All right, that's how we fire up our Wednesday afternoons around here, Pet Chat. And the room seems a little bit empty today. Dr. David Taber. I don't know about that. I know you'll fill it up with your Spartan personality. Thank you very much. I'll do my best with my schoolboy looks and boys charm. I'm just looking around for that schoolboy looks and boys charm. But there's only the two of us today, which means you're handling 110% of the Pet Chat chat. Can I talk that long? Well. My wife would say no problem, no.
Let's go. Let's go. All right, so what David is basically saying there is you've got a whole hour to chat to him, 49216216, who will answer your questions. And other than that, he might just scrounge up a couple of topics off the floor, right? No, I do have some things to talk about if we get a chance. So look forward to the calls. I love that enthusiasm, if I get a chance. Of course, Dr. David Tabret is here, who I must say, the biggest smile I've ever seen out of this bloke's mouth is when Daniel Carrington walked in. Late, but that's okay, mate. Welcome back. He's been in hair and makeup. You've got to understand this. We've been, well, together, you and I, doing this for 15 years. Gosh.
You must have started when you were 13, Danny, I tell you. Oh, thank you. You're too nice. David started when he was 15. I know you've got a tummy to get through. We'll get into that. I had brown hair when I started. It's not brown anymore. All right. In a minute, we'll find out what Kelly from Jesmyn has to say to the Pet Chat team on 2NEWRFM. G'day, Kelly. Jesmyn, you're a dog groomer, and you have some questions for our team today, Kelly. I do, I do. Over the years of grooming, I've just noticed that black dogs smell the worst. So black poodles are the worst, closely followed by black Labradors. And I'm just wondering why black dogs would smell worse than...
other lighter-coloured dogs. Kelly, how's the team going to ponder that question? You've actually called the one week that Cheryl Show, our dog groomer, is not here. She probably noticed the same thing as me. Who owns and has shown poodles. So, Cheryl, if you're listening, let's hope we get this right. Danny and I were just talking about this a second ago. So, a couple of things, I wonder. One is that...
Not so much black dogs, but I would think certainly certain breeds would have different oils and increased amount of sebaceous secretions, which increase the amount of odour that comes. And the odour doesn't come from the dog. It comes from the bacteria and the yeast that are on the skin. So if there's any organic material on the skin, caught in the hair, things like that, that's going to allow the increased overgrowth of skin bacteria and the yeast, the Candida, which causes, sorry, Malassezia, which causes this increased smell. And I'm just wondering whether by the time they come to you...
they're not going to be immaculately washed and prepped anyway, in which case, are they coming because the dog has a really bad smell and the owners, being a black dog, they haven't really noticed the material in the coat beforehand? No, no, because my customers are mobile and I see my customers fortnightly or four-weekly and it could be two dogs in the same house and one's white and one's black and the black one just reeks. And it's across all breeds, I've found. Like, it's just, for some reason, I'm wondering if what you're saying is partly the case in that. Black dogs, because they feel the heat more maybe, they spend more time digging and then lying in the dirt and therefore have more organic matter in their coats or... Yeah. I don't know, but it's just...
Years and years, I've been wondering why the black ones always smell worse than the lighter-coloured ones. I'll tell you what we'll do for you, Kelly. Well, obviously, we'll handball that to Cheryl when she's here next week, and she may have an answer for us. Well, the other thing I was going to say, and this is kind of straying away from the veterinary problem but more with ourselves, is any sensory input that we have is interpreted and made meaning of within our brain, and that is subject to other inputs. So there is a possibility that you associate black dogs with smell, and so now whatever odour comes from a black dog.
your brain goes, well, it's a black dog, it's going to be smelly. Yeah, no, but you never know. But Kelly, just keep in mind, keep in mind, Kelly, this is the job you wanted, right? I love my job. I just got to figure out why that's the case and I just thought maybe you guys would know, but I'm guessing that it's still a mystery and it's one I'll probably never solve. Still a mystery. One thing you could do is if you've got two dogs...
Have a blindfold on and get someone to bring the dog in front of you and see if you can pick the colour based on the dog's smell. A whole lot of fun happening with Kelly the dog groomer's house. You never know what can come out of that. All right, thanks, guys. Thanks for that, Kelly. We'll continue with Pet Chat in a couple of minutes. And a very special guest. We haven't even announced Danny's special guest yet. I don't know who it is. We'll find out together in a couple of minutes. It's what you are, FM 103.7. The Newcastle and the Hunters' best vet that's in this room today is Dr David Tabaret. Best one that's in here today, mate. All right.
And the bloke that's still fresh from hair and makeup, Daniel Carrington, good afternoon. Thank you. Your special guest, Daniel, is ready to go. Fantastic. Mark, we've got Mel Daly on the phone. She's from The Good Dog. And what she does is she specializes in owner-trained assistance dogs. And they're becoming more and more popular, more and more of us humans needing assistance dogs to help us with our life, lifestyle. And I want to talk to her about it. Hi, Mel. Hi, how you going? Good, thank you. I guess the first question I have for you is, what is an assistance dog? So an assistance dog is a dog that is specially trained to help one person. So they might have.
autism, mental health, lots of things that could require them needing that dog to help them navigate life. Okay. And in regards to your role, I know there are institutions who train assistance dogs, but you do it a little bit differently. You work with the owner of the assistance dog. How does that work? Yeah, so the owners might already have the dog or they might work with me first and we'll choose a dog. And then from there, I sort of play a role as a coach to help them train their own dog towards the public access test, which they run at the end when they're ready.
us to go anywhere. It sort of makes sense that the owner of the dog gets to train the dog for the purpose that they require, doesn't it? It does, to me. They form that bond and they sort of get the skills to be able to do it themselves, I think, which is important. How long does it take? It can take about 12 to 18 months, depending on the dog and the age we start that dog. But they go through a series of goals that we check off along the way to make sure that they're up to standard. Are there any breeds that are better at this job than others?
I wouldn't say any fairly better than others, but I do have a lot of Labradoodles. They would be 90% of the dogs that I train. Okay. I know in terms of trial work, retrieving work, Labradors are really good to work with. They're good at obeying commands and don't think too much for themselves. I'm sure that's part of the reason as well. Yeah, and then you've got the non-shedding, most of them, from the food. And they're a good size for most people. They're sort of big but not heavy dogs.
Can you share a story of someone that has an assistance dog and what that assistance dog was trained to do and how it's helping their lifestyle? Yeah, I've got one. The dog's name is Toby. So Toby helps his human that he works for to not run away. So when she's out, she gets really anxious and stressed and it often causes her to run, which then a lot of people have to try and track her down and find her. So Toby's got a special handle on his harness.
which his little person holds on to, and that helps her to feel calm and okay about being out and stops her running because she doesn't want to leave the dog. Wow. Yeah, that's one of them. So that's just his job, that she can actually walk with him and she has a companion? She's got the companion there. It stops her anxiety getting out of control. That sort of helps to regulate her while she's out and gives her access.
because without him, a lot of the time she can't go out or they need to have multiple people to go. Okay, okay. Well, you know, that's amazing, even that task. Yeah, yeah. Yep, okay. Do you have another one, another example you can throw at us? Yeah, there's another one. They sometimes will do a thing called deep pressure. So if the humans are getting stressed, whoever's the handle of that dog.
they can get the dog to either lay on them or over them, and the pressure that they feel from the dog helps them to calm and to regulate themselves so they can continue on with whatever they were doing at the shops or doctor's appointments and things like that. That's quite amazing, isn't it? We've been able to figure out through maybe trial and error or a bit of scientific whatever that that is a technique that actually works. I just wouldn't have thought that on our own. Yeah, so you can get the weighted blankets and stuff like that. You can use the dog.
And the dog's more comforting than just the blanket too. Yeah, I think so. I've got a dog that'll do that without any training. Oh, yeah, yeah. They'll just come and lie on top of you. But will they when you really need them? Right, exactly, yeah. That's the difference. Look, Mel, thank you very much for the interview and for that information. I love talking about dogs and how they help us as humans in our lifestyle, in our general day-to-day life, so that's fantastic. Thank you. Thank you. All right, now how fantastic was that? So you're just having some drama to get David's dog to lay down on you. How about that?
I'll drive around and bring someone a dog to lay. But the problem with my dogs is they're like seven kilos. So if they lay on you, it's like a feather. Not quite the right amount of pressure. Not really the weighted effect. I'm sure it's good for them. They love it.
Yeah. All right. Well, thanks for that, Mel. And Danny, I know this is the part where you and your hair just leave us again. Yes, that's right. I just come in and I go out. That's right. It's just like that. All right, mate, Daniel Carrington, the breath of fresh air that you are, mate. Thanks for your time. We love having you here, mate. Talk next time. Dr. David Tabbert is still hanging around, ready to go. A little while ago, mate, you were up in the north of Queensland luxuriating. Oh. I think the technical term for it is junket. Take me back. And I believe in the last little bit you've been just, you know, on another one. Oh, come on.
The junkets just keep on coming. Well, they do. So, you know, it's too late to go back and be a vet probably. No, so last week I was privileged to be asked to travel up to Armidale and speak at a dinner preceding a workshop. And it was very well attended, I must say. There was probably at least 50 people there. Black tie fair? Well, I did look out of place, but, you know, I like to dress up. Basically, the workshops are being run all over the state. And I think one of the things I said to you, Mark, is this is a little bit of a public service, not much of a...
interaction with our local listeners. But just to be aware, there are people, our vets across the state, primarily in local land services, the LLS and the Department of Primary Industries, but also private vets are being engaged in training to learn to identify and notify any possible intrusion of emergency diseases. They used to be called exotic diseases, but I always feel that implies that North Queensland junket sitting on a beach with cocktails. Yeah, hanging around the tropic of somewhere. But we're talking about things like foot and mouth disease, which literally is on our northern...
doorstep in Indonesia. We've got lumpy skin disease, which is another emerging disease in that region as well. We've also, a lot of people would be aware that we've had Japanese encephalitis in Australia, and that's actually also created disease in people. So these are some of the things that we need to be alert for. And look, as veterinarians, we all hope that we never actually...
need to treat or see or even identify that disease. But boy, we really need to be ready in case something comes along. And that's what these workshops, so they're happening all over the state, trying to get our veterinarians everywhere trained up on these things so that we can help protect Australia, help protect our livestock industries and ultimately all the people throughout those rural and regional areas. And let's be honest, I mean, I know the conference was in Armidale, so it's drawing on people, you know, that's not really that far away in terms of, you know, an outbreak of a disease, really. Oh, no, absolutely. And it seems to travel so quickly. You know, recently we had the intrusion of varroa mite through our honeybee. Well, it started in Newcastle was the suspected intrusion. But that in itself created a lot of trauma to people because a lot of honey is created and collected by backyard people who've got hives. And a friend of mine lives out on the western edge of the lake out past Toronto had hives. And unfortunately, you had to...
All these hives were taken and all the bees were killed because of the spread of this disease. So we do need to be alert for these things. And they can crop up anywhere. That's the thing. We've got to be ready. Yeah. And when you talk about the bee situation, I mean, I'm talking with a few people that are in that world. Like you said, they're all amber beekeepers mostly. And the time it would take to get back if you started from square one when you're able to again, a lot of those folks just won't ever go back into that cottage industry. That's right. And probably, I mean, we spoke about this last year when varroa mite was happening at that time. But it's not just honey, the importance of bees in themselves for pollination of crops. Then we lose, you know.
things like canola crop disappears so without those kind of surveillance systems and protocols in place we put our whole lifestyle our whole economy at risk through not being ready for these diseases because we know they're out there we've just got to be alert for them All right. David, Dog of the Week is our next thing that we've got going here. And, of course, if you're looking for... I know. We've upped the cuteness factor this week. Yeah, it's up to, what are we in there? 11. 11. Turn the dial to 11. And the system's out of 10, so it's not up to 11. Maybe if you're looking to have an extra addition to your family, maybe Milo will be the go here. And, David, quite a sad start for Milo. He was actually found wandering around in the bush, which is never a good start. I know, and he's so little.
So little, poor little thing. He's been loved back to health by the Foster family, but yes, ready to bring home him for good. Now, eight weeks old and his dominant breed is foxhound. So any thoughts on that particular breed from you, David? It's interesting talking earlier with Mel about the training. I think like foxhounds do train really well, but they do need lots of exercise.
Yeah, okay. Lots of exercise. So again, we're looking for the family that can actually put the time in. Right. Not the sort of people that are up at seven in the morning, gone, come back about six o'clock at night, sit on the lounge with the potato chips watching TV. No. No, he's not a goldfish. No. Okay. So you need to be able to put that time in. But he's a cuddle, loves a cuddle, loves a bit of a snooze as well. He's currently learning the toilet training, so that's good. And he's starting to come along when he's caught. Loves to chew, including fingers, and the sharp little puppy teeth as well. So a little puppy that's eight week old and chewing. David, we want to make sure we can keep on top of that. Pretty normal. Yeah.
Pretty normal. I think the key thing that, and I've just been through this recently with my pups are now eight months old. And so yes, they'll do that. We've got to always give them something to interact with. So plenty of chew toys that are tough, not too tough. We don't want to break their teeth, but there's plenty of those on the market that are safe, but it's a very normal behavior. I mean, you know, dogs have limited ability to interact with their environment and taste is a really important one. So they'll always be putting their mouth on things.
to try and get a sense of, oh, is this food? What does this look like? A bit like us, David. But again, a great little puppy there. I mean, he loves to sleep under the desk of his foster owners at the moment. Right, and they're on the right path, of course. All of the pets, all of the adopted foster.
dogs that come through, they're all vaccinated, wormed, microchipped, and then desexing to follow when he's old enough. Yeah, exactly. So eight weeks, not about how long before he would be at the desexing stage? Well, usually we talk about six months of age. Sometimes that can be done earlier. There is some arguments around doing it a bit later, but that's something to discuss with the veterinarian. And certainly as far as council registration requires that microchipped pets be registered at six months of age. And if they're not desexed at that stage, you're planning to do it later, you will need a letter from a veterinarian explaining for the delay.
All right, so a couple of things to keep in mind. But, yeah, Domino Breed, eight-week-old foxhound Milo. And if you'd like to learn about Milo and our other dogs of the week that may very well still be available, all you do is you head up to the Pet Chat page. You can find that in our lifestyle show area at our website, 2NURFM.com.au. All right, Pet Chat continuing here with Dr David Tabbert on 2NURFM. G'day, Ian at Adamstown. You think you may have an answer for the question that we had a little bit earlier on on the dogs there? Yes. Well, my immediate thought would...
Yeah, that was something that we discussed earlier with Kelly. And I still think there's a, like the bacteria just don't take off unless there's the absolute right conditions. So certainly the temperature on the skin itself may be a factor, although I would have to speak to a veterinary dermatologist who deal with diseases and the health of skin and particularly the sebaceous glands that we mentioned earlier. These are the ones that secrete the oils around the temperature of the skin whilst they might be a little bit warmer. when they are in the sun. I'm just not sure how permanent that is enough to create that problem, but I think it's a good theory. I'm wondering how we might find that out. We said we're going to follow this up, Mark, with Cheryl, and then we'll... Well, absolutely, and thanks for your thoughts there, by the way, Enya. Look, I did send Cheryl a message. At this stage, she has not read my message. I can't believe she's not listening intently. Sent 23 minutes ago. She hasn't even put me on read. Now we're shaming pet chat members. No, not at all. She's allowed to have a life. That's okay. I do know a couple of veterinary dermatologists, so I'm intrigued about this question, and I'm going to ask it and see whether we get...
a suitable answer. And I think, Ian, your thoughts may well be where the answer lies. We shall wait and see. But thanks very much for giving us a call. And we're going to follow this up for poor old Kelly as well. Now, David, you like to get out and about, you know, walking your dogs and out there with the other, you know, pet-loving community of the Hunter. Oh, yeah. You've spotted a few things. Well, I have. And look, there are, you know, by and large, I just want to make this clear, by and large.
Everyone I'm running into with our dogs, we're saying hello and everybody's well-behaved owners and dogs and people picking up after themselves. But of course, there's dogs and owners who don't do that sort of thing. And it creates problems. And I'm absolutely sensitive to, you know, all of the community having to deal with when dogs are making a mess out on their walks and nobody's picking it up. I think, to be honest, that's just not on. Not on. Look, it isn't. I mean, you take on a pet, you take on all of their needs. And that is, you walk on the dog and the dog needs to...
Yeah, they toilet wherever. Well, they just stop and then here we go. I know, I know. We try not to let our dogs into people's property. But look, I'm also aware that sometimes you'll get caught out where you take your dog and you go, oh, I forgot to bring the poo bags. Or he's already been twice and now we've run out. That happens. And I've been in the circumstance where that happens and I'll cover it with some leaves. But then I go home and come back.
And I'm not saying I'm the best at this by any means, but do you know what I mean? Like, you've got to take accountability for those sort of things. Well, you really do. And like I said, the idea of, okay, well, here's the spot. We know it's going to go home and come back and fix it up later on. Particularly, I mean, when people love to take their dogs to, you know, that sporting fields. And that's great. I mean, it's a great spot for them to run around and catch a Frisbee or whatever. Well, we do have off-leash areas for dogs for that reason. Unfortunately, they're, you know, spread around a bit more broadly. But nevertheless, I think that's the reason is because...
councils have recognised that they need to provide those areas where dogs have that degree of freedom. And it's not going to intrude on other people's use of that space. And as you said, sporting fields used by a kid, kids on the weekends and training during the weekend, nobody wants their kid to go and slide along and land in a pile of doggy doo-doo. No, no, absolutely not. But a great bit of advice there, maybe take a couple of, shove an extra couple of bags into your pockets as you wander around. Yeah. Just in case. Absolutely. And if you see someone who doesn't behave in a responsible way. You are a heartbeat away from shaming. Look, I...
I didn't get the rego number, but I'm going to go so far to say that I was with my dogs on lead on a sporting oval and a little blue hatchback pulled up, let two big dogs out of the car. They ran onto the oval, did their thing, and then called them back. I hopped in the car and drove away. Yeah, that's just not cool. Not on. No. All right, so if that is you, you've been named and shamed by David. Send your correspondence to him. I didn't get the rego, so. No, that's fine. Well, we have actually run out of time, so we've stretched the chewing gum all the way through to the end. So, as always, a pleasure for you to be with us. Are you here next week or not? I'll be here next week.
Oh, excellent. No junkets next week. Got another one coming up later on, haven't you? True. All right, there he is. Dr. David Tabber on Pet Chat this afternoon. The Gang back next week for you. Thanks for listening to this podcast from 2NURFM at the University of Newcastle. Topics range from gardening to health, wellbeing, pet care, finance, business and travel. You'll find them all at 2NURFM.com.