Latest / Paws Between Us - Pet Stories, Welfare and Building A Bond / Short Paws: Vet Prescription Caps & Heart-Healthy Pets

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Short Paws: Vet Prescription Caps & Heart-Healthy Pets · Paws Between Us - Pet Stories, Welfare and Building A Bond

• 0:00
  Welcome to Pause Between Us and our fortnightly short pause.
• 0:04
  This is a regular dose of positive pet news.
• 0:06
  Every other week we bring you a short, uplifting episode
• 0:09
  packed with the latest feel-good stories from the world of pets.
• 0:12
  So take a moment to tune out from the negative news dominating our headlines
• 0:16
  and help us to shine a light on the good,
• 0:18
  celebrating the joy pets bring to our lives
• 0:20
  and sharing the inspiring changes making their lives better too.
• 0:23
  Settle in for a short pause and let's spread some positivity together.
• 0:28
  So Sash, should I go first on this one or do you want to start?
• 0:31
  You can start if you want, I don't mind.
• 0:33
  So today I want to dive into some brand new research
• 0:37
  from the Royal Veterinary College, also known as RVC,
• 0:40
  which was published yesterday.
• 0:42
  So it's hot off the press and yeah,
• 0:45
  it made some of the headlines in pet-related publications,
• 0:49
  but it's really eye-opening.
• 0:51
  It was a major study following nearly a thousand pandemic puppies
• 0:55
  bought in 2020 and it turns out, as the research shows,
• 1:00
  that the way you buy a puppy, whether you saw the mum,
• 1:03
  whether the pup was old enough, whether the breeder followed the law,
• 1:06
  has a real impact on that dog's health almost several years later.
• 1:11
  In terms of what the study looked at,
• 1:13
  it followed 985 puppies bought during the pandemic,
• 1:17
  all the way until they were 20 months old.
• 1:20
  And the researchers wanted to know,
• 1:22
  do early buying practices affect later health?
• 1:26
  And spoiler alert, yes, they do.
• 1:28
  But it's not in a small way either,
• 1:30
  because 94.5% of these young dogs, according to the research,
• 1:36
  had at least one health issue by the time they're even two years old.
• 1:40
  So that's almost every single dog that was followed as part of the research.
• 1:45
  And the most common health issues were tummy problems,
• 1:48
  skin issues, ear and ear problems, and upper respiratory stuff.
• 1:52
  So this is where it gets really interesting,
• 1:54
  because puppies were more likely to have multiple health problems
• 1:58
  if they were sold under six weeks old,
• 2:01
  sold without the buyer seeing the mother,
• 2:03
  bought by first-time dog owners,
• 2:05
  or sold without a microchip.
• 2:08
  And these are classic, what they call pet fishing red flags.
• 2:11
  Pet fishing is not a term I've heard of before,
• 2:14
  so it's an interesting expression.
• 2:16
  But the study basically confirms that these are not just ethical issues,
• 2:21
  that they have real measurable health consequences.
• 2:24
  If you buy a puppy who's too young, you don't see the mother,
• 2:28
  you're a first-time dog owner yourself,
• 2:30
  the dog doesn't have a microchip, all those things I just mentioned.
• 2:33
  They do have an impact on a dog's health.
• 2:35
  Another big finding from the study,
• 2:37
  that was that 23.5% of owners spend more on vet care
• 2:41
  than they expected because of these challenges.
• 2:44
  And even though UK law says puppies must be at least eight weeks old,
• 2:48
  buyers must see the mom, and third-party sales are banned,
• 2:51
  a lot of pandemic buyers still broke those rules without realising.
• 2:55
  So it's not that they intentionally meant to do that,
• 2:58
  they just may be a bit inexperienced,
• 3:00
  you know, during the pandemic,
• 3:01
  things were, life was a lot more restricted.
• 3:03
  But it is heartbreaking,
• 3:05
  because most people weren't trying to do anything wrong.
• 3:07
  So yeah, I think that was a really fascinating study.
• 3:10
  It's obviously quite detailed,
• 3:12
  and I want to delve into it a bit more,
• 3:14
  maybe we can chat about it next time.
• 3:16
  But it's just a bit of an eye-opener really,
• 3:17
  because if you track these dogs over time,
• 3:19
  you can see the health consequences of some of those practices.
• 3:23
  So yeah, it gave me things to think about.
• 3:28
  I wouldn't have thought that really.
• 3:30
  I could probably see the correlation with some of it.
• 3:33
  Yes.
• 3:33
  And it just makes me think a lot.
• 3:35
  I'm just reflecting on the first-time ownership part of it,
• 3:38
  because again, reflecting back onto what Laura said about hamsters,
• 3:42
  and how people don't particularly know enough
• 3:44
  about what their pet's basic needs are,
• 3:47
  I could see why that would then obviously have an impact
• 3:50
  on the animal's health.
• 3:51
  But all the other things was quite interesting.
• 3:53
  But I always worried about taking an animal
• 3:55
  from its mum too soon as well.
• 3:57
  And I've always been a little bit like conscious of that
• 3:59
  when I've had kittens and thought,
• 4:01
  oh, it just feels a bit too little.
• 4:04
  But yeah.
• 4:05
  Yeah, too soon.
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  It's a good reminder for me,
• 4:09
  because I wasn't quite clear on the actual time frame.
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  But it is good that in UK law,
• 4:15
  it says that puppies must be at least eight weeks old.
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  So that's just a good number,
• 4:20
  a good benchmark to have in your head
• 4:21
  if you're ever thinking of getting a puppy.
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  Always think, is it at least eight weeks old,
• 4:26
  if not a little bit older?
• 4:27
  And then, yeah, just something else to touch on
• 4:30
  in terms of good news announced recently,
• 4:33
  which I'm sure lots of people will be really welcoming
• 4:37
  with open arms,
• 4:38
  is that written prescription fees from vets
• 4:41
  will be capped at 21 pounds
• 4:43
  and practices will have to publish price lists for services.
• 4:46
  And that's according to the UK's competition Watchdog.
• 4:50
  So really good news for people
• 4:52
  that are having to use vets at the moment
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  if their pets have got some health challenges,
• 4:58
  because it's pricey, isn't it?
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  It's an expensive business.
• 5:02
  So yeah, good that they're capping things.
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  And the competitions and market authority
• 5:08
  also said that a price comparison website
• 5:10
  will be introduced to help boost competition
• 5:13
  and drive down prices faced by consumers.
• 5:15
  So this is all looking to come into force later this year.
• 5:20
  So start of a shakeup.
• 5:21
  It's not everything that needs to be changed,
• 5:24
  but it's a good start.
• 5:26
  That's a good start, good movement.
• 5:28
  I know I was talking to a few people
• 5:32
  online a few days ago about this
• 5:34
  and everyone was very excited about it.
• 5:37
  But there was also comments from people saying
• 5:40
  they would welcome like an NHS for pets.
• 5:43
  Yes, I saw that.
• 5:43
  So we all pay a tax.
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  I thought that would be a brilliant idea
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  because I mean,
• 5:49
  I suppose we may end up sort of punishing non-pet owners
• 5:51
  and people who hate animals.
• 5:53
  They'll have to pay the tax as well.
• 5:54
  But maybe there's a way of arranging something
• 5:57
  for all pet owners.
• 6:00
  Yeah, no, I agree.
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  I think having, shaking things up
• 6:04
  in terms of having a bit more diversity of options,
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  you know, so it's not just you have to just use
• 6:10
  the vet that's around the corner from you
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  because it's the only one that's available
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  and it's really expensive.
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  And yeah, I think having more choice,
• 6:18
  but then having something that's a lot more affordable,
• 6:21
  like you say, an NHS,
• 6:22
  something that you can rely on
• 6:24
  and that you can fall back on when times are tough.
• 6:27
  I think because that was the whole point of the NHS,
• 6:29
  wasn't it?
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  Being set up in the first place.
• 6:32
  Yeah.
• 6:32
  Was having accessible healthcare for everyone.
• 6:35
  Yeah.
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  So yeah, I think just having that for vets
• 6:38
  would be brilliant.
• 6:39
  But like you say, yeah,
• 6:41
  how would you do with it between
• 6:42
  if you have a pet and if you don't,
• 6:44
  who pays the tax?
• 6:45
  Who doesn't?
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  But as a nation,
• 6:47
  as a species on this planet,
• 6:50
  we have a responsibility to take care of the other species,
• 6:52
  I think,
• 6:53
  and much more needs to be done
• 6:55
  to make sure that any people
• 6:59
  that get a furry companion
• 7:02
  is supported in the best way
• 7:04
  to know how to take care of that animal.
• 7:07
  I think society has a duty to do that
• 7:10
  and to support that person as well,
• 7:11
  actually, in my opinion.
• 7:13
  It's not just on that one individual
• 7:15
  and that one animal.
• 7:16
  I think it's a bigger issue for me,
• 7:18
  but I'd like to see what comes out of that.
• 7:20
  I suppose some charity organisations
• 7:22
  will be looking into this as it develops.
• 7:24
  It's like that thing we talked about Italy,
• 7:25
  you know, paid pet leave.
• 7:28
  There's so much more that needs to move
• 7:30
  and budge, we said at the time,
• 7:31
  to make pet ownership and guardianship
• 7:35
  just much more,
• 7:37
  I don't know,
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  much more sort of supported,
• 7:39
  the right thing to do,
• 7:40
  much more education,
• 7:42
  much more kind of integration into life,
• 7:45
  because everybody says
• 7:47
  how much they love their animals.
• 7:48
  So many people are animal lovers.
• 7:50
  I don't see why it'd be a hard thing
• 7:53
  to do that,
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  to get to that point
• 7:54
  where it's more integrated with everything else.
• 7:56
  We'll see.
• 7:56
  Yeah, let's hope so.
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  Let's hope so within our lifetime,
• 7:59
  we'll see that, Matt.
• 8:00
  I hope so.
• 8:01
  Yeah, let's hope so.
• 8:02
  So what have you found in the news this week
• 8:04
  then that's inspired you
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  or made you curious?
• 8:07
  Yeah, so it was something in a magazine
• 8:08
  I got actually,
• 8:09
  and I've sort of had a look
• 8:10
  a bit more deeply into it.
• 8:11
  And it's following up
• 8:12
  Katie's appearance last week.
• 8:14
  So I thought I'd sort of share
• 8:16
  a few more things,
• 8:17
  research into why it's good to have a pet,
• 8:21
  what other things make having an animal amazing.
• 8:26
  Some research has been done.
• 8:27
  And so this is all kind of like thorough stuff.
• 8:30
  It's not just sort of a word of mouth.
• 8:32
  It's all been properly researched.
• 8:33
  But some research links pet ownership,
• 8:36
  particularly cats and dogs.
• 8:37
  That's probably because
• 8:38
  that's all they've researched actually.
• 8:39
  But with lower blood pressure,
• 8:41
  reduced stress hormones,
• 8:43
  more physical activity
• 8:44
  and better cardiovascular outcomes.
• 8:47
  So the Cats Protection as well,
• 8:48
  in 2009 found that past
• 8:52
  and present cat owners
• 8:54
  had a 30% lower risk of death
• 8:55
  from heart attacks.
• 8:57
  And in 2023,
• 8:58
  cat ownership was associated
• 8:59
  with 44% lower risk
• 9:01
  of cardiovascular disease.
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  So there you go guys,
• 9:04
  get a pet and you'll be less stressed
• 9:06
  and have better health,
• 9:07
  heart health.
• 9:09
  Pet interaction is also,
• 9:11
  can increase social contact
• 9:13
  and feelings of companionship
• 9:14
  and make people feel less isolated.
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  I came across an organisation
• 9:18
  called the Human Animal Bond
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  Research Institute,
• 9:22
  HABRI or H-A-B-R-I,
• 9:24
  a non-profit and they study
• 9:26
  and promote health and wellbeing
• 9:28
  of the benefits of the human
• 9:29
  and animal bond,
• 9:30
  which I thought was just amazing.
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  And its mission is to advance
• 9:34
  the role of pets in people's health
• 9:35
  through science, education and advocacy.
• 9:37
  So they were supporting
• 9:38
  this kind of isolation feeling.
• 9:40
  Well, obviously pets help
• 9:41
  with mental health.
• 9:42
  Stroking our pets can release
• 9:44
  oxytocin and serotonin,
• 9:45
  helping with mood and anxiety.
• 9:47
  A cat's purr is at a particular
• 9:50
  frequency known to be used
• 9:52
  in human medicine to promote
• 9:53
  bone healing and tissue repair.
• 9:55
  This is in humans,
• 9:56
  as well as obviously
• 9:57
  the cats themselves.
• 9:58
  And exposure to pets can help
• 9:59
  children build strong immune systems
• 10:01
  and help reduce allergies.
• 10:04
  So good one there for anyone
• 10:06
  who hasn't got a pet,
• 10:07
  maybe think of all these
• 10:08
  lovely things that could help.
• 10:09
  One of the things I also found
• 10:11
  a little bit of on the sadder side,
• 10:12
  but also just shows how close
• 10:14
  the human animal bond is,
• 10:15
  but death of a pet can also cause
• 10:17
  grief similar to that
• 10:18
  in human bereavement.
• 10:20
  And I think we, some of us,
• 10:22
  know a lot about that.
• 10:23
  But what I will say,
• 10:24
  just to end on there,
• 10:26
  we obviously advocate
• 10:27
  for sensible considerations
• 10:28
  of getting a pet.
• 10:29
  You know, you need to think
• 10:30
  this through before
• 10:31
  and do your research.
• 10:32
  We've mentioned this a number
• 10:33
  of times today, particularly.
• 10:34
  You need to know
• 10:35
  what you're getting into.
• 10:36
  You need to know what
• 10:37
  your animal needs
• 10:38
  before you get one.
• 10:39
  And whether it will fit
• 10:39
  in with your lifestyle,
• 10:40
  you need to understand
• 10:41
  the costs implicated there.
• 10:43
  If you're going to have an animal,
• 10:44
  there will be costs involved.
• 10:45
  And obviously,
• 10:46
  if anyone's got any allergies
• 10:47
  and it's going to cause any problems.
• 10:48
  So it's better, in my opinion,
• 10:51
  it's better not to get a pet at all
• 10:52
  than to give one up
• 10:53
  and have it go into care
• 10:55
  or be rehomed.
• 10:56
  You need to think this through.
• 10:57
  So we will always say this,
• 10:59
  there's obviously positives
• 11:00
  with owning a pet,
• 11:00
  but make sure it's right for you.
• 11:02
  Do your research.
• 11:02
  So the other thing I found
• 11:05
  was a thing called
• 11:06
  the five domains model.
• 11:08
  So a few weeks ago,
• 11:10
  one of the podcasts,
• 11:11
  I mentioned how important
• 11:12
  I felt it was that animals
• 11:13
  have choice and freedom
• 11:15
  to do what they want to do
• 11:17
  in some respects.
• 11:18
  So this approach has been
• 11:20
  kind of pulled together
• 11:21
  in a more official way
• 11:22
  called the five domains model.
• 11:24
  And the five domains
• 11:25
  is to help you understand
• 11:26
  whether your animal
• 11:27
  is really experiencing
• 11:28
  good welfare.
• 11:30
  And it goes beyond just care.
• 11:31
  It's actually kind of
• 11:32
  making sure the animal
• 11:33
  has a good standard
• 11:34
  quality of life.
• 11:35
  So the first one is nutrition.
• 11:37
  So that's whether the animal
• 11:38
  is getting enough,
• 11:39
  but not too much
• 11:40
  of the right kinds of foods,
• 11:42
  access to water, obviously.
• 11:43
  Physical environment,
• 11:44
  whether the animal
• 11:45
  has enough space,
• 11:46
  appropriate flooring and lighting,
• 11:48
  is able to rest and sleep
• 11:50
  and is not exposed to pollutants
• 11:52
  or noxious odors.
• 11:54
  Health, that the animal
• 11:55
  is free from pain, injury or illness,
• 11:57
  has good muscle conditioning
• 11:59
  and doesn't have an impairment
• 12:00
  that impacts their ability to function
• 12:03
  or that that's obviously
• 12:04
  taken care of.
• 12:05
  Behavioural interactions
• 12:06
  is the fifth one.
• 12:07
  Can an animal engage
• 12:08
  in their natural behaviours
• 12:10
  and have a positive interactions
• 12:11
  with other animals
• 12:12
  or any humans if appropriate?
• 12:14
  And that includes things
• 12:15
  like playing, resting,
• 12:16
  exploring and socialising,
• 12:18
  if that's normal for the species.
• 12:20
  And the final one is mental.
• 12:22
  How the first four areas
• 12:24
  that we've mentioned,
• 12:24
  so the nutrition, physical,
• 12:26
  health and behavioural stuff,
• 12:27
  affects their overall wellbeing.
• 12:30
  And that's like stress,
• 12:31
  comfort, pleasure and security.
• 12:33
  So I think that's really interesting,
• 12:34
  a nice little kind of five step model
• 12:37
  to see whether you think
• 12:38
  your animal's needs are being met
• 12:40
  and they have a good welfare.
• 12:42
  So yeah, I thought
• 12:44
  that was really interesting.
• 12:44
  Yeah, no, definitely.
• 12:46
  I think those five domains were great
• 12:48
  because when I was having my,
• 12:49
  well, when I did my grooming training
• 12:51
  and when I also did
• 12:52
  my canine nutrition training,
• 12:54
  you start off with those domains
• 12:56
  as basic principles
• 12:57
  around animal welfare
• 12:58
  and they are kind of the key things
• 13:00
  that you need to know
• 13:01
  and everyone needs to know
• 13:03
  if they're working with animals.
• 13:04
  So that's really good.
• 13:06
  But it was not something
• 13:07
  I was familiar with as a thing
• 13:10
  before I did that training.
• 13:11
  So great if you work in the industry
• 13:14
  and you know these things,
• 13:14
  but not everyone does.
• 13:16
  So I think it's really important
• 13:17
  to share that those are
• 13:18
  those basic needs for animals.
• 13:20
  And actually it's the same with humans.
• 13:21
  They have the sort of
• 13:22
  the basic needs for us, don't you?
• 13:24
  And they are similar.
• 13:25
  So it's good that there is
• 13:26
  that version for animals too.
• 13:29
  Yeah.
• 13:30
  And yeah, on the wellbeing
• 13:32
  benefits of pet ownership,
• 13:34
  couldn't agree more.
• 13:35
  Still have stressy days,
• 13:36
  but I know I've had a really hard day.
• 13:38
  It's great to come home to Betty
• 13:41
  and cuddle up on the sofa
• 13:42
  and spend some time together
• 13:44
  and just chill out.
• 13:45
  And it does make a big difference.
• 13:47
  And recently,
• 13:48
  where I've had a few stressful moments,
• 13:49
  I've thought, oh,
• 13:49
  I'd love to have Betty
• 13:50
  by my side right now,
• 13:51
  because I know she would really help me
• 13:54
  just, I don't know,
• 13:55
  deal with those stressful moments.
• 13:57
  I suppose it's like,
• 13:58
  if you have an emotional support dog
• 14:01
  that some people do,
• 14:02
  it's sort of a similar kind of thing.
• 14:04
  So, and before,
• 14:06
  well, up until recently,
• 14:08
  me and Betty were volunteering
• 14:10
  for Pets as Therapy
• 14:11
  and going into a care home
• 14:13
  where residents could have time with Betty
• 14:16
  and have a cuddle and have a stroke.
• 14:17
  And yeah, just,
• 14:19
  I think the care home manager
• 14:21
  reported on the positive benefits
• 14:23
  that Betty's visits made
• 14:25
  and the, you know,
• 14:26
  from the interactions that they had,
• 14:28
  just to put a smile on everyone's face.
• 14:30
  And yeah, just great for combating
• 14:32
  kind of isolation and loneliness,
• 14:34
  having time with a dog.
• 14:36
  So yeah, bring it on.
• 14:37
  There you go, Kate.
• 14:38
  Another reason.
• 14:39
  Yes, yes.
• 14:40
  Katie, if you're listening,
• 14:42
  dear friend Katie,
• 14:43
  these are all the reasons why,
• 14:45
  or another reason why
• 14:46
  you should get a pet or get a dog
• 14:49
  as we're advocating for.
• 14:50
  But yeah, lots of really positive stuff
• 14:52
  out there right now.
• 14:53
  It's great to hear about it.
• 14:54
  It is, it is nice to have some positive news,
• 14:57
  as we said,
• 14:58
  and that's what we hope to do.
• 14:59
  And we also wanted to let you know
• 15:00
  that we were inviting
• 15:01
  some very special guests
• 15:02
  over the next coming weeks.
• 15:03
  We've got a lot of people lined up,
• 15:05
  which is so fabulous,
• 15:06
  from rescue centres,
• 15:08
  to scientists,
• 15:10
  to cat behaviourists,
• 15:11
  and bunny advocates.
• 15:12
  So we've got lots of lovely people.
• 15:13
  And next week,
• 15:15
  we'll have Rachel Rogers
• 15:16
  from Nose to Trail,
• 15:18
  a clinical animal behaviourist
• 15:19
  coming to talk to us
• 15:20
  mostly about dogs,
• 15:22
  because that's her main focus.
• 15:23
  But hopefully she'll share some good tips
• 15:25
  for a lot of other animals as well.
• 15:27
  And a lot of you listeners
• 15:28
  hopefully will get something from that.
• 15:30
  So look out for that next time.
• 15:32
  Yeah, great.
• 15:32
  Really looking forward
• 15:33
  to speaking to Rachel.
• 15:35
  Yeah, tune in,
• 15:36
  or download the podcast,
• 15:37
  tune in and listen
• 15:38
  and share with your friends.
• 15:39
  Yeah, thank you very much.
• 15:40
  Catch you next time, Sash.
• 15:42
  Yeah, see you next time, Nat.
• 15:43
  Take care.
• 15:44
  Bye for now.