Julie Nuttall, Author at Oakhill Vets

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL CLIENT EVENT

The evening of the 10^th May, saw Oakhill Farm Vets deliver another successful client event evening, this time based around the topic of ‘Reducing Sheep Lameness’.

Oakhill Farm Vet, Holly Critchley, along with MSD’s Linda Dawson, explored the key lameness contributors with Lancashire’s sheep farmers and demonstrated a 5 point plan for reducing these issues on farm.

The 40 farmers in attendance were able to evaluate their own farm using a questionnaire to see where they could make improvements on their farm.

Watch out for announcements about further sheep farming events.

Congratulations to our Equine Vet Sam

Huge congratulations are in order for equine vet, Sam Baker. Sam has recently passed her synoptic exam for her designated advanced veterinary practitioner certificate in equine dentistry.

Well done Sam!!

Sam joined Oakhill in August 2011 after graduating from Liverpool University with her key area of interest being equine dentistry.

As well as offering routine dentistry procedures, Sam also offers advanced dentistry, using the very latest techniques in our equine clinic, including:

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Oral endoscopic examination
Digital radiography
Cheek teeth infundibular restorations (fillings)
Oral extractions
Minimally invasive extractions (MTE)
Treatment of periodontal disease
Diastema widening
Sinus surgery

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Free Heart Blood Cardio Test for predisposed dog breeds

Certain large and giant breed dogs over the age of 3 are at an increased risk of developing DCM (Dilated Cardiomyopathy).

If you have one of the predisposed breeds* over 3 years old, currently not on heart medication/treatment, we would like to invite you to bring your dog/s to the practice to discuss a new screening programme for a type of heart disease called Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM).

*Predisposed breeds include Boxers, Dobermans, Newfoundlands, German Shepherds, St Bernards, Great Danes, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Dalmations, Deerhound, Dogue de Bordeaux, Leonberger, Rottweiler, St. Bernard.

There are two phases to DCM; firstly a long silent phase, in which the heart has the disease and is slowly deteriorating but there are no outward signs of a problem yet. Dogs in this first phase appear outwardly healthy and happy. The second phase is a shorter overt phase where the heart can no longer cope and starts to fail. At this point outward signs of the disease start to be seen.

As dogs in the first phase of the disease appear outwardly normal it is incredibly difficult to identify which dogs have a problem. We can only diagnose dogs in this phase if we perform specific screening tests to assess the heart.

A simple screening programme is now available; which involves us checking your dog/s and performing a FREE heart blood test. This blood test measures the levels of a substance called pro-BNP, which is released into the blood stream when the heart muscle stretches excessively, such as in dogs with DCM.

If your dog returns an abnormal blood test result, one of our vets will discuss next steps with you, which could involve a non-painful, non-invasive ultrasound scan of the heart.

Offer ends 30th June 2017

Please click here for the information leaflet on DCM.

The Big Ticks Project reveals tick threat where you are.

From April to September with Chris Packham , MSD Animal Health will be back raising awareness of ticks and tick borne disease with dog owners nationwide!

To understand the threat that tick pose to pets and owners in your area take a look at the UK tick map:
http://www.bigtickproject.co.uk/uk-tick-threat-map/

Conducted by MSD Animal Health and the University of Bristol, the Big Tick Project is the largest and most comprehensive study on tick species and prevalence in individual regions of the UK.1

Overall the results1 show that:

Nearly 1 in 3 dogs in the study were infested with ticks.
Dogs that live in both urban and rural areas are equally at risk of exposure to them and tick-borne diseases.
Nearly 90% of ticks found were I.ricinus, a known carrier of the pathogen that causes Lyme disease in people and their pets

To find out more about the treatment of animal parasites, please click here.

Annual Equine Quiz Night

With great success, Oakhill’s equine client quiz night took place on Friday 24^th March at Preston Grasshoppers.

This years winners were ‘The Lodgers’ (the team from Lodge Livery) – well done!

The evening managed to raise £85 for World Horse Welfare Penny Farm, by raffling a very attractive Equitop Myoplast horse rug (won by Jan Dew)!

PetPlan Award Nominations

We are pleased to announce that Equine Vets Suzanne Green and Leona Bramall have both been nominated for ‘Vet of the Year’ in this year’s PetPlan Awards, along with Aly Heggie and Sue Townley in the Goosnargh Support Team.

Also, Judith Lee and Kimberley Ashurst from our Small Animal division were also nominated for ‘Vet of the Year’.

Petplan has worked closely with the veterinary profession for over 40 years and sees first hand each day the fantastic work that goes on in veterinary practices across the UK.

They recognise that keeping customers happy and pets healthy is a team effort from the receptionist and support staff right through to the vets and nurses themselves. These awards provide an opportunity for pet owners to recognise the hard work and dedication of veterinary staff and say ‘thank you’.

Chloe & Monacorde – a class act!

Chloe Cheetham (part of Oakhill’s Equine Support Team) and horse Monacorde, won both their classes at the BS Keeping Kate Show on Saturday 18th February.

The show was held to raise money for Kate Ann Douglas who is currently under going treatment for cancer.

Chloe and Monacorde also won a rug for overall leading horse and rider combination – donated by ‘Country Frog’

Well done Chloe and Monacorde!

Lucky Spike after nail injury (Equine Vets)

Jess, one of our Equine Vets, was recently called out to see Spike who was very sore after standing on a nail on the outside of his frog.

Luckily the nail was still in place and we were able to take xrays of his foot to see in which direction the nail had entered. Once removing the nail it was a lot bigger than we were expecting at a whopping 6 inches!

With the size of the nail we were unsure whether the tendon sheath (that runs along the back of the foot and fetlock) had been compromised.

After further tests Spike was given the all-clear and his foot was bandaged with poultice material to help draw out any infection. After a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, Spike has made a full recovery. Well done Spike!

Schmallenberg Virus in Lancashire

The last few months have seen both bulk milk and individual animal blood samples test positive for Schmallenberg virus in the North West.

First recognised in 2011, Schmallenberg was originally associated with birth defects in lambs and calves.

It is important to be aware that the virus has been in the area and thus remain vigilant for signs of birth deformities when lambing or calving difficulties arise this Spring.

National Johne’s Management Plan

The National Johne’s Management Plan is a dairy industry initiative to reduce the incidence of Johne’s disease.

Johne’s disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) and is a costly, chronic, debilitating disease. Animals with Johne’s disease are likely to be culled earlier, and more likely to be affected by other conditions, including chronic mastitis and lameness. Johne’s positive cows have been shown to be twice as likely to have a

SCC >200,000 and yield 25% lower than the herd average. In herds with a high level of the disease the cost is estimated to be 1-2 ppl.

80% of infections occur in the first month of life, from infected faeces, colostrum or milk being ingested and it can take several years before signs of the disease appear. During this period, it is difficult to identify these animals. Animals often begin to shed MAP and spread the disease before showing signs of Johne’s. Around the time shedding begins, antibodies are produced and we can then identify these cows.

Testing can be performed on both blood and milk with similar results. In order to control Johne’s on a farm, cow’s likely to be a risk to calves must be identified through regular testing (ideally quarterly) so they can be managed separately at calving.

Tracey, Mike and Andy are trained advisors as part of the initiative, if you don’t already have a Johne’s control plan in place please contact the practice to discuss how Johne’s may be affecting your farm.