you mentioned about the lifespan is shorter than humans. It is. Picture your like I've selected Bambi as my dog, my gold retriever.
Love that name.
Just so cute. But knowing that she'll probably live 10 to 12 years if I'm lucky.
Yeah.
So kind of picturing what I need to do at the start as a puppy, what do I need to get that puppy healthy to grow to adulthood? What do I need to maintain during adulthood to keep them healthy and safe? And then senior years completely different ball game as well. So I'm sure your the nutritionist spoke about high protein diets for puppies. The puppy diets and kitten diets are different. They have different requirements for growth. Um, and regular weight checks, making sure. I think my biggest thing is keep your dog slim.
Yes, keep your dog slim. They last longer. Bit like humans, you're overweight, you're predisposed to diabetes, joint issues, um, everything else that goes wrong.
And what does, so when we say slim, is there any indication on when you think your dog's the right weight? Can you feel it and go a little bit overweight here? So, I've been told if you can feel uh the last two ribs, this may or may not be correct. You can correct me. Um if you can feel their last two ribs, they're kind of in the right span of weight. But is there anything that owners should be checking other than going into the vets and weighing them regularly?
Yeah. So, yeah, you don't have to put them on on the scales all the time. What we do is look at a body condition score, we call it, and you can Google pictures of that and you can have a there's like a guide and shows you what it looks like. But for feeling, what I do is, yeah, you should be able to feel the ribs from the outside. And if you look up down, look, look up down. Look down on your dog. They should have a sexy waist.
Sexy waist.
There we are, guys.
Sexy waist.
Yeah. They're sexy waist in. They are in a good a good
So, you're looking for that curve into the waist and then out again. If it's straight, you're overweight.
Okay.
Um, and you can look at people are people do think if they're straight that they're perfect, but it's it doesn't work like that. And I think if you keep them more on this, not underweight obviously, but on the skinnier side, you're going to have a lot there's a lot there's a lot more leeway in terms of feeding and exercise. Um, but you're better off on that side for health issues.
Yeah, definitely. And um I know that I harp on about that as well because from a training perspective, you've got dogs that are just don't want to work for anything really because they are they don't they can take it or leave it. You know, what's my reward? It's like us going to work, getting a salary, are dogs going to have access to food all day long, they have no drive, then there's no motivation. So it's the same thing. So I think that even knowing that and being able to check for that is really really important. Um, and my neighbor avoids me at the play cuz he knows that he's overfeeding his dog and he'll go, "Katie, he's put on a bit of weight." And I'm like, "Yes, I know." Um, so yeah. So, I think that's really, really important. And it's something that is really easy to overfeed because you feel guilty. So easy when the dog sat next to you looking at you eat your dinner like, "Oh, but he loves he loves a gravy on top of his dinner, a bit of chicken or something." And you're like, um, the equivalent is mental. Like, um, in a lot of veterinary practices, and you'll find it online, there like just a cheeky biscuit. The equivalent of giving that to a dog is the same as like eating three burgers for us. And it's just just got to stick with the food, measure it out, assess all the time, have a look. Sometimes we need to feed more or feed less depending on the level, exercise, time of the year. We just have to be on it. And that is probably the single most important thing that we could do for without going to the vets that we can secure a healthier life for your dog.
Yeah.
But no one teaches you these things. Like even us as humans like learning about diet and if I'm on the go and trying to find something quick and healthy. You think it's healthy and then it's not. And it's exactly same with the dog. You think you're doing best by them by giving them that really nice treat because they don't live long and you want to be that nice owner and not have mom guilt or dad guilt.
Yeah.
But actually helping them stick with the food or give them treats and and weighing their food out so you can actually replace, you know, those calories so you're not giving them
Extra calories is the best thing to do by them, isn't it? Yeah. And if you start that young, like they're not going to know what they're missing out on. They don't know. That's true. But we do. So then it's that emotional like, oh, I haven't taken you here or I haven't given you this. Um, so yeah.
No, I'm I think the exercise bit I found really difficult to gauge cuz I started running with my Mali and then I was like, oh, she's a little bit overweight and then, oh no, she's got really trim now. And just like kind of managing that. So food brands that actually do that for you really helps as well. Yeah. Yeah. Um but yeah, going into the vets and actually getting them weighed and also will include that guide down below. Um would be amazing just to sort of so you can keep in check and make sure that you're keeping your dog as healthy as possible.
And I suppose the good thing about going into the vets that you're not doing anything bad with them. You're going in, you're sticking them on the scales, they can update the weight for you. It gives them a pleasant experience when you go in. So if they are unwell and ever need treatment, they're not scared when they go in. It has to be part of their it's their happy place. Scary place. I mean, we're all scared of something, aren't we? Yeah. Never likes the doctors, do we? No. Or dentist. I think people don't. And it also equals in our mind bill. So it's like pound signs. Um, and I know before we sort of got on camera, we were talking about that as well in terms of our mindset with health checks and taking our dogs for health checks. Can you tell us a little bit about that and and your thoughts on it all really?
Yeah. Um, the veterary industry I think at the moment as well has got this big there's a big question mark around pricing and this is what we we associate vets with. Oh, they're too expensive. But what they're not seeing, I think the problem is some some maybe some vets aren't showing the owners what value they get from from doing that. So, what we were talking about was if we go to the doctors, we don't have to pay. We've got the NHS, but they would soon see the difference of that. No one would go to the doctors if they had to pay that. And the same as um in America, I suppose they have insurance. It works differently. So, they're insured so that they can go whenever they need to. Um, so it is a bit of a deterrent to go in and get these checks done. Um, but it's a must-have. Like if we didn't have insurance for our cars, like we would have to pay out a lot of money for like you ever had a scratch on your car and it's like hundreds and it's like it's a bit of paint and you don't see that that value because you're thinking of pound signs. But that's why it's super super super important to have insurance. Yes. Have to have insurance.
I mean, I can talk firsthand about insurance because we've had a German Shepherd with hip dysplasia and he's now about worth about 25,000 I would say. Um, he was a rescue. He came to us with severe hip dysplacia. We weren't aware at the time. We saw loads of behaviors that weren't great. Um, and we had insurance luckily and it saved his life. So, um, I know insurance is another monthly cost. Um, I'm actually someone who also pays for my own health insurance just because it's such a big priority of my list, but we all have different priorities and some, you know, sometimes we can't afford that like it's expensive this world. So, I guess how would you juggle kind of having insurance or not and being able to afford it? And if you're in a position where you you're finding things difficult, what can you do, you know, in can you put some money aside for savings or or is it insurance like there's kind of you need to go to different insurers and see what the level is as well, isn't it?
No. Um, some people I think everyone probably has a different opinion on this, but this is from my 20 years is do research and have a look at what a good insurance is, but don't pick it from the amount of money that you spend a month. Um, because my dog's insured for £20,000, okay? And I pay about 60 quid a month for her and it is the best money I could spend. It's that peace of mind because as we were mentioning earlier about, you know, picturing your dog's lifespan and we want to keep them healthy. We keep them here as long as possible. For your dog, for example, um if someone wasn't insured, spending 20 plus,000, I couldn't do that at all. No, nobody, no normal person could afford that. So, that would be then having to make a choice between that dog doesn't have two hip replacements, so you manage it cheaper by just see by like pain relief like hydrotherapy, other things to keep them as comfortable as long as possible. But then that dog would probably more likely to be put down earlier because they're in pain. So what has happened is you had the option of being able to have insurance to pay for a big surgery, but has extended the dog's life. Yeah. Um and that's what it comes down to. It's the peace of mind. Say like if we had to insure our children, like we'd do it. They're our children. So, we have to put in everything we can and it's a level of responsibility I think everyone should have as a pet owner. Yeah. And I don't know why I'm obsessed with car insurance today, but it's a good like um comparison. Yeah. To relate to. Yeah. Like where is what was my point with that about went back to cars? I can't remember. Well, if we don't have car insurance, obviously legally we have to. It it would be we would feel the pain, wouldn't we? That was it. You legally you have to have car insurance. I think legally as a pet owner you should have have to have it. Yes. And then we wouldn't have as many problems with have dogs living longer. Yeah. Or the rehomes as well cuz half the rehomes are the fact that unfortunately owners can't afford the treatment which is heartbreaking and I can completely empathize with how much it costs. Um, and you know, we're in a position where everything's really tight and it's hard to afford everything at the moment. Um, so actually it breaks my heart when people have to let their dogs go or put them into rescue because they just physically can't afford to pay to keep them in a good state.
Yeah. Um, so I mean Max is a rehome of ours and um he's had that double hip replacement and um without that he I don't think he'd be alive today. Um it just wasn't a choice. The the bone was on bone and he was in agony and he would scream. So there just was no choice. Um and now happiest dog ever. Yeah. Great behavior. Still working on some of the training but we're playing catchup really. Um but you know he lost about 2 and a half years of his life in pain. Gosh. Yeah. So it kicked in. He was lame from 7 months. So it kicked in really early. And um yeah, it was really hard but it was the best decision we've ever done. And the fact that we can do that and make a choice cuz previously there wouldn't have been a choice. The fact they can do a hip replacement on dogs now. Exactly. is incredible. It is mental. Yeah. And a good point to make on that I think is the avoidance of going to the vet because of price. Um me moving from being a clinical nurse to the business side of things. Um I have oversight and I see the costs. I see what it's like to run a hospital to keep our team paid to keep equipment up to date to order in drugs 24/7 is so expensive. But I think the general population's perception is vets get paid loads of money. I'm telling you now, they don't. Yeah. I know people that work in Tesco's on more money. But we um we do it because we love it. We don't do it for the money. None of us get into the veterary industry for the money. We we live and breathe animals and wanting to save them and make them free from pain. And that's the oath that we sign when we register. Um so it's just a good point to make in terms of perceptions of cost. I think also your guys studying the the hoops you have to go through to study and I mean I know vets are are really educated over doctors. Um so the fact that that's kind of what you've got to to reach that level is just a commitment in itself to have to study and to reach that. And yeah, vets are amazing and so are the veterary nurses because to have that level of knowledge, especially for a broad range of animals. Yeah, it's not just like the human body, it's a lot of animals. So, it depends obviously where you're going. I know there's specialist hospitals for like horses. Um, but yeah, it's it's an incredible thing.
So, I guess if we're trying to prevent anything happening to our dog and trying to not just leave it, leave it, leave it until we have to have that serious surgery or we have to treat something or we've missed cancer in our dogs because we've ignored the signs. What would you say is the best thing to do and how do you look for kind of health conditions at home? say are there any tips from your side for owners?
Yeah, I would say what we tend to do is like a a nose to tail little examination at home which you can do is starting from the nose. Um looking at the teeth. Yeah. Looking for signs of tarter that builds up because dental disease is a massive thing. Oh my gosh. Yes. Such a big thing. So you could look at the teeth. If they're perfectly pristine or white, no inflammation on the gums and brown staining, we could we could prevent it from getting worse by cleaning the teeth at home or offering certain chews that help do that. So, you can look at that. I was actually going to ask you, should we be cleaning our dog's teeth on a weekly basis or uh like what does good look like or does it depend on the dog and the food as well?
Yeah, I suppose it depends on the dog cuz like Bambi I could do anything to. She'll just sit there. Yeah. Some are more difficult, but also some dogs are predisposed to dental disease more than others. So no matter what you do, you're never going to get great teeth. Poodles, Yorkshire terrorists, they're just bad teeth. But maybe you can delay it by doing it. So as much as they would tolerate and if they're making it like you have like fish toothpaste and stuff, some some dogs love it. If they enjoy it, do it every day. If they don't, don't force them to do it, but keep an eye on that. So yeah, as a trainer, I do teach that. So it's something you can kind of make a happy experience. But yeah. Yeah. So then we go they get to the eyes. You can look at the eyes and like in humans if you've got you tell if there you've got conjunctivitis and you can tell if you've got inflammation. Eyes are super important because if you have like ulcers and things they develop very quickly and they have to be treated very very quickly. So if you're looking at your dog's eyes, they look healthy, you're golden. And if you notice, you know, the eyes closed a bit and there's weeping and conjunctivitis looking gunk coming out or um you can see maybe a scratch on the eye, then you're like need to see someone about that quickly before it gets worse. So you can yeah, you've noticed that at home by doing your check cuz the teeth also linked to the eye. So sometimes I saw the decaying of the teeth was going as an eye infection. So it's all sinus related. Yeah. Um and also because your mouth is obviously full of bacteria, you have abscesses um like lots of plaque and you have infections and things that bacteria sits in the mouth. They als it also yeah like you say tracks through um and to extreme levels um it the bacteria moves into the bloodstream and you can get things like endocarditis. So inflamed hearts and things that's end stage but it is worth like noting noting how far it can get. Yeah. And it's painful. Yeah. Toothache's horrible. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. People with toothache. I mean, my mom's just had toothache and she's in agony. Horrible. Agony. I've never seen anything like it. So, if our dog has like I call it sleepy dust. If our dog has like too much gunk coming out of our eyes and we're wiping them every day. Yeah. Is that a red flag? Um, yes and no. Some dogs naturally just have them there, but have like gunky eyes there. I would do like salted boiled c water, bit of cotton wool to keep that. No, I would I'm not a big fan of like the wipes that come with all the chemicals on as natural as it can. Um, just some some dogs and cats just build up naturally, but if the rest of the eye looks okay and there's no squinting, no redness, then you're probably okay and just monitor it and then you'll some if it's like happens once a week or is that now happening once every day, you think, oh, there's a change there. So, just make a note of that at home and just keep an eye an eye on it that way. I love that silly puns. What What about um I know we're working down to the body and I'm skipping a bit, but I've seen claws really bad. Mhm. Um and I know obviously groomers do claws, but I can see them to another level where that it needs to go to the vets. if we leave our dog's claws or is there anything that we can do to help take them down a little bit at home? You know what what are the implications of doing that?
Well, I would definitely say if you have dog from a puppy, start with the holding of the feet and and get them used to it. Maybe not even need clipping, but get the clippers out and pretend to do it. Maybe some some of them will let you file them when you're sat on the sofa. Give it a scratch, isn't there? Yeah. Little pads like that. Um, pavement walking. Yeah. As well, just having that because obviously we want to take our dogs to fields and all nice places, but make sure that you integrate some pavement walking because it does Yeah. training. It's perfect for loose lead walking. So, I'm all about the pavement walking. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and when they get overgrown, um, it it's painful. I've got a funny thing about nails and fingers. cuz I hate hurting my fingernails and I've got really weak ones and I know what that feels like to be painful. But they can get to a point that they either curl round which they need doing regularly or they need to be walked more. Um but they can get nail bed infections. Um sometimes they overgrow so much that they can split. Yes. And splitting of the nails is Yes. horrible. Then and that will require like not only is it painful, but we'd have to think about pain relief, like a sedation or an anesthetic to Yeah. to to make sure that they're we have to like rip them off and start again. And then think of like sometimes if the nail bed's completely exposed, we need to take the nail off and then like soak it and bandage it. It's horrible. And then there's long like it's for owners, it's a constant doing it every day. Maintenance, isn't it? Yeah. Okay. So then we skipped well I went straight down to nails. Specific breeds spaniels. Yes with long ears. Anything with long ears check regularly. I would check I check my dog's ear is daily. She's not spaniel but I do check it. Um keeping them clean. So grass seeds as well. Oh grass seeds are a big one. Yeah. And they migrate and they cause all sorts of problems. But um when you're doing like your daily checks, weekly checks, use that cold boiled water and a bit of salty water and then bit of cotton wool. Keep the pinner, the big bit of the ear clean. Go all in there. Start when they're young so they get used to it. No cotton buds. Yes. Don't do that because if they you can damage your eardrum. Yeah. Eardrums. Yeah. So, just get used to them getting cleaned out. If they don't get cleaned out, it builds up and then you get the infections and then those infections travel down past the eardrum. And if it gets to the inner ear, you'll have problems with well vicipular problems. So, they like head tilts and they can feel dizzy. A bit like the same with us. Yeah. Horrible. It's like allergies as well. I think is a big one. Um our shepherd struggles with ears definitely from allergies. Yeah. But that's a another thing in itself, isn't it? It's another huge thing. Yeah. So keeping the ears clean. Yes. Okay. And do you do that? So you check your dog daily? Yeah. Because she's on the sofa with me every day. Just sat there while Oh, they're dirty. That's a good That's a good tip. Looking out for over scratching. Yeah. Rubbing rubbing their ears on the floor. It's usually a good indication which you can pick up issues at home. Fine. And then would you clean only when they need to be cleaned? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Don't overdo it. Yeah. Yeah. No need. And then I guess also coat cuz a big thing is brushing. And we're guilty including myself of not brushing enough I would say. Mhm. What would you look for for a sort of healthy coat and how do we keep that in good condition? I guess that depends on breed as well cuz the hair is so different. It is. Um like retrieve is easy. You don't really have to brush a lot of out of it. Um and you obviously need to look for a shine, but a nice shine. But that then is related to diet. Yeah. Um not too oily. Not too oily. Um if they need bathing, do it. Um, no, no dogs need to be regularly bathed just for no reason like a like how we do. But if they get dirty, bath them. Okay. So, with Bambi, uh, when we're going to all the, she likes to jump in the most disgusting things. Retriever. Yeah. Rank. Um, and she smells like a swamp. Yes. Um, and I will wash her for that. Um, because obviously the bacteria pick up and it'll sit and it'll go to the skin and then you get irritations and then they're itching. So, it develops further. So I make sure that I just wash when they're dirty and then they're self cleaning most of the time anyway. So we don't have to overdo it. But a healthy shiny coat is always good. I think if it your dog smells too like dog, obviously there's a smell, but with Max's allergies we went through where he was really smelly and that was telling us something. Yeah. So it's the same thing like if you're walking in and go, "Oh my gosh, my whole house stinks of dog." Is that because they're stressed and they're sweating? You know, that sweaty dog smell or is there something going on and it's not quite the smell that you're used to? I guess. Yeah. And I suppose that feeds down to like the skin side of things. Is there a yeast infection there? Um, is there some dermatitis or hot spots that dogs get in the in the summer where you where you can't see them because they're under the coat? And then once you start having a look and going through you'll see hot spots or itchy itchy spots and they become affected then they start to smell. So if the smell changes then definitely a good indication in that home to be like oh something's not right. But I suppose the same the other side if you over clean them then they lose their natural oils and become dry then they get dry flaky skin then they start itching. So it could be like one extreme to the other there. We always want to like use products don't we? And there's like doggy deodorants now and there's like nice smelling things to deog. Um but you can overuse those, can't you? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Try and pick all the natural things, which is what we want to do for us as well. Like deodorant's bad for us now. The chemicals, everything. Oh, so many things where it's really hard to keep track of what's good and what's bad. Um, in terms of fleas and tick treatment and those the wormers, that's a big topic as well. Like, um, some people sit in the camp of, you know, don't give it to them at all. We want natural. Some people sit in the
Camp of get it from your vets. And then there's off the shelf. What's your take?
My take, I'm very passionate about this. My advice would be: do not buy flea or worm products off the shelf. Yes. And the reason for that is it's full of chemicals that aren't always properly tested.
Yeah. It's also the stuff that you get from the vets is prescribed medication, tested medication, and it contains the active drug that's used to kill those, those worms and those fleas and ticks and things.
Yeah. Um, safely. Um, and some of those medic, some of parts of some of some of those drugs are in the off-the-shelf products, but at such small doses that they don't work. Fine. Um, because they're not allowed to have a certain amount of that drug in because otherwise you need a prescription for that.
Yeah. Um, the safest route is to get everything from the vets and to actually regularly do it.
Mhm. Um, there is talk about, you know, being natural and maybe they don't need it as much. Um, if you're that concerned, you can ask your vets to have like a fecal test, and and there's ways of checking fleas at home, which is a a something everyone can do at home. Um, what you could do is get a piece of white paper.
Okay. Um, and then you like scratch your dog's bum and get all the dirt onto that paper.
Yeah. Um, and then if you add drops of water to that black dirt, you'll see it, it looks a bit like brown or red staining, and that's flea dirt.
Oh, okay. That's a really good tip. I like that tip because then everybody can do it. It's not just you have to go to the vets to do that. But when you establish that that's what you've got, absolutely do it.
Um, in terms of worming, worming's super important. What I have seen a lot in my career is the effect of lungworm when it's not treated. So lungworm is found. You'll see the adverts everywhere, like through it goes through snails. Um, and so any like garden, anything they've licked in the garden or a ball they've got that slug's gone across, they can ingest it that way. And what happens is, um, it ends up getting into the lungs and the lungworm grows, and then you have a like worms filled their lungs, and um, they die.
Um, so you can see symptoms like coughing, but sometimes and a lot of the time you do not know that they've got it because some of some of some of it's so well hidden that they don't have clinical symptoms.
Oh wow. So when sometimes we found that if we have a dog coming in to be neutered, um, we've noticed when we're doing the procedure that their blood isn't clotting properly, um, which is obviously dangerous. Needs it to clot so that they can, yeah, survive. Um, and when we come across something like that, we will always do a quick lungworm test.
Fine. Okay. That's the big killer. Gosh. Okay. So, top tip is wormer.
Wormer. Yeah. From the vets. From the vets. Definitely. Okay. And then, um, probably one of my favorite asks is anal glands. I love doing anal cleans.
Do you? No way. It's so weird. But I've never heard that from someone's mouth. There we are. There we are. Which, yeah, people like us guys in the vets like, "Oh, I've got an anal gland expression to do. Anyone want to do it?" I'm like, I'll do it. I'm up in the office. I'll come down and do it. I love it. It's a bit like popping a spot, like get that like, yeah, that satisfying thing.
Yeah. Um, but yeah, signs to look for: um, scooting the bum, overly licking. Um, you can feel from the outside, but you need to know what you're looking for. Um, I know groomers also empty anal glands, too. Some, yeah, I think they're coming away from it as much because there's some, you if you burst that anal glands or do something wrong with it, then it's veterinary treatments needed. And yeah, if you do not know what you're doing, I wouldn't recommend it, but you can definitely look out for the signs of it. Um, and if it's a regular thing and um, you keep having to go to get them expressed, then it's usually good to add fiber to the diet.
Yes. So, either with added things, I know like you like the tip of adding vegetables, cooked vegetable, or someone mentioned cooked vegetables, didn't they? Um, or you can buy a fiber product which is a bit like a supplement that you just pour on the food. So, that's a way you can prevent it at home.
Definitely. I feel like we're quite quick to express anal glands, but then you look at the dog's diet and you kind of go, well, is not getting what it needs. So, if you are unsure, I know vets can advise on diet, but they work with veterinary nutritionists, and I would say that's one thing I've learned recently is there is so much more to feeding than we know about.
Yeah. Um, and so it's per size for your dog, their allergies, their age, their environment. So, um, definitely again as Roxy said, there is a cure which is expressing them, but prevention is adding fiber.
Yeah. Because you don't want to be have to express them all the time. Can't live like that.
No. So, if you know you're having to do it really regularly, like we're having to do this all the time, let's make some changes so that it reduces the times that you're doing it. And most of the time if you do the right diet and you're adding the right amount of fiber in it, it, it clears up. It can clear up because we're all about natural where possible.
Yeah. But you know that's us with our bodies as well, trying to be natural. Um, but yeah, no it's a hard one. So are there any other tips in terms of should we be getting our, I mean I'm not very good at doing that for myself, like getting a health check. How often should we be doing that for our dog?
Definitely every year, okay, with a vet. Um, at the time of vaccination, it's ideal because they will do a full health check for you at that point anyway. And now the new guidance and law is that when we prescribe flea and worm medication, they have to have a full health check with that as well, which is good. Um, but most every vets will allow you to go and see a nurse, which is either cheaper or free. They do free nurse consults and things. um, that we can do a once over with them as well. We can listen to their heart, check if there's any evidence of like heart murmurs. Um, but in terms of how regular, at least once a year when they're a puppy, they need to be seen probably a bit more in terms of like they need more regular worming treatment, like the vaccinations. There's a couple of them, like there's all those kind of things, um, and socialization and things like that. Definitely every year as an adult. Um, if you could do twice a year that would be great. Even once a year with a vet and then seeing the nurse halfway through the year and plus keeping your log at home with what's going on and then when you get to geriatric stage, so most is like eight plus, we call us geriatric, the little senior dogs, senior dogs, I would definitely advise when you go in um for your annual checks have a blood test at the same time.
Oh okay. Because see we don't get told these things as you know, you learn, don't you. So, yeah. No, that's a really good tip. And those and that's me as a talking as a a dog owner. Um, like when you're when you're a grown adult and you're getting older, things start to fail. Organs start to go downhill. Um, certain dogs usually get predisposed conditions for certain things. So, you, you know, like the Labradors and their their their hips and things and and joints. Um, but kidney and liver function is a really good indicator of um of how they're aging and how long we've got and things like that. If you know you've got some raised liver or liver liver enzymes, there's supplements, there's food changes, that you can use to keep it away and manage it at home. So, with kidney disease, um, pH and salt levels are very um have to be lowered and and change and be very specific. Um, and then it can help you get to the point where my dog's collapsed on the ground and it's got chronic and chronic kidney failure and it's too late. So, um, being senior, doing a regular blood test and probably regular checks, but I say twice a year if you want to be really thorough. Twice a year should be enough to go and get like a full checkup. It's so useful because when they get to senior, I feel like there's a lot of stress on the puppy phase, but actually this senior world and dogs are hopefully living longer. I don't know humans are, but I know my veterinary scientist said they're actually we're seeing diseases that are a little bit different now and sort of historical diseases that are coming back from the way we're feeding and different bits like that. But we want them to live as long as they possibly could in the best case and you know their welfare and and so yeah it's really important, but again there's stress on puppy and we always start off well, but seniors really easy to go well they're just old.
Yeah, they're just a bit quieter than normal, they just don't want that walk. And whereas actually they might not want that walk because they're a bit stiff and they might need some pain relief just to help them go through their arthritic stage because arthritis is a massive thing. And and it's not even about quantity of life. It's the quality.
Yeah. And knowing when to stop and know what we can do to make them pain-free.
Yes. And I don't think dogs actually tell us much about pain. They're very good at keeping it beneath. I mean, mine with the severe hip dysplasia wasn't. He, you would have thought he was fine.
Yeah. And it's so funny now cuz I look at dogs' hips and I'm like, "Oh, that one doesn't quite look like he's walking right." Um, now that I'm really astute to it, but that's why going to you guys is so important because when you're in it, you don't necessarily see that health-wise.
No. And the owners know their dog better than anyone. And just like hitting lot mentioned hip dysplasia, it we could notice it from maybe just they sat down a certain way. They sit down a bit of an angle and that could be enough to go, "Oh, keep an eye on that." But someone that isn't veterinary wouldn't ever think to look that far ahead. But and it's about, yeah, the clients know, the owners know their dog better than anyone. So all those subtle little changes in their life, um, is really important information.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's amazing. Thank you so much and thanks for coming on the sofa to talk to me all about dogs. Really fun. I love it. I talk about dogs all day. I love it. There's definitely some useful tips that we don't get to hold and we have to navigate and also Google and chat GPT and AI, it can be overwhelming. So like coming from a human is so great because it's kind of your as a dog owner as well as a professional.
Yeah. And knowing those little things, um, is definitely something that we can all take away and do in and fit into our busy lives and routine. So, thank you.