The full conference provides over 30 hours of AbVMA, SVMA and CVBC-approved CE credits. All seminars will be recorded and available for streaming at a later date. The Comedy Night will not be recorded.
Saturday, May 27 Seminar topics
Sonya Gordon, Cardiology
Feline Cardiomyopathy: How to find it, stage it and treat it
Cardiomyopathies (CM) represent primary diseases of the myocardium that are characterized by a variety of phenotypes that may or may not be progressive and thus may or may not lead to the development of clinical signs. Other comorbid conditions, such as systemic hypertension and hyperthyroidism, can mimic feline CM and/or contribute to progression if left unmanaged in cats with CM, and thus should always be ruled-out in cats with known or suspected CM (Stage A through D). Initial clinical signs of CM can be acute and life threatening. Clinical signs associated with feline CM include those associated with congestive heart failure (CHF), arterial thromboembolism (ATE). This session will emphasize practical recommendations for screening, diagnosis and staging and treatment of CM.
No Echo-No Problem: Diagnosis of stage B2 MMVD
Myxomatous mitral valve disease is the most common cause of canine heart disease accounting for approximately 75% of all canine heart disease. Asymptomatic dogs with sufficient cardiomegaly 2nd to MMVD (Stage B2) benefit from pimobendan treatment. Echocardiography is the gold standard test for diagnosis and staging preclinical MMVD but may not be available in all practices and in some cases may be cost prohibitive. Thoracic radiographs alone or in combination with other clinical information can be used to discriminate between Stage B1 and B2 MMVD when echocardiography is not available.
What you to need know about pulmonary hypertension in dogs
Pulmonary hypertension is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the dog and is associated with many common canine diseases (MMVD, airway disease, Cushing’s disease etc.). In general, there are numerous etiologies of pulmonary hypertension (PH) which may be linked by a single unifying hypothesis: PH develops in dogs with an underlying genetic predisposition following exposure to specific stimuli(ae) which serve as triggers. These triggers can be grouped into categories based on common pathobiological features. Knowledge of these categories will aid in diagnosis and treatment of PH in dogs. This session will present a practical overview of PH in the dog with emphasis on the current ACVIM guidelines.
The great pretender: Pericardial disease in dogs
Pericardial effusion is a common complication of pericardial disease and can lead to life-threatening cardiac tamponade requiring immediate pericardiocentesis. However, signs of tamponade can pose a diagnostic dilemma because they are variable between patients and mimic other common cardiac diseases. Therefore, clinicians need to be familiar with the variety of clinical presentations that should raise suspicion for this disease, be familiar with the causes of pericardia disease, know the best diagnostic approach and how to perform emergency pericardiocentesis. This session will utilize a case example to review this topic with emphasis on practical clinical tips for success.
Sponsored by:
Kathy Spaulding: Radiology
Thorax: Pulmonary
Differentiating causes for varied lung patterns can be challenging and at times frustrating. This session will attempt to provide clues as to the underlying disease process by looking at specific patterns created by bronchial pathology, alveolar infiltrates and the appearance of different interstitial infiltrates. Lung cases demonstrating the various patterns and clues to the underlying disease will be discussed.
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Thorax: Cardiovascular
The cardiovascular system is dynamic, and knowledge of the heart border margins, chamber locations and sizes are critical in determining the acquired or congenital causes for diseases in our patients. Factors including age, breed, murmur characteristics are important in determining the underlying cause for the disease. This session will look at the normal heart with corresponding vessels and factors that cause them to vary in appearance. This will be followed
by pointing out specific recognizable changes in the appearance of the right heart / pulmonary vessels due to specific diseases. Changes in the heart size/shape and pulmonary vessels from left heart disease will be addressed. The appearance and helpful hints for recognizing generalized heart disease will be discussed. Practice cases for different heart diseases will be provided and discussed.
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Thorax: Pleura/ Mediastinum
The appearance and causes for a change in the opacity, shape and size of the pleural space and the mediastinum will be discussed and examples presented. These will include differentiating examples of fluid, air and masses in the pleural space. The normal appearance changes from abnormalities involving the structure of the mediastinum will be shown. These will include lymph nodes, thymic masses, esophageal dilation, foreign bodies and fluid or air in the mediastinum. Key pointers to assist in making a diagnosis will be given.
Abdomen: General Abdomen
In this session, organs including the liver, spleen, lymph nodes and pancreas will be addressed. The normal appearance and normal variances will be presented. Changes in shape and size or opacity will be examined to help determine an abnormality affecting a specific organ. Diffuse changes vs focal changes will be used to prioritize your differential diagnosis. Some disorders or diseases have a very specific change to look for and others have a more general change that could be from multiple causes. Helpful hints will be given to help decide how to prioritize the differential diagnosis. Cases will be presented to show examples of the changes seen with specific diseases.
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Abdomen: Gastrointestinal Tract
Examples of the normal appearance of different segments of the intestinal tract will be given and discussed. Abnormalities specific to the stomach including GDV, acute vs chronic pyloric outflow obstruction, neoplasia and foreign bodies will be presented. The radiographic appearance causes of different kinds of ileus of the small intestine will be explained. Obstruction via intussusception, foreign body, volvulus or tumor will also be presented. Examples of cecal and colonic diseases will be given. Rupture of the intestinal tract and how to recognize it will be shown. Different cases will then be shown to provide examples of gastrointestinal diseases.
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Abdomen: Urinary Diseases
This session will deal with the urinary tract. Changes in shape, size and opacity are good helpful indicators of disease. The kidneys, ureter and bladder will be examined to try to determine the underlying disease based on these factors. Examples of specific changes indicative of a disorder will be given. A differential diagnosis for more general changes will be discussed as well as the next step in the diagnostic tools that you may need to use. Examples of common and more challenging cases will be presented for discussion.
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Sponsored by:
Lisa Radosta: Behavior
One medicine: How medical and behavioural problems are one and the same
Ever wonder if your patient has a behavioural problem or a medical problem? Would you be surprised to find out that up to 82% of dogs referred to veterinary behaviourists by veterinarians have discomfort or pain? In our practice, we estimated that at least 50% of patients have a contributing disorder which is not behavioural in origin. Learn the most common clinical signs which can be confusing, the easiest ways to rule in or out a primary psychiatric disease and quick and easy approaches to treatment.
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Psychopharmacology: How medications work
Do you want to know how the medications used in behavioural medicine work so that you can make good choices for your patients? Attendees to this lecture will learn how medications work with a practical and ready for primary care approach.
Psychopharmacology: Making medication choices
Now that you have the knowledge of the medications available to you and how they work, it is time to learn about how to make the best choices for your patients. This lecture builds on the Psychopharmacology: How medications work lecture, and it is highly recommended that participants attend that lecture first to get the full benefit of this practical and case-based lecture.
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Behavioural Pharmacology Update
Are you still using fluoxetine and alprazolam for all of your separation anxiety cases? Unsure of where to go if your go-to doesn’t work? Attendees at this lecture will learn how to troubleshoot where to go next and how to utilize the newer classes of medications effectively.
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Behaviour Medication Guide: 5 medications that get pets to the vet!
Do you want to use medications to relieve anxiety and stress in your patients before they get to your office, but you don’t know which medications to prescribe? Are you unclear how to combine medications or how to approach the anxious patient medically? Attendees to this session will learn practical, real-life solutions to help them help their patients by making good medication choices.
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Feline Behaviour Update: A practical synopsis of the latest feline behavioural research
Times change and so does what we know about cats. Cats are more popular pets than dogs in many countries. Researchers are more interested than ever in helping cats live a better, happier, healthier life. Attendees at this lecture will learn the latest behavioural research in cats in digestible tidbits with clinical interpretation to practical tips that you can use the next day in your practice.
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Sponsored by:
Sunday, May 28 Seminar topics
Joint presentation with Sonya Gordon & Kathy Spaulding
Friendly Fire: A case-based debate on thoracic radiography between a cardiologist and a radiologist
This case-based discussion (between the two presenters) will cover a wide variety of disease processes in the dog and cat as they relate to thoracic radiography. The basics and relative clinical utility of thoracic radiography versus other imaging modalities will be highlighted.
Topics that will be emphasized include: hints to help identify specific cardiac chamber enlargement, specific breed/conformation challenges, patient positioning and view choice (which views are best to answer what question), what is normal?
A systematic approach to interpretation of findings in context of the entire case that stresses the importance of a good history will be used throughout the session. The goal is to make this session interesting and clinically relevant to a wide variety of practitioners.
Reading with the experts: Case-based interactive canine session
This session will include an interactive case-based Q&A approach to engage the audience and build on the concepts presented in the first session of the day. The questions will present several clinical vignettes and seek answers from the audience to questions regarding specific diagnostic findings, radiographic diagnosis, and additional recommended diagnostic tests. The presenters will review the cases and provide feedback to the attendees related to their answers with emphasis on diagnostic challenges, diagnostic rule-outs, diagnosis and what, if any is the best next diagnostic step. The cases will cover common disorders/presentations that require thoracic radiographs.
Reading with the experts: Case-based interactive feline session
This session is identical in format and style to the case-based interactive canine session above but with a focus on feline disorders.
100 Shades of Grey
Reading radiographic cases can be very challenging even for experienced veterinarians and specialists. This session will be a case-based discussion format that takes advantage of the variety of expertise and experience of both presenters. Difficult cases encompassing a wide variety of conditions that are not commonly diagnosed will be utilized with emphasis on their contrast to more common conditions and the role of other imaging modalities and diagnostic tests. Interpretation of discrepancies in diagnostic modalities will be emphasized when appropriate. This session will build on prior sessions but the level of difficulty will be increased to challenge experienced practitioners.
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Sponsored by:
Lisa Radosta: Behavior
Biting the hand that feeds you. Treating aggression in primary care
What do you say to the dog owner whose dog growls at her grandkids or bit a neighbor. Learn how to handle these tough situations in primary care.
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Play nice!
Why dogs are aggressive to housemates and what you can do about it.
Ever wonder why dogs who have gotten along for years, then suddenly don’t? Attendees will learn the factors affecting inter-dog aggression in the same household and practical tips for managing this problem in dogs.
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Survival Guide: Your essential guide to managing feline aggression
Cats can feel like enigmas, little furry mysteries tightly wrapped in riddles defying explanation. In reality, cats are just like us and most other animals, wanting control over their level of anxiety, fear and stress; looking for ways to cope with their environment. In this essential guide, you will gain a practical understanding of the underlying causes of stress and tips and tricks that you can take back to work the next day.
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Separation Anxiety Solutions: 5 Tips for Treating Separation Anxiety
Do you want to treat separation anxiety, but are unsure how to make it work in the primary care practice model where you rely mostly on your support staff and time is of the essence? In this lecture, you will learn how to approach and treat separation anxiety cases in the primary care setting. Build your confidence with the tips in this lecture.
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Noise Phobia update.
The newest, greatest and latest in the diagnosis and treatment of noise phobia. Noise aversion or phobia affects up to 50% of dogs. The chameleon of behaviour disorders, clinical signs can look like generalized anxiety, lack of housetraining, separation anxiety and frustration related behaviours. Learn to recognize, triage and treat!
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Don’t Dread Feline Behaviour Appointments:
Learn How to Successfully Triage and Treat the Problems Do you find yourself wanting to help cats with behaviour problems, but not knowing where to start? Are you having a tough time seeing those behaviour cases in your regularly scheduled appointment time? If so, this lecture can help! If you are looking for a practical way to approach feline behaviour problems in primary care, this lecture is for you. Attendees to this lecture will become familiar with quick fixes, band-aids and first appointment recommendations to help with feline behavior cases.
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Rethinking OA treatment to avoid refractory case scenarios
OA starts much earlier than anticipated and there is a high prevalence of OA in younger dogs. Early vigilant intervention from veterinarians & client education are imperative as is using treatments to prevent the upregulation of different areas of the pain pathway which can result in late stage OA. The goals are to slow down the progression of OA by decreasing pain & inflammation and adding chondroprotective support early.
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Antibiotic resistant pyoderma: approaching pyoderma in the age of MRSP
With the rising incidence of MSRP worldwide, we not only need ways we can treat resistant infections but also need ways we can reduce our use of systemic antibiotics. Antimicrobial stewardship is up to all of us, and there are new novel approaches to infections that can avoid and/or minimize the use of antimicrobials in your practice. We will discuss MRSP and topical therapy as well as touch on the importance of preventing these infections from reoccurring.
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Sponsored by:
Prebiotics For Gastrointestinal And Host Health
Have you ever wondered what is the difference between a fibre and a prebiotic? Or why some of your patients respond differently to prebiotics? At the Purina Institute, we believe science is more powerful when it’s shared. As a global professional organization, the Purina Institute shares Purina’s leading-edge research and evidence-based information from the wider scientific community in an accessible, actionable way with a goal of empowering veterinary professionals to put nutrition at the forefront of pet health discussions to further improve and extend the healthy lives of pets through nutrition. During this seminar, we will review the differences and similarities between dietary fibres and prebiotics, some of the common prebiotics used for dogs and cats, why things don’t always go according to plan, and how you can use prebiotics in clinical practice to benefit your patients (spoiler alert: it’s not just for poop!).
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Conflict Resolution
Attendees will learn how to reduce conflicts with co-workers and clients by using a calm approach, empathy and curiosity to reduce tension. They will get tips on how to diffuse escalating situations, identify toxic staff members and learn tools and consequences to put in place to address bad behaviours. Theresa will also show how to improve employee engagement, foster a positive workplace and protect their employees from abusive clients.
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Conny Mosley, Anesthesia
Becky Valentine, Dermatology
Helen Newton, Gastro
Theresa Collins-Nelson, Certified Business Coach
Conference Social Meet and Greet in the Atrium
