00:36
S1
On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to the show with me, your host Harriet Moffat. Today I'm being joined by two guests. The first is Brett McCarthy, a breeding operations officer from the breeding department at seeing dogs. She's going to be talking to me about the IGDF, that is the International Guide Dog Federation conference that was held in Vancouver in Canada earlier this year.
And then I'm going to be joined by Dr. Ash Mooney from the team. We're going to be talking about healthy treats for your dog, as well as a little snippet of a previous interview we did about bad teeth and breath and what to do if your dog's breath is getting a little bit stinky.
Without further ado, here is my interview with Brett. I hope you enjoy. Hey, Brent, thank you for joining me on the show today.
S2
Thank you for having me, Harriet.
S1
Just to start off, what is your role at Seeing Eye Dogs?
S2
I work in the breeding department as a breeding operations officer.
S1
Just for anyone who's not aware, what does that mean?
S2
I oversee with my colleagues the day-to-day operations of the adult dogs in the breeding program. This goes from everything from the care of the dogs in their homes day to day up, holding their training that they learn to puppies all the way through to mating and pregnancy.
S1
Well, you've been on a pretty interesting trip recently representing seeing eye dogs at a conference in Canada. Could you please tell us a little bit about... Well, I'll ask you a bit about the conference, but just to actually start off, what is the IGDF?
S2
The IGF is the International Guide Dog Federation. They formed in 1989. There was across the world at the time a growing demand for guide dog organisations. And the organisations were looking for a way to recognise each other and unite with other guide dog service providers. With the new federation, member organisations would be able to communicate easily with each other, exchange information and experience in breeding, training, handling and assessing dogs for guide work, and also would have an overseeing body for industry regulation and also to offer advice from member schools.
S1
So the conference was the IGDF conference, which is why I was asking you for anyone who's not aware what the IGDF is, what countries and schools are represented not only at the conference but in the IGDF in general.
S2
In the IGDF, there are 97 member organisations from 35 countries across the world, including all, you know, Australia, New Zealand, UK, America, Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Singapore, many countries across the world. There are also 17 applicant organisations from a further seven countries, six inquiring organisations from a further two countries and five affiliate organisations from four countries.
It's... the scope of the IDF is quite amazing with all the different schools that they're able to unite across the world. And in 2022, there were 20,291 guide dogs currently working 2426 Guide dogs trained during 2021 13,514 Aftercare visits for client dog teams, 6248 individual employees and 34,033 individual volunteers. So the scope of the IGDF is huge. It's amazing.
S1
Wow, that is a lot of numbers. If you're a stats person, I feel like that is music to your ears in terms of the impact of the IgDF in numbers.
S2
Absolutely. If you are interested in the IDF, you can access their website at Exalt UK.
S1
So back to the conference. What sort of topics and presentations were covered at the IDF conference?
S2
There was a lot of topics covered over the three days. So Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all conference days. There was a range of panel discussions and workshops and presentations from ethical training, early puppy development, improving behavior, monitoring across colonies, fading pregnant and lactating dogs, the science behind the dog and client relationship, how to ask the best questions on application forms. So a wide range of topics. That's just a small number of the things that were covered over the three days. So lots of different topics for different departments for all parts of the guide dog process.
05:09
S1
Well, yeah, from kind of birth to your work to retirement type of thing.
S2
All the way through.
S1
So what is the kind of overall purpose of the conference other than kind of sharing some of that information?
S2
Well, the conference is a great way for all of the member schools who usually work, you know, very far from each other to come together, um, exchange, like I said, exchange information, meet each other, talk to each other and see what different schools are doing in different parts of the world.
Are they having the same, you know, problem points that we might be having? Have they worked with, you know, different training problems that we have? What's going well for them and what ideas do they have to share with us and what can we share with other organisations that could help them? So it's a really collaborative environment. It's great for us all to meet each other from different parts of the world and a lot of fun for us too.
S1
I can imagine that would be some interesting kind of language. Language barriers to some things as well. Was there translation for some of these kind of events and talks and stuff?
S2
There was. There were two provided translation services for Japan and France, and then other member schools brought their own translation services as well. So, yes, everybody could access the information. The information can also be translated that was received through the presentations, can be translated at a later date and circulated through other member schools who may not have attended.
S1
So when it comes to some of that information that's shared in that knowledge, we didn't just kind of go and learn things. We did actually kind of share and present some things, too. When I say we, I mean seeing our dogs and and the team that went, what topics or posters did seeing our dogs kind of present or share at the conference?
S2
Yeah, we were really fortunate that there were four different presentations from being dogs staff at the conference. Manager of the training program, Kylie Gersh, presented in a panel discussion on traffic training Paul Adrian the Seeing Eye Dogs Advisor for Strategy and Change, presented on the launch of the Education website in collaboration with staff from Guide Dogs UK and Guide Dogs Queensland. There were poster presentations from senior puppy attendant Jake Brown and senior puppy development trainer Kim Ruach on the Puppy Centre Confidence course, which you may have seen through the windows in the foyer of our puppy centre. And there was also a poster presentation from Kylie and puppy development trainer Abby Howes on the animal welfare strategy that is currently taking place at CGI Dogs.
So yeah, we were there to share our knowledge with our fellow member schools as well.
S1
And what a talented team we have and that we could share with the with the world. How cool.
S2
Yeah, it's fantastic to also have representation from the different departments in the different parts of the process to creating a seeing eye dog.
S1
As far as the kind of I guess in summary, are there any main takeaways that you are seeing Eidos and the team took away from the conference?
S2
Well, we brought away lots of different ideas for us to incorporate here at seeing eye dogs. And a lot of the conversations that happened throughout the conference were different ideas for various projects that will be able to start here at seeing dogs to complement our current training and breeding programs, which is really exciting. One of the really great takeaways I think we all had was how seeing Eye Dogs is really up there with the rest of the world and innovative training, welfare, handling of dogs across all our departments.
And even though in size wise, our schools are not maybe not as big as some of the schools in the UK and the US who have been around for a really long time and have really large programs in terms of what we deliver. We're definitely on par with them, which is, yeah, a really nice takeaway for us to know that we're all heading in the right direction and then we can also help other schools who are coming up through as well and building their programs.
S1
It's kind of both exciting and also a good kind of thing as well that you guys are really you're looking at projects too, so it's not like kind of becoming complacent. It's not like we can sit back and our work is done. It's continually innovating.
S2
Yeah, absolutely. We're always looking for things that we can bring into our programs to help get the best out of our dogs.
09:29
S1
As far as a specific kind of to your role kind of part of that conference. Was there another conference or similar kind of work specific to the breeding team that you'd like to share?
S2
There was. So after the three days of the International Guide Dogs Federation conference finished up, the Breeding and Veterinary Department stayed on for the International Working Dog Breeders Association conference, which luckily was also held in Vancouver in Canada. And this conference brought together different working dog breeders with different dogs for purpose. So in different types of assistance roles across the world to talk about breeding specifically, which was really fantastic for another three days of conference.
S1
Three days of of conference for that thing, especially for the IG where you're covering so much must have been so jampacked. I forgot there was only three days.
S2
There was a lot. Yeah. Across the two conferences. Six days there was a lot to take in. But yeah, we've all come away with. Yeah. Great new knowledge to add and Yeah that was, it was great.
S1
Yeah. Was there anything specific that you would like to share about the kind of content of the, of the breeding thing or as an overview of the breeding conference or as an overview of that?
S2
The breeding conference covered a lot of topics we did. It was a slightly different setup to the first conference, so we had two days of presentations where the topics focused on lots of different parts of the breeding process, from selection of new breeders to managing your colony numbers and how how different health screenings and different behavior assessment tools.
And on the last day was split into veterinary and behavior components where I spent a whole day doing behavior scoring and assessment, which was really great to have a practical side of the day after sitting in conference calls for five days, which was fantastic. But yeah, it was good to get out and do some practical activities as well.
S1
And so that will all be kind of brought to the future of seeing our dogs and the next generation kind of how you look at those dogs going forward.
S2
Yeah, absolutely. There are different there are some things that we're already doing which is great and just little different added bits of information that we can add to our processes and yes, different things to learn as well. You know, we talked about things like how to keep breeding dogs fit and healthy and, and yeah, dealing with, you know, different things that come up through the process. So yeah, it was, yeah, really good to be able to bring back some, some more ideas into our own work.
S1
You've been listening to the [indistinct] show on Vision Australia Radio. Hope you enjoyed my interview with Brett McCarthy, breeding operations officer at Inox. If you'd like to find out more about that, head to their website at igg4 -dot-org-dot-UK.
And now here are my interviews with Ash talking about healthy treats for your dog and dental hygiene. What types of training treats are dog safe?
S3
So there's lots and lots of treats on the market. Certainly you can always use their kibble as a training treat. It's not going to be the most high value treat. But if you have any animal that is maybe obese or has dietary sensitivities, that might be a really safe bet for you to use something like that.
Other things you can do is, like there's so many treats on the market at pet stores my dog really enjoys. They're like little yogurt cribs. I found that those are one of the highest value treat for her. Um, but just be aware that they do melt in the sun. So, you know, be be a bit wary about that.
S1
Get very messy in a treat pouch. I have experienced the same.
S3
Yeah. Yeah. They get very, very messy but they're certainly well enjoyed by the dogs. Um, a lot of that clinics will use things like beef liver or like some dried chicken or even like fish. And so those are quite high value, especially the fishy ones. I find that dogs quite like those.
But just be aware if your dog does have a sensitive tummy or any sort of food allergies, know that those are things that are used at that clinics quite frequently. And if your vet goes to give them a treat, just ask what the tree is and make sure that it's compatible with your own animal.
Another good one is peanut butter or Vegemite. I know that we, we use that quite a lot at the dogs kennels as enrichment, but you can also use it for for training. Use like a little licky mat. You can use it for, you know, getting them to pay attention to certain things, or as a distraction while while something else is happening. Sometimes I'll smear some, some peanut butter on the floor, on the exam table while I'm doing something a bit more invasive. And most of them just kind of happily look at it while I'm, while I'm doing that.
Yeah, there's. There's just so many, I guess. Just make sure that the treat is small enough that it's easy for you to give in small amounts. And if you are going to use a lot of treats for training, just consider how much food you're actually giving your dog at meal times, because the treats are adding to it, so you don't want to end up making your dog fat on accident because you've been feeding them to huge meals and then also giving them a meal's worth of treats throughout the day.
So sometimes for, for dogs that are in training or doing a lot of work, we don't even necessarily feed them their meal because they get their entire meals worth of food throughout the day as training treats.
15:27
S1
I know I tend to kind of throw like, you know, half a cup in and then like the rest of the cup is used or, sorry, then, then the rest of the meal which is around a cup approximately will be used for like a big walk or something like that. And it really helps the dog, really helps keep the weight down but also keeps the dog happy.
S3
Yeah, definitely.
S1
So what are the types of training treats to avoid and why?
S3
So anything that's super fatty you want to avoid, raw treats. So things like prime 100 rolls, those are really, really good. But you need to be aware that anything that's raw will go off. So if it's something that's meant to be refrigerated, don't let it sit in your treat pouch for a day and then keep feeding it to your animal because by then it won't be safe to feed them anymore. It is something that's meant to stay in the refrigerator and be used quite quickly.
I guess, yeah, just just the main things to be aware of is, looking out for product recalls as well. If you're buying stuff out of the pet shops, there's quite little regulation over what can be sold as animal food. So when in doubt, contact your vet. If it's a new product that you're trying out and it has all sorts of ingredients that you can't understand, just bring it to somebody who does have experience with those things and can read the label for you and let you know whether or not it is safe to give to your animal.
It can get a bit complex once you start getting into like little biscuits and things that are clearly processed where you aren't sure what it was. But if it is something where it's a single protein treat, so like that beef liver, those are typically safe in moderation.
S1
What about something like the kind of societal issue in peanut butter?
S3
Yeah. So artificial sweeteners can definitely be dangerous. I know that there's a lot of peanut butters out there that are now coming out with like a dog friendly one. Um, so it's kind of like some of the things that people say for human nutrition now where you don't want to get something that's super processed. If you're going to go for a peanut butter, try to go for one that's on the ingredients list, literally just says peanuts. You know, the fewer ingredients there are, the less likely it is that one of them is going to be toxic and, you know, less preservatives and all of that.
There's also all sorts of new preservatives, preservatives that come out all the time. And, you know, we might might just not have enough time to figure out if they're toxic to animals or not before they're on the market. So, yeah, certainly, yeah. The xylitol is, is a big concern. There are websites that let you know what products have xylitol in them. So if you are reading the label and you're confused, you can look it up because...
S1
I think there was a there have been a few names of it as well. Something like Burnt Sugar that someone said, Oh, by the way, this is also and it's, you know, sounds so innocuous, if that is, I think that's the one that I was thinking of, you know, sounds, sounds natural and sounds like a just a different type of sugar, you know, like but it's potentially a little bit more worrying.
S3
Yeah. Guess if it's something that you don't know for sure is safe for your animal, just look it up or ask a vet. There's all sorts of, um, you know, different terms. And you if it's, if it's something like Bert Sugar where it comes up and you're like, don't know what Burnt Sugar is, maybe, maybe to have a quick Google and see what it is.
S1
Yeah, I did just Google it as we were speaking and I think that is actually how it is, also how it is also marketed, which is, yeah, a little, little bit worrying. I think when I've looked for peanut butter, I sometimes try to go for those ones that say, you know, no sweetener because then I know I don't have to sift through an ingredients list.
But is it? Do we have to worry about, you know, with for a little bit of peanut butter? You know, some of them say, you know, peanuts and then vegetable oil might be the other ingredient is the amount of kind of oil is in. That is not necessarily something to be particularly concerned about if you're only giving it as a small treat.
S3
Yeah. If you're only giving it as a small treat, it should be fine. It's just when it's, you know, the dog has gotten into the entire bowl of peanut butter and is absolutely gorgeous themselves that you need to start worrying about with that specifically with peanut butter. It should always just be everything in moderation, even if it's a safe treat. If you give too many of them, your dog's probably going to have some diarrhea. So just just using a bit of common sense there.
20:01
S1
What toys or chews pose more risks to dogs that we have that we should be aware of?
S3
So in terms of toys, you should always be aware of soft toys - so some dogs can tolerate soft toys and they don't destroy them, but some dogs will just destroy them and eat the stuffing or eat the little squeakers out of them. So if your dog is likely to destroy them, I just say don't use soft toys at all. The same goes for bedding. Dogs can sometimes consume bedding, which is which is also quite concerning.
Other things to look out for are certain types of bones. So cooked bones are certainly dangerous, but even the bones that you get at the pet store might be either the inappropriate size for your dog, either being, you know, way too large so that they, they do consume too much and they, they get a bit unwell or so small that they swallow it, and run into issues with it being stuck.
Tennis balls are a big one. I have to remove several tennis balls from animals surgically a year, especially the little tennis balls that are made for for smaller dogs mostly. I know.
S1
Mm. Sorry. Mostly whole.
S3
Yeah. Often whole. Sometimes they can even be just half a tennis ball. Even just half a tennis ball can be as dangerous. But that's just something to be aware of. If you are a small dog owner, maybe don't bring the tiny tennis ball with you to the dog park because sometimes the big dog will see it, grab it, and then just instantly swallow it. And and that's something that's quite dangerous.
So just being a bit mindful that even if it's appropriately sized for your own dog, if you bring it to a public place, it might not be appropriately sized for a different dog that's there.
S1
It's a lot to think about. And I guess it's one of those things in general with with like potentially just supervision. And you'll have to know, I guess, whether it's whether your dog can be trusted with things like soft toys or their bedding, not like kind of Wait and see and then come back and see those risks.
S3
Yeah, definitely. Never just use the wait and see approach. Always supervise them. And then when in doubt, um, you know, intervene or get in contact with your vet.
S1
Why might a dog have bad breath? And is bad breath in dogs normal?
S3
There's dog breath which some people might think is bad, and then there's actual, I guess, infected dog breath. So there's a difference between the two. I guess familiarising yourself with what normal, clean mouth dog breath smells like is important. Typically they have bad breath either because they're eating something that is causing that to happen.
I've noticed a lot of dogs that are on more of like the raw food diet can have bad breath. And then the other cause would be that plaque or tartar buildup on their teeth or, you know, some gingivitis. Any sort of infectious process in the mouth will cause bad breath. And a lot of the times when we get animals that need many teeth removed, the reason they're brought to the vet is because the owner has noticed that their breath has gotten really, really stinky more than it had been in the past.
S1
How can you work out what is normal and healthy for your dog and what is a symptom of an issue that needs treating?
S3
If you look at your dog's teeth, they should be nice and pearly white from where they meet the gums all the way down. If you're noticing brown or gray discoloration or, you know, it's like quite bulky on top of it. That's likely to be plaque that needs to be removed. So if your dog has stinky breath and you're noticing some browning or graying towards the the gum line of the teeth, probably best to bring them to your vet and ask about a dental cleaning or if you see kind of a red line where the gums meet the teeth, that's the sign of gingivitis.
So another thing that you would need to to check in with your vet about if none of those things are occurring, your dog has beautiful pearly white teeth and you can't think of anything else. It's possibly diet related, so maybe changing their food. Seeing if it's related to that.
Something to note is that when puppies lose their baby teeth kind of around the 4 to 6 month old range, they will have some gingivitis. So you might notice a bad smell coming from their mouth at that stage. And it's just because all of their baby teeth are falling out. It gets a bit inflamed, causing the bad smell. And once the adult teeth are fully out, the smell should resolve.
S1
So what are the causes of bad breath that are problematic for dogs?
S3
Yeah. Yeah. So any sort of inflammation that's going on there can be quite bad. They can also get things like tumors or abscesses which are just little pockets of pus at the roots of their teeth. So those are things that might just, you might notice as bad breath that are actually a bit more serious and require quite rapid surgery usually in order to resolve.
So there's a lot of different issues that can cause it. I'd say the most common one is just the teeth being quite dirty and having a lot of buildup on them. And if it's not that, then it's definitely something that requires a more thorough veterinary exam, potentially some X-rays or something like that, to see what's going on at the level of the roots, because unfortunately our eyes are not X-rays, so we can't always see what's going on underneath the surface.
And so you do sometimes need to do a bit more investigation in order to determine the cause. If it's not just the the normal diet or dirty teeth.
25:40
S1
How can you monitor your dog's teeth, gums and mouth for any oral hygiene issues before they become issues.
S3
When they're panting? That's probably the easiest time to see their teeth, especially if they're fearful of you handling their mouth. So when I'm examining a dog that needs to be muzzled for examination, for example, I'll watch them while they're panting, while I'm just chatting with the owner and I'll kind of get a glimpse of their teeth at that point at home, you know, getting your dog comfortable with you, petting its face, you know, lifting up its lip so that you can actually look at the teeth.
Those are all really good things to work on, especially if you have a young dog. Starting from a young age is always best, but you really have to be guided by your own animal. And if it's something that's really distressing for them or potentially dangerous for you, I don't recommend doing it. But if you're able to work with your dog, you're able to make it a positive experience. Just, you know, lifting up the lip and having a look for any sort of discoloration on the teeth, any lumps or anything like that or redness of the gums are all good things to be checking for on a regular basis.
S1
And I guess just to finish off, why is it important and why should people pay attention and care to their dog's dental hygiene?
S3
It's really about their quality of life. Most dogs will eat despite anything. And I've seen dogs that who have had their teeth pretty much falling out, which I could imagine would be insanely painful, who are still eating. So not not leaving it until your dog stops eating is really important. You know, the earlier you get it checked out, the less pain they'll be in and they'll be able to live a much happier, longer life if you really pay attention to their teeth because it's really one of the most important things in their body that helps them eat.
So yeah, making sure that they're nice and comfy and healthy is really, really important.
S1
And from from my understanding as well, really bad kind of dental disease doesn't just affect the mouth, it can kind of cause other issues that are more serious as well. Not not not more serious, but that are serious as well, isn't it?
S5
Yeah. You know, you can certainly have the infection going into other parts of the body or even spreading just like locally into the jaw and causing a lot of issues with infection, pain and just really making it hard for them to eat. I've seen some animals progressed to needing a feeding tube because of how infected their mouths have become. And if if it had been addressed, you know, even a year earlier than that, it wouldn't have progressed to that point.
28:19
S1
You've been listening to the show on Vision Australia Radio. Hope you enjoyed my interviews with Brett McCarthy, Seeing Eye Dogs breeding officer and Dr. Ash Mooney from the Seeing Eye Dogs Vet team.
If you'd like to find out more information about seeing the work we do or how you can help, head to our website at Vision Australia-dot-org for more episodes of the Seeing a Dog Show and other Great Australia radio shows, head to our Omni FM page on the internet or your preferred podcast provider. Thank you for listening and don't forget to tune in same time next week for another episode of the [indistinct] show.
