DGHA conference, vet tips for optimal BCS

00:37

S1

On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to the show with me, your host Harriet Moffat. Today I'm joined by two guests. The first is Annette Ferguson, chairperson of Dog Guide Handlers Australia, aka DGHA. We're going to be talking a little bit about dog handlers, the work that they do and about their conference coming up in August on the fourth, fifth and sixth in Brisbane. So we're going to be talking a little bit about that conference. 

Then I'm going to be joined by Dr. Ash Mooney from Arsenal's vet team. We're going to be talking about getting your dog to the right kind of weight or body score. So if you are looking for diet tips and you've got a dog who needs to keep that body score nice and lean. 

Without further ado, here is my interview with Annette from for. So, Peanut, thank you for joining me on the show today. Could you please introduce yourself and your role at DGHA?

S2

Sure. So I'm currently the chairperson of Cha. I joined DG and went to the very first conference about six weeks after I got my first guide dog in 2014 and have been going to all their conferences, um, since then, I think. I think I might have missed one somewhere in there. We have them every second year and now it's my turn to organize one. So I'm the conference organiser as well.

S1

Oh, very cool. So what is DGHA or Dog Guide Handlers Australia for anyone who doesn't know?

S2

So DGHA was created by and is run by a group of volunteers who are all dog guide users. And we use the term dog guide rather than guide dog because guide dog is the brand and the purpose of the group is to draw on the experience and the knowledge of all of the members, provide peer support and help each other out with advocacy and information. And it's, you know, it's for anyone throughout Australia who has a guide dog or a seeing eye dog or a special working dog. 

And our main place that we meet is on our Facebook group. So you can search for DGHA or Dog Guide Handlers Australia on Facebook and come and join our group for free. And that's where we mostly meet and that's where all of our really good conversations happen. It's a very well moderated group and we also have teleconferences throughout the year and we also have our conference every second year. So yeah, it's just a place for people who use dogs for mobility to, you know, get together and socialise and learn from each other.

S1

So who can be a member?

S2

Anyone from any school can join. So anyone who uses a dog for mobility or who has an interest in or supports the work we do, so you can be a full member if you have a dog guide or you can be an associate member. If you're, for example, a puppy raiser, a staff member of a school or a GMI guide dog mobility instructor or a trainer or a family member, you know, just anyone who wants to support our work can can join. So full membership is $20 for a lifetime and associate membership is $10 for a lifetime.

S1

So what is the purpose of Dog Guide Handlers Australia?

S2

I'm just basically for us all to get together and you know, like I remember when I first got my guide dog, I was kind of on my own. Like I live in regional New South Wales. So, you know, there was one other person that I knew of who had a guide dog as well. But you know, it's a very different way of living when you have a dog by your side all the time. And it's great to get together with other handlers and learn about how they handle the challenges that come up and, you know, hear about their triumphs and the good things that happen. And, you know, it's just a really kind of social, but it's also a learning environment as well.

S1

So I suppose it's one of those very, very unique things. And even in kind of media, it's not particularly well represented sometimes, you know, being a dog guide handler.

S2

Yeah, yeah. No, it's not very much. And until you get a dog, you don't really know much about it. It's hard to imagine, you know, now that I've had a guide dog for ten years, I can't imagine not having one, but, you know, going there in the first place and hearing other conversations between other handlers, you know, it was fantastic. It was such a good way to learn about how to live with a guide dog or a dog guide or a seeing eye dog.

05:20

S1

I think having having you had your first kind of conference when you were only six weeks working with the dog must have been quite a shock to the system as well. Seeing and potentially quite, um. It's like inspiring seeing the people, seeing some of those people that are probably had dogs for, you know, ten, 20, 30, 40 years.

S2

Yes. Yes. It was amazing. It wasn't a huge one. The first one, I think we had maybe 25 or 30 dogs. But it was amazing to just see, you know, those 25 or 30 dogs, so well behaved all in one room. You know, it was just something you don't see every day. And I made some friends who I will probably be friends with for life, you know, at that conference. And we we there's a group of us who go to every conference and, you know, it was just fantastic all round. 

S1

So what is the point of the conference and how many people do you expect might come to this 2023 conference?

S2

So we were planning for, you know, 40 to 50 people to come. And so far we've got 56 people registered and we've still got six weeks to go until the conference. So it's going to be a big one. I think this one, they're usually, you know, around the 40 or 50 mark. But I know a lot of people who intend coming who haven't registered yet. And we've got actually 26 people registered who've never been to a conference before and never been to a dog bite handlers conference before.

So that's pretty exciting that, you know, the new people are hearing about it. I mean, some of them may have had dogs for a long time or they may be new handlers. But yeah, it's great that we've got some brand new people. And it's also good that we've got quite a few old hands as well to, you know, share their experience.

S1

When and where is the conference this year and how can someone sign up or find out more information about the conference?

S2

So on the fourth, fifth and 6th of August and it is at Royal on the park in Brisbane. And if you want to know more about it, you can go and visit our website, which is Daegu, or you can email us at Deka at Daegu. We don't we don't actually have a phone number, but somebody can call you back if you say, you know, I want to know more about the conference or I want to help registering, just share your phone number in your email and somebody will call you back and help you.

S1

So I'm guessing that kind of means that you will basically have some representation from all across Australia as well.

S2

Yes, yes. We've got people coming from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and I'm pretty sure Tasmania as well. So we probably just need a seat and Northern Territory actually there probably is someone from the Act, I'm pretty sure I've seen in the registration list. So yeah, it'll be Australia wide good variety of people there.

S1

So you've got a lot of people going and across Australia, why should people come to the dog handler conference? What will be covered?

S2

Well, it's a great place to meet other handlers. You know, we can meet each other online in the Facebook group, as I said, but it's a great place to go and meet people in person. You know, especially if you're from a small community or, you know, something like that. 

And we have the most amazing list of speakers at this conference. So we've got several different speakers who are going to talk about ways we can beat the taxi and ride share refusal problem, which is a really huge problem at the moment. We've got an example of a really positive advocacy story involving a hospital design. We've got a panel discussion about technology for navigation. 

We've got some experts, um, you know, who are really good at that kind of thing. Actually, one of them is from Design Australia as well. We've got on the Saturday night we have a dinner and at that dinner we have we award somebody the Golden Harness Award, which is an award for someone who has contributed significantly to the dog guide community. We have Dr. Nicola Cotton talking about the Seeder breeder program... so sorry, feeder breeding program, how you breed puppies and how you make them better and better. 

We've got a lady called Anna Giglio who is a she's a guide dog mobility instructor as well, and a dog professional dog trainer. She's going to be talking about setting up God sorry, setting up dogs and children for success and understanding dog body language. We've got a session on defining what actually is accessible accommodation for a dog handler. Like what kind of things do we need? What's essential? And out of that session, we're going to be creating a checklist that can be shared within the travel industry. And this session will be led by Coffee Guide, who is a sensory tour operator. 

And we also have Paul Adrian from Cedar talking about the International Guide Dog Federation, what they do. And you know, it's great to know about our overarching organisations and a little bit about the industry and why these organisations exist. And we have a couple of really special things that I'd like to mention as well. 

So at the dinner on Saturday night, we're having Australia's first inclusive raffle where we'll have large print and Braille raffle tickets. Anyone who has low vision or is blind will know that raffles can be a nightmare. You have those tiny little tickets and you know, I know personally I could never read my ticket number, so I never know whether I've won or not. So that won't be an issue I can guarantee you at this conference.

S1

You don't know whether to cheer or not cheer.

S2

That's right. Well, did somebody, you know, tell me that my number was the wrong number because they wanted to win with my winning number? Like, who knows? And we're also having on the Friday night, the conference actually starts on Friday night with a little expo where we'll have assistive technology and harnesses and people with all sorts of gadgets to to show. 

And then we're also having a dog tail party so that instead of a cocktail party, we're having a dog tail party. And we've got some really great cocktails planned. And we've also got a large print and Braille dog tail menu. So we've got some fancy names for our dog tails. We've got sex in the kennel and hair of the dog and retriever smash, just to name a few. So that's going to be a great way to get the conference started, I think.

12:29

S1

I think I think it's a great way to, to kind of personally engage people in, in, in dog tail merriment.

S2

Absolutely.

S1

So is there anything else that that kind of you'd like to share about how handlers can get out there and get involved with [indistinct] And the conference?

S2

Look, I would say get on Facebook and search for our group. Come and join in the conversation. We have very robust conversation in our group. Um, if you're new or even if you're not new to, you know, using a dog for mobility, you know, you can come and ask a question in our group and you will get 50 different answers. You know, it's such a great and, you know, I guess that could be seen as being overwhelming. But you just take what you need from that list. 

You know, people are so willing to help. Our group is really well moderated. You know, we have rules and everyone abide by the rules. And, you know, it's a very safe place to come and, you know, have a conversation and get to know other handlers because it can be you know, it can get a bit lonely out there if you're the only person in your town with a with a guide dog or a seeing eye dog, you know, it's great to get to know other people who are living the same lifestyle.

S1

So I didn't think to I didn't think to mention, actually. So you've obviously got like a pretty varied, varied range of people, probably different occupation and different lifestyles, all kind of joined together by the fact that you have dogs or do you have to have had your dog? Do you have to have a current dog with you?

S2

No, you don't. I think most of the conferences I've been to, there have been 1 or 2 people who are between dogs. For whatever reason. They might have just retired one and still on the waiting list for a new one. And yes, there is a very varied range of people because, you know, blindness and low vision doesn't discriminate. It can hit anyone. 

So we have some, you know, all sorts of professions and all sorts of education levels, many, many different people, different nationalities. You know, it's a very diverse group and it's really good fun because of that too.

S1

Amazing. Yeah. So for someone who's on the wait list as well, they're kind of welcome to come along and find out more. Yeah.

S2

Yeah, Absolutely.

S1

Amazing. Yeah.

S2

There is a cost for the conference. It's $250 to attend and depending on your NDIS goals you may be able to claim that on NDIS as well. That's something that you would need to speak to your or your your planner about. But you know, it is a disability related conference. So if you yeah, if you have an NDIS plan you may be able to claim.

S1

Amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining me on the show. It sounds like a really wonderful conference for anyone who would like to kind of not just connect with not only connect with dog handlers, but also to, yeah, further their skills and learn from some of those experts and other people on the panel. So yeah, it really sounds like you guys have got a great, great program program ahead of you.

S2

Yeah, we do. Yeah. It's going to be a lot of fun. Um, I have been thinking I should be more stressed about it, but it's all coming together so nicely, you know? I just have a really good feeling. It's going to be a fantastic weekend, so thanks, Harriet.

16:00

S1

Amazing. Thank you for joining me on the show, and best of luck for the conference. If anyone would like to find out more when this show is podcast, I'll put some links in in our little page about about DGHA. And yeah, I'd encourage any handlers out there to check it out. It sounds like a really good, good time.

S2

Yeah. Okay. Thanks very much.

S1

You've been listening to this show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Annette. If you'd like to find out more about that conference or the work that DGHA does or getting involved, head to their website at Daegu. 

Now, here's my interview with Ash talking diet tips and weight loss for your dog. When are you recognised that your dog or when a vet has said that your dog needs to lose some weight? What are the causes to think about that could be creating that weight gain?

S3

One would be the actual food that you're feeding your dog. So every food has a different amount of calories in it. And typically the back of the bag or package or whatever gives you a feeding guide that tells you how much food you should be giving your dog. And that's based on their ideal weight. So it's not based on their current weight. It's based on what weight you want them to be. 

So when you look at the feeding guide on the back, look at the weight that you want them to be and go with that amount of food. And it's important to remember that that excludes treats. So if you're the type of person that loves to give treats to your dog, which is totally fine, you need to reduce their daily kibble or wet food allotment to account for the fact that you're giving lots of treats because those are extra calories.

S1

So how should you, I suppose, kind of start looking at and tackling that weight loss through food, through diet?

S3

Yeah. So I guess the first step is going to your vet and just speaking with them, they might be able to give you a weight to work toward or, you know, sometimes there are medical conditions that can cause your animal to be overweight. For example, hypothyroidism is quite common in dogs and that can slow down their metabolism and make it really difficult for them to both lose weight and also maintain a healthy body weight just because they can't eat as many calories as a normal dog could. 

So just ruling out any sort of disease process that might be causing things is a good first step. And then going from there, it's really all about diet.

S1

A particular kind of foodie breeds like Labradors. They're always going to be hungrier. They are always going to be overweight. Is that something that is is kind of inevitable?

S3

No. So it really just kind of depends on training, I guess, because if you have an animal that steals food off the table and stuff like that, you're never going to get it to lose weight until you remove that behavior from it. The other thing is, you know, checking the back of the food bag and feeding them only that amount. If you're getting to the point where you're feeding a Labrador, you know, half a cup every meal, then it might be worth discussing with your vet going on to a weight loss diet instead, which essentially has lower calories in it, which means that you can feed them a higher volume. 

So I do that with my own golden retriever because she has a really cute face that causes people to love giving her treats. And I noticed that she got really chubby really easily because everybody loves giving her treats, even though I would say, please don't give her a treat, stuff like that. So I actually put her on a low calorie diet. That way she can still have the treats and she's not going to get overweight. And that's definitely something that a vet can help you with. You know, they can be on a low calorie diet regardless of whether or not they're overweight, if it's medically okay for them to do so. Typically, those low calorie foods, do you have different allotments for weight loss versus maintaining the weight? 

So you can always just follow along with that. And some people think once their dog has lost the weight, that they can just go back to what they were doing before. It's really about having consistency rather than spurts of diets with.

20:21

S1

Or are there any kind of best ways to start a bit of a fitness regime if that is potentially something that your dog has been lacking?

S3

Yeah. So I guess you need to take care with any animal that has arthritis or orthopedic issues or is elderly. So, you know, if you have a quite overweight animal taking it on a super long walk when you've never walked it before is just going to make it sore, probably not want to work out, you know, it might actually do more harm than good. So it's better to take things gradually if you do have an animal that is compromised in terms of its mobility. 

Things like hydrotherapy, which a lot of different places offer now, are really, really good for them because it's not as much pressure on their joints. Swimming can be quite good as long as your animal doesn't have a contraindication to swimming. Things like that. Just kind of gentle walks. You don't really want to go from 0 to 100, though.

S1

Just for anyone. That's. Is not quite aware of what's a contradiction to introduction to swimming kind of look like.

S3

So one would be being afraid of swimming or not knowing how to swim. So obviously if your animal is just going to drown or panic, don't don't take them swimming. The other big one would be if your animal has something called laryngeal paralysis or has had a tracheotomy, any sort of airway operation. Usually if your animal has had a procedure like that, the vet will be pretty explicit in telling you that it can't swim just because they actually can't close their airway to hold their breath. Their airway just remains open. So it just means that they're always at a risk of drowning. 

There are other medical conditions, but they're not that common. And usually you are quite explicitly told when your animal has a procedure for it that it can no longer swim.

S1

I'm guessing something as well, like keeping in mind like some breeds, like breakfast, like breeds would be a little bit less.

S3

Yeah. So any sort of breakage to phallic or like a squishy face breed, they don't have as long of an airway. They have to breathe more rapidly in order to get the same amount of oxygen into their lungs so they would be at a higher risk of potentially inhaling water.

S1

When swimming as your dog ages or exercise needs change or, you know, the doing less, do you need to adjust their food?

S3

Yeah. So we typically recommend a senior pet diet for elderly animals. So for dogs it is breed dependent. Usually about eight years old though for most breeds is where we consider them to be a senior animal. And we usually recommend a senior diet at that stage, which just has extra supplements built into it, both for their kind of aging brain function as well as their joints as they become more prone to arthritis. If your animal has had any sort of mobility issues. 

So, for example, if it's had like a knee surgery or anything like that, your vet might recommend to go on to a like joint support or arthritis support kind of medication or food or even just add supplements into the food. So it can be a bit variable. But in general, I do recommend a senior diet once they've hit about eight years old, and you can always discuss that with your vet if you're confused about, you know, your individual breed of animal or their lifestyle. 

The main reason why we don't keep them on the adult food as well is that it can their metabolism changes with time so it doesn't always match with their energy needs at that stage, especially if they're slowing down quite a bit, they're becoming less active. Things might change.

S1

Are there any other factors or what are the other factors that could lead to weight gain or weight loss?

S3

So certain disease processes can change weight quite drastically. Diabetes and hypothyroidism are both often seen in elderly animals and they can cause pretty significant weight gain in short periods of time. And that's because their metabolism is functioning differently as a result of the disease. So even if you change the diet and all of that and they have that disease process going on, unless you've worked with a vet to diagnose and appropriately treat that disease, you may never be able to get the weight under control because you're not addressing the cause. You're only addressing the symptoms. 

So it can sometimes be something where you do need medication to change it. Other reasons could be they're, they're just less active. If they're arthritic, they don't want to move as much. Sometimes we actually see weight loss with arthritis, and that's because the animal is unwilling to walk as far to their bowl. So if they have to travel quite far in your house to go get their get to their food, they might end up, you know, not eating as much as a result. And then they lose weight. And it's purely because they physically it's slower for them to get there. 

Elderly animals can also lose weight because they lose muscle condition and muscle adds quite a bit to your body mass. So if they're, if they're losing muscle condition, they'll also be losing weight.

25:56

S1

I'm guessing when it comes to kind of any of those particularly kind of sudden weight gains or loss as well, it's potentially worth if you haven't already gone to that vet, just to see if that's a symptom of anything. Anything else a bit more sinister, like you said, like those disease processes.

S3

Yeah, definitely. Another time where I've seen kind of drastic weight gain in animals is when people have toddlers, human toddlers in the house because that can be quite fun for kids to either feed them on purpose. Or the dog likes to sit under the high chair and catch all the scraps that fall down. 

So I guess, you know, if your child's old enough to educate them about that and then certainly try to do so. But if your child is is still quite young and isn't understanding what's happening, just separating your animal from them while they're eating that way your animal isn't accidentally consuming too much. Because I have seen that happen quite a few times.

S1

I guess on that note, as it would be worth, if that's going to be a likelihood, kind of keeping them away from like the grapes. If your toddler's that that toddler that's feeding your dog, you want to avoid, I guess, those things that are like chocolate covered raisins and stuff.

S3

Yeah, yeah, certainly. You know, if your child is eating something that's toxic to dogs but not toxic to humans, just separating your dog from the kid while they're eating it, just because kids don't always understand that they shouldn't give things to animals, you know, the animal's so happy. Usually when it gets the food that it can be quite enjoying for for the child to feed them. So I guess just supervising appropriately.

S1

On on body school just to finish off. Do you have any tips on kind of continuously monitoring body score, something as you know, week to week? I find it so hard to like keep an eye on it. Is there any particular tips you have?

S3

Yeah. You know, it's kind of like us. You know, sometimes you don't realise that you've gained a bit of weight until suddenly one day your favorite pair of pants doesn't fit. And it can be really hard to tell if things are changing when you're seeing it every single day. So I recommend just maybe once a fortnight doing a body condition score. It doesn't have to be every single day because think there are natural fluctuations and it doesn't actually give you that much information to do it day by day unless your animal is on a specific medical plan where your vet has advised you to do that. 

You know, you can also take them to your vet clinic, you know, once every couple of months and just pop them on the scale, give them a couple treats, compare it to the weight that it was before. If it's within, you know, a little range, that's fine. You know, animals sometimes put on a bit of winter weight, just like humans do because they're a bit less active. If you're a bit less active. And those fluctuations are fine as long as they're not massive fluctuations.

28:52

S1

You've been listening to the show on Vision Australia radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with Annette Ferguson, chairperson of DGHA, talking about the DGHA conference, and Dr. Mooney from our senior team talking kind of weight loss tips and diet. If you'd like to find out more about DGS and getting involved in their conference on August 4th, fifth and sixth in Brisbane. 

Head to the website at deagle or AEW if you'd like to find out more about seeing either the work we do or how you can help, head to our website at Vision Australia. Org. Thank you for listening and don't forget to tune in same time next week for another episode of the same radio show.