DirecTV Adds Canine TV ChannelJuly 10, 2013 DogTV, the first television network scientifically developed for dogs, will debut nationwide Aug. 1 on DirecTV channel 354 at $4.99 a month.DogTV offers canine-centric programming designed to capture and keep the attention of stay-at-home dogs. The canine-centric programming is designed to capture and keep the attention of stay-at-home dogs. "Many dog owners come home ... to find a sad pooch or a ripped-up couch,” said Gilad Neumann, CEO of the New York City company. "This likely results from separation anxiety, which is one of the most common behavioral issues for dogs that are left at home.” The channel has been available only in San Diego on the Cox and Time Warner cable networks and through the Internet and Roku streaming players. Veterinarians, dog trainers and animal behaviorists were consulted during the network’s four-year development, resulting in programming designed to appeal to a dog’s sense of sight, hearing and movement detection. In addition to relaxing and Pavlovian programming, DogTV offers content designed to desensitize dogs to stimuli such as babies, cars and fireworks that would …
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Veterinary Practices Considering Payment OptionsJuly 9, 2013 A new couple turned up recently at Highland Animal Clinic in Mount Vernon, Wash., distraught about their 10-year-old dog. Roscoe had grown weak and emaciated, but another clinic had needed $500 upfront to start tests and hospitalize the animal–and the young family couldn’t scrape it together until payday, nine days away. Practice manager Jennifer Schubeck and her staff didn’t want the family to wait that long. They set the clients up on a payment plan, using their own in-house service set up through ExtendCredit.com, so treatment could start immediately. "Apparently, the dog had saved the life of one of the children in the family years ago, so they wanted to do whatever they could for him,” Schubeck said. "Ultimately, we weren’t able to save him, but the family was extremely grateful and has since transferred their other three pets to us, because we helped them in their time of need.” For many veterinary practices, offering financing options, including payment plans and installment-pay preventive health care plans, is not only a way to save animals and help clients. It’s a smart business decision that can also increase revenue …
When Pets Lose Their Sense Of PlaceJuly 9, 2013 Canine and feline cognitive dysfunction syndromes are degenerative brain diseases that are often missed until the signs become so advanced that it may be too late to help the pet or owner. "One of the greatest problems we have with cognitive dysfunction is the lack of awareness, not only on the part of the public, but on the part of the practicing veterinarians. They understand that it is out there, but they don’t appreciate how common it is,” said Jeff Nichol, DVM, a veterinary behavior practitioner at the Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M. "Veterinarians assume that the owner will tell them ‘My older dog is not acting the same’ during the course of an exam,” Dr. Nichol says. "But many pet owners assume the behavior changes are a normal part of aging.” A large 2011 study out of Australia bears this out. Researchers found that the overall prevalence of cognitive dysfunction was a little more than 14 percent, but only about 1.9 percent of cases are diagnosed. The same study found that the chances of having cognitive dysfunction increase with age, so that by the time dogs are 15 years old, 41 …
Too Many Indebted Veterinary Grads Chase Too Few JobsJuly 9, 2013 In the year 2023, veterinary medicine will appear very different from the way it is now. I have felt for some time that we are training too many veterinarians for the number of available job openings. This was confirmed by the AVMA Workforce Study released April 22. This study reported 12.5 percent excess capacity in the profession, which could continue through 2025. I have read for the past 25 years that we need to have veterinarians go into non-traditional fields. We now have veterinarians in many new and expanding areas--public health, epidemiology, shelter medicine, food safety, etc.--but still have the issue of low salaries as many of these new areas offer lower pay. Student debt continues to increase at a higher rate than starting salaries. We often compare veterinary medicine to human medicine to evaluate how we are doing. However, the two professions are vastly different once we get away from four years of training. Today there is a shortage of physicians, and the Association of American Medical Colleges projects this shortage to reach 90,000 by 2020. On the other hand, the number of veterinarians is adequate with a …
Zoetis To Expand Nebraska Drug PlantJuly 3, 2013 Animal health company Zoetis Inc. will enlarge its Lincoln, Neb., pharmaceutical plant to accommodate the transfer of products from a third-party manufacturer. A 19,000-square-foot, three-story expansion of Zoetis' Lincoln, Neb., plant could add 30 jobs. The 19,000-square-foot, three-story expansion could add 30 jobs to what is now a 500-employee operation. A groundbreaking is planned for this summer, with completion sometime in 2014, the company added. Operating since 1961, the Lincoln plant is one of 29 Zoetis manufacturing sites. It produces some of the company’s flagship products, including Bovi-Shield Gold cattle vaccine, RespiSure One swine medication and the anti-inflammatory canine drug Rimadyl. "This expansion shows our continuing commitment to the Lincoln community, a community that we have been a part of for several decades,” said Michael Morgan, site leader in Lincoln. Zoetis, headquartered in Madison, N.J., split from one-time parent company Pfizer Inc. in February and became fully independent as of June 24. In other news, Michael McCallister was appointed nonexecutive chairman of the Zoetis board of directors. McCallister, former CEO of the Humana health insurance …
Patterson To Carry MediVet Stem Cell ProductsJuly 2, 2013 The companies reached agreement on the distribution of stem cell and platelet-rich plasma kits and associated tissue-processing equipment to veterinary practices nationwide. Jeff Baker, vice president of sales at Devens, Mass.-based Patterson, called MediVet "a forward-thinking company that is a leader in the emerging regenerative therapy segment.” "MediVet’s line of stem cell therapies and equipment is a strong addition to the Patterson Veterinary portfolio of cutting-edge technologies,” Baker said. The companies have developed an educational platform designed to help veterinarians learn about stem cell therapy. More than 550 veterinarians in 47 states perform in-clinic stem cell procedures, noted MediVet, which is headquartered in Nicholasville, Ky. Adult animal stem cell technology uses the body’s regenerative healing power to treat dogs, cats, horses and other animals suffering from arthritis, hip dysplasia, tendon, ligament and cartilage injuries, and other ailments. The stem cell kit allows for same-day harvest and application of repair cells derived from an animal’s fat tissue. MediVet stem cell technology also is distributed by
Dental PearlsJune 28, 2013Dental Pearls: Veterinary Dentistry InsightsDental Pearlsdental pearls, dental cleaning, pet dental cleaningdentalpearlsGet advice and insights on what's happening in veterinary dentistry.Dental Pearls is a column about veterinary dentistry.John Lewis, VMD, FAVD, Dipl. AVDC, offers up advice and insights on veterinary dentistry. Lewis is assistant professor of dentistry and oral surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia.
Veterinary Practice News Web ExclusivesJune 28, 2013 Veterinary Practice News Web ExclusivesVeterinary Practice News Web ExclusivesVeterinary Practice News Web ExclusivesVeterinary Practice News Web Exclusivesweb exclusivesVeterinary Practice News Web Exclusives For Dr. Villalobos' Quality of Life Scale click here »
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Summer Holds Special Hazards For PetsJune 27, 2013 Summer Holds Special Hazards for PetsSummer Holds Special Hazards for PetsPets Best, veterinarian, dog, cat, surgery, summer, claim, insurance, reimbursement, petPets Best Insurance processes some bizarre summertime claims on behalf of its four-legged clientele.Pets Best Insurance reveals cautionary tales from its database.newsline, pet-health-newsPosted: June 27, 2013, 3:15 p.m. EDTAgents who field calls for Pets Best Insurance of Boise, Idaho, have heard it all. Since it first began offering pet insurance nationwide in 2005, Pets Best, the only veterinarian-founded pet insurance company in the United States, has processed some bizarre summertime claims on behalf of its four-legged clientele. And if summers past are any indication, the insurer is sure to have a few doozies by the time fall rolls around. Eating golf balls can be painful for dogs and costly to their bill-paying owners. Pets Best revealed these cautionary tales from its database in the hope they won’t be repeated in the summer of 2013: • Tango, a German shorthaired pointer, consumed a beach towel. After the dog regurgitated parts of the towel, the remaining portion had to be surgically removed. …
