Leadership is about people and only people. Many people are blessed with both management and leadership skills but more are not. Steve Keating’s comments are actionable, especially if you are in the process of hiring new persons or making advancement decisions. Source: Lead Today, November 13, 2017. If you want to know if someone is a leader don’t look at the leader, look … [Read more...]
Dairymen discuss hard-to-breed cows
All six of this year’s Platinum winners of the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council’s awards share insights on cows they they have problems breeding. Their comments on culling decisions will interest to dairymen and dairy veterinarians. Source: Hoard’s Dairyman, November 13, 2017. This article is part of a nine-part series detailing top reproduction tips from the Platinum … [Read more...]
A no-nonsense guide to blanketing horses
A recent study indicates as many as 50 percent of equestrians don’t know enough about their horses’ physiological responses to environmental temperatures. This poses a risk to the horses’ welfare. Heather Malcolm offers her no-nonsense guide to blanketing or not blanketing a horse. This is great information to share with horse owners via websites, in holiday communications or … [Read more...]
Cooling out horses helps after exercise
Most horse owners are comfortable with the basics of cooling off their horses. But, what does it mean, physiologically speaking, to say that your horse is “cooled out?” Joan Hiltz, VMD, shares her experiences. This information is useful for websites, social media posts and horse owner consultations. Source: Horse Network, November 6, 2017. Physiologically speaking, the … [Read more...]
Headbutting shows affection
Watch most team sports and you’ll see a common cat behavior exhibited after a great play, the headbutt. Similar to our human use of this action, cats have used head butting for eons for bonding and social purposes. More appropriately, this action is called head bunting. Source: Catster, November 8, 2017. Cat behaviorist Pam Johnson-Bennett says, “For the cat to place his … [Read more...]
Whew! Dog gas; normal or a problem?
Fido can sometimes run you out of the room with his flatulence. Jackie Brown covers what’s normal and what’s not when it comes to dog gas. This article is a good resource for websites, newsletters and social media posts as holiday table scraps become available to pets. Source: Dogster, November 6, 2017. Excessive gas may be caused by a less-than-ideal diet. If the … [Read more...]
7 things to know about Giardia in dogs
“Giardia is found in a lot of different locations,” says Tracey Jensen, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, founding partner of Wellington Veterinary Hospital in Wellington, Colorado. “Certainly, places where there is wildlife, particularly water fowl, or other dogs, so dog parks and places where there is standing water, can be areas where you can find quite a bit of giardia.” Giardia is not … [Read more...]
Don’t abandon postmortem exams
Postmortem remains the diagnostic gold standard. A recent retrospective study compared clinical antemortem and pathologic postmortem diagnoses in 1,000 cats and 1,000 dogs. The authors suggest that postmortem evaluation provides valuable information in nearly 50 percent of cases. Source: Clinician’s Brief, October 2017. In this study, total agreement between antemortem and … [Read more...]
Reminder: AAHA canine vaccine guidelines update
We learned of the latest updates to the AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines last September. One of the significant updates was to make the guidelines available online for the veterinary profession. With almost twice the content of the previous version, AAHA’s revised and updated Canine Vaccination Guidelines include important changes and new recommendations that are important … [Read more...]
Fear Free Happy Homes newsletter now available
The Fear Free Pets movement is well underway. A newsletter is one of the tools available for pet owners. With the growing adoption of fear-free practices, we wanted to help expose animal health pros to some of the tools being used by Fear Free practices. Source: Fear Free Happy Homes, November 14, 2017. Become a Fear Free Happy Homes member today, and experience all that … [Read more...]
Eating “clean’ food wasteful, Iowa State says
We are constantly reminded of organic, all-natural and raised without antibiotics designations on food items. Beyond these definitions are even more food label considerations. New research from Iowa State University shows that consumers are unaware of the costs related to producing “clean” label foods. Source: Drovers, November 10, 2017. Ruth Litchfield, an expert on food … [Read more...]
You gotta see this year’s comedy wildlife photo finalists
You’ve gotta look! The 2017 finalists for The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been announced. And, they’re great. Take a few minutes for some fun. Source: The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, November 2017. You can see four years’ worth of fun photos. INSIGHTS: Great blog and social media ideas here. … [Read more...]
Getting to yes or yes!
Wendy Myers offers sound advice about positioning options that require one of two yes answers by avoiding yes/no questions. It takes a little work and practice, but ultimately animal owners are looking for this guidance when they come to veterinarians. Take five minutes out of the next five team meetings and practice this approach as a group. Then put it to work. Source: … [Read more...]
Keep pets safe during cold weather (includes printable handout)
Just like people, pets’ cold tolerance can vary based on their coat, body fat stores, activity level and health. Be aware this and adjust accordingly. The AVMA website content and the PDF handout make the cold weather tips easy to distribute to pet owners. Tips include the easy to forget antifreeze clean-up warning and other excellent reminders. Source: AVMA, November … [Read more...]
Reintegration into society difficult for veterans
Veterans Day was celebrated Saturday, November 11th. Honoring those who served is important, but it may be more important to help them reintegrate into society. Benjamin Sledge writes from his own experiences and shares perspectives about how today’s society is not tuned to support the returning veteran. Source: Medium, November 10, 2017. Realistically, I think a lot of … [Read more...]
Biosecurity takes a team
Diligence, teamwork, research, technology and collaboration are required to maintain biosecurity on farm and within the collective U.S. swine populations. Kevin Shultz distilled the frequently cacophonous elements of biosecurity efforts in this article. It truly takes a team willing to be cooperative, even though they are often competitive. Together, biosecurity remains a key … [Read more...]
Backyard chicken trend causes spike in infections, 1 fatal
This article explains why we have focused heavily on backyard chicken trends. The growth of raising backyard chickens in U.S. cities and suburbs brings a soaring number of illnesses from poultry-related diseases, some of them fatal. Since January, more than 1,100 people have contracted salmonella poisoning from chickens and ducks in 48 states, according to the Centers for … [Read more...]
Human food trends are mirrored in 2018 pet food market
Knowing what is trending in pet foods or pet owners’ minds is important for animal health pros to understand since we seek to proactively help manage pet health. Debbie Phillips-Donaldson reviews the first of many trend predictions released by Mintel. Trends that have been in play for a few years now, such as transparency, health and wellness, and personalization will take on … [Read more...]
3 tips to start your day right
Since we turned our clocks back over the weekend, these tips may help the chronological confusion for some of us. The first few minutes of waking up can set the tone for the rest of the day. Adding mindful habits to the start of the day can help you to feel more in sync with the sunrise. Source: Mindful, November 6, 2017: Elisha Goldstein shares 3 mindful actions to start … [Read more...]
No kidding, goats are smart
As the number of homestead-like farms grows so does the number of goats. Researchers continue to study how they are affected by the production environment and how they see and interact with us. Goats may appear to have one-track minds, but they devote a lot of thought to social issues, too. Source: Countryside Daily, November 6, 2017. In 2017, we have seen published results … [Read more...]
Work/life balance benefits work performance
One’s mind and the body health are optimized by balancing work life with personal life. Finding this balance is becoming harder, not easier. We no longer leave our work in the office. It follows us everywhere we go. The growth of 24/7 connectivity – impossible a decade ago, but normal now – brings with it challenging problems. Source: LinkedIn, November 6, 2017. Where … [Read more...]
Helmet saves equestrian’s life (graphic pictures)
Animal health pros often support the equine sports. Noel Williams shares her close call with death and reminds riders to wear a helmet. It’s a universal truth that if you’re going to ride horses, you’re going to fall off horses. You just never know when a young horse, or any horse really, is going to overreact or when their antics might cause them to lose their balance and … [Read more...]
Satisfy cat hunting instincts appropriately
Lisa Radosta DVM, Dipl. ACVB, reminds us that predatory behaviors that cats exhibit outside do not go away when they are kept indoors. She says indoor cats need stimulation and environmental enrichment. Some cats simply become bored at home, while others become frustrated by the inability to do what comes naturally: explore, exercise and hunt. That frustration can lead to … [Read more...]
Canine body language important for health, safety
Reading canine body language accurately is important for patient health and comfort, veterinary team safety and proper client education and consultation. Clues such as proximity preference, food acceptance, postures and expressions improve understanding of patient emotions. Source: Veterinary Team Brief, September 2017. The more relaxed a patient is, the more likely an … [Read more...]
Chicken anatomy 101: digestion (includes video)
Here’s a resource you can use to review your chicken knowledge. It also can be used to help educate new chicken owners, 4-H or FFA groups or staff members. Patrick Biggs, PhD, a flock nutritionist with Purina Animal Nutrition explains the journey from feed to egg. Source: Countryside Daily, November 6, 2017. Chickens are excellent converters of chicken feed, channeling … [Read more...]
Move sales conversations from safe to serious
Adam Kipnes shares a process for managing the innumerable contacts in our reach and move them toward becoming clients. The objective is not to sell everyone, rather move them progressively toward becoming a prospect instead of leaving them as a contact or suspect. Source: Forbes, November 5, 2017. The goal of the 4,3,2,1 model is to categorize each contact you have … [Read more...]
10 things to double-check on facilities before working cattle
Every large animal veterinarian has at least one story about arriving at a client’s location to work cattle only to find out the client had not prepared. So, here’s a great list for DVMs to send to clients before making those time- consuming farm calls. Make sure your alleyway is the proper width so that cattle can’t turn around. Have your working facilities set up in a … [Read more...]
Ceva supports pet victims from hurricanes, helps mitigate heartworm risks
Craig Wallace, CEO & North America/Pacific Zone Director at Ceva USA & at CevaSante Animal tweeted information last week about one of his company’s latest relief efforts in support of pet victims of Hurricane Harvey. Ceva has proactively supported gulf coast pet victim relocations and heartworm prevention efforts. The areas of the country hit hardest by Hurricanes … [Read more...]
Telehealth; adjusting veterinary care to technology (video content)
I first experienced telehealth in the home of a Southwest Kansas feedlot veterinarian in 1996. The vet stood in his breezeway for 30 minutes questioning a producer about four potloads of light calves arriving 12 hours early after nearly 22 hours, 1,300 miles and a 50-plus degree reduction in ambient temperature during their trip. Fast forward 20 years and the topic of … [Read more...]
Prevent holiday hazards from harming family pets (photo essay)
As Halloween night turned to dawn, Christmas appeared in stores the world over. It is a reminder to prepare for our homes for guests and prepare to keep our pets safe. The AVMA offered the following tips to keep pets safe in 2013. They still resonate today. Source: DVM 360, December 18, 2013. For some pets, house guests can be scary. Pets shy or excitable around new people … [Read more...]