Meet Wally, the Border Collie Who Works at Greywacke
Kevin Judd, winemaker at Greywacke in Marlborough, is well versed in the gravitational pull between wine folk and dogs.
The company has launched an anti-inflammatory drug to treat joint problems and pain in dogs.
Stuart Burrough, at the Vet Centre Marlborough, experienced in orthopaedic surgery and hip problems in dogs, has seen working dogs’ back and hip problems get worse during busy times.
“Some of these dogs can be in severe pain,” Burrough says. “Often the pressure is on them to keep working if there are no younger dogs coming behind them.”
A Massey University study of disease and injury in working dogs on 44 farms in the lower North Island found 17% suffered joint and leg issues including stiffness and arthritis. In semi-retired dogs the problems were 25%.
Concerned at seeing many working dogs suffering joint problems and pain, Burrough ran a trial using Zoetis’ new anti-inflammatory Trocoxil tablets. The treatment is given once a month following an initial loading dose; this reduces the risk of forgetting treatment and ensures continuous pain relief.
Pet dogs had responded well to the drug so Burrough and colleagues “wanted to see how working dogs might respond… and whether it could lengthen their working life, even if by just a couple of years.”
Two local working dogs were enrolled.
Tyntesfield Station’s Katie Fraser says her 8-year-old Ned had been slowing during the days, not wanting to jump up onto the motor bike and responding more slowly to commands. He had a history of back pain, with bony projections on his lower spine and mild lesions developing higher up.
The treatment brought him results within days, Zoetis says. Fraser noticed him moving more freely, and a month after the initial dose he “had more life in him and was keen to work again”.
“He is keen again to be working, and while you don’t want to push a dog that’s a bit older, he’s happier to be out there doing what he does.
“Before treatment we scored Ned on a lameness scale of 4/5, and afterwards at 1, and the same for his stiffness score,” Burrough added.
Ned recently won the Marlborough Tux Maiden yarding competition.
