This year's conference took place live on line on Saturday 14th November.  It was recorded, and you are able to still buy a ticket until 31st December 2020, when you will be sent access to the recordings and also PDFs from the speakers who have supplied them.  Please make sure that you check the same e mail you use to buy your ticket, as this is where the information will be sent.

This year, we are examining the science behind raw feeding.

The programme is below.  As well as the formal presentations, the speakers will be discussing their talks with each other between the presentations. 

8:45 - 9.00am        Dr Brendan Clarke BVetMed VetMFHom MRCVS - A Review of the RFVS' year

9:00 - 10:00am      Rowan Sanderson, The Microbiome: What we can Learn from Human Nutrition and Medicine to Better Help our Pets

Rowan has nurtured a lifelong passion for better understanding nutrition, and it’s impact on both health and longevity.
Discussing the exciting advances in human functional medicine, nutrition and supplementation, which are filtering into our pet wellness world.

10:00 - 11:00am    Dr Christian Vergara DVM: The Microbiome: The Science behind the Forgotten Organ

Christian's passion is the microbiome , and teaching people all about it. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from this passionate advocate for such an important organ.

11:00 - 12:00pm    Break

12:00 - 12:30pm    Dr Conor Brady BSc PhD: We need to talk about fibre... the good, the bad and the ugly of this little discussed nutrient

Having graduated with a degree in zoology in 2002, Conor obtained a doctorate from University College Dublin, studying the effects of nutrition on the behaviour and gut morphology of mammals. He is a lively and engaging speaker guaranteed to inform and entertain with a lot of science.

Conor questions the long-term suitability of plant fibre to the meat-eater. Regardless of what you believe the dog eats specifically in the wild, plant fibre is not normal fibre for a meat-eater.  In this talk we discuss the role of fibre, the use of plant fibre to date, the difference between Crude Fibre on pet food labels and the more accurate reading of Total Dietary Fibre, plant fibre's potential successes in some canine diseases and it's possible risks to breeds at-risk of diseases such as GDV and DCM in high-dose.

12:30 - 1:00pm      Dr Neus Candela DVM: Fasting Your Dog: Why it is Important and When to apply in a Clinical Setting

Neus is an integrative vet focused on fresh food feeding and founder of NutriVets designed to help pet owners switch their dogs and cats to a healthy diet, She is the 2020/21 President of the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society.  She will review the scientific literature for fasting and intermittent fasting in people and animals and sharing her clinical experience applying this strategy to help heal the body

1:00 - 3:00pm        Break

3.00 - 3:30 pm       Dr Nick Thompson BSc BVM&S VetMFHom MRVCS: Raw Food and Anti Microbial Resistant Bacteria

Nick will present evidence for and against raw food , from a multi drug resistant perspective.
He is the Founder of the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society His pet topics are gastroenterology and the microbiome, and the misuse of pharmaceuticals in medicine. He loves researching all aspects of human and animal nutrition.

3:30 - 4:30pm        Billy Hoekman: Competitive Inhibition for Safety and Nutrition

Billy Hoekman is the Nutrition Science Director for Answers Pet Food. He is involved in formulation, research, product development, working with farms, and science education. 

Billy will lead us through an exploration of the world of fermentation. How does it make pet food safer? Does it have any effect on the nutrient content?                                        How does inhibition differ from the kill steps that are being adopted by the industry? Learn all of the ins and outs of keeping food safe, healthy, and raw!

4:30 - 5:30pm        Break

5:30 - 6:30pm        Barbara Royal DVM, CVA, CIAC: To Formulate or not to Formulate, that is the Question

Barbara will take us through questions about diet, and mull them over to create food pets will be glad they ate!

Dr. Royal is an internationally renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and physical rehabilitation.  She is known as a passionate advocate of common sense and cutting-edge approaches to animal health. She lectures around the globe, is widely published, and has been regularly featured in the media and in film documentaries for her groundbreaking work. She teaches about all aspects of practical integrative veterinary medicine through RAHU, and is an adjunct professor at California Polytechnic State University.

6:30 - 7:00pm        Dr Brendan Clarke BVetMed VetMFHom MRCVS: Supplements to enhance Gut Health

Brendan will discuss supplements and their place in supporting pets.

Brendan Clarke has been working in general practice for more than 25 years. He took over Towerwood Vets in 2003.  Being a unique practice with a holistic slant to animal health when Brendan joined the practice in 1998, he was immersed into a practice already advising on, and seeing the benefits of, biologically appropriate feeding for both dogs and cats.  He feels strongly that nutrition is an essential part of respecting the health and welfare of his patients.  He is the 2019/20 President of the Raw Feeding Veterinary Society.

7:00 - 7:30pm        Break

7:30 - 8:30pm        Professor Anna Hielm Bjorkman  Latest news from DogRisk Research

Assistant Professor Anna Hielm-Björkman will talk about the latest research from DogRisk.

Anna Hielm-Björkman works at the University of Helsinki in Finland.  In 2007 she defended her PhD theses on complementary therapies for dogs suffering from chronic pain due to OA, including work on nutrition, nutraceuticals, acupuncture and homeopathy. Nowadays,a lot of her work involves canine nutrition, epidemiology and –omics. Her life-work is to be a game-changer in preventive medicine, both for pets and humans and to combine evidence-based methods with controversial questions.