Covering industry trends and breaking news, innovative new research and technology, and legislative updates, AAHA’s NEWStat blog and weekly e-newsletter keep a finger on the pulse of current events that matter to the veterinary community. Commercial content is an important part of animal health pro awareness and education media. Source: AAHA NEWStat. Link. Current … [Read more...]
The Bridge Club now engaging two audiences
The Bridge Club expansion into the consumer pet segment with The Bridge Club Pets is keeping Bridgers engaged with this unique virtual community platform. Catherine Haskins leads discussions focused on guest speakers and educators. The schedule for The Bridge Club (industry group) events, as well as registration can be found here as available <link> The Bridge Club … [Read more...]
Upcoming Veterinary Innovation podcasts
Shawn Wilkie and Ivan Zak, DVM, continue their unique podcast series speaking with industry innovators on the Veterinary Innovation Podcasts. Upcoming guests and topics are: 06/25/2020: Genetic Testing. Guest: Dr. Chris Menges, Basepaws. Link. 07/02/2020: Veterinary Workflow Optimization. Guest: Caleb Frankel, Instinct Science. Link. 07/09/2020: Neural … [Read more...]
Don’t penny-pinch preweaning
Inherent in animal health pro relationships with dairy producers is the element of helping them manage their ROI. A.F. Kertz provides a review of research about calf inputs and concludes cutting costs in the calf period may save on a daily basis but doesn’t pay over the heifer raising time period. I think too often dairy producers focus on the calf period as a place to cut … [Read more...]
Cows and second careers
Cull cow weight and cull cow price are two of the more important factors in dairy herd profitability. However, prioritizing cull cow weight first without calculating the cost of gain may cost producers more than the value they receive. Source: Dairy Herd Management, June 22, 2020. Link. Selectively feeding cows that are thin (BCS less than 3), but still healthy and mobile, … [Read more...]
For hospital managers, numbers speak louder than words!
Veterinary practice managers generally track and report on a number of Key Performance Indicators. These critical figures provide valuable insights into how the practice is performing and specific factors that influence performance over time. This group of highly motivated animal health pros have received considerable support from their association in recent months. The VMHA … [Read more...]
Quiz: Exam room behavior cases (video)
Test your ability to spot the signs of anxiety in a patient with this video quiz. It is a timely review topic as animal health pros re-open after the first phase of Covid-19. Fear and anxiety are under-recognized and pervasive problems in veterinary medicine, says Leslie Sinn, CPDT-KA, DVM, DACVB. Common signs of distress include panting, lip licking, dilated pupils, avoiding … [Read more...]
PRIDE VMC shares with The Bridge Club
Commentary – developed with Catherine Haskins, The Bridge Club Leaders from the Pride Veterinary Medical Community (PRIDE VMC) organization participated in a virtual discussion organized and produced by The Bridge Club, Monday June 22. Even with the cloud of uncertainty from Covid-19, recent civil rights issues and supreme court decisions were top of mind for the … [Read more...]
How discomfort enables growth
Let’s be honest: There’s comfort in routines and predictable workflows, writes Michelle Eggleston Schwartz. But, navigating life on cruise control lacks the richness and reward gained from accomplishing difficult goals. Schwartz is correct. The pandemic has enmeshed home and work. Many have discovered the pleasure of applying creativity, new levels of resilience and … [Read more...]
Commitment versus compliance in practice cultures
The discussion of practice culture applies to corporate practice, private practice and various industry business units. Bob Lester, DVM, is uniquely qualified to discuss the passion of commitment versus managing and dictating for compliance. He identifies the absence of trust as a barrier to achieving a commitment culture which maximizes potential. Source: Today’s … [Read more...]
Autoship sales projected to help Chewy retain 1.6 million new customers
Commentary: includes complementary commercial content from VetSource® Chewy’s success is getting noticed by our industry. For veterinary hospitals, it is a definitive call to action to embrace, implement and optimize home delivery” - Kirk Augustine Like Amazon and other e-commerce retailers, Chewy has seen the kind of growth that was expected to take years to achieve, get … [Read more...]
TODAY! Webinar: Pandemics and Preparedness in the Anthropocene
Provided by Virox Animal Health™ The Virox team has been diligent in providing education for animal pros during the pandemic. Today, June 25th, at 2:00 p.m. EDT, Virox will host Dr. Craig Stephen, who will explore how global changes, including climate change, globalization and urbanization will affect zoonotic disease risks and management. He will also propose general … [Read more...]
Friday, June 26th is National Take Your Dog to Work Day
Recognized for the first time in 1999, National Take Your Dog to Work Day celebrates our immense love for dogs. It was conceived to celebrate companion dogs and as a way to encourage adoptions. 2020 may be different this year as many are still WFH!” Source: National Today. Link. … [Read more...]
VVCA board members present at ATA conference (video replay)
The animal health industry was represented at the American Telemedicine Association conference. VVCA Board members Mark Cushing and Deb Leon discussed the future of pet virtual care, the importance of improving the health care of animals and the effort to provide veterinary care access for an extended group of animal owners. . . . like human telemedicine, the ongoing … [Read more...]
Hardware, plastic disease still found in cattle
Fifty five percent to 75 percent of cattle slaughtered in the eastern U.S. have hardware in the reticulum. Cattle don’t usually sort their food, which means they can ingest foreign matter when eating hay or processed feed. This include pieces of fencing, nails, metals and more recently, plastic fibers used to bind hay. Magnets are used to remove metal objects, but plastics are … [Read more...]
Polyclonal antibodies being developed IN cows for Covid-19 virus
SAb Biotherapeutics of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is pursuing an extension of previous research in genetically modifying dairy cows so that certain immune cells carry the DNA that allows people to make Covid-19 antibodies. Cows become giant bioreactor antibody factories. They have more blood engineered to synthesize human versions of the proteins and their blood can also … [Read more...]
Smart dogs, dumb dogs by breed
There are lots of conflicting lists about intelligence by breed says Jackie Brown. Author Stanley Coren, PhD, DSc, FRSC, ranked dog breed by these three factors: Instinctive intelligence Adaptive intelligence Working and obedience intelligence Source: Dogster, December 2019. Link. Highest ranked dog breeds (top 3): Border Collie Poodle German … [Read more...]
5 clues to Cushing’s disease
Todd Archer, DVM, MS, DACVIM, shares the five most common findings seen on CBC, serum chemistry profile, and urinalysis results in patients with confirmed canine hyperadrenocorticism: Stress leukogram & thrombocytosis Elevated liver enzymes Hyperglycemia Hypercholesterolemia Dilute urine Source: Clinician’s Brief, October 2018. Link. Although most dogs … [Read more...]
Behavior problems are too common in dogs
Confirming what we already know, a Finnish study of 13,000 pet dogs found that nearly three-quarters of them have behavioral issues. The study focused on seven issues: noise sensitivity fearfulness compulsion fear of surfaces or heights inattention/impulsivity separation related behavior and aggression. Over a quarter of the dogs were fearful of fireworks … [Read more...]
Wildlife among us
Commentary A fecal deposit on my deck and a latrine under a tree recently are stark reminders that suburban backyards are frequented by an ever-increasing citified wildlife population. Animal health pros immediately think of rabies and ideally have been able to keep vaccinations current in pets that go outdoors. Beyond deer eating in our yards and predators like foxes, … [Read more...]
Don’t flush cat poop!
Cat poop is implicated for causing fatal toxoplasmosis in wild southern sea otters, according to a recent study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B < link >. The Toxoplasma agents spread to the ocean from cat feces to land. Toxoplasma oocysts (eggs) accrue in kelp beds, where they are eaten by snails. Otters then eat the snails. Source: Catster, June 10, … [Read more...]
Dang those flies!
Flies are a nasty nuisance. Whether on the farm, acreage or in the backyard, they are an insidious challenge for animal owners and people alike. It’s summer. When the temperatures go up, fly numbers rapidly increase. If not controlled, adult flies continue to lay eggs and increase the fly population. Managing larvae and adult flies should be a continuous process. Every … [Read more...]
DOGPARCS study shows parasites are common in recreational canine sites
What has been suspected to be true about dog parks and parasite risks has been quantified. This study assessed the prevalence of these infections in dogs visiting off‑leash dog parks. It is the first large-scale effort to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in dogs visiting dog parks throughout the USA. Source: BMC, June 1, 2020. Link. Intestinal parasites, the … [Read more...]
People find it hard to accept a compliment (podcast)
Suzann (Suzie) Pileggi Pawelski finds people typically respond to positive feedback in one of three unhealthy ways: Deflection (brushing it off) Reciprocation (repaying the compliment as quickly as possible) Discounting (providing reasons why the compliment isn’t really deserved). By refusing a compliment properly, people are missing out on a level of connection … [Read more...]
Focus on the lifetime value of the customer – always
Lifetime value (LTV) is the most important number in your business and the one to be obsessed with increasing, says Fernando Camacho. He shares perspective on building daycare and boarding businesses by prioritizing LTV in current customers, plus using LTV to measure return on investment of new customer acquisition efforts. Source: Pet Boarding and Daycare Magazine, May/June … [Read more...]
34 hard truths to know before becoming successful
In a recent post < link > Benjamin Hardy, PhD, reminded us that “every choice is costly; saying Yes isn’t free.” In this article, he shares truths about the path to success. Many of these will make sense for animal health pros as we work to define the next normal. Source: Benjaminhardy.com. March 16, 2020. Link. This message accompanied the list from Hardy. Here's an … [Read more...]
Survey reveals 1 in 3 adults misused bleach
The Centers for Disease Control says about one in three adults intentionally used chemicals and disinfectants unsafely, according to results from a recent survey < link >. Some of the high-risk practices included using bleach to wash fruits and vegetables, applying household cleaning and disinfectant products to bare skin, and inhaling, gargling or ingesting cleaners and … [Read more...]
Dr. Ramey on the equine microbiome
When it comes to the equine microbiome, we don’t really know enough about what’s normal to make strong recommendations or have firm conclusions about what to do when things are abnormal. Happily, horses seem to do pretty well on their own, but there’s certainly a lot more to learn. David Ramey, DVM, discusses the nuances of the equine microbiome with researcher Dr. Carolyn … [Read more...]
Dairy topics: Milk fever, dry cows, inbreeding, heat stress, sperm dose
Here are worthwhile topics to discuss with dairy producers during National Dairy Month. Veterinarians and direct-to-dairy representatives often find a third-party article opens the door to discussions beyond normal dialogues and details. The pandemic has taught us the importance of educational communications. Share these in person, on social media or in … [Read more...]
The Bridge Club now engaging pet owners
Expanding their audience to pet owners, The Bridge Club has successfully launched TBC Pets. It is a virtual community where pet owners can gather in a casual conversation to gain insight and guidance directly from veterinary professionals. More than 5,000 pet owners have attended the five virtual events to date. “The feedback has been overwhelming with immediate survey … [Read more...]