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What causes Yersiniosis?

Yersiniosis is a highly infectious disease that affects deer. It is characterised by scours that rapidly leads to death if untreated. Early clinical signs of the disease include a green, watery, smelly diarrhoea which soon becomes bloody.Yersiniosis is caused by a bacterium called Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, which can be carried by wildlife (birds, rodents, rabbits and hares) and domestic animals (cattle, sheep, pigs and goats). Carrier animals usually remain healthy while they spread the bacte...

Arthritis in pets – how we can help

Arthritis is a degenerative joint disease that causes chronic pain. It affects one in five adult dogs and is more common in older dogs. Cats can also develop arthritis as they get older, with around 90% of cats over 10 years of age developing arthritis in at least one joint!Many cases go undiagnosed because the gradual, initially subtle changes in their pet are often misinterpreted as "slowing down" or "getting old".Unfortunately, arthritis is a progressive condition with no cure. However, ...

Keep your furry friend smiling

Nothing warms your heart more than your happy, smiling dog welcoming you home at the end of the day. Just like us, to keep that happy smile, cats and dogs rely on healthy teeth and gums for their overall health and wellbeing.The build-up of dental plaque (a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on the teeth) can lead to oral health issues in your pet, such as gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth loss....

Preparing your pet for stress-free vet visits

Getting any sort of treatment can be stressful for your pets, no matter how great our vets are!Travelling to the clinic and being exposed to a new environment can be challenging for some of our animal companions. While we work hard to ensure your pets are at ease in the clinic, there are also several things that you can do to prepare them and make vet visits a more positive experience....

Preventative testing

When you take your pet to the veterinarian for a check-up, they may suggest tests or procedures to ensure your pet is in optimal health. This type of testing is called preventative testing.Preventative testing establishes an individual baseline for your pet, which can be compared to future tests to identify changes. It helps catch underlying issues before they become full-blown problems, allowing your pet to live a longer, healthier, more trouble-free life....

A healthy guide to feeding pets

When feeding your beloved pet, whether it be a new puppy or kitten, or an older cat or dog, there is such a thing as ‘loving them too much’. Overindulging your pet can lead to health problems if they become overweight, so knowing how much, how often, and what to feed them is important.Also, spayed or neutered pets are more likely to feel hungry more often and gain weight more easily. This quite commonly leads to overfeeding. Pet food bags have feeding guides on the back which help you w...

Emergency vet visit or not?

We always have on-call vets available to provide your pet with urgent/emergency care outside of our clinics' normal business hours – even in the middle of the night or on days like Christmas Day.But how do you tell when your pet needs emergency attention?...

Selenium supplementation in cattle

Selenium is an essential mineral for cattle of all ages. It’s used for immune function, growth and fertility. Signs of selenium deficiency can include poor growth, reduced fertility, decreased milk production, and white muscle disease (stiffness and weakness in very young animals).There are multiple forms of selenium supplementation available to farmers: oral, injectable and pour on.The majority of cows will be supplemented orally with selenium via the dosatron, which is an easy way to adminis...

Feeding hinds and fawns

Unweaned fawns can gain anywhere from 220–700g/day, but with top-quality feed at least 400g/day or more is common. Lactating hinds require almost twice the energy of non-lactating animals – around 45–70MJME/day between hind and fawn. To meet this, pastures must be green, leafy, and ideally legume-rich. As summer progresses, ryegrass/clover quality drops, so plan for alternative feeds such as good quality baleage, chicory, plantain, or summer brassicas. If feed is short, hind...

Beating B1 deficiency in youngstock

Vitamin B1 (or Thiamine) deficiency in calves and lambs causes a neuro disease known as polioencephalomalacia (a.k.a. swelling of the brain). In New Zealand, this is most commonly seen in youngstock over the summer months post-weaning (around 4-9 months of age). It can be limited to just one or two animals, but larger outbreaks also occur.  The 2023-2024 summer period saw ...

Many methods of calf drenching

When treating youngstock for parasites there are many product options, but also different delivery methods.Oral administration of drench is the preferred method for young animals. Calves must be treated individually with oral drench and it must not be put through the milk feeder. Individually dosing each calf ensures they each get the right amount and gives the best chance of killing the parasites.We have some farmers who only ever deliver cattle drench orally, but many will look for an alternat...

Data helps us see it, advice helps us fix it

We all know that the first few weeks after calving can set the tone for the whole season. Cows that transition well go on to milk strongly and are better positioned to reach reproductive targets. Whereas cows that struggle early often stay behind the 8 ball. Wearable technology is giving us a clear window into how cows recover after calving – and when combined with good veterinary support, it’s a very powerful tool. VetSouth has partnered with CowSmart to offer their farm...

Staff focus: Vets from across the ditch

Farmers around the world talk about the New Zealand dairy industry being the best, in terms of feed efficiency, pasture utilisation, and quality of production. Interestingly, it also has a dairy cow to person ratio of 1:1.So, New Zealand was really intriguing to two vets from Australia, eager to jump across the ditch and see what all the excitement was all about. And what better way to experience the industry and the incredible landscapes than to come to Southland!We had just spent the last year...

Caring for pets over the holidays

The Christmas holidays are fast approaching. If you are heading away, now is a good time to start thinking about what plans you need to make for your pets.  Will you leave them at home and get someone to come and care for them?  Is booking them into a cattery or kennel a better option?  Or, can you take your pet away with you? Leaving your pet at home You may decide to leave your pet in the comfort of its own home, with a neighbour or friend either house-s...

Careful with pets and Christmas treats

Christmas treats are something we all look forward to, but for our furry friends, some of these can be extremely toxic, so it is important to keep them out of reach. If you have a pet with a penchant for opening gifts, this may mean not putting wrapped treats under the tree! Some festive foods to be cautious of around pets include: 1. Chocolate Why it's toxic: Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which are stimulants of the central nervous system and heart. They also act as diuretics, wh...

Cardiac calf case

Please note, this article contains links to graphic medical photographs of a calf's heart taken during post-mortem examination....

Benchmarking pre-mating cycling rates in herds with wearables

In the lead up to mating this year, we took a look at how cycling rates were tracking on some of our farms in Southland and South Otago that are using wearable technology. These graphs show the percentage of each herd cycling in the weeks prior to their planned start of mating (PSM). We’ve pulled out the heifers (first calvers) to compare them against the overall herd (the herd data is inclusive of the heifer’s data). As expected, heifer cycling rates exceeded overall herd cycling rates...

Assisted calvings stats

With calving now over for another year, let's look at the numbers!This season (2025-26), between July and November, we were called out to assist with a total 624 calvings. Of these, 612 were for dairy cows and 12 were for beef cows.In the same period of the 2024-25 season, we were called out to assist with 613 calvings. Of these, 600 were for dairy cows and 13 were for beef cows.In the 2023-24 season, we were called out to assist with 665 calvings – 650 for dairy cows and 15 for beef cows.Inte...

Managing parasites in calves

Once calves start eating grass and consuming less milk or meal, they’ll also start picking up parasites – and this will begin to impact them.Traditionally, drenches have been our go-to tool for parasite control. However, we’re increasingly concerned that drenches are becoming less effective, so we’re encouraging farmers to check their effectiveness and use other management tools as part of a broader parasite control plan. On some farms, this can be as simple as putting young calves ...

Sid the working dog

On the day he was brought in, his owner noticed he was trying to cock his leg to urinate but wasn’t having much success. Despite this, Sid had still been pulling his weight on the farm and was eating and drinking as usual – right up until this point.  When Sid arrived at the clinic, he looked a bit down and wasn’t keen to walk. On examination, he had a raised temperature, signs of dehydration, and a very full bladder that could be felt on abdominal palpit...

Parasite monitoring

Monitoring is a key feature of an effective Parasite Management Plan. The most accessible monitoring option is faecal egg counting (FEC). We’re running more and more tests here in our clinics, and this is really helping sheep farmers build a clearer picture of what’s happening on their farms. This information is vital for answering two key questions:  Do my stock need a drench?  Is my drench working?  It also ...

Brucella ovis and accreditation for rams

Brucella ovis is an infectious bacterial disease that primarily affects the genital tract of rams. It spreads via infected semen (for example, ram-ewe-ram transmission) and can occasionally cause transient (or short-term) disease in ewes. The infection leads to epididymitis or lumps at the bottom of the testicles where mature sperm is stored, and can result in permanent infertility. ...

A vet's lesson in vaccination

As a newly graduated vet, after a few years working in the UK, I wanted to spread my wings and explore the world. That journey eventually brought me to New Zealand - but my first port of call was a bustling city.It was 1994 and I still remember the culture shock: the dramatic flight into the city, where you could look straight into people’s apartments as the plane landed; the towering skyscrapers; the noise, the smells, even pigs being butchered on the street. It was a far cry from the quiet B...

The gold standard treatment for feline hyperthyroidism

If your cat has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, you may have found your options fairly limited in the past. Not to mention costly, finicky, and time consuming. Now that’s set to change with our brand new, purpose-built facility – the only one of its kind south of Christchurch. ...

A hyperthyroidism case study with Paul the cat

Despite being on methimazole medication, Paul’s fur was heavily matted, and she looked ill-kept. Her jaw muscles had atrophied to the point she could no longer chew properly or eat, even though she was clearly hungry and wanted to. Food would simply fall out of her mouth.  To make matters worse, Paul couldn’t groom or clean her coat properly. This was exacerbated by the need to be syringe-fed a concentrated nutrient paste, which often ended up on her chest fur, matting it further.&...