Taking a pet to a dog park, groomer or boarding business can put dogs at risk in areas where canine flu outbreaks occur. Businesses that group dogs together are requiring owners to get their dogs vaccinated with a canine flu vaccine. Source: KOCO-TV via AVMA Animal Health SmartBrief, January 3, 2023. Link. INSIGHTS: Canine influenza vaccine is a lifestyle vaccine … [Read more...]
IBPSA Fast Bites – January 9, 2023
Gaining animal owner trust, 2023 in pet nutrition, transforming the pet care industry marketing, incorporating sustainable methods, Invoxia’s smart collar launch and more. . . Source: IBPSA Fast Bites, January 9, 2023. Link. … [Read more...]
VetWatch shows more dollars YOY, fewer pets, fewer invoices
VetWatch year end report for the ~3,000 reporting practices shows: For the month ending December 31, 2022, aggregate YTD practice revenues are at + 4.5 percent net growth versus YTD 2021 Period performance growth in unique patients (pets) is at (-1.9 percent) Unique client and invoice growth posted (-2.0 percent) and (-3.1 percent) growth respectively vs PYTD … [Read more...]
Employee retention replaces talent acquisition as top HR priority for 2023
Phil Albinus shares key findings from a Lattice report showing human resource teams will focus on retaining valuable talent this year. He notes employee engagement and the growing pay transparency laws as factors for consideration. Absent the ability to hire talent from the outside, HR teams are investing in the people they already have.” Source: Human Resource Executive, … [Read more...]
Telemedicine veterinarian identified as new job type in TIME
Features Commercial Content TIME named telemedicine veterinarian as one of five jobs that didn’t exist five years ago. Brian Evans, DVM, from Dutch contributed information about the opportunity of telemedicine in the veterinary setting. He shared telemedicine is never going to replace real-life care. It’s always going to be an adjunct to in-person care, because telemedicine … [Read more...]
AVMA House of Delegates rejects midlevel practitioner idea, favors support for CVTs
The AVMA House of Delegates’ Veterinary Information Forum addressed the topic, The veterinary healthcare team—Is there a need for a mid-level position? during the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference, January 5-7 in Chicago. The consensus from conversations was that a mid-level practitioner would not be a smart solution to workforce or access-to-care concerns. Rather, time … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – January 5, 2022
Top five most read posts from December 2022 - Middle managers are exhausted. Top teams need to listen. Link. Find happiness at work instead of quiet quitting. Link. What a cat friendly veterinary experience looks like. Link. The top pet products of 2022. Link. Thank you! Link. ================================================= Quiz: Surgical … [Read more...]
Silvopasture; forest stewardship meet animal agriculture.
Silvopasture is a regenerative farming method involving the deliberate integration of trees and livestock grazing on the same land. It is one of five forms of agroforestry, and the only one that includes livestock. It is considered a sustainable method of rearing livestock because grazing animals benefit the forested environment and vice versa. Silvopastures can be … [Read more...]
Does post-transport, pre-processing rest make a difference in calf growth performance
A Kansas State University research project evaluated the impact of post-transport rest periods on calf growth performance, mortality and morbidity. The findings show a rest period has little affect on calf performance. Additionally, calf response to anthelmintics and blood serum metabolites were not increased by rest periods. Source: BEEF, November/December 2022. … [Read more...]
The costs of buying, caring for and feeding goats
Goat life spans are similar to dogs and are kept for a variety of reasons. Marissa Ames offers a comprehensive look at the various costs of acquiring and keeping goats for pets, meat, milk and weed control. Source: Backyard Goats, December 22, 2022. Link. … [Read more...]
Is it safe to feed Christmas trees to livestock?
Lancaster Farming features Penn State Extension Livestock Educator Chelsea Hill’s article about feeding Christmas trees to livestock. She shares safety and health tips about using them as feed. Source: Lancaster Farming, December 13, 2022. Link. … [Read more...]
Honeybee vaccine receives conditional license from USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics
Dalan Animal Health, Inc., has been granted a conditional license by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for vaccination of honeybees against American Foulbrood disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Source: businesswire, January 4, 2023. Link. The bacterin was developed by Dalan Animal Health, and is manufactured by Diamond Animal Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of … [Read more...]
Research: Dogs’ tails not used as counterbalance
Commentary Docking dogs’ tails remains a topic of debate <Link>. This research sheds light on one of the rationales used to argue against tail docking. Many carnivores use their tail to make them more agile on the hunt but questions about dog tail use have remained. New research identified that the use of a dog’s tail during jumping activities achieves very low … [Read more...]
Study: Time spent with dogs increases brain activity in the prefrontal cortex
We continue to learn more about the effects of interacting with dogs. A new study used live dogs to measure brain activity as human subjects interacted with a dog versus a stuffed animal. The findings indicate that cuddling with real dogs and stuffed animals increases brain activity in the prefrontal region, but dogs cause significantly more brain activity than stuffed … [Read more...]
AAHA releases new 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines for dogs and cats
Noting 44 percent of the pet population is senior dogs and cats, the new senior care guidelines offer actionable strategies for adoption by veterinary teams. These can create senior-friendly environments that welcome senior pets, including modification of physical environments, prioritizing care to keep families together and taking different approaches to healthy and unhealthy … [Read more...]
Limited-ingredient diets, beyond food allergies and sensitivities
Commercial references included The health benefits of limited-ingredient products go beyond pinpointing food allergies and sensitivities, writes Pamela Mills-Senn. She recommends pet specialty retailers strive to emphasize other benefits from limited-ingredient diets. Source: Pet Business, December 1, 2022. Link. Pet specialty retailers need to scrutinize the ingredients … [Read more...]
8 techniques to assertively keep others from interrupting you
Constant interrupting can lead to feeling dismissed, belittled and even rejected. You can be assertive. And still be nice.” Galina Hitching Source: Science of People. Link. Hitching shares five main reasons people keep interrupting you: They are just too excited Interrupting can show connection and relationship Sometimes interrupting is a power play It is a part … [Read more...]
Communication strategies for delivering bad news
Heather Loenser, DVM, shares her experiences with addressing troubling news with animal owners. She warns against confusing empathy with sympathy. . . . <veterinary team members> can get overwhelmed by feeling they need to “fix” the feelings of a person who has found themselves in an unfixable situation with their pet. Here’s the deal, though: you do not need to fix … [Read more...]
Anthropomorphism, a threat to animal welfare
Commentary Anthropomorphism, giving human characteristics to a non-human entity, has long been a part of the human experience. In this article from Protect the Harvest, the authors discuss consequences from expecting an animal to emulate human traits. Just as we should not expect a human child to act like a dog, we should not expect a dog to act like a human child, as they … [Read more...]
Handling tardy clients
Opinion Staying on schedule is a multi-faceted challenge in all medical professions. Ben Spinks, MBA, CVPM, SPHR, addresses chronically late clients and ways to appeal to them. The written policy, grace period and early arrival for check-in are all good guidance. However, being on time and on schedule is also the responsibility of practices’ scheduling commitment. It can … [Read more...]
Clarifying the recission of the FDA VCPR waiver
The Veterinary Virtual Care Association explains how the FDA’s rescission of the Covid-era waiver to agency regulations concerning the VCPR may affect practices and their clients. Source: VVCA, December 28, 2022. Link. This is not a new FDA policy, but simply a federal agency rescission of the COVID-era waiver pertaining to a regulation instituted decades ago. The … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – December 21, 2022
Last week’s most read posts – Happiness and meetings. Link. Last AHD Bulletin - Animal Health Digest Bulletin, December 15, 2022. Link. ==================================================================== U.S. warns of escalating ransomware attacks Source: Security Affairs, October 2022. Link. U.S. government agencies warned that the Daixin Team cybercrime … [Read more...]
Dairy cows need to lay down
If you notice very few cows lying down during a farm call, it may be time to discuss the importance of sternal recumbency and recumbent rumination. Rick Grant says in a cow’s perfect world over 80 percent of rumination should occur when the cow is lying down. Resting with the sternum, or breastbone, on the ground and a slight left-side preference is the cow’s optimal resting … [Read more...]
5 tips to winter cattle through a drought
How cattle owners in drought-affected regions graze and supplement cattle in dry spells have long-lasting economic and ecological effects. Noble Research Institute’s Ranch Manager Clark Roberts offers five tips to consider before making winter management decisions. 1) Consider culling 2) Know the quality and quantity of your forages 3) Know each animal’s demands 4) … [Read more...]
Prepare winter pigs to be summer hogs
Proactively thinking about pig management now will go a long way to having full-value hogs during warm weather and traditionally strong market periods, says Jordan Graham, DVM, MS. Pigs born from the late weeks of November through January have historically been the highest value weaned pigs and subsequent market hogs for the year, making how we manage health important to … [Read more...]
FDA approves revised Micotil 300 labeling
To decrease the risk of accidental human injection and other potential routes of exposure, Micotil 300 is now packaged inside a tamper-proof shroud. Access to the product requires a quick-connect device, which is provided with a tube-fed safety syringe by Elanco or its distributors. Safe use and handling instructions are attached to the shroud so that the user can review … [Read more...]
Dairy industry posts lowest positive drug residue yet; sets new standard
Data from the National Milk Drug Residue Database website dates back to 1994 and represents 99 percent of the U.S. milk supply. A recent report showed only 424 out of 3,879,182 samples tested positive for an animal drug residue. This is lowest positive test rate in the history of the program and it is also the fifth consecutive year fewer than 600 milk samples tested positive … [Read more...]
FDA releases 2021 report on antimicrobial use in livestock
The FDA instituted elements of veterinary oversight of antimicrobials in 2017. The recent 2021 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals shows that compared to 2015 (peak year of sales), 2021 sales decreased 38 percent. Sales in 2021 versus 2020 decreased by less than 1 percent between 2020 and 2021. Source: National Hog … [Read more...]
How to keep goats warm in cold weather
Successfully keeping goats in the coldest conditions and climates is possible. It requires acclimation, nutrition, and habitation. Herdsmen also prepare housing to keep goats warm in cold weather and select sturdy breeds ahead of the season. Source: Backyard Goats, November 27, 2022. Link. … [Read more...]
Nearly 100 U.S. horses suspected ill with botulism, 45 have died
Horse owners are being asked to not feed Top of the Rockies alfalfa cubes as U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with state departments of agriculture in Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas, continue to investigate the illness and deaths of horses suspected to have contracted botulism from it. Source: The Paulick Report, December 16, 2022. Link. … [Read more...]