A good leader inspires, motivates, and guides their team towards success, writes Craig Wallace, KCAHC’s 2024 Iron Paw Award Recipient. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, July 2, 2024. Link. “The effects of toxic leadership can be profound for any collective effort potentially destroying an enterprise…” INSIGHT: Courage and action are required individually and by the organization. … [Read more...]
Veterinarians as pet care influencers are on a more crowded stage
There’s no question that veterinarians remain queens of the hill regarding authority on pet care, writes David Sprinkle. However, other sources of information are gaining ground among millennials and Gen Zers as specialty pet shops and the internet have gained influence in recent years. Source: PETFOOD Industry, June 26, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Sharing cases can create confusion
Sarah Wolff, BVM&S, provides two strategic approaches to manage client experiences when more than one veterinarian can service a client. “Worst-case scenarios occur when colleagues have conflicting approaches and clients are caught in the middle.” Source: Clinician’s Brief, May 2024. Link. Wolff shares the benefits and drawbacks of a) clinician-bonded strategies and b) … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – July 17, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, July 11, 2024. Link. Most read post(s) from the July 11th AHD Bulletin – Meeting customer expectations starts with employees. Link. Updated fluid therapy guidelines from AAHA. Link. Addressing common nutrition misperceptions. Link. ================================== The rise of pet product … [Read more...]
University of Illinois student focused on improving vet mental health
Justin Chiu, a University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign senior, is seeking ways to help clients better understand the challenges veterinarians, techs, receptionists, and other veterinary professionals face. The animal sciences major shared his appreciation for support animals and how his work in a vet clinic has shown him the need for mental health support for veterinary pros … [Read more...]
IBPSA Fast Bites – July 15, 2024
Trends in grooming, using AI to analyze dog barks, link building in SEO, safety training important for insurance, GlobalVetLink’s new Pet Travel Concierge Service and more . . . Source: IBPSA Fast Bites, July 15, 2024. Link. Note: Coffee with Carmen set for today, July 18th on Facebook Live at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Sami Engle will be providing Pet Travel Updates: Perspectives … [Read more...]
Morris Animal Foundation, Nestlé Purina PetCare to collaborate to advance care of aging dogs
A new collaboration between Morris Animal Foundation and Nestlé Purina anticipates being another step in the journey to unlock the potential of nutrition to enhance dog health and well-being through science. The collaboration will focus on deepening the scientific understanding of key areas impacting senior dogs, including healthy aging, longevity, body condition and … [Read more...]
Royal Canin and American Kennel Club renew multi-year agreement to sponsor the AKC National Championship
A five-year renewal of its multi-year agreement ensures Royal Canin will serve as the title and exclusive pet food sponsor of the AKC National Championship, the largest dog show in North America featuring thousands of dogs competing for the coveted title of America’s National Champion. The sponsorship will extend across several AKC programs as well. Source: PETFOOD Industry, … [Read more...]
Embark Veterinary announces 3 new tests for copper toxicosis
Breeders of Labradors and Dobermans can now test their dogs’ DNA to make informed decisions for ongoing breeding programs to reduce the risk of copper toxicosis in progeny. Dogs affected with copper toxicosis have difficulty excreting excess copper from their liver, which allows copper to build up until the liver eventually begins to fail. Source: Embark Veterinary Inc, July … [Read more...]
Don’t let cattle drink this pond water
No producer wants to think about hauling water in the summer. Yet, harmful algal blooms are a potential risk in freshwater ponds and streams this time of the year. They are primarily caused by cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae. Mindy Ward shares what the NRCS and CDC advise if animals are exposed to cyanobacteria and ways to reduce risks. Source: Missouri … [Read more...]
Battling flies this summer
Last week we provided tips to help manage flies in facilities <Link>. In this article, Bob Larson, DVM, asserts fly control strategies need to be flexible and may need to be changed. He discusses unique characteristics of the four common flies that pester cattle: horn flies, face flies, stable flies and horse flies. Source: Drovers, July 9, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Facing declining interest in vet practice ownership
Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA, shares her top four stumbling blocks to practice ownership in the article here positioned as a rebuttal to an article in The Atlantic <Link>. She writes about forces that affect the makeup of veterinary professional attitudes that alter attitudes toward entrepreneurship and, therefore, practice ownership. Regarding decreased aspirational … [Read more...]
Study finds each Beef Checkoff dollar returns $13.41
Statistics uncovered by an independent study indicate the goal to increase beef demand in the U.S. and worldwide is being achieved while providing producers and importers with an excellent return on their national Checkoff investments. Source: BEEF, July 10, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Boost beef-on-dairy calf value with good health records
With the beef-on-dairy market booming, dairy farmers using a beef-on-dairy program must seize every opportunity to market their crossbred calves effectively, writes Taylor Leach. This means ensuring the highest health and nutrition standards, plus maintaining detailed health and vaccination records. She shares what is important and what should be recorded. Source: Dairy Herd … [Read more...]
Biosecurity planning for secure beef supply
Foot and mouth disease fears have driven transdisciplinary approaches to biosecurity across livestock industry segments. The current issues with high-path avian influenza in dairy cattle underscores the importance of biosecurity planning as it is the leading protection against diseases. The Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program proactively established … [Read more...]
Palace of Versailles to host 2024 Paris Equestrian Olympics (video)
Kim MacMillan shares the history of the Palace of Versailles located south of Paris where the 2024 Equestrian Olympics will take place. The venue is sure to provide visitors, participants and TV viewers a breathtaking backdrop to the events. Source: Horse Illustrated, July 17, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Overcoming head shyness improves safety for horses, handlers
Horses can be head or ear shy for reasons such as preexisting pain or fear. Ruling out physical issues is the first course of action. Katie Narvarra shares how trainer Shawna Karrasch addresses head shyness in this article. Head shyness can be difficult to address and often puts horse and handler at risk.” Source: The Horse, July 4, 2024. Link. True systematic desensitization … [Read more...]
Treating guinea pig health problems
Adrienne Kruzer, BS, RVT, LVT, shares common guinea pig diseases along with signs, treatment and ways to prevent guinea pigs from getting sick. Source: The Spruce Pets, June 12, 2024. Link. … [Read more...]
Handling the threat of ticks
While animal health pros may discuss the same topic multiple times daily, individual animal owners may only hear about the risks from mosquitoes, fleas and ticks once or twice a year and ignore the topic in their online streams or feeds. Dana Kneese, DVM, reminds us that animal owners need to know the types of ticks and what diseases they carry and understand the basics of … [Read more...]
Cultivated meat, microbial protein enter the pet food conversation
The potential for alternative proteins is gaining steam as cultivated meat and other novel proteins begin appearing as actualities in pet food formulas, rather than as hypotheticals, writes Lisa Cleaver. Source: PETFOOD Industry, July 2024. Link. With increasing pressure on the supply chain of animal-derived protein ingredients, <cultivated products> differentiate the … [Read more...]
Catnip. How and why it works on some cats
Cats get high off catnip by inhaling nepetalactone, the organic compound found in catnip which scientists believe their brain interprets as cat pheromones. Catnip sensitivity is hereditary, develops when cats mature to about three to six months and is inherited in only about 50 percent of cats. Source: Happy Puppy Tips. Link. INSIGHTS: Consider this for social media posts … [Read more...]
Understanding FIP in cats
JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM, shares information for cat owners about feline infectious peritonitis, a viral disease caused by a mutated form of the feline coronavirus. She clarified the feline coronavirus is not related to the Covid 19 coronavirus. Since this article was published, a treatment for FIP has been making news <Link>. Jeanette L. Maucher, DVM, shares Stokes … [Read more...]
The long reach of rat poisons
Supertoxic rodenticides are building up inside unintended targets, including birds, mammals, insects and potentially our pets. While the full scope of the rodenticide problem remains elusive, scientists want to understand the damage and limit it. Recent research suggests second-generation compounds that may remain in tissues for nearly a year are more widespread in food webs … [Read more...]
Help save Monarch butterflies
We saw a sign like this one recently. It led to uncovering Lynn Coulter’s article on the importance of planting pollinator-friendly plants and Monarch waystations. Many veterinary hospitals and pet services locations have areas large enough to include a pollinator focus in landscape maintenance, so we’re sharing this information. Source: HGTV. Link. Monarch Watch recommends … [Read more...]
Peanut butter. Good for dogs or not?
Most experts agree that peanut butter is safe for most dogs in moderation. Jennifer Lesser shares facts on why moderation is warranted. Considering that myriad brands now exist, she shares the importance of reading labels and, whenever possible, avoiding ingredients like sugar or corn syrup, artificial sweeteners like xylitol, or other potentially harmful preservatives. Also, … [Read more...]
6 ways to bring strategy into work every day
David Lancefield shares six ways to incorporate strategy into daily practices instead of switching on autopilot and defaulting to habits that keep us focused on the familiar. He reminds us to be aware of our personal limitations and practices which prevent us from translating intent into strategic actions. Source: Harvard Business Review, July 12, 2024. Link. We have more … [Read more...]
Thriving leadership
Self-leadership is the foundation that qualifies you to lead others. The author shares five tips to strengthen your self-leadership. Source: Giant Leap Consulting, July 2024. Link. At their core, arrogant leaders are fearful leaders which requires exploring what’s driving the fears and working through it. What good have I done today? - Benjamin Franklin’s end-of-day … [Read more...]
Zoonotic web exposes complexity of disease transmission
As humans, animals, and wildlife coexist, there’s a lot to consider, including the zoonotic risks of cross-species disease transfers. This article provides a comprehensive picture of naturally occurring zoonotic interactions, sure to expand how animal health pros view zoonotic transmissions and risk management. A major challenge for the One Health community is quantifying … [Read more...]
Brush, don’t shave to keep animals comfortable during heat waves
Speaking with NPR, Sandra Faeh, DVM, comments about the practice of shaving pets during hot summer days. Shaving their fur does not help. Their fur makes them comfortable and protects them from sunburn. Brushing dogs removes the hair that they would have shed so that they have their normal coat which makes them so much more comfortable.” Source: NPR, July 10, 2024. … [Read more...]
Worth a Glance – July 11, 2024
Last week’s AHD Bulletin – Animal Health Digest Bulletin, July 3, 2024. Link. This edition contains links to archived content in the Worth a Glance section plus links to previous years’ full editions as well as topic tags. ===================================== How to cope with post-vacation blues Source: Harvard Business Review, July 9, 2024. Link. Feeling drained … [Read more...]