Hill’s Karen Shenoy, DVM, shares advice for veterinary teams when discussing a pet’s weight with clients and addressing a case of obesity with animal owners. Her guidance about working pet owners’ behaviors into proactive feeding plans and considering the inclusion of treats is excellent counsel. We reminded veterinary teams to include food and treat information in pet … [Read more...]
Episode 3, Zoetis’ Born of the Bond
Complimentary Sponsored Content The health of an operation depends on the health of its herd. This episode of The Born of the Bond Series documents the story of the Schuler Red Angus Operation. By being proactive in vaccinating their cattle, the Schulers have helped their operation avoid any serious health issues for more than two decades. The Born of the Bond series … [Read more...]
What dogs may do better than your friends
The research on the human-animal bond has given us much to consider and even more to learn. Stacy Colino shares information from neuroscience, psychologists and veterinary behaviorists. They just sit there and look at you with loving eyes. Dogs don’t judge or criticize. This silent form of canine encouragement can have a calming effect when you’re anxious or under pressure, … [Read more...]
IBPSA Fast Bites – January 29, 2024
Posting OSHA 300 logs, animal voting rights, M&A in pet food, small business accountants speak, budgeting, money lost and more, including last week’s AHD Bulletin. Source: IBPSA, January 29, 2024. Link. The 2024 IBPSA FLOW Business Conference will be held in Tucson, Arizona September 24th-26th. Use this link if you wish to become a speaker at the conference <Link>. … [Read more...]
STOP thinking about work after hours
Thinking about our job after the official workday is over may not be beneficial. Constant rumination leads managers to be more depleted and less able to show up as leaders . . . something even their employees can pick up on. Research recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, suggests that constantly thinking about work may hurt rather than help your … [Read more...]
Do it NOW!
Speed has a force-multiplying effect. It eliminates festering problems faster and accelerates vital progress on important to-dos. Source: AXIOS, January 18, 2024. Link. Get it out of the way and you have freed up bandwidth . . . INSIGHTS: Per the old time management tip . . . handle it once. Also see: The Two-Minute Tool, GTD®, May 19, 2020. Link. David Allen explains … [Read more...]
The path to retention in veterinary medicine
AAHA’s recent retention study reveals challenges that must be met to keep educated veterinarians and vet techs by proxy practicing. Veterinary medicine has a problem: attrition. The study’s introduction includes these factors: 30 percent of those in clinical practice plan to change practices or leave within the next year. Once they leave clinical practice, only 10 … [Read more...]
When bosses should slow things down
“Better slow down there, young fella . . . see, if you take your time . . . you get a more harmonious outcome,” says the character Joe Gill to J.T. in the movie Crossfire Trail. It parallels another colloquialism, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” Both quotes apply to the author’s assertion in the first article here. Two articles with two divergent perspectives are … [Read more...]
A plan is not a strategy
A comprehensive plan with goals, initiatives, and budgets is comforting, BUT starting with a plan is a terrible way to make strategy, says Roger Martin, MBA, author and Thinkers50 Number One Management Thinker in 2017. Martin’s YouTube video, A Plan Is Not a Strategy, was the most watched in 2023. What most strategic planning is in the world of business has nothing to do with … [Read more...]
Combatting lack of adherence to heartworm preventatives
Animal health pros need to share images like this one over and over. We recently featured disturbing data on noncompliance <Link> and called for more realistic imagery in that post. Kudos to AHS for this image of heartworm. What will you do with it? Source: American Heartworm Society, X, January 18, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 25, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, January 18, 2024. Link. Most read post(s) from the January 18th AHD Bulletin – Cell phone addiction, how it impacts our relationships. Link. Leadership or sales tactics. Link. Practices that push cow-calf profitability. Link. ============================================ Elanco’s multi-year … [Read more...]
Biosecurity methods update, learning across segments
Driven by African swine fever, avian influenza, PRRS, the realistic risk of hoof and mouth disease, more livestock producers are paying more attention to how to protect our domestic food production animals and in the process protect human populations from zoonoses. We’re sharing two articles as animal health pros interact and work with animal owners. The devil remains in … [Read more...]
Marketing might benefit from some cynicism
Commentary We put Hannah O’Rourke’s article calling for more realistic messaging in this section acknowledging veterinarians serving producers are providing services and products in B2B settings focused on optimizing revenue in addition to animal health. She lends a dose of realism given how frequently products are presented as the Holy Grail with no room for business owners … [Read more...]
Emerging equine eye therapies
Horses will likely develop eye issues at some point in their lives. Chris Smith, DVM, shares four cutting-edge treatments for equine eye issues ranging from corneal ulcers to cancer. They offer hope for owners caring for horses with eye conditions: Low-dose gentamicin intravitreal injection Corneal cross-linking Cyclophotocoagulation Photodynamic … [Read more...]
Essential oils smell good to us but may be dangerous for pets
We live in a smell-sensitive society awash with myriad options for improving the aromas of our environs. With more than 60 percent of households with pets, the $2 billion U.S. air freshener market continues to grow <Link>. Aware of the potential health or environmental risks associated with synthetic chemicals, consumer demand is increasing for organic and natural … [Read more...]
CDC issues warning about cat-transmitted sporotrichosis
ICYMI. Cat-transmitted sporotrichosis has emerged in Brazil as a zoonotic epidemic and major public health threat and is a concern for the United States according to the CDC. The most common form of sporotrichosis is skin infections. Infected cats will present with lesions on their face, often around their nose. Source: DVM 360, May 2023. Link. This was the most read DVM 360 … [Read more...]
How dogs understand time
Investigating the uncanny sense of time in dogs, Jen Phillips April learned about periodic timing and interval timing from dog cognition experts. She shares insights into how dogs track time. Dogs may not understand time in the exact way that humans do, but our canine companions do mark time using their senses, routines, and environmental cues.” Source: Great Pet Care, … [Read more...]
IBPSA Fast Bites – January 22, 2024
Forbes trends in pet health care, VMX review, grooming’s pivotal role, choosing a credit card processer, exceptional lobbies, pets as family, lines of credit and more . . . Source: IBPSA, January 22. 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Burnout in veterinary medicine: A work-life balance guide
Complimentary Content from Guardian Vet Burnout remains a huge concern and rates of veterinary compassion fatigue are extremely high. Its effects are pervasive impacting veterinarians, vet technicians and others in practices, as well as practice economics. Pulling from discussions on the Vet Health Podcast, Bryce Patterson shares a guide that looks at individual and … [Read more...]
JAVMA adding video transcripts
Keeping with the advancing digital communications, JAVMA is developing a space within their journals for articles that are centered around a clinical video, but also include the hallmarks of a scientific paper, such as an abstract, references and study objectives. As a clinician, I’ve often read peer-reviewed articles on a novel technique and wished for an easier way to … [Read more...]
Vets identify 4 barriers to pet food nutrition communication
Commentary Four main barriers may hinder communication about nutrition between pet owners and vets, according to research published in JAVMA <Link>. Time Misinformation and information overload Pet owners’ apprehension toward new information Veterinarians’ confidence in nutrition knowledge and communication skills Collecting diet and treat information … [Read more...]
Are cross-selling and personalization now the same?
We are in the midst of a software revolution, writes Armondo Roggio. He shares perspectives on the rapid changes in e-commerce marketing approaches fueled by ever-evolving AI which is blurring the lines between personalization and cross-selling. He warns marketers to avoid putting merchandising on auto-pilot and allow an AI to take over. The better AI becomes, the more blurry … [Read more...]
Social media calendars help plan clinic outreach
Consistency, relevance and authenticity are key to fostering lasting relationships with your audience in the digital landscape, writes Adam Christman, DVM, MBA. His article is good guidance for veterinary clinic teams to help them avoid knee-jerk posting. A content calendar serves as a road map, enabling veterinary hospitals to plan their social media content systematically.” … [Read more...]
Fixing broken workplace culture
There is an overwhelming sense that work and the underlying relationships between employers and employees are fundamentally broken, writes Aki Ito. She says neither employers nor employees feel they're getting what they expect from the other. Ito presents mutuality and reciprocity as key elements of the psychological contract which generates the kind of trust and loyalty … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 18, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, January 11, 2024. Link. Most read post(s) from the January 11th AHD Bulletin – Understanding active listening and distractions. Link. The pros and cons of servant leadership. Link. 22 team-building activities and games for 2024. Link. ============================================ Study: Antibiotics … [Read more...]
Swine herd biosecurity can reduce the incidence risk of PRRS
The industry can keep PRRS at bay, says Scott Dee, DVM, MS, PhD. The results of a two-year retrospective study provide confidence that improvements in swine herd biosecurity can reduce the incidence risk of PRRS. He shares the importance of next-level biosecurity and relates it to all group housed animal settings. Biosecurity is a people business. If people don’t follow the … [Read more...]
Practices that push cow-calf profitability
Spending money with veterinarians was listed as a top investment producers can make to grow cattle profits in 2024 <Link>. Winter weather stresses producer resources while the ensuing tax season gets pencils sharpened. It is a good time for veterinarians to collaborate on best practices that generate profit gains while ensuring optimal herd health. A University of … [Read more...]
How the No-Kill movement betrays its name
A neighborhood overrun with cats is a spectacle of contradictions, writes Jonathan Franzen. He shares the pros, cons, controversy and politics surrounding feral and outdoor cats. By keeping cats outdoors, trap-neuter-release policies have troubling consequences for city residents, local wildlife—and even the cats themselves.” Source: The New Yorker, December 25, 2023. Link. … [Read more...]
Cell phone addiction, how it impacts our relationships
Commentary It irks me when a customer service person interrupts an in-person interaction to answer the phone. Now, cellphones are an insidious part of our culture and impact our ability to have authentic in-person interactions in business and our personal lives. Simon Sinek shares the psychological power smartphones signal when visibly present and signs of phone … [Read more...]
Helping maintain comprehensive oral-care habits
Includes Commercial Content Pet oral hygiene is often overlooked and considered post dental problems. Oral care is gaining attention and retailers have many options to support it as a health and wellness category. Combining efforts with local veterinarians is good business and timely as National Pet Dental Health month promotions begin in February. Source: Pet Business, … [Read more...]