Fernside Vet

30/05/2026

🐕New research from the Royal Veterinary College has revealed that three-legged dogs use different movement strategies at different speeds, including a gallop-like gait at higher speeds that resembles movement in four-legged dogs.
It gives important new insights about limb loss which could help inform both rehabilitation strategies for canine amputees.
🤖 The findings may also help inform the development of adaptive legged robots capable of responding to limb loss.
📸Photo credit: Courtesy of Jorn Cheney
https://rvc.uk.com/tripawd-dog-research-news

29/05/2026

I can. But I’m not going to.

I don’t want your dog to shrink away while I insist on ruffling their hair up.
They don’t need me to touch them to prove “I’m safe”.

What they actually need is for me to keep my hands in my pocket and wait for some signals of consent.

We have a tactile “obsession” when it comes to dogs.

Maybe it starts when they’re puppies and their squidginess draws our hands in.
100% their fur and wee fat rolls combined are irresistible.
From there though, it can become a habit.

We see a person up the street we haven’t seen for a while, stop for a chat and our hand goes down to pat while we say “Aww whose this wee girl”.
That’s how easy these habits grow.

They’re ingrained.

How about we start to normalise not touching?
And start normalising watching for consent.

28/05/2026

Look at beautiful Nova that came in and brightened up our evening surgery!
Nova is a 4 month old Bernese Mountain Dog. She is likely to be between 45-55kg when she’s an adult.

24/05/2026

👁️ Undergraduate Open Day
📆 Saturday 13th June 2026
🕙 10:00am – 3:30pm
📍 Hawkshead Campus

Join us for our largest Open Event of the year and explore our undergraduate pathways through in-depth presentations and interactive sessions. You’ll also have the opportunity to speak with teams from Accommodation, Admissions, Learning & Wellbeing, and the Students’ Union.

Our Undergraduate Open Day is open to anyone interested in our courses, including students of all ages, parents, career advisors, and teachers.

➡️ Register here: https://rvc.uk.com/open-day-26

23/05/2026

Although we are all getting to grips with the XL Bully legislation and need for muzzling dogs, and in light of the 'Just In Case' campaign, we think it's an important reminder that we should NOT be using closed mouth muzzles to walk dogs, and dogs must be able to pant.

Note that many dog muzzles are not made in a way that allows full panting. Even some basket muzzles, like the ones you often see us use in a veterinary practice, does not allow a full pant and isn't suitable for exercise.

They MUST be able to pant or they risk heat stroke, especially in warm weather but this is important no matter what temperature!

If you need a bite proof muzzle, that also allows dogs to pants, look at communities such as The Muzzle Movement and The Muzzle Up Project for help and support.

➡️Muzzles are an essential piece of equipment in in the dog world.

➡️A properly fitted muzzle can allow people to safely exercise and socialise their dogs in a safer environment.

➡️Sadly dogs wearing muzzles are subject to judgment.

➡️There are a number of reasons dogs need to wear a muzzle, and none of them mean you have a bad dog! What we do have is a dog that is experiencing the world and an owner who has safe control of their pet.

✅Muzzle training should always be a very positive experience so the muzzle becomes associated with enjoyable experiences like walks, socialising, activities or safe off lead exercise, for example. Training may be a slow process but is worthwhile to allow your pet to safely navigate their environment.

➡️There are a number of reasons why a dog may be wearing a muzzle. If you see a dog wearing one:

✅ Recall your dog in case the dog is fear reactive or dog reactive

✅ Communicate with the owner.

🗨️"Hello, how are you? Is your dog okay with my dog or would you like me to move further away?"

In many instances you may help reduce the anxiety of a fear reactive dogs owner who can then safely pass without worrying about unexpected confrontation.

You may also learn that their dog is perfectly fine with dogs and would love to play, and they are wearing the muzzle for other reasons.

These reasons can be:

✅Behaviour
Some dogs need a muzzle to safely exercise in public because they may be reactive of aggressive in certain circumstances. An owner walking a muzzled dog is taking excellent care to provide for their welfare needs to enjoy natural behaviour while still considering the safety of others.

✅ Dogs that scavenge on walks.
This could result in the dangerous ingestion of mouldy foods, or other dangerous objects like stones, large pieces of wood or rubbish and litter left around (P.s please bin your litter!!)

✅ Dogs that are on a medical elimination diet and are not allowed to eat anything else to check for food allergies

✅ Dogs with medical issues like pancreatitis meaning scavenging high fat treats could cause a nasty flare up. Or dogs with diabetes that need to stop grabbing sneaky treats on walks to help control their blood glucose levels.

✅ Dogs who have a high prey drive and may try to catch little animals or even nip other smaller dogs on walks

✅ Dogs that's are perfectly lovely but have been put under restrictions by Breed Specific Legislation like a Pit Bull Terrier or XL Bully.

Post Pictures of your happy muzzled dog✅🐾💞

23/05/2026

Heat stroke can kill, read this for tips. Cold water saves lives

Hot Forecast Due 🌅

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if possible immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, at risk, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧Note: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below:

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

And listen to our podcasts on Vet Voices On Air

Too Hot to Handle: The Truth About Canine Heatstroke

Heatstroke is one of the most lethal yet most misunderstood emergencies in veterinary medicine—and it doesn’t only happen on scorching summer days.

In this in-depth episode Robyn from Vet Voices on Air is joined by two leading voices in the field: Dr Emily Hall, primary care vet, educator, and researcher whose PhD focused on the epidemiology of heatstroke in UK dogs, and Emily Cockerill, referral RVN and Lowland Rescue search dog volunteer with extensive real-world experience managing dogs working in extreme conditions.

Together, they unpack what heatstroke actually is, why it’s so dangerous, and why time and temperature matter more than almost anything else. Using clear, evidence-based explanations, they explore what happens inside the body when temperatures rise—how proteins “cook,” organs fail, and why once a critical threshold is crossed, the damage is irreversible.

The conversation tackles long-standing myths head-on, including:
The belief that cold or ice water causes “shock”

➡Why wet towels can worsen overheating
➡The dangers of lemon juice in brachycephalic dogs
➡Misconceptions around double-coated breeds and clipping
➡Why ice cubes might not meaningfully cool dogs but can be used for indoor and cool enrichment

Crucially, the episode highlights that exertional heatstroke is the most common cause, not hot cars—and that heatstroke can occur in winter, during travel, stress, anaesthesia recovery, or even inside veterinary practices. Certain breeds and health conditions increase risk, but any dog (or cat, rabbit, or other small animal) can be affected if heat production exceeds the body’s ability to lose it.

Listeners will come away with clear, practical guidance on:

➡Recognising early and late signs of heatstroke
➡What owners should do immediately at home or in the field
➡Why pre-cooling before transport dramatically improves survival
➡Current best-practice protocols for active cooling in clinic
➡When to start and stop cooling based on body temperature
➡How prevention, timing, and informed decision-making save lives

If you’ve ever wondered when it’s too hot to walk your dog, how heatstroke presents beyond “just panting,” or what the evidence really says about cooling, this episode is essential listening—for veterinary professionals and pet owners alike.
Because when it comes to heatstroke, minutes matter—and myths can kill.

Listen Here on Vet Voices On Air

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5MMO1STWzFzyhYiExBp9gN?si=achtyAFISSSt8bwmykDHqg

21/05/2026

Charming puppy post.
Meet Chia, a working Cocker Spaniel.
She will be a very athletic dog, but she is still a little young to start agility. Instead, she will just love sniffing and retrieving games

20/05/2026

Mark and reward immediately ❓
Well, I’m here to tell you that this doesn’t work for every dog.
Food? Absolutely.
But there is a little talked about topic here and it's timing.

Yes, the marker word itself should absolutely happen at the exact moment the behaviour occurs.

But the food delivery?
For some dogs, this is where things can get a bit chaotic.

Particularly for dogs that already struggle with the following:
impulse control
over arousal
frustration
reactivity
or showing frantic anticipation around food

What can also happen for some dogs? Well, they’re firmly focused on your hand movement.
Those eyes are well and truly looked onto the “prize” and that can also mean they may only ever show you a brief “snippet” of the behaviour you wanted.
They’re now bouncing, jumping or nudging for it.

That behaviour you wanted can become “lost” in the excitement.
This can happen because we are told to mark, reward immediately, rinse and repeat.

That immediacy of the reward doesn’t work for all dogs.

And “all dogs”?
Well, that could be your dog.

20/05/2026

🐾Do you use topical spot-on products on your cats or dogs for the prevention of fleas? 🐾
Did you know there are new guidelines that have been issued by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)?
These guidelines are important to help protect the environment and our waterways.
More information can be found at https://bespotonaware.campaign.gov.uk/
🖤❤️Before using a product remember to check: ❤️🖤
🐾Weight - do you know your pet's up to date weight?
🐾Dose - is it the correct dose for your animal's weight?
🐾Route - is this a topical product to apply to the skin, or is it a tablet to give orally?
🐾Double check instructions - is this product safe for your pet? Some products are NOT safe to use for cats.

18/05/2026

Rosa was determined to be a golden girl last week. She belongs to an artist and independently she painted herself up. A tube of yellow paint had spilt under a work table. We often see blue, pink and purple as owner applied flourishes. A dog choosing a colour to match her collar and her own colouring is a first, most impressive. This really is Rosa's own work, her owner apologised for the accidental splash of colour.