Y3S1 Week 15: Trying Dog Food, the Gut Microbiome, and CVF Friendsgiving!

This week started off with a quick run around the block followed by some interval training at the rec center. We then transitioned into an anesthesia and surgery discussion session on GDV. This session was a nice addition to the lecture last week, and we had the opportunity to think through a treatment plan for a patient with this condition and then understand the surgical approach. We were also able to see a few different degrees of this disease and how that may impact our decision on how much of the stomach we can resect along with the prognosis for our patients.

The rest of the morning included an ethics discussion in our comparative course. This discussion involved a lot of “hot topics” in veterinary medicine. Prior to this class we were all assigned a topic within our groups that was either pro or con on a controversial topic. We then spent the two-hour session debating these topics with our classmates. Some of the topics included debarking dogs, declawing cats, joint injections in sport horses, amputating a limb in large animals, and ear cropping in dogs. These topics seem to have an obvious “right” answer, but it was interesting to hear the supporting side since many owners may be in favor of these tactics. As veterinarians, it is our job to provide education and advocate for our patients, so this discussion allowed us to better understand how to address owners with varying opinions on these topics.

The rest of the afternoon involved two interview prep sessions with awesome Cal Poly students. I love having the opportunity to chat with these students and help them prepare for their big day. I then spent some time on the field with Churro and got in some studying before calling it an early night.

Tuesday started off with a 3 miler around the park followed by a nice hot yoga session. We then transitioned into a lecture on the prevention and management of obesity. Almost 40% of animals are overweight or obese, so this topic is extremely important to understand. We talked about the health risks associated with obesity and some weight loss strategies that may help our patients. The subsequent lecture was on dietary fiber and carbohydrates.

Dogs and cats do not have a specific need for carbohydrates in their diet, but the addition of fiber has a plethora of health benefits. It helps bulk the stool and feed the gut microbiome, which helps keep the animal healthy. The last lecture for the morning included a deep dive into pet food labels and marketing. This discussion was illuminating, and the ways companies bend the truth about their product with the goal of enticing owners to purchase their product is wild! We investigated the ingredient list of a few foods and found that one brand claimed that their food was packed with the superfood blueberries. Once we did the calculations, we found that in the whole bag there was less than one full blueberry. It is unlikely that any benefit is associated with that minuscule amount of blueberries.

During lunch we continued with our book study on Relaxed and explored chapter 4 which was based on the “on your own understanding” portion of Proverbs 3: 5-6. As a group we discussed the difference between wisdom and knowledge and how we are called to trust in God’s plans for our lives instead of trying to figure everything out on our own. We don’t know the whole story and frankly, it would be overwhelming if we did. In the book, Megan brought up the analogy of a GPS. It would be wild if the GPS gave every single direction as soon as you hopped in the car. We only need to know the next step, which is also how life works. We won’t know with certainty how the next week, month, or year will look, but we can trust that He has a plan for us and following the “next step” will get us there.

 The rest of the afternoon we had some time to work on our upcoming case-based discussion and supplement activity. I also had the opportunity to do another interview prep session with an awesome Cal Poly student. Churro and I also spent some quality time on the field and did some lecture review.

Wednesday morning began with a nice 8 miler with Churro, followed by a discussion on surgical and anesthetic techniques for an acute abdomen. This was our final discussion for the gastrointestinal sub-block, and it helped tie together many of the big concepts we had been exploring the week prior. We ended the morning with a lecture centered around common nutrition myths and questions. This was an awesome lecture and provided additional insight into the deception of marketing.

During lunch, I had the opportunity to walk around the arboretum before heading back for our pet food evaluation lab. This lab consisted of 13 stations and provided us with the opportunity to apply many of the concepts we had been learning over the past week. We were able to perform some diet calculations, see how companies were using marketing claims and compare/contrast different diets and brands. We also had the opportunity to taste certain products. I am personally someone who spends time in the pet store comparing brands and looking at different ingredient lists, so this lab was a fun way to better understand what I should be looking for in a pet food and how to not fall victim to the marketing. The rest of the afternoon included some quality time with Churro followed by some lecture review.

We will save you the trouble of trying it yourself, it tastes exactly how it smells...

Thursday morning kicked off with a quick run with Churro, followed by a hot yoga session and a swim. We then had our weekly morning prayer meeting. It is so amazing to continue to see students make the time in the morning to pray for each other and the school before diving into the busy day. Our morning lecture lineup included a lecture on feeding hospitalized patients, homemade diets, and a supplement discussion activity. These lectures did a wonderful job of highlighting the adjustments that need to be made when addressing sick or injured patients. It was also great to review the potential harm that can occur when an animal is fed a homemade diet without the assistance of a veterinary nutritionist. I did a deep dive into this topic a few years ago, and if you are interested in learning more, you can check out this link. The supplement activity was also a nice way to look into different products and assess their potential benefits/harm as well as their marketing. My partner and I were assigned a No Toot Gas Aid. Our product summary can be found here.

After the morning lectures I was done for the day and was able to get in a quick chiropractor appointment followed by some cleaning. The rest of the afternoon included some playtime with Churro on the field followed by some studying. The evening ended with an awesome VetGirl webinar on the gut microbiome by Dr. Sina Marsilio. We had the privilege of learning from Dr. Marsilio during our GI sub-block and in addition to being double boarded in internal medicine (UK and US) she is the gut health guru. After providing a brief overview of the composition of the microbiome, she dove into the impact that chronic GI conditions as well as the impact antimicrobials can have on the current and future health of the microbiome. I learned that children treated with antibiotics at a young age were roughly 2x as likely to develop IBD as they grew older and if they had taken multiple courses of antibiotics, that risk was even higher. Similar issues have been seen in our veterinary patients, especially with the use of antimicrobials such as metronidazole. Even after these medications have been discontinued, the gut microbiome is not always able to fully bounce back. The webinar continued with a discussion on pre- and pro-biotics followed by some information on fecal microbiome transplants which are becoming more prevalent in human medicine. These tools can be used to help increase the diversity of the microbiome and thus directly impact the health of the host. The talk ended with a wrap up discussion on two cases, and we saw how this information could be applied in a clinical setting. Overall, I personally enjoyed this webinar and think that focusing on the microbiome has the potential to positively impact the health of our patients. Last year I did a deeper dive into the gut microbiome and that article can be found here.

Friday morning began with a 3 miler with Churro followed by some resistance training at the rec center. We then had an introductory lecture on companion animal behavior followed by a lecture on psychotropic medications. Medication plays a huge role in animal behavior management so it was interesting to learn how these drugs work on a physiological level and how they can be a useful tool with the addition of professional training and medical management. We then transitioned into a comparative species discussion on aggression. This session was also led by our behavior team and was a nice continuation of our morning lectures. We dove into a few cases on dog behavior and then worked through a few equine cases. This discussion brought up some challenging topics, such as behavioral euthanasia, and it was interesting to hear different perspectives on the topic.

During lunch I had the chance to walk around the arboretum before heading back to class for a lecture on puppy socialization. This topic is something that every general practitioner will get asked about during their career so having some resources and a general understanding of the key socialization points is crucial for future success. Dr. Bain provided us with some great resources for owners along with a nice overview of the key socialization periods in a puppy’s development. Once resource is the Ultimate Puppy Toolkit which has a plethora of information on how to raise a rockstar puppy.

The rest of the afternoon included a communication discussion to help us prepare for the upcoming client simulation. This simulation is titled “challenging client communication” and we will be randomly assigned a difficult situation and handle it as if we were a veterinarian in a general practice setting. These simulations are always a great way to learn and practice communication techniques that will come in handy in the near future.

That evening Katelyn and I hosted a Thanksgiving social for the CVF club. It was wonderful spending some time with everyone, and I am grateful that so many of them chose to spend their valuable time hanging out with us. It has been a true privilege watching this club grow this year, and I am constantly impressed by not only their faithfulness but also their vulnerability and willingness to get into the hard parts of life. So many of them have openly shared their hearts, and I think that is what makes this community so special.

CVF Family ♡

Saturday morning began with a nice 7 miler with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. I then spent some time reviewing for the upcoming GI final and getting a few things done around the house. Churro and I spent some quality time on the field, and the rest of the afternoon included some additional lecture review, more snuggle time with Churro, and an early bedtime.

Sunday kicked off with a quick three miler with Churro followed by a hot yoga session with Raymond. I then went to church and did some grocery shopping before heading home to study for the GI final. The rest of the day included some playtime with Churro on the field and some additional review.

Quote of the week: “You don’t have to like kids, but you do have to protect kids.” -Dr. Bain on explaining how to deal with a potentially aggressive dog in the household