No doubt many animal health pros checked work e-mail during the Thanksgiving holiday. Debra Bright encourages her clients to use end-of-day routines to create a psychological barrier between their two worlds. According to a seven-year study on workers’ performance, an inability to make this break between professional and personal time ranked among the top-10 stressful … [Read more...]
The biggest health problem of all
The combination of an aging workforce and increased employee healthcare costs has organizations of all sizes developing wellness programs. Getting people moving and eating better are important. However, adequate and quality sleep is even more vital according to Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience at University of California - Berkeley. Source: Industry Week, November … [Read more...]
10 tips to help master the art of small talk
Some animal health pros are introverts which can make for difficult general conversations. There is more to talk about than the weather, says the Young Entrepreneur Council. Obviously, our favorite from its list is Number 2. AHD provides articles you reference. In fact, it is a good small talk conversation topic where you can share how you use the content. Source: … [Read more...]
Sit Ubu, sit – good dog! (includes video)
At the end of every episode of Family Ties and other UBU productions, Gary Goldberg’s black lab was flashed along with the famous phrase, “Sit Ubu, Sit!.” Pet owners want their dogs to be like Ubu. Mikkel Becker shares a mat training method to help get the sit behavior going. Her video includes comments from Gary Landsberg, DVM. Source: Firstline, November 14, 2017. What we … [Read more...]
Make winter calf care a priority
Don’t let calf care take a back seat, writes Karen Anderson. Her article addresses feeding and housing concerns for those who raise pre-wean calves during winter. Just because animal health pros have been through these considerations many times is no excuse for avoiding the topic during farm visits. A key point Anderson makes is to consider each calf individually. Her tips … [Read more...]
Reduce holiday threats to pets
Safety risks for pets abound during the holiday season. As animal health pros, we must proactively communicate them to animal owners. Despite ongoing warnings, pet owners need frequent reminders to help keep their pets safe. Samantha Johnson reminds us that it is important to maintain good routines for pets. Adding travel or large gatherings to a pet’s day requires planning … [Read more...]
Help your clients value preventive healthcare with these free videos
Research shows that pet owners are willing to embrace preventive healthcare, but do not completely understand its importance. Partners for Healthy Pets is focused on preventive care. They offer a free, downloadable series of videos to help your team to make your communication with clients more effective and make sure everyone is involved in the conversation. Source: AAHA … [Read more...]
375 kittens help identify obesity risks
A prospective study attempted to identify early life risk factors for cats to become overweight or obese. Results largely agreed with previously reported investigations of obesity risk factors. At two years of age, 25.3 percent of the study population was overweight or obese according to owners. The proportion was 36.8 percent when body condition score was measured by a … [Read more...]
November is Pet Diabetes Month
Pet Diabetes Month is observed in November and is a fitting opportunity to work with pet owners to achieve and manage a healthy weight for their pets. The AVMA offers good resources to guide those discussions. Direct clients to view information on Your Pet’s Healthy Weight page Keep healthy weight brochures on-hand in your clinic for easy distribution Discuss … [Read more...]
What to do when a personal crisis hurts your professional life
We all confront a stressful life event or personal crisis that distracts us from work at some time. Amy Gallo offers principles to remember during these periods: Do: Determine what type of support you need — at home and at work. Tell your colleagues what’s happening so that they feel compassion for your situation. Make clear, specific requests of your coworkers … [Read more...]
OUCH! Removing porcupine quills correctly.
The lumbering porcupine can easily disrupt the comfort of livestock or pets with a swat of his tail. This author discusses porcupine habits and myths and challenges of quill removal. Source: Countryside Daily, October 14, 2017. The best way to remove quills is to immobilize the animal (put a cow in a chute, have someone hold the unfortunate horse or dog and distract it) … [Read more...]
Marketing is about your customers’ values, not yours
Marketing is about how customer values translate into aspirations, insecurities, fears and motivations. They only want to know what a company stands for as it relates to them. Sound familiar? Kris Gage sounds a bit cynical in her article that will likely hit home with marketers as they make decisions for 2018. Source: The Startup, November 11, 2017. Marketing is about … [Read more...]
December’s Journal of Dairy Science
We’ve linked to the Interpretive Summaries in this issue. Of special note are several summaries reviewing 100 years of dairy production in a variety of categories. If you like seeing how dairy production has advanced, these historical reviews will be of interest. Source: Journal of Dairy Science, December 2017. The table of contents is linked here < table of contents … [Read more...]
4 tips to manage parasiticide inventory
As colder weather sets in and year-end total inventory looms, parasiticides need to be looked at strategically. Use history, inventories on hand and trends to allow for the proper adjustments to reorder points and quantities. Sarah Wooten, DVM, shares tips to get a handle on parasiticides and other inventory items since the holidays often reduce client traffic. Source: … [Read more...]
The reality of owning horses
Alyssa Knee offers a horse owner’s perspective of the ups, downs and real work of horse ownership. Her article provides good perspective for animal health pros who have never owned or worked with horses. Source: Horse Network, November 16, 2017. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, explains Knee. The kind that you get on willingly, but then realize you can never get off. It’s … [Read more...]
Tony Robbins: motivating an employee who seems lazy
"Labeling someone 'lazy' is the worst thing you can do, because that just shuts [them] down and now it's a character defect," says Robbins. It's a leader's job to help employees see that everyone has goals, but perhaps those goals are not serving them well. Source: CNBC, November 14, 2017. You've got to find something that is a motive — that is their motive — in other words … [Read more...]
Managers aren’t doing enough to train employees for the future
David Ballard says a workforce that can adapt to changing environments and acquire the skills necessary to be successful in the future is a shortfall in today’s companies, big or small. In the surveys of the U.S. workforce conducted at the American Psychological Association, training and development consistently emerges as one of the areas with which employees are least … [Read more...]
The need to please could be dishonest
Do you prefer to avoid confrontation? When someone asks you what you think, do you tell them what you think they want to hear or what you truly believe? Have you, or are you putting off having a difficult conversation with a staff member? Avoiding an honest conversation has a variety of personal and organizational downsides. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, October 30, 2017. The … [Read more...]
Get a dog. Live longer.
Dog owners live longer than those who don’t own dogs, according to a new study of more than 3.4 million people. Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden reviewed national registry records of men and women, ages 40 to 80. They then followed their health records for 12 years. The found dog owners had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease than non-dog owners, as … [Read more...]
Behind the scenes of socializing neglected, abused dogs
Severely neglected or mistreated dogs may have suffered any number of abuses: constant physical restraint or confinement, lack of appropriate nourishment, endless environmental stressors, even outright physical punishment. Marybeth Bittel shares some of the challenges of preparing these animals for their new lives. Source: Dogster, November 9, 2017. Potential adopters may … [Read more...]
Dogs can smell human fear and mirror our moods
A new study, "Interspecies transmission of emotional information via chemosignals: from humans to dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)," in the journal Animal Cognition, confirms what many have known. Dogs do smell human fear using chemosignals and they, too get scared. A dog's nose is an organ that's evolved to be an incredibly sensitive to odors. Source: The Bark, November 15, … [Read more...]
75% of marketing leaders don’t get consumers
Adobe has been working with Goldsmiths, University of London, to find out what happens when your customers and their needs are constantly changing. In the first report from the studies on the experience era, they found that half of consumers are overwhelmed by choice (46%) and would buy from an unknown brand that offers a better experience (50%). When it comes to which brands … [Read more...]
Embed customer-centricity into your DNA
Customer-centered focus becomes part of the DNA of a business or practice when its customers are at the center of every decision. This article is the 11th in a series of 12 on this subject. Animal health pros closest to customers’ needs often find themselves in conflict with leadership. But focused, customer-centric behavior is a primary context to the most successful … [Read more...]
Content marketing set to change
Just as content marketing seems to come of age, John Ellett challenges marketers to quit developing content marketing strategies and start developing plans that address how content supports marketing strategies. Studies indicate two of marketers’ biggest challenges in addressing changing buyer behaviors are: lack of buyer insights developing content that satisfies … [Read more...]
Understanding the decision makers
Pat Malone writes about the decision makers in this thoughtful article. It is a must-read for animal health pros. He writes: When your customer goes into decision-making mode, he/she is being influenced by two considerations: What do I know? This is the logical side of our brain calling up all the data and facts that we have that pertain to the decision at hand. How … [Read more...]
Beef Quality Assurance launches new transportation program
“The BQA Transportation (BQAT) training and certification program has been a long time coming,” said Chase DeCoite, director of BQA for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. “By educating cattle haulers and producers on the best practices in cattle transportation, BQA is helping make improvements in cattle care and beef quality.” Source: Beef, November 16, 2017. Online … [Read more...]
Cuddling Fido in bed can cause problems
The discussion of sleeping with pets continues. An estimated 79 percent of pet owners share their beds with their pets. As reported by WebMD, a survey from the American Pet Products Association determined that 62 percent of small dogs, 41 percent of medium-sized dogs, and 32 percent of large dogs sleep in their human’s beds. Source: Cesar’s Way, November 15, 2017. In … [Read more...]
November JAVMA. Diverse topics.
Whether it is dog breed bans, or using gabapentin to reduce stress and aggression in cats or the effect of brachycephaly and body condition score on respiratory thermoregulation of healthy dogs, animal health pros will find something of interest in this issue of JAVMA. Source: JAVMA, November, 2017. Link to table of contents only. … [Read more...]
Listen to your body
As Thanksgiving arrives, many of us look forward to the post-turkey meal nap. We listen to our bodies in these times, but often fail to listen the rest of the year. Author Katie Andrews Potter reminds us that when we think we can’t take the time to slow down, our bodies force us to slow down anyway. As we fall into a holiday stupor in front of ball game after ball game, we … [Read more...]
USDA delays organic livestock, poultry rules effective date
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is again delaying the effective date of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2017. Source: USDA, November 9, 2017. In addition to a question about the scope of the statutory authority, a material error in the record was discovered. USDA is delaying the rule so … [Read more...]