In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, accurate and timely information is particularly critical. Although businesses may be focused internally on managing their business and staff during this period, focusing on communication with customers and clients remains important, too. Twitter offers suggestions for business communication via social media channels at this … [Read more...]
The state of high stakes learning
Intrepid Learning recently published an infographic to share the results of their 2020 learning and development survey. The results indicate little change compared to 2019 including weaknesses from the top down. The main findings are: Leadership is still the most critical topic Learning with and from others remains the best modality Learning cultures are still seen … [Read more...]
Tips that make working from home awesome
Doug Aamoth has been working from home nearly 20 years. He offers some tips to improve the experience. If you’re being forced to work remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic, take heart: You might find that you love it.” – Doug Aamoth Source: Fast Company, March 17, 2020. Link. One of the best things about not being in an office all day is that if you’ve set yourself up … [Read more...]
Diagnosing cat constipation, obstipation and megacolon
Diagnostic flow charts help identify the reasons a cat has difficulties in the litter box. Source: Clinician’s Brief, September 2018. Link. INSIGHTS: Dr. Olah’s charts are excellent resources when coaching new DVMs. … [Read more...]
Buck trends all the way to success
Trends influence what we eat, how we conduct business, what we wear and even what movies we see. But, as evidenced in the documentary, Country Music, trends have the power to change industries. Source: Purpose Unlimited, Link. Hank Williams made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in 1949. At the time Roy Acuff was known as the King of Country Music. “I was a pretty good … [Read more...]
Pet care tasks often overlooked
In the midst of the COVID-19 disruption lies opportunity. With door traffic slow, staff can be redirected to conduct outreach. With more pet owners homebound and accessible by phone, addressing overlooked pet care tasks could produce great results. Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell shares tips from veterinarians about often overlooked pet care tasks. From flea, tick and heartworm … [Read more...]
Train the whole team on dentistry, oral care
Midmark’s Danielle Heberle, CVT, VTSH (Dentistry), provides sound reasoning for total clinic team dentistry training in this SPARK video. She discusses the practice development opportunities as well as Midmark’s training services. Traditionally we have seen that the client care people get left out of the education process. It is sad considering how integral these staff members … [Read more...]
Are dog parks good for socialization?
Karen London, PhD, clears up some behavioral vernacular and addresses opportunities and issues of dog parks. She says only puppies can be socialized in the technical sense, but adult dogs can benefit from social interaction. Source: The BARk, March 2020. Link. Not all dogs need to be around other dogs or benefit from being social in the general sense, but many do. It’s great … [Read more...]
Adjust inventory to account for supply chain disruptions
Original material from AHD The COVID-19 situation is stressing various supply chains. Adjustments to inventory management, especially for SKUS needed for caring for animals, will be critical for the foreseeable future. AHD founder, Kirk Augustine has helped develop and teach inventory management curricula for veterinary teams. He created a short inventory management paper … [Read more...]
2019 Triennial Heartworm Symposium selective summary
Marisa Ames, DVM, DACVIM, provides an informative and actionable summary from the September 2019 heartworm symposium. The topics in the presentations and poster included: Heartworm vectors and transmission Heartworm prevention Heartworm pathology Heartworm diagnosis Wolbachia and heartworm treatment protocols . . . a strong correlation was noted between … [Read more...]
Marketing: no time, no money, no expertise
In a recent article and podcast, George B. Krueger, MBA, DBA, shares research that explores the theme of microbusiness marketing with no time, no money and no expertise. Microbusinesses were defined as small businesses that employ nine or fewer people, including the owner. Source: bizTimes, March 5, 2020. Link. White paper copy of article < link > The research … [Read more...]
Sometimes the wrong words just come out
Most people mean well. Veterinary teams often face clients whose prized animal should be put down or has died. It’s an emotional time for all. Despite best intentions during these times we end up eating our foot. The folks at CareBridge offer some perspective worth consideration. Source: CareBridge. Link. So why do insensitive and downright dumb things pop out of the mouths … [Read more...]
Keep work out of personal social media posts
There is a growing trend where carelessly made social media posts cause a furor in the workplace while harming the organization’s interest or reputation. Iffy posts also cost people their jobs. Source: Harvard Business Review, January 17, 2020. Link. The authors share simple safeguards you can follow to stay out of trouble: Don’t tag your company in your personal posts … [Read more...]
8 tips to get your messages read
Emails, memos and requests often go ignored likely because they’re hard to understand. However, individual success depends on the help of others. Thus, success for a sale, a project, even a career likely depends on getting others to read and act on our messages. Here are eight ways to help get people to respond to them. Source: New York Times, March 8, 2020. Link. (paywall) … [Read more...]
Dirty laundry: Towel cleanliness affects mastitis prevalence
Researchers share disturbing facts about washed udder towels they evaluated for bacteria present. They compared laundering practices, bacteria species observed and cow mastitis infections. Apparently, a clean towel isn’t always clean. Source: Dairy Herd Management, October 16, 2019. Link. None of the farms using a professional laundering service had high coliform counts on … [Read more...]
Vaccination key to managing BRD
Multiple factors contribute to bovine respiratory disease and no single management plan works for all operations. History of the cattle, how they are handled, nutrition and vaccination are critical to keep BRD in check. So are testing and parasite management. DVMs Oliver Irons and Daniel Cummings offer a thorough review of how to prevent BRD and how to treat it, if … [Read more...]
Know calf vital signs
Jillian Bohlen, DVM, says evaluating the basic vital statistics of every calf catches sick animals early in the disease process and goes beyond visual appraisal. Her advice on measuring calf vital signs includes: Temperature: 100.0-102.5˚F Heart rate (pulse): 100-140 beats per minute Respiration rate: 36-60 breaths per minute Source: Dairy Herd Management, … [Read more...]
Veterinary Feed Directives improving use of medically important products
VFDs imposed by the Food and Drug Administration in January 2017 are required for livestock feed products that contain medically important ingredients, such as tetracyclines. David Williams, owner-operator of Burkmann Nutrition, explains how feed retailers can play a leading role helping livestock operators and their veterinarians operate well with VFDs. His and other … [Read more...]
Rural Media Group announces new streaming service, RFD-TV Now (video)
Complimentary Sponsored Content RMG has just announced expanded streaming service under a new name: RFD-TV Now. It offers improved searchability, increased security, and added features such as the ability to “favorite” shows or binge watch them by season. This is good news for animal health pros who enjoy FarmHer, rodeos, horsemanship features, cattle topics like DocTalk, … [Read more...]
Why dogs howl at sirens
It is thought that dogs howl at sirens because they believe they are communicating with other dogs, writes John Woods. Science doesn’t support the idea that dogs howl because sirens hurt their ears he says. If a dog’s howling is causing a nuisance, counter conditioning by teaching them to settle can work. Source: All Things Dog, February 14, 2020. Link. … [Read more...]
Video shows how to remove ticks
Pet owners will appreciate this video about removing ticks from pets. It could also lead to better tick testing if a pet gets sick after a bite. Share it on social media and in newsletters. Upload it to your website and re-share it routinely from now through fall. Source: PetMD. Link. Ticks can transmit deadly diseases to a pet within as little as 24 hours of latching on, so … [Read more...]
AAHA: Introduces a new continuum of patient-focused anesthesia
AAHA announces the 2020 AAHA Anesthesia and Monitoring Guidelines for Dogs and Cats The new guidelines take a new approach to anesthesia called continuum of care, says guideline co-chair Tamara Grubb, DVM, PhD, DACVAA. It is a doorknob-to-doorknob strategy that begins before the patient leaves their house and ends when they return home comfortable and calm. In addition to … [Read more...]
NOT knowing it all
One of the skills veterinary team members possess is the ability to listen to their animal patients. They do it with their ears, their eyes, hands and even noses. These senses are critical to identifying both health and illness in critters. But when that attention is turned to an animal owner, the senses often turn off. Salespeople have similar problems and so do personnel at … [Read more...]
Five words for this decade
Watching or listening to the news can be depressing. However, if you want to watch it and be inspired by innovative ideas, get excited by new policies and be encouraged by our collective progress, then here are five words to remember. Maybe even to live by. Source: LinkedIn Pulse, February 17, 2020. Link. More importantly, we must listen well to others and thoughtfully … [Read more...]
COVID-19 could be lemons or lemonade. We can make the difference.
March 2020: Update on SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 it causes Hundreds of coronaviruses circulate among animals including cattle, camels, bats, pigs, cats and dogs. Sometimes these viruses jump to humans (a spillover event) and may cause disease. SARS-CoV-2 virus is a betacoronavirus, like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. All three have origins in bats. SARS-CoV-2 causes the disease … [Read more...]
Fear-based management is ineffective
It is amazing that some in management and leadership positions resort to creating an environment of fear to get their people to work. Research consistently proves that fear-based leadership or management does not work. It may in the short-term, but the quality of work will be average at best and it is never sustainable in the long run. Source: Leadership First, October 12, … [Read more...]
Colostrum, more than just immunoglobulins (webinar video)
Colostrum is important to all mammal newborns. It is essential for the final development and maturation of the gastrointestinal tract and immune system. Calves that receive high-quality colostrum have higher survival rates, lower age at conception, and will yield more milk through the second lactation. Michael Steele shares information on colostrum supplementation, the … [Read more...]
BCS: low cost, big impact
VFD regulations are driving more productive interactions between livestock producers and their veterinarians. Routine site visits including face-to-face meetings are important to the success of this initiative and improve VCPR. <link> Matt Hersom is an advocate for body condition scoring (BCS). It has a low cost and high value that can help any cattle producer make good … [Read more...]
Reinforce the importance of cat visits to veterinary clinics
Cat Friendly Homes from the AAFP provides direct-to-cat-owner information on why annual preventive care check-ups are vital to helping cats live a long, healthy life. The website offers information that supports cat-friendly practices. The monthly newsletter is a good reminder to communicate with cat owners on key feline health topics and support in-clinic efforts to increase … [Read more...]
Tiny tapeworm mimics symptoms of liver cancer
Echinococcus multilocularis is well established in wild canids in southern Ontario. Researchers indicate the tapeworm is migrating, could enter the northern U.S. and is considered a zoonotic public health risk. Adult E. multilocularis infect wild carnivores, including foxes, wolves and coyotes, but may also affect dogs and cats. Rodents such as lemmings, voles, and deer mice … [Read more...]