Fetch Nashville 2025 wrap up

With Nashville behind us, are you missing the excitement or is your fear of missing out taking over? Do not worry, dvm360 has you covered with this post conference recap! Here, you can have a glimpse into the conference through coverage of the keynote addresses, interviews with Fetch facutly, and articles highlighting continuing education sessions. All of dvm360’s coverage can be found on the Fetch Nashville page on dvm360.com, but here are some highlights!

Keynotes

A musical journey in discovering dermatology

Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD, kicked off Fetch Nashville on Friday May 30, 2025, with her musical keynote address. Using parodies of popular songs, Miller took attendees through her journey into becoming a veterinary dermatologist, including how she went from studying theater and opera at Indiana University to veterinary professional. Along with her history in veterinary medicine, Miller provided “down and dermy” tips she has learned through her personal experiences in dermatology to attendees.

Four actionable Fear Free tips from Temple Grandin, PhD, and Marty Becker, DVM

On Day 2 of Fetch Nashville, the dvm360 team welcomed Temple Grandin, PhD, and Marty Becker, DVM, to the keynote stage to provide insight into how a Fear Free approach at your clinic can help give patients a “life worth living.’ Throughout the address, the duo walked attendees through the history of livestock handling, and how the lessons Grandin learned doing that could be applied to small animals, plus Becker explained how the advice that Grandin provided attendees can turn into practical ways professionals can effect the well-being on companion animals positively.

Interviews

Rethinking feline house soiling: What you should know

During her interview with dvm360, Tabitha Kucera, RVT, VTS (Behavior), CCBC, KPA-CTP, FFC, shared 3 key details she wanted attendees to take away from her lecture “Litterbox Lessons: Keeping Cats in the Litterbox,” including why it is important to offer feline caregivers empathy and support as well as helping clients move away from blame-based narratives surrounding cats, like "spiteful" or "inappropriate" behavior.

Why endectocides matter

In an interview with dvm360 ahead of her lectures at Fetch Nashville, Kathryn E. Reif, MSPH, PhD, shared with the audience the adoption of endectocide-based protocols for true “one-and-done” protection.

“So previously, in order to control our ectoparasites and a variety of our different endoparasites that affect our dogs, we may have had to reach for multiple products to provide really comprehensive, broad parasite control. But over the last decade or so, we’re now starting to see different companies bring together ectoparasite-control drugs as well as endoparasite-control drugs to create what they call an endectocide product—one that offers protection against both ectoparasites, like fleas and ticks, and a variety of endoparasites, like hookworms, heartworms, roundworms, etc,” Reif explained during the interview.

Using capnography with anesthesia

Kristen Ward, RN-BSN, RVT, VTS (Anesthesia/Analgesia), shared during her interview with dvm360 at the 2025 Fetch Nashville conference why veterinary professionals should know about capnography as well as some insights into the use of it with anesthesia in veterinary medicine

Articles

Diet trials 101

During their joint lecture at Fetch Nashville, Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, Julia Miller DVM, DACVD, and Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CCFP, Elite FFCP-V, discussed with the crowd practical insights on how and when general practitioners should implement diet trials for their dermatology cases. Through the lecture, the debunked some myths, shared some advice, and discussed common errors that can happen during a trial, and how to avoid them.

The importance of “pet-alized” dental care for older animals

Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC, in her lecture “They are NOT Too Old for Dental Procedures (Usually)” during the conference focused on how to treat older patients with periodontal disease, plus tailor pain management and anesthesia protocols veterinarians can put into practice to reduce the risks of treatments in these older patients. Throughout dvm360’s coverage, check out the questions Lobprise answered through the lecture, including why do many dogs not receive ongoing dental car throughout their lives, what are the challenges of senior dentistry, and more.
“The best monitor is a good technician,” Lobprise said in her lecture. “Having someone dedicated to watching the patient during anesthesia is extremely critical.”

Torsemide for canine CHF: Emerging evidence and clinical benefits

William Rausch, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology), tackled torsemide and how to use it for canine hearth failutre during his lecture at Fetch Nashville. Rausch highlighted the loop diuretics remain the cornerstone of congestive heart failure therapy but noted evolving evidence suggesting torsemide may outperform the long-standing “workhorse” furosemide in certain clinical scenarios. Rausch provided dosing and monitoring consideration from a clinical standpoint, the pharmacokinetic advantages of torsemide, clinical trial evidence, and more to attendees, and in this recap article of his session.

What business opportunities exist for veterinary technicians?

As a technician, do you know what career pathways and opportunities are available to you? Kucera broke down the diverse pathways that a veterinary technician can take beyond the traditional roles in the clinic, and how to utilize the skills technicians must create business opportunities and increase earning potential.

“A lot of vet techs are not advocating for themselves,” Kucera said. “It’s a big problem in our field. We need to be that voice for each other.

"The biggest takeaway [from my presentation] is that you’re not stuck,” Kucera added. “The grass is greener on the other side.”

Feeding a pet's microbiome

The microorganism in pets, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea, and protozoa, play a crucial role in the health of patients. Vicky Orgrain, MBA, RVT, VTS (Nutrition), scientific communication senior specialist with Hill's Pet Nutrition, took the stage at Fech Nashville to help attendees get a petter understanding of its significant, and how to modulate it with prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. 

“There's so much more that we need to learn, so we are just starting to really get the tip of the iceberg of all the things that the microbiome is associated with. It really affects every part of our body,” Ograin explained during her lecture.

Registration for Fetch Nashville 2026 is now open and you can register here today!