Alice Villalobos, DVM, is an oncology veterinarian in Hermosa Beach, CA. She has dedicated much of her career to helping pet owners manage end-of-life issues for their pets. In fact, she created an animal hospice program she named “pawspice,” which focuses on extending a pet’s quality of life. To help owners make these tough decisions, Villalobos created a decision tool based … [Read more...]
Opinion – AVMA shares regional stories
Several regional stories get covered by the AVMA SmartBrief. Cancelled equine events, Lyme disease incidences, infection and parasite prevention and itchy pets all received recent media coverage from local sources. Last week we highlighted two stories published by mainstream media sources: TIME about anti-vaxxers <link> and USA Today about pet obesity … [Read more...]
Quiz: Are you a cat at heart?
Just for fun, see if you have the personality of a cat. Tally your answers to five questions to determine what kind of cat personality you possess and what type of cat would be your best match! Source: Modern Cat, March 21, 2019. Link. Also see: Video: Cats Chasing Shadows! Link. Check out this funny compilation of cats playing with shadows! … [Read more...]
Explaining cat behavior problems and how to handle them
Cats, like us, have their good days and not-so-good days. Cat behavior problems almost always have an underlying cause, writes Angela Lutz. She identifies frequently seen cat behavior problems and offers ideas to handle them. Aggression toward humans or other cats Litter box problems Excessive vocalization Urine marking Source: Catster, March 13, 2019. … [Read more...]
Anesthesia-related challenges heightened in rabbits
The number of house rabbits in the U.S. continues to grow. One 2014 source estimated there could be 7 million pet rabbits at that time with steady increases in numbers since. Rabbits have a higher risk for anesthesia-related mortality and GI complications as compared with cats and dogs due to certain anatomic, physiologic and behavioral features. David Eshar, DVM, DABVP (ECM), … [Read more...]
8 tips for year-round dog paw health
Mother Nature designed dog paws to take a licking and keep on ticking, but they can still get cuts, scrapes, burns and frostbite, writes Marty Becker, DVM. He shares tips for optimal dog paw health year-round. Do a weekly dog paw check Watch out for burrs Do regular dog paw trims Keep dog paws dry Treat painful dog paw cracks Ban the burn Salt on dog paws also … [Read more...]
Labrador retriever most popular dog for 28th year
The American Kennel Club (AKC®) has announced that the loveable Lab remains the most popular breed in the United States. Additionally, AKC registration continues to expand for the sixth consecutive year. The dogs in the top 10 remained the same in positions one through eight. Yorkies and German Shorthaired Pointers flip-flopped their 2017 ranking in 2018. Source: … [Read more...]
Millennials fuel growing market for posh pet items
Millennials are fueling a growing market for luxury pet items as they put raising children on hold or chose to be childless. One example is street-inspired clothing for dogs with price tags that reach $202 each. Millennials are also dropping cash on pricey foods and day care for their pets. Many are treating their pets as if they were kids and devoting a growing share … [Read more...]
New strain of canine distemper virus arrives in North America
The Asia-1 strain of canine distemper virus (CDV), which had never before been reported in North America, most likely entered the continent last fall with a dog rescued from a Korean dog meat farm. Dogs that are already immunized against CDV likely are not at risk from the Asian strain. But if the virus comes into contact with wildlife, it may take a serious toll on … [Read more...]
Leisure time is important. Find the right amount for you.
Much has been written about work/life balance. Workaholics believe that balance is impossible. Others have opted out of the rat race entirely to a life of total leisure. For maybe the first time there is an indication of how much discretionary time is optimum. Source: The Atlantic, February 21, 2019. Link. The paper, which analyzed data covering about 35,000 Americans, … [Read more...]
Stop worrying about being liked
True or False? Likability is a crucial sales trait. If you answered False, you are correct. Being likable is not necessary to succeed in sales. And those who focus on it as a priority are destined to fail, says J. Keenan. He explains that customers care far more about the value of what they’re buying than they do about the person selling it to them. Be an … [Read more...]
Leadership abounds during March Madness
There is a reason only four of the 68 coaches in this year’s NCAA Division 1 tournament were once regular-season NBA team players. It is because coaching requires a different skill set AND mind-set than playing. Source: Purpose Unlimited. Link. Great leaders model the behavior they expect from their followers. . . . A great leader invests in others and they in turn … [Read more...]
It’s spring. Clear the clutter.
“When our space is a mess, so are we,” writes Libby Sander. Her research and that of others has shown that our physical environments significantly influence our cognition, emotions and behavior, affecting our decision-making and relationships with others. Cluttered spaces can have negative effects on our stress and anxiety levels, as well as our ability to focus, our eating … [Read more...]
Flooding could surpass 1993, 2011
Most of the country is expected to experience above-average precipitation this spring, increasing the flood risk. According to NOAA’s U.S. Spring Outlook issued March 21, nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states face an elevated risk for flooding through May, with the potential for major or moderate flooding in 25 states. Source: BEEF, March 21, 2019. Link. … [Read more...]
Opinion – Fix sales team forecasting woes
Bob Suh offers plenty of insight and recommendations for fixing a sales teams’ ability to forecast. In my experiences, forecasting is also an issue for veterinary clinics and retailers, second only to the lack of inventory management disciplines. The root causes of most inaccuracies are not faulty algorithms but all-too-human behavior, writes Suh. He identifies these five most … [Read more...]
Data breaches are inevitable – protect yourself
There are some simple ways to protect your personal data that can still be effective, say W. D. Salisbury and Rusty Baldwin. They involve changing how you think about your own information security: specifically, assuming you are a target and thinking defensively about how you can protect yourself. In terms of online data, the most important information to protect is … [Read more...]
Media literacy needed at home and the office
Sarah Gretter makes a solid case for teaching children to watch commercials with their eyes wide open. She backs up her reasoning with study results. Media literacy is being able analyze and evaluate the messages we see in different media platforms. . . . 80 percent of middle school students believed that web ads were real news stories. The same study found that more than 80 … [Read more...]
Commentary – Manage cattle pain for their benefit and yours
Cattle pain management is at long last a viable topic when it comes to taking care of beef and dairy cattle. Two commentaries in Bovine Veterinarian are worth reading. The first, by editor John Maday, calls on veterinarians to advocate for animal welfare and consumer preferences, even though clients may resist. The second was written by Brandon Treichler, DVM and quality … [Read more...]
Don’t believe what China says about ASF
Betsy Freese, executive editor of Successful Farming, recently spent a week in China on a market study tour with U.S. farmers, swine and beef producers and other agricultural business people. She focuses on four points about African swine fever (AFS) shared, seven items a U.S.-based company she was not allowed to name stated and nine statements Chinese officials put … [Read more...]
Feds seize 1 million pounds of pork from China
Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized about 1 million pounds of pork imported from China last week at the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New York . There are fears the products could contain African swine fever. CBP and USDA authorities are still investigating. No charges had been filed as of last Friday. Sources: The Hill, March 16, 2019. … [Read more...]
Learn how to manage the gut
Prebiotics and probiotics are frequent considerations for multimodal therapies in monogastrics, regardless of species It can be difficult to remain objective about their benefits, but the growing body of work indicates that considering the microbiome will become more prevalent in managing disease risk and potential treatments. We gathered several references for … [Read more...]
Is this fish sick? (image gallery)
Colin McDermott, VMD, offers a visual guide to recognizing several types of fish diseases. Veterinary care is often complicated by owners missing early signs of illness and seeking veterinary care later in the course of disease. Many diseases of fish are subtle until the infection or pathologic process is more advanced. Source: Clinician’s Brief, December 2018. … [Read more...]
In #Metoo backlash, men retreat from mentoring women
Wendy Murphy shares that many senior male managers are reportedly responding to the #Metoo movement with a better-safe-than-sorry attitude and are pulling back from mentoring women. This reaction is both biased and shortsighted she says. Repercussions of depriving female employees of the counseling, developmental opportunities, exposure, and visibility that come from … [Read more...]
A bully or just tough?
The presumption that bullying bosses get results — and fast — compared with gentler leaders is widespread, and rooted partly in the published life stories of successful CEOs Source: New York Times, February 26, 2019. Link. Bullying bosses tend to undermine their own teams. Morale and company loyalty plunge, tardiness increase, and sick days are more frequent. INSIGHTS: … [Read more...]
Reexamining the early spay-neuter paradigm in dogs
Veterinarians must always be open minded and ready to challenge the status quo when new information challenges how we practice, writes Mark Goldstein, DVM. Goldstein and Michael Petty, DVM, CVPP, CVMA, CCRT, CAAPM, respectfully discuss their disagreements about the medical and societal need for early spays and neuters in America's pets. In the end, it really falls on the … [Read more...]
Will the dairy industry follow swine industry maturation?
Maggie Seiler shares consolidation metrics and insights from Bill Evan, National Pork Board CEO, to determine if swine industry changes might play out in the dairy segment. . . . swine is the only livestock industry that has consolidated faster than dairy with a growth rate of the midpoint swine farm of 3,233 percent from 1987 to 2012. Dairy’s midpoint farm during that time … [Read more...]
JAVMA: Defining antimicrobial use; paradigms shifting in behavioral medicine
There’s something for everyone in most issues of JAVMA. We’re highlighting the abstracts of two papers representing changes in our industry. Evidence-based paradigm shifts in veterinary behavioral medicine. LinkThe AVMA's definitions of antimicrobial uses for prevention, control, and treatment of disease. Link. Source: JAVMA, April 1, 2019. Link. Review the table of … [Read more...]
AQHA launches microchip pilot project (includes video)
While more than 20,000 horses in the AQHA database have microchip IDs on their records, this represents only about half of one percent of the live population of American Quarter Horses. Microchipping allows for permanent identification of horses in commercial and sporting environments, as well as in lost animal recoveries during natural disasters and theft. Source: AQHA, … [Read more...]
Groups eye Santa Anita Park horse track fatalities (video)
The deaths of 22 horses since Dec. 26, 2018 at Santa Anita Park in Southern California has the attention of several groups and investigation teams trying to figure out why the horses died. A new set of regulations, including a plan to impose a to restrict the use of Lasix on race days has the track closed. The Lasix plan has to first be approved by the Thoroughbred Owners of … [Read more...]
Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban just invested $550,000 in a vegan dog treats company
Vegan pet food brand Wild Earth secured a $550,000 investment from Mark Cuban during a March 18 Shark Tank TV show appearance. He made the investment for two reasons: his belief in technological solutions to modernity’s challenges, and his concerns for environmental sustainability. Ryan Bethencourt, the CEO and co-founder of Wild Earth, said they are prototyping the dog food … [Read more...]