Jennifer Hammond

Feeding practices and the use of supplements for dogs kept by owners in different socioeconomic groups

The prevalence of feeding practices and supplements for dogs used in private practice (pp) and the non-profit-making Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals (pdsa) was evaluated. Questionnaires were completed by 400 pp clients and 400 pdsa clients, of which 27·2 per cent and 29·8 per cent, respectively, gave supplements to their dogs. Fatty acids/oils were given by 10·3 per cent of pp clients and 11·5 per cent of pdsa clients, glucosamine and/or chondroitin by 10·5 per cent and 5·8 per cent, and vitamins by 6·8 per cent and 19·3 per cent, respectively. The supplements were provided daily by 17·8 per cent of the pp clients and 14·3 per cent of the pdsa clients, and the pdsa clients were 50 per cent more likely to provide the supplements only weekly or monthly than the pp clients. A commercially available maintenance or dietetic diet was fed by 98·8 per cent of the pp clients and 94·2 per cent of the pdsa clients.

Collection and analysis of exhaled breath condensate hydrogen peroxide in conscious healthy dogs

THE analysis of exhaled breath condensate is a diagnostic technique that is of increasing interest as a non-invasive method for the investigation of respiratory disease in human medicine (Montuschi and Barnes 2002). Various markers of inflammation have been detected in human exhaled breath condensate, including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (Sznajder and others 1989), 8-isoprostane (Montuschi and others 2000), leukotrienes and prostaglandins (Montuschi and others 2003) and nitrate/nitrite (Ganas and others 2001). Exhaled breath condensate has been collected from anaesthetised dogs (Sznajder and others 1989, Pietra and others 2003), but the application of the method in conscious dogs has been precluded by the technical difficulty in collecting samples of sufficient volume in small animals. The collection and analysis of breath condensate offers a potential alternative to more invasive methods for the detection of respiratory inflammation, such as the analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid; markers of disease are inevitably diluted by the introduction of saline solution into the respiratory tract during the collection of BAL fluid. The collection of samples of exhaled breath condensate does not alter the endogenous dilution of disease markers by respiratory secretions, but other variables, such as the ambient humidity, respiratory rate and body temperature, may have considerable effects on its concentration. Cytological analysis of BAL fluid provides valuable information on the pathophysiology of respiratory inflammation, but the invasive nature of BAL precludes its use for the frequent monitoring of disease progression or response to therapy. In contrast, the collection of breath condensate for analysis is completely non-invasive and can be performed cheaply and using basic laboratory equipment. The aim of the present study was to develop a method for the collection of exhaled breath condensate from dogs and to investigate the variability of an exhaled marker of respiratory inflammation, H2O2, in a group of healthy dogs. To assess inter- and intrasubject variability in exhaled H2O2, samples of breath condensate were collected from 10 healthy dogs (bodyweight range 15 to 36 kg) on two occasions, with at least 15 minutes elapsing between the collection of the two samples. The study was carried out under the approval of the Animal Ethics and Welfare Committee of the University of Glasgow. The dogs remained at rest, in lateral or sternal recumbency, in their kennels during collection of the samples. Breath condensate was collected by allowing the dog to breathe through a plastic mask connected to a con

Nicotine hair concentrations in dogs exposed to environmental tobacco smoke: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES To investigate the association between dog hair nicotine concentration and owner-reported exposure to environmental tobacco smoke to establish whether dogs are exposed to significant, detectable amounts of environmental tobacco smoke in the home. METHODS Hair was collected from 23 dogs exposed to environmental tobacco smoke and from 15 dogs reportedly not exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Hair was washed to remove adhered nicotine, digested in 1 M NaOH and extracted using solid phase extraction. Nicotine concentration was measured by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Results were analysed using a Kruskall-Wallis test and post hoc pair-wise comparisons using a Mann-Whitney test to assess significance between exposure groups. RESULTS The different exposure groups were significantly different (P < 0·001) for both hair and surface nicotine. Pair-wise comparisons were significant at P < 0·05 for all categories except unexposed and occasionally exposed groups (P = 0·076). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Dog hair nicotine concentration appears to be strongly associated with reported exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. The range and median of hair nicotine concentration in dogs exposed to environmental tobacco smoke was similar to those reported in children. This suggests that dog hair could provide a useful method of determining the amount of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in all environments common to pets and children.

Development of a New Scale to Measure Ambiguity Tolerance in Veterinary Students

The ability to cope with ambiguity and feelings of uncertainty is an essential part of professional practice. Research with physicians has identified that intolerance of ambiguity or uncertainty is linked to stress, and some authors have hypothesized that there could be an association between intolerance of ambiguity and burnout. We describe the adaptation of the TAMSAD (Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors) scale for use with veterinary students. Exploratory factor analysis supports a uni-dimensional structure for the Ambiguity tolerance construct. Although internal reliability of the 29-item TAMSAD scale is reasonable (α=.50), an alternative 27-item scale (drawn from the original 41 items used to develop TAMSAD) shows higher internal reliability for veterinary students (α=.67). We conclude that there is good evidence to support the validity of this latter TAVS (Tolerance of Ambiguity in Veterinary Students) scale to study ambiguity tolerance in veterinary students.

Rabbit neutering in primary-care education: insights from a surgical clinic

Involvement in canine and feline surgical neutering clinics is generally considered to be a key element of primary-care veterinary education, yet opportunities for veterinary students to develop their surgical skills with rabbit patients are uncommon. This is despite the fact that rabbits are currently estimated to be the third most popular companion animal species and the fact that the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) recommends that all non-breeding rabbits be neutered soon after they attain sexual maturity. We describe a pilot rabbit-neutering clinic designed to provide high-quality care for rabbit patients while offering opportunities for undergraduate surgical and case-management skills development. We report on the clinical outcomes for patients. Rates of morbidity (n=18) and mortality (n=1) were low. Of complications reported, the majority (n=16) were considered minor. Challenges included ensuring that staff and students were trained in the specific features of rabbit anesthesia and recovery behavior. We conclude that rabbit surgical clinics offer excellent learning opportunities for undergraduate veterinary students. With prior training in handling and close individual supervision, it is possible to achieve good clinical outcomes and to have a positive impact on the welfare of companion animal populations.

Comparing Tolerance of Ambiguity in Veterinary and Medical Students

Current guidelines suggest that educators in both medical and veterinary professions should do more to ensure that students can tolerate ambiguity. Designing curricula to achieve this requires the ability to measure and understand differences in ambiguity tolerance among and within professional groups. Although scales have been developed to measure tolerance of ambiguity in both medical and veterinary professions, no comparative studies have been reported. We compared the tolerance of ambiguity of medical and veterinary students, hypothesizing that veterinary students would have higher tolerance of ambiguity, given the greater patient diversity and less well-established evidence base underpinning practice. We conducted a secondary analysis of questionnaire data from first- to fourth-year medical and veterinary students. Tolerance of ambiguity scores were calculated and compared using the TAMSAD scale (29 items validated for the medical student population), the TAVS scale (27 items validated for the veterinary student population), and a scale comprising the 22 items common to both scales. Using the TAMSAD and TAVS scales, medical students had a significantly higher mean tolerance of ambiguity score than veterinary students (56.1 vs. 54.1, p<.001 and 60.4 vs. 58.5, p=.002, respectively) but no difference was seen when only the 22 shared items were compared (56.1 vs. 57.2, p=.513). The results do not support our hypothesis and highlight that different findings can result when different tools are used. Medical students may have slightly higher tolerance of ambiguity than veterinary students, although this depends on the scale used.

Taking the right track: new directions in veterinary education

SINCE the publication of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Day One Competences (RCVS 2014) over a decade ago, veterinary education in the UK has become increasingly focused on educational outcomes. Accreditation by the RCVS and other professional bodies such as the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education and the American Veterinary Medical Association requires universities to demonstrate that their curricula are effectively aligned with these outcomes. Assessment practices need to ensure that students have achieved these competences on graduation. The veterinary profession is not unique in this; other health professions have adopted similar approaches, with the concept of ‘outcome-based education’ (Harden 1999) now becoming one of the dominant paradigms in health professions education. There is also a growing consensus across the veterinary profession that modern day vets cannot realistically achieve and maintain omincompetence (competence across all species) (Eyre 2001, Gorman 2001, Halliwell 1999, Radostits 2002). In 2001,the RCVS education strategy steering group described the …