Animal Health Digest

Curating useful content for animal health professionals

Pet food inflation hits new high, with many reasons why

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For the total pet care sector, inflation reached 8.1 percent year over year in May 2022 and is at 6.7 percent year to date. Fuel price increases are an obvious contributor, but Debbie Phillips-Donaldson shares other competitive factors creating imbalances in the supply chain. Source: Petfood Industry, June 15, 2022. Link. <Petfood> is having to compete with renewable … [Read more...]

Guide to medical professionals who specialize in caring for pets

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Veterinary medical professionals’ credentials are an alphabet soup of abbreviations. Industry research on veterinary technicians revealed misconceptions about the role, responsibilities, education and skills of veterinary nurses and technicians <Link>. After reviewing Sarah Mouton Dowdy’s article, you may find some credential abbreviations new to you. Source: Daily … [Read more...]

Worth a Glance – June 23, 2022

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Last week’s most read posts IRS increases mileage rate for remainder of 2022. Link. Last week’s AHD Bulletin Animal Health Digest Bulletin, Thursday, June 16, 2022. Link. =================================== New grant will help veterinary students learn how to practice using a ‘spectrum of care’ model Source: Veterinary Advantage, June 2022. Link.  The … [Read more...]

Petco begins serving rural pets and farm animals

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Petco launched a community-driven test concept to address the health and wellness needs of pets and farm animals in rural communities. The grand opening of the first location was in Floresville, Texas, last Friday. The Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply centers will be new, standalone retail facilities located at the heart of small towns and rural communities. The company … [Read more...]

Safety required around poison ivy, oak and sumac for humans and pets

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In many parts of the U.S., the edges and undergrowth of stands of trees, timber, forests and marshes contain poisonous vines. These plants are poisonous because of urushiol, a potent oily sap found all over the plants. While rare, dogs get poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac through touch or ingestion. A dog's fur protects against the urushiol. But areas of a dog's body … [Read more...]

Probiotics and prebiotics – why they’re important for dogs and cats

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Contains Commercial References A balanced microbiome not only helps beyond a properly functioning digestive tract. It is also connected to good immunity, skin and coat wellness, and even brain and cognitive health. Probiotics and prebiotics can help achieve and maintain that balance. Research shows that at least 70% of the immune response resides in the digestive tract.” - … [Read more...]

Pet supplements evolving to accompany nutrition plans

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The pet supplement category was benchmarked at $800 million in 2020 and some expect it to grow to more than $1 billion by 2025. At the same time, there is increased confusion about what a supplement is. Toppers, treats, pills and powders all get lumped into the category. Daniel Schaeffer, Native Pet, believes the category is evolving to an around-the-bowl nutrition category … [Read more...]

It is not clear if apple cider vinegar is good for dogs

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Sharing published consumer information with animal health pros who may not know it exists remains one of the primary objectives of AHD’s curation efforts.” – Kirk Augustine Owners often attempt to treat dogs’ potential problems with home remedies, ideas from social media groups, websites or consumer publication articles before going to the veterinary clinic. Knowing what … [Read more...]

Worth a Glance – June 16, 2022

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Last week’s most read posts Chewy behind Amazon, ahead of Walmart in automatic reorders. Link. Last week’s AHD Bulletin Animal Health Digest Bulletin, Thursday, June 9, 2022. Link. =================================== Before chickens were nuggets, they were revered Source: The New York Times, June 7, 2022. Link. The real chicken mystery has nothing to do … [Read more...]

Presumed transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from a cat to a veterinarian

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Scott Weese, DVM, shares strong evidence of cat-to-veterinarian transmission in an upcoming paper. He wasn’t surprised this could happen, but the circumstances serve as a safety warning to veterinary teams. Weese shares the cat from a SARS-CoV-2 owner home was healthy and the veterinarian collected nasal and rectal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing. In the process, the cat … [Read more...]

Salmonella and E. coli common in raw pet food

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A Portuguese study sought to find out if raw dog food could be a source of Salmonella and/or E. coli, specifically strains that show resistance to critical antibiotics such as colistin. E. coli was detected in all 14 samples produced by two international brands. Furthermore, 71 percent of these samples, primarily those from products containing poultry, contained … [Read more...]

Fearful dog? Teach avoidance.

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Victoria Stillwell shares ideas to help fearful dogs. She advocates to give the animal choices and proactively ensure it can avoid things that increase fearful responses. The dog who has the courage to walk away is much easier to handle than the dog who responds aggressively. Practicing avoidance promotes confidence, and repeated experience helps your dog be happier with the … [Read more...]

Make traveling with dogs easy and fun

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With careful planning and preparation, traveling with dogs can be fun and less stressful on the pet than being left at a pet sitter. It is not for everyone, however. Here are three resources = to help dog owners enjoy traveling with their dogs. Sources: 8 tips to get your car pet-friendly, Happy Puppy Tips. Link. Ideas to help dogs, especially puppies, feel at ease … [Read more...]

Crum & Forster Pet Insurance Group™ marks 25 Years

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Congratulations on 25 years’ efforts to protect more pets and helping to strengthen the bond between animal owners and their dogs, cats and horses. As a result of a multi-channel distribution approach consisting of direct-to-consumer, co-branded partnerships and white label brands, C&F Pet has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade. The company also has a … [Read more...]

Worth a Glance – June 9, 2022

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Last week’s most read posts 8 rules for working with your relatives. Link. Last week’s AHD Bulletin Animal Health Digest Bulletin, Thursday, June 2, 2022. Link. =================================== Credit score 101: How is it calculated? Source: Daily Finance, June 3, 2022. Link. There are five categories of credit score: payment history, amounts owed, … [Read more...]

Dog park etiquette. The rudest things people do.

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To help make the dog park a safe and enjoyable setting for everyone, HuffPost asked Nick Leighton and other etiquette experts to share the faux pas they’ve observed. They share their advice for avoiding these missteps. Pay attention, clean up and intervene when necessary.” Source: HuffPost, June 2, 2022. Link. INSIGHTS: This is a good resource to share in social media, … [Read more...]

Dental pain in cats: A prospective 6-month study

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This study from in a Portuguese veterinary hospital summarizes evaluations of 64 cats that randomly presented for different dental procedures. Researchers wanted to understand feline dental disease as a pain trigger during routine examination and whether disease severity correlates to the degree of pain. This study concluded that cats with dental disease feel pain during … [Read more...]

The quality of life question ALL DVMs should be asking

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Certified in hospice and palliative care, Cherie T. Buisson, DVM, CHPV, faced agonizing thoughts and questions when her own dog’s quality of life reached a decision point. Her wrestling, rationales and emotions are expressed in her blog post. The decision point came in the form of a question Buisson now uses with clients when facing end of life decisions. What will he be … [Read more...]

4 ways to have cost conversations with clients

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Sponsored Content Compiled from more than 1,200 veterinary professionals, results from the 2021 AAHA Financial Care Study* shine a spotlight on opportunities for practices to improve the way they discuss costs with animal owners. The four key takeaways and the associated statements shared in this article are worth reviewing with the entire veterinary team. These statements … [Read more...]

GROSS! Dealing with dogs eating poop

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Coprophagia is common in dogs. It is a natural, normal behavior, writes Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA. Dogs may eat all kinds of poop. Deer, horse, bunny, even human poop, but cat feces seem especially delectable. She says stopping poop eating is more a matter of managing your dog than training him out of this disgusting habit. Managing access to feces is important to keep … [Read more...]

Will a super bug keep dogs out of our beds?

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A recently reported gene, mcr-1, can make bacteria resistant to colistin, the last-resort antibiotic for some multidrug-resistant infections. The spread of mcr-1 may increase due to the gene being distributed between pets and humans. Dogs can hold mcr-1 in their gut before the gene is transferred through microscopic fecal particles.  Source: KFBK, May 25, 2022. Link. Experts … [Read more...]

Plants that keep mosquitoes away

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Plants that keep away mosquitoes and provide food, for both wildlife and humans, are ideal for home environments. In addition to tasting great and reducing the mosquito population, they provide us with the options to offset the use of some chemicals. Among the plants listed are lavender, basil, thyme and rosemary. Source: Countryside, May 16, 2022. Link. … [Read more...]

IBPSA Fast Bites, May 20, 2022

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Common questions about industry M and A, Pet Advocacy Network formerly PIJAC adds new director of membership, the reshaping of small business banking, PetCo CEO advises pet owners, ElleVet Project and more . . . Source: IBPSA Fast Bites, May 20, 2022. Link. … [Read more...]

Most read companion animal posts of 2022

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Miss some companion animal content? Catch up now. Here are the most read companion animal posts so far this year. Source: Animal Health Digest Cat obesity up more than 100 percent in 10 years. Link Cleaning up after feline messes. Link Considerations before switching a pet’s food. Link Land area twice the size of the UK needed to feed the world’s pets. Link … [Read more...]

Acute moist dermatitis; it’s that time of year

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Acute moist dermatitis, like most dermatologic conditions, is not imminently life-threatening but can result in significant patient discomfort. The authors share diagnosis, treatment and management of AMD. Dogs with heavy and dense undercoats are more susceptible to developing hot spots because of increased environmental temperatures and slow drying of the coat due to lack … [Read more...]

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Animal Health Digest, LLC is a content curation and aggregation service for animal health professionals. We continuously read and review more than 150 publications that produce articles, studies, reviews, white papers and other material for veterinarians, veterinary professionals, veterinary support staff, companion animal owners and livestock owners. Learn more.

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