The benefits of virtual vet care

Virtual vet care, or telemedicine has become increasingly popular in recent years. ‘Virtual vet care’ broadly covers the area of getting veterinary care online – this is often through video calls or sometimes via a messaging service. Many different veterinary care providers have added virtual vet services to their repertoire recently. It is a space that continues to evolve, including with recent announcements/changes to remote prescribing rules.

What is it great for?

Getting virtual vet care or having a virtual vet consult can be a great way to get relaxed, stress-free advice in your own home for a variety of conditions. It allows a space in which you can ask all the questions you need, in a low-pressure environment. This makes it an excellent option for many scenarios including things like behavioural queries, management of chronic conditions, assessing if some new signs in your pet are something to worry about/warrant further monitoring or action, or just for any general day queries. The video aspect, that is often included, also means vets can visually assess some things. Even in cases where a follow up in-person vet appointment is recommended, clients often feel more prepared for this having had a virtual discussion prior, as potential causes, investigations, and treatments may have already been discussed to allow for pet owners to be more involved in the decision making for their pet.

When is an in-person vet appointment required?

Understandably, virtual vet care has some limitations. Most notably any emergency or requirement for urgent care should be seen by an in-person vet as soon as possible. Many non-emergency conditions may also require an in-person vet consultation as a clinical exam of your animal may provide essential information for further decision making. Additionally, further tests/investigations can take place at your primary care practice and certain treatments (that can only be given out after an in-person clinical assessment of your animal) can be dispensed. In certain cases, your vet may say that a virtual follow up appointment can be used after your in-person appointment.

Interested in getting virtual vet care?

Omni offers virtual vet care with their experienced vets! Complimentary online vet consultations from the comfort of your own home are available to subscribers of Omni food products. Our vets are happy to discuss any topics or queries you may have about your pet to give you more peace of mind or further information to make decisions.

See Omni subscription options by clicking here.

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FAQs

But aren’t dog’s carnivores?

Dogs are in fact nutritional omnivores as demonstrated by a robust scientific study published in the reputable journal Nature (1,2) in which it was shown that they have 30 copies of the AMY2B gene responsible for digesting plant-based foods.

They have also evolved relatively long intestines (21) (almost as long as humans) and relatively flat surfaces on their molars (31, 22) which they use for digesting and chewing a whole range of foods.

The common misconception that dogs are carnivores probably arises from the fact that they are classified in the order Carnivora but so are plenty of other species like bears, skunks, racoons who are omnivores and even the giant panda who thrives on a plant-based diet (20).

Is plant protein digestible to dogs?

Absolutely yes, studies which have looked at how much protein dogs can absorb from plant-based and fungi-based foods like soya and yeast demonstrated over 75% digestibility which is on par with meat-based foods (23, 24, 34, 35 & 25).

Both these protein sources also contain all 10 essential amino acids (36, 37) that dogs need to thrive.

Isn't there too much fibre in plant-based food?

The average amount of fibre in a commercial dog food diet is between 2-4%. omni’s plant-powered recipe has a fibre content of 3% which is on par with meat- based diets.

In our survey with over 200 dog owners, 100% reported that their dog’s stool consistency was either ‘normal’ or ‘perfect’ and there were no reports of any digestive upsets (data on file).

Can I mix omni with other meat-based diets?

We are proud that our recipes are nutritionally complete and so include everything your dog needs to thrive. This means omni can be fed as a sole ration. We also fully support a 'flexitarian approach' like meat free lunches or using omni as a mixer.

Every little helps to bring some of the health and environmental benefits of plant-power to meal times. Mixing omni with meat/fish will help to add variety into your dog’s diet whilst adding in healthy ingredients with a relatively low carbon footprint.

Can plant-based food provide the essential fatty acids dogs need?

All the essential fats and oils that dogs need, including omegas 3 and 6 are found in a variety of both meat and plant-based foods (31, 28).

omni’s recipe is rich in plant-based sources of these nutrients so your dog will get all the essentials they need.

I hear a lot about feeding raw meat, isn’t that better?

Feeding raw meat to dogs has become a very popular trend in recent years, but most vets will warn against this practise. This is because the cooking process is vital to help kill off dangerous bacteria like E coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter (9) that have necessitated several food recalls from the market and caused serious illness and even death in both dogs and their owners (40, 41, & 42).

There are also several worms and parasites that are only killed off when raw meat is cooked. Dogs are dogs, not wolves and thanks to their domestication over thousands of years, thankfully don’t need to hunt to get their grub nor do they need to eat raw meat, it's just not worth the risk.

References

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