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Press Release

Vet Matters – May issue

Vet Matters – May issue

 

We’re in post BSAVA spirits and this issue; we take you through the main highlights of the Congress. We’re talking selfie booths, Twitter fun, clinical skill brushing up and more. it was all going on in Birmingham. Read Vet Matters May issue. Don’t forget to sign up to get regular updates from us. 

Being social at BSAVA Congress

 

Being social at BSAVA Congress

The weather might have delivered sunshine and showers but indoors it was sweetness and light all the way at BSAVA congress. This year, Hill’s concentrated on creating a place where the veterinary community could chill out with friends. The Hill’s Together Zone offered Barista style coffee to weary delegates and a foodie treat. From bacon rolls, to chocolate brownies, when the cognitive and social demands of congress started to hit, we like to think we had just the right antidote.

 

There was an opportunity to grab 15 minutes of fame with interviews to camera taking place on Friday and the selfie booth available throughout. We asked you to embrace your #vetsuperpower and provided a few props. The results were spectacular and laugh out loud funny. If you haven’t had the chance to see any vet superpower selfies we recommend visiting our vet professional pages on Facebook and Twitter.

 

If you want to see a rose between two psychedelic wigs, or check out the winning combination of powerful positivity and exceptionally big ears, it’s on our selfie stream. Find out what the ‘most wanted’ superpowers were and see if you can guess who is beneath the cunning (or should that be slightly deranged?) superhero disguises.

 

After all the craziness you might think that downstairs in the commercial exhibition it was back down to Earth with a bump but in the main hall the Hill’s stand was all big screens and space-age cubes. Despite the futuristic theme (robots can’t quite match up to our Territory Managers), many of you caught up to chew the fat about new Metabolic Plus. 

 

One tradition that has stayed the course is our prize draw and Lucy Bull - Vets4Pets Lincoln South and Karen Young of Young’s Vet Hospital in Cambridgeshire got lucky- each winning a Red Letter Day voucher worth £300.

 

Over at the ICC anyone using the Twitter hashtag BSAVA15 had a chance to have their say on a big screen between lectures and debates. Vets and nurses attending the Vet Futures session had every opportunity to scare themselves senseless by taking part in scenario building – tips on how to handle a zoonotic strain of canine influenza anybody?

 

All in all, plenty of opportunities to exercise the imagination as well as the brain. We hope you had as much fun as we did.

 

What they said on Twitter… 

Found the biggest touch screen i've ever seen at @hillsukdn on barclaycard balcony #bsava15 (plus choc muffins!) @ChrisVetSchoolDiary 

Nice to know @hillsukdn aren't just about pet food. Serviceable coffee and above par puns as well. Until next year! @sleepyvet 

Impressive Twitter Stats for #BSAVA15! 620 people joined the conversation, reaching 750.000 people worldwide! @gheijkoop 

Plus size answers for plus size patients

Plus size answers for plus size patients

Everyone in the practice team will be aware that overweight patients present a challenge, often having multiple problems. Following on from the successful launch of Hill’s™ Prescription Diet™ Metabolic, Hill’s has now launched Metabolic Plus.

 

Metabolic Plus Feline is for cats that have problems with weight management as well as FLUTD. As both conditions tend to occur together, there’s now a way to tackle them together. The same great weight loss results that you would expect to see with Metabolic are still there – 88% of cats lost weight over 2 months in a normal home situation. The bonus is that controlled levels of magnesium, calcium and phosphorus mean that bladder health is supported in overweight cats with FLUTD. Available in dry and pouches, there’s a format to suit every cat. 

 

Metabolic Plus Canine deals with what is a very weighty issue in dogs and that’s joint disease. We all understand the issues that result from excessive weight-bearing on joints and the possibilities for altered eicosanoid status in overweight dogs. With omega 3 fatty acids to support joint health and glucosamine and chondroitin to provide the building blocks for cartilage, Metabolic Plus Canine offers a healthy choice for joint support in overweight dogs. And the tried and tested results on weight loss that deliver real results in a real world, just add to the benefits. Currently available in dry format. Look for Metabolic Plus Canine in wholesaler listings now.

Transforming lives…

Transforming lives…

Our big theme going forwards is around transforming lives: the lives of pets, vets, nurses and pet parents. It’s all about making a difference. 

Many of you will have taken a bold step at some point. Perhaps a step that’s taken you out of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s enabled you to become a practice owner, work for a charity at home or overseas, or even helped you re-engineer things to achieve better work life balance. We would love to hear from those of you who have transformed your own life, or have been able to transform the lives of others. If you are willing to share your story send us an email to hillsukdn@gmail.com and you could feature in a future issue.

 

If you are more at the ‘work in progress’ stage, here are a few tips to help you transform your life: 

 

1. Start your morning by making a list of the top 1- 3 things you want to achieve that day. 

2. Write down a few things about yourself that you are proud of – and read those affirmations as part of your daily routine. 

3. Use visualisation to imagine your goals in great detail 

4. Take a few minutes each day to sit in silence and let stresses and strains melt away. 

5. Remember that happiness isn’t something to aim for in the future – consider learning more about mindfulness to help you live in the moment. 

Best congress moments

Best congress moments

 

At any congress there are usually some stand-out moments and those are different for every individual. What was yours at BSAVA congress? We asked some delegates to say what they enjoyed most. Their responses ranged from the clinical – from enthusiasm over new information about sepsis, international speakers and interactive lectures; to the more social – the chance to meet new people from all over the world who share a passion for veterinary medicine. Want to join in? Share your ‘best moments’ comments with us @hillsukdn on Twitter using #BSAVA15. 

You can see and hear some of your colleagues’ best moments here: 

 

Best moments 1: https://youtu.be/w_o8G0lLeew
Best moments 2: https://youtu.be/n1THRjQqWbU
Best moments 3: https://youtu.be/qU9dgjCpz4c

STOP PRESS- Derm update

STOP PRESS- Derm update

There’s a new simplified portfolio on its way to help practices make rational recommendations for dermatological cases. As part of this process, Prescription Diet™ z/d™ Low Allergen Canine will be discontinued. As wholesalers run down stocks, the time frame for this will be variable between practices and it is anticipated that this might occur in May in some instances. 

 

The Prescription Diet™ z/d™ Ultra Allergen-free Canine product will be renamed z/d™. Expect z/d™ to have a new look and feel to the packaging but be assured that the product itself hasn’t changed in any way. Your Hill’s Territory Manager has lots of information to help you make this transition smoothly.

 

Prescription Diet™ d/d™ will also adopt the new look, which explains the benefits more clearly to clients, reinforcing your recommendation. And again, the product itself has not changed and remains the same great tasting novel single animal protein food it has always been. 

Look out for news of some exciting new lines, point of sale material and CPD to support the ‘derm’ portfolio in our next edition.