Is There Horse Meat In Pet Food?

"It's all the same, pet food isn't it?"

This is something that we frequently hear in the consulting room, but I'm afraid we have to contradict. Pet foods are not all the same. At a time when we are becoming concerned about what is found unexpectedly in human food, we should have similar concerns about pet food. If a human food which claims to be beef, actually contains horse, then what is in pet food?

One of the best ways to guarantee a good quality pet food is to go for a food which is made to a "fixed formula" rather than an "open formula." Buying a fixed formula food means that the food will contain exactly what it says on the bag or tin and will not change this from batch to batch.

Open formula food will have the same approximate nutritional value, but will change the ingredients from batch to batch depending on what is cheaper. This is why, when you look at many pet foods, their ingredient label will say "meat and meat derivatives." This could be venison one week and lamb the next. Many dogs and cats with food allergies or insensitivities will suddenly develop problems, even though the owner has not changed anything at home. Well, they may not have changed the food, but the food could have changed despite being sold in the same bag.

Many of the good quality pet foods often use only ingredients which are fit for human consumption, meaning that we could safely eat them too. Cheaper foods use cheaper ingredients, which may not be as good for your pet.

Cost per bag can be deceptive. The good quality foods may be more expensive per bag, but because they are made of good quality ingredients and have a high nutrient density, you need to feed less food per daily. This means they that they may work out the same price, or are only slightly more expensive per day than the cheaper, poorer quality foods.

Food for thought?

There's a great blog about food on another veterinary site at http://303animalclinic.com/tag/fixed-formula/

Zoe and Foxy At The Royal Welsh Show

Meet Foxy she’s a 3 year old Warmblood x Welsh mare. I’ve owned her for over a year now and I suppose she is what you would call an impulse buy (though rather an expensive one I will admit) as I didn’t set out to buy a horse when I got her even though she is exactly the type of horse I've always wanted.

Being so young I wasn’t able to start breaking her in until this year so we tried our luck at some local level inhand showing with great success getting many wins and championship placings. When it came to breaking her in I had afew setbacks finding a saddle that fitted, Being quite a chunky horse normal saddles slipped round her belly with the slightest movement and doing it without one wasn’t an option I discovered when I kept bouncing straight off her back (a problem Foxy quickly learnt she could take full advantage of meaning I spent more time bouncing off then staying on!) though 

I eventually managed to find one designed specifically for horses of her build and after one more failed attempt at bouncing me off she took to her work like a pro progressing so quickly she is now backed, walking and trotting and getting better everyday but I’ll talk more about that another time. She is still competing this year and our big aim was the Royal Welsh show which we attended on Monday 23rd July. We went there with low expectations knowing the standard would be very high and not knowing how she would behave after her last show a few weeks before where she disgraced herself misbehaving in both her classes, She has quite a feisty attitude when she wants to!

We arrived Sunday night and after a mishap with a broken stable door got her settled in for the night. 5.30am Monday morning we went for a walk around the warm up arena by her ring to give her chance to take in the atmosphere. she had never been to anything that big before and I was expecting fireworks from her when she saw all the tents and everything else but I was pleasantly surprised by how easily she accepted it all only getting a little bit wound up near the end (though I think she was showing off for the Shetland pony stallion that turned up to share the warm-up with her after a while).

By 8.30am she was in the ring with the 14 others in her class and I could hardly watch expecting her to show her feisty side at any minute but it seems she set out to prove me wrong because she was perfectly behaved and got an amazing 4th place! I couldn’t have been more proud!!

She spent the rest of the day relaxing in her stable being thoroughly spoilt (I apologize to whoever had stable 502 after us because of the big hole she thought it would be fun to dig complete with water from her water bucket in front of the stable door! maybe she thought someone would steal her now she’s a big prize winner so decided to protect herself with a moat who knows? strange horse)

After such a huge success everyone is expecting big things from her next year when she starts her ridden competitive career though I think it might be a few years till we are back at the Royal Welsh, though again she might surprise me! I’ll keep you posted…

Zoe and Foxy

I Went To The Olympics

I apologise if you're sick of the olympics, but I'm really excited about them and watching as much as I can every evening, so please bear with me. I'm particularly thrilled with the olympics, because I actually got to see a live olympic event, which was amazing.

I'd tried to get tickets in every round for the ballot and failed. I wanted to go and see the cross country phase of the three day eventing at Greenwich, but I guess every other horse mad girl in the country did as well. Needless to say I was unsuccessful.

Eventually in the final free-for-all, I got tickets. To what? Beach Volleyball. Why? Well it came down to a straight choice between beach volleyball and canoeing, because we had a limited number of days we could have go. We decided that it would be more fun to go and see something in the centre of London than out in the countryside, so we chose beach volleyball (a sport I knew next to nothing about).

We drove to London on Saturday morning, listening to the cycling road race – poor Mark Cavendish, I was so hoping he would win. Checking into our hotel, we used the nine zone travel card which came with the tickets to see a little bit of London. One of the cultural events was the creation of a scale model of Stonehenge as a bouncy castle and last weekend it was in a London park. I went, I saw, I bounced – it was great fun.

We caught the tube back to central London and walked down the Mall. That was a terrific view – olympic and union flags lining the Mall down to Buckingham Palace, where the cycling road race had finished just a few hours before. 

The beach volleyball stadium was build in 30 days flat in Horseguards Parade; where they troop the colour. It seemed to be made entirely out of very thin scaffolding, but had great views and surprisingly comfortable seats! We and thousands of other people went through the very slick airport type security – bag x rays, metal detectors etc in about 10 minutes and into the holding park.

The atmosphere was fantastic – everyone else there seemed to know as little about beach volleyball as we did, but there was a very helpful explanation from a commentator at the start. We watched four games; two mens and two ladies , with music booming, a compere geeing the crowd up every so often and a troupe of dancers coming out in any gaps or dull moments.

By luck, we had a match between Australia and USA ladies (both medal winning teams in the past), who were incredibly skilled, with some amazing rallies.

Night fell and you could see the London Eye over the top of the buildings. It looked fantastic.

There were some empty seats in the olympic officials area, but most of the stadium was packed (except when people were in the queue for the bar or food). Everyone there was having a great time and in the same way as the great six nations games, there were fans of every nationality sitting side by side. It was a fantastic day and a truly memorable experience. 

Well done Great Britain. I think we can be really proud.

A word from our veterinary nurse student, Laura

Hi, I'm Laura, and I'm one of the student vet nurses here at Ash Vets. I'm currently studying Veterinary Nursing at Harper Adams University College, which is based in Newport, Shropshire. It's a 3 year course, which includes 60 weeks of placement in a veterinary practice, which I'm undertaking here.



As a student veterinary nurse, I help the rest of the nursing team and the vets within the practice carry out daily activities such as looking after the animals, general cleaning, and helping out on reception. I’m also learning more advanced nursing duties such as preparing intravenous drips and monitoring anaesthetics – all under the watchful eyes of everyone in practice!


I will be starting my second year of the course in September, and we will be doing modules such as anaesthesia and surgery, radiography and wildlife care. I have already learnt the basics of veterinary nursing in my first year, as well as animal body systems and client care.


The best thing about my course is the balance of theoretical learning at university, and the practical time in placement. By having all of my placements here, I am beginning to build relationships with some of the clients and their animals, and I am beginning to understand in a lot more detail what is involved in the daily running of a veterinary practice. I am also getting to know the staff a lot better - everyone’s so nice and willing to help me learn!


Outside of my course, I enjoying spending time with my family, friends and boyfriend, and I am a keen fudge maker, which I think Ash Vets are grateful for - everyone always seems happy when I bring in my latest batch for them to taste!


To anyone thinking of getting into vet nursing through going to university, I would tell them that it’s a lot of hard work, and you have to be very dedicated, but the rewards are amazing, and are worth everything that you put into it and more!

Laura

How Are Mel's Chickens Doing?

Two weeks on........

Well the new girls have been at the farm for two whole weeks now, and things are going well. They have come out of the new ‘enriched cage’ system, unlike their battery caged predecessors, and I must say they do seem to be in somewhat better condition. The new enriched cages allow more room for the hens to move and stretch than the tiny old barren cages; they have perches and they do allow small areas to nest and scratch. There are still many restrictions with this system – the chickens are still kept in relatively small cages, without access to the outdoors.  Anyone who’s seen a hen take a dust bath, or stretch her wings in the sunshine will tell you just how much they love to be outside.  But that is a discussion for another day. This blog is about my girls!  

We had an uneventful journey home  from Carmarthenshire to the farm on collection day.  The occasional cluck from the boot and the rather wiffy smell of the new chickens ensured that I didn’t forget about my new charges on the drive back! Bluebell and Dau, the resident chickens, were rather put out to say the least when we opened the three cat carriers to reveal six new hens! 

There was a reasonable amount of squabbling in the early days as the eight worked out the pecking order (I had no appreciation of how that saying came about until I kept my own flock of chickens!!).  Things are settling down now in that respect, but the new girls do still get the occasional squawk and peck on the comb if they dare try out a little tit bit I’ve provided before Bluebell can get to it!! 

Those of you on Facebook may have noticed that we had one casualty early on.  One of the new girls developed a severe limp, which is rather a problem when you only have two legs to start with (and not the best balance if I’m really honest!!).  An examination confirmed, as far as possible without an x-ray, that she hadn’t broken a bone, so we set her up in her own little pen to rest and recuperate. We had to separate her from the others, as chickens do have a rather mean tendency to pick on anyone showing weakness – so poor old Cassy (short for ‘Hopalong Cassidy’) had become quite a target overnight. 


Anyway, I am very pleased to report that she is doing very well and her limp has almost fully resolved now. We plan to return her to the flock in the next day or two. I’ll let you know how she gets on.

Egg production is going well. We are still getting the reliable two eggs from Bluebell and Dau, with the new girls laying anything from one to four eggs a day (including three from Cassy, bless her) between them. Based on past experience this should continue to increase as they settle in and get back to full health. We’re also looking forward to seeing those feathers start to grow.

The girls are all currently living in the barn, but work is very nearly finished on the new deluxe chicken coop and run. And they are due to all move out into the big outdoors together later this week. We are all very excited about it and can’t wait to see them tuck in to their first meal of insects and bugs. Fingers crossed they get some sunshine to bask in.............


Mel

Can You Help?

Today we've given our blog over to one of our local RSPCA inspectors, who does great work locally, helping look after the welfare of animals in the Merthyr Tydfil area. I'll leave it up to Gemma to explain what she wants to talk to you about. I hope you can help her out.
Rachel

My name is Gemma Cooper and I am an RSPCA Inspector, covering Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare and Mountain Ash. As an RSPCA inspector I am part of the front line team who work to prevent cruelty, promote kindness and alleviate suffering to animals.
 
We have made huge strides in animal welfare over the years but there is still work to do. As part of my role, everyday I witness first hand, acts of neglect, cruelty and violence towards animals. the RSPCA needs to raise more and more money rach year in order to continue responding to animals in need. 
 
As such, I am volunterring to take on a a challenege of a life time and climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the RSPCA. Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa, standing at a massive 19,341ft.
 
I am hoping to raise £4,000 in order to continue helping to save the lives of animals in our local area.
 
The RSPCA is not funded by the Government. Every penny spent by the RSPCA has been donated by people like you.
 
Last year I attended a house where the Spinger Spaniel had been hit by a car 3 months previous, breaking and dislocating his leg. His owners hadn't taken him to a vet, simply putting it down to, "A bit of a limp". I have no doubt that Fudge would have lived the rest of his life with a broken leg if it hadn't have been for the RSPCA. Fudge's operation to have his leg amputated was paid for by people like you. I have now adopted Fudge and he has been helping me train for the mammoth challenege ahead. 
 
If you are in a position to donate a couple of pounds, please visit my just giving page
 
http://www.justgiving.com/gemma-cooper1
 
 
Thank you
 
Gemma and Fudge

How Does Your Dog Smell?

We're all used to guide dogs and the fantastic work they do, helping blind people in many aspects of everyday life. We treat a number of guide dogs and puppies in training at the surgery and they're always a pleasure to deal with. However there are far more working dogs than just guide dogs and assistance dogs can help in a variety of different ways.

Medical alert dogs can be used to monitor people with diabetes and warn when they are about to suffer a hypoglycaemic attack (a time when their blood sugar drops to levels which are potentially dangerous).  Low blood sugar produces a distinctive smell, which these dogs are trained to detect and react to. They can then summon help, or fetch vital supplies for their owners. More information about these dogs can be found here.

Interestingly a number of pet owners have noted that their pets, which have never been trained to do so,  will behave differently when the owners are having a hypoglycaemic attack. In some cases, the owners were asleep and the animals have actually woken them up!

Dogs may be able to detect problems in people with Addisons Disease; a serious condition which can cause collapse, fits and severe pain in sufferers. Cardiff University are currently involved in research into exactly what these dogs are smelling.

It seems that dogs can also be trained to detect certain types of cancer, so jokes about a 'lab' test aren't wide of the mark! There is research going on about this at the moment, but more details can be found here.

Sniffer dogs have been used for years to detect drugs, explosives and chemicals, but they're now being used to sniff out bed bugs as well. It's amazing what a dog's nose can find! Perhaps one day soon all doctors' surgeries will have a dog in the corner of the waiting room to tell the doctor what's wrong with you.

New Inventions/ Discoveries in Veterinary Science

We always like to keep up to date here at Ash Veterinary Surgery, so I was very interested when one of our American colleagues sent us an article about recent developments. I think sometimes we use this technology so often that we take it in our stride. It's interesting to step back and look at what has happened recently. In this age of bionic pets, what else can be done?

I thought you might be interested to see it too. The article can be found
here.

Some of these procedures are only performed or required in America though, so don't be surprised if you haven't come across all of them

Don't Feed Your Dog Bones

"Nick, nack padywack,
Give a dog a bone"
Goes the nursery rhyme, but like many other old wives tales, this is outdated and just plain wrong.

Every couple of weeks we see a dog who is having problems because they have eaten bones. Some of them have stolen a chicken, or something they shouldn't out on a walk, but unfortunately many of them have been fed bones by otherwise caring owners.

Dogs like bones. Their history and evolution as scavengers, means that they have adapted to eat many things and this includes bones. However they also like chocolate and we all know that can be harmful to them. Just because they like bones doesn't mean that they should be fed them. This applies to any sort of bone, including specially cooked bones, as chips can be easily broken off when the dog chews.

Bones can cause a variety of problems, including constipation, but most seriously large pieces of bone can cause blockages. As you can see from this X ray, this bone has stuck in the dog's oesophagus, require a serious operation to remove it.

A number of dogs and cats die and have to be put to sleep every year because of the damage bones cause, so we have a simple message for you. Please don't feed your dog (or cat) bones.

Sweetener Can Poison Animals

A common artificial sweetener, used in many human food products has been linked with an increasing number of poisonings in dogs. The sweetener Xylitol is used as an artificial sugar in many sweets and biscuits and cake, but is also found in chewing gum, dental hygiene products and medicines.

If eaten by dogs, Xylitol causes a sudden release of insulin, which can lead to hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), intestinal bleeding and liver failure. Signs of low blood sugar can include vomiting, weakness, difficulty walking, trembling or even fits. Immediately veterinary attention should be sought if your pet show any of these signs.

It is thought that cats and ferrets could be vulnerable to poisoning by the substance. However as cats do not taste "sweet" in the way we do, they are less likely to seek it out, although they might be attracted to dairy products such as ice cream which could contain it.

We would advise all our clients to be careful what sort of human food their pets have access to. Do not feed your dog any human food containing Xylitol, and of course avoid other toxins such as grapes, raisins and chocolate. Poisonings often occur because dogs raid unexpected sources of food; beware breath freshening gum, or that emergency bar of chocolate which lives in your handbag.

Rabbits and Guinea Pigs

We've seen a lot of rabbits and guinea pigs at the surgery in the last few weeks. They make fantastic, friendly pets for both adults and children and with many of them living in the house, they can be a real part of the family.

It's best not to mix rabbits and guinea pigs together. They're both friendly creatures and are best to be kept with company, but rabbits can often bully guinea pigs, so stick to rabbits or guinea pigs in one hunch.

It's important for both of them that they have plenty of fibre in their diet. Many of the rabbits and guinea pigs we see have dental problems and these are often preventable with the right diet. Their main diet should be good quality, dust free hay, with a small amount of a complete food, such as Burgess Excel rabbit or guinea pig pellets. They should also have fresh vegetable daily, such as cabbage, kale, winter greens, cauliflower leaves. A full list can be found at here. This is a fantastic website for general information on rabbits and their care.

Guinea pigs have a dietary requirement for Vitamin C, so it is especially important that they have fresh fruit and vegetables and in some cases need a vitamin supplement.

Rabbits should be vaccinated annually against myxomatosis and Viral Haemorraghic disease, even if they are indoor rabbits as diseases can be spread by biting insects. There are currently no vaccinations available or necessary for guinea pigs.

Male and female rabbits or guinea pigs can be kept together, but it is necessary to neuter (spay or castrate) them, to prevent unwanted babies. We recommend neutering all pets to prevent health problems.

Veterinary care for both rabbits and guinea pigs is advancing year on year, allowing vast improvements in their treatment. Modern, up to date veterinary care can be lengthy and expensive, so we would advise all rabbit and guinea pig owners to consider insurance. Companies offering suitable policies include Pet Plan and Exotics Direct.

Giacomo Goes to School

Giacomo and I recently visited the playgroup at Gurnos School, Ystradgynlais to talk to the children about pet owning and veterinary care.

The children enjoyed using a stethoscope; looking at X rays, including dogs, cats and tortoises and using a scanner to find a microchip in both a teddy bear and later in Giacomo.

He was real star, allowing himself to be stroked by all the class and giving them a chance to get some hands on experience with pets.

BBC Discusses Pet Bereavement

Many of you would, no doubt, describe your pet as your best friend. However the subject of pet bereavement is not often discussed in the mainstream media. An interesting article was published on the BBC website today, discussing the loss that many people feel when a much-loved pet is put to sleep.

People who do not own pets, or have not felt a real bond with an animal, can be unsympathetic to the loss of a pet, so I'm grateful to anything which brings the subject to the attention of the public. If it means that people are more understanding, it can only help.

Our staff are of course sympathetic to your loss; we all understand what it is to lose a pet and what it feels like. Some of our staff have gone further and have trained as pet bereavement councillors, so we are able to offer as much help and support as we can.

Owner of Starving Dog Banned From Keeping Animals for Ten Years

This story was featured in last week's Merthyr Express. (please click on the article to see a bigger, easier to read picture)

We at Ash Veterinary Surgery are pleased to help stamp out animal cruelty. Our vets have been involved in giving evidence in a number of animal successful cruelty prosecutions.

On The Buses

I was heartily amused by the story of Casper, a cat from Plymouth in Devon who gets on a bus when he fancies a rest and settles down to sleep on the back seat. You can read the story here.

A client pointed out a similar story about a white cat called Macavity who takes the bus 400m down the road to the fish and chip shop. His story is here.

I'm intrigued now. We've got plenty of patients who arrive by bus for treatment, but I've yet to meet one who comes by bus on his own. Perhaps it's just a matter of time.

Obesity in animals

Obesity is not just a problem for people, many animals are becoming overweight as well. Some surveys of veterinary surgeons suggest that almost half the animals we see are overweight.

When told that their pet is overweight, some owners do not feel that this is a problem, but being obesity can lead to joint pain, heart conditions, liver problems, cystitis and diabetes. Overweight animals cannot exercise and enjoy life as much as their slimline friends.

Recently a man in Brighton has been prosecuted by the RSPCA for animal cruelty because his dog was seriously overweight. Details can be found in http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/8048356.stm

The hope is that this publicity educates the public and makes people treat obesity in animals as it deserves; as a serious medical condition.

We at Ash Veterinary Surgery are very concerned about obesity and offer free nurse clinics to help your overweight pet lose weight. We have a range of special diets, behavioural therapies, advice and even drugs if necessary to help with the weight loss.

Please phone to make an appointment and we will be delighted to help. If you are not sure if your pet is actually overweight, please book a into our nurse clinic and they will be happy to advise you.


More advice about weight loss and healthy lifestyles for your pet can be found at http://www.petsgetslim.co.uk/home/

Is It Worming Time?

When did you last worm your pets? Can you remember, or was it "some time ago, I can't remember exactly when" like most of us?

Generally we remember to worm our puppies and kittens regularly. When you are doing it every 2 weeks until they are 12 weeks old, then every month until they are 6 months, it's not too hard to remember. But adult dogs and cats? Then it gets more difficult.

Adult dogs and cats should be wormed every 3 months. No matter how organised you are, it's easy for this to slip your mind; we're all terribly busy after all. Even if you buy our year's supply of wormers and get the 25% discount you still have to remember to give them.

Novartis, the manufactures of our milbemax wormers have provided a website to help you remember. If you log onto their website, you can arrange to have emails sent by either text message or email. Just look at
http://www.wormfree.co.uk/worming_reminder/en/treatment_reminder.shtml

That's one less thing for us all to remember.

Helping Ty Hafan

At Ash Veterinary Surgery we don't just help animals, we're interested in helping people too.

Last weekend Leanne, one of nurses, and I took part in Ty Hafan's first sleepwalk. The 8 mile walk started at midnight in the Millennium Stadium and went all the way to Cardiff Bay and back.

We raised over £350 in sponsorship between us, contributing to a total amount of £54,000 for the night. It costs Ty Hafan £2.5 million pounds a year to keep running, but this goes some way towards their costs.

Many thanks to everyone who sponsored us, from both of us.

Is Insurance Worth It?

After our insurance training session last week, I started to wonder just how much money I had saved by having my pets insured.

I sat down with a calculator and worked out exactly what I had spent in the last year

Giacomo has been the most expensive of the cats, especially after his argument with a car a fortnight ago. (He's doing very well by the way. He's walking as normal now and really can't understand why he has to be confined in a cage or a room at all times. His tail has now stopped itching, as the hair is growing back, which has also improved his mood!)

He has started physiotherapy again to build up his muscles after the accident.

In the last 9 months, since we got him, he has suffered from the following

Diarrhoea
£369.65

Hip Dysplasia
£514.09 here at Ash
£661.00 for physiotherapy

Respiratory Infection
£1642.01

Road Traffic Accident
£809.74 for initial treatment
£1336.30 for specialist surgery

This means I would have spent a total of £5332.79 in the first year of his life. However, because he is insured with Petplan, I have only spent the excesses of £60 per condition; a total of £240.

How much does his insurance cost? Well he has the Supercat Cover, which means that he is covered for up to £12,000 on each individual condition per year. We pay £13.89 per month; a total of £166.68 per year. This is the most expensive of the Petplan policies and cheaper monthly premiums can be arranged.

As well as covering you for illnesses and accidents involving your pet, Petplan also cover for other related problems. For example; we were supposed to be going to London to see a show the weekend that Giacomo had his accident. If we hadn't managed to cancel the travel and hotel we had arranged, they would have reimbursed us for that.

The other cats haven't been cheap either. Bellini has had the same respiratory infection which cost £2486.53 to treat. As this was a single condition, I paid only £60 excess on this treatment.

Rungo is slightly more expensive to treat. Because he's 12 years old, I have to pay the first £90 of treatment for each condition and 20% of each claim after that.

He has been treated for

Arthritis
£601.14 here at Ash
£551 physiotherapy

Oral Pain (including dental treatment)
£272.95

This is a total of £1425.09, of which I have paid £429.02

He has the Budget Plan insurance, which means that he is covered for up to £4000 treatment on each condition, and this costs £12.79 per month for a cat his age.

So as you can see, I'm very grateful to Petplan for the level of cover they provide for all my pets. If your animals are not insured, then it is well worth thinking about. How would you manage if you were faced with bills like these?

Insurance companies will not cover what they all pre-existing conditions. This means they will exclude diseases which your pet suffered from before you took out the policy. This is why we recommend insurance to everyone with a new pet. They will also charge an excess on any condition treated. However, even with these criteria, it's worth your while insuring your pet in most cases.

Murphy the Hypnodog

One of the questions I am often asked is whether I've seen anything interesting at work.

I'm not always sure what other people think are interesting. Some things I consider fascinating have just made my friends or practice clients go green. But here's something I think everyone should consider interesting.

At Ash Veterinary Surgery, we treat a dog who can hypnotise people.

Don't believe me? Have a look at his performance. Murphy appears about 3/4 of the way through this clip and shows what he can do.

He has appeared on all sorts of TV shows including last week on "Richard and Judy" and has had pieces written about him in national magazines, including "Chat". He even features in Danny Wallace's book "Yes Man."

So do we treat Murphy in a special way because he's a celebrity?

We think all our patients are special, so he doesn't get the red carpet treatment I'm afraid, we treat him just like everyone else. Just with one noticeable exception. I'm always very careful not to look into his eyes...