Author: isoadmin

What is the benefit of using Gram Stain for cytology in clinic?

While Diff Quick is useful for identifying Malassezia and white blood cell types, it stains all bacteria the same colour – purple! Therefore, it can be hard to distinguish short rod shaped bacteria (bacilli) from round bacteria (cocci), as they will be the same colour, and a similar shape.

Gram Stain is useful for identifying different bacteria as it stains gram negative bacteria pink/orange and gram positive bacteria a dark blue/ purple. In dermatology, gram negative bacteria are almost always bacilli, and gram positive bacteria are almost always cocci. Therefore we can differentiate the shapes based on colour!

Knowing which bacteria are involved in skin and ear infections allows us to choose the correct treatment.

The Gram Stain technique we use here at Dermcare is simple and quick!

❄️Welcome to Winter! Brrrr it’s cold outside!❄️
Did you know… Aloveen Intensive Conditioner can be applied to a dry coat?
It’s perfect to use during these cold winter months, keeping your pet smelling fresh between baths!

Aloveen Intensive Conditioner is specifically designed to be left on the coat, so no rinsing is required!

Not only does it smell amazing, it also replenishes moisture back into the skin and coat.

Apply to the coat at several points and massage in to disperse evenly. Remember, a little goes a long way!

In recent months we’ve found ourselves spending more time at home – with our beloved pets! Last month Dermcare ran a short competition to acknowledge the joy that pets bring to our life and how they have ‘helped’ us during COVID19 restrictions.

We had many fantastic entries, but our Dermcare Pet winner is Bosley – @bozzie.the.ozzie !

Bosley has been entertaining his family at home, while also taking the time to relax and pamper himself. To view all of the great Dermcare Pet entries search #dermcarepet on instagram.

Thank you to all those who entered – we thoroughly enjoyed seeing how your pet’s are keeping you entertained.

Recently Dermcare ran a competition for veterinary nurses to win a trip to the 2020 VNCA conference being held in Melbourne. The entrants where required to answer questions on their role in helping owners understand allergies, which can be complex!

We received an incredible amount of entries but after much consideration our winner is KATIE LYONS from Braidwood Vet Surgery! Katie’s prize includes flights, accommodation and conference registration to the VNCA conference.

Your local representative will be in touch soon to arrange details.

Thanks again to all the nurses who entered!

The Dermcare Team

**Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions and cancellation of the VNCA in April, Dermcare will honour this prize for the 2020 rescheduled date, or if that is unsuitable, the 2021 VNCA conference**

Last week Dermcare exhibited at the 2019 Australian Small Animal Veterinary Conference on the Gold Coast. Once again it was a fantastic event run by the Australian Veterinary Association, and attended by over 300 Veterinarians.

The Dermcare team spoke about Canine Otitis, on the Otoflush Liquid Gold stand and had vets testing their skills to WIN $500 on the claw machine. The highly addictive game had delegates and exhibitors lining up to try and win a prize!

To top off an excellent conference, Dermcare also took home the delegates choice award for Best Stand. While this is the first time the team has taken home the trophy at the ASAV conference, it will be their 5th Best Stand win!

What better time than International Cat Day to celebrate the coronation of our 2019 Clinic Cat of the Year Champion!

Eariler this week Dermcare joined Park Ridge Veterinary Hospital in celebrating our 2019 Champion, Norman. The team at Park Ridge held a spectacular high tea, with staff, friends, family and the community joining in the fun and sharing their favourite stories of Norman.

The Town Crier even made a special appearance to announce Norman’s victory, and thank his devoted fans for their support.

Norman was bombarded by the paparazzi but kept his cool, and worked that infamous charm while recieving his crown, sash and trophy.

Dermcare would like to once again say thank you to all of the Park Ridge Veterinary Hospital team for their incredible effort in this years competition!

Dermcare, a gold sponsor of the Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia National Conference, has won best trade stand for 2019. The team had an amazing time interacting with the nurses, sharing their knowledge of dermatology and Dermcare product use, and hearing about some interesting cases from the field. We are quite sure that the animals of Australia are in good hands with these nurses in charge!

We are looking forward to our next conference in May, which will be the Australian Veterinary Association Annual Conference in Perth.

Thank you to all vets and nurses who entered our Hotspot Quiz! We received over 500 entries and were thrilled to see so many thoughtful answers about treating this painful and irritating condition.

We are pleased to announce our two winners:

Arielle Bridges
Familypet Vet McLaren Vale and Coromandel

Kellie Whitechurch
St Albans Veterinary Clinic

Congratulations! Your local representative will be in touch to arrange your prize.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to visit the website and enter the quiz, and we wish you all a happy and hotspot-free Christmas!

The Dermcare Team

The staff at Dermcare Vet and Dechra NZ have had an IMPOSSIBLE task this week in sorting through the amazing photos for this competition!

We were overwhelmed by the effort that everyone put in to their pictures, impressed by the knowledge of shampoo therapy and its importance in managing skin disease, and of course wowed by the cuteness of all the patients.

After MUCH back and forth, we are happy to announce that the two winners, who will both receive flights, accommodation and conference registration to the VNCA Conference in Brisbane in April 2019 are….

Australia: Rhiannon from Toorak Road Veterinary Clinic, Victoria (entered on Facebook)

NZ: Phoebe.ellen91 from Dunedin (entered on Instagram)

We also have two runners up , who will each receive a $200 VISA card:

Runner Up (Creativity): Tabitha from Swan Street Vets, Victoria (entered on Facebook)

Runner Up (Humour): Shannon Chippendale (entered on Instagram)

Thank you to everyone who entered, congratulations to our winners, and remember to always #washwithdermcare!

If you are one of the winners, please contact us at to organise your prize.

The Dermcare Vet and Dechra NZ teams

Thank you to all vets who entered our competition on MRSP and topical shampoo therapy. It was great to receive so many entries and to such a high standard.

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the hydrobath is:

Happy Paws Veterinary Clinic in Coombabah, QLD

We will arrange delivery of their prize shortly so they can get started on some Dermcare shampoo baths straight away!

For more information on the Dermcare shampoo range, please see https://dermcare.com.au/Products