Monday, July 25, 2016

Pet Pig Arthritis


You probably didn't know that arthritis strikes most pigs when they hit their senior years.   Maybe it's genetics, likely it's their love of all-things food.   As in humans, it is a painful and disabling condition that may prove fatal. 

Joint Supplements--Start Young

As with all animals, we recommend a trip to the vet to rule out other potential causes, including fractures.  If the vet says arthritis, a course of treatments, including supplements, may be prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation.  Supplements like Glucosamine and Chondroitin can be bought over the counter and do help improve arthritic joints.  One of the messages that has been stated repeatedly at pig seminars over the last few years is that even pigs without apparent problems should be on at least the maintenance dose of joint supplements from a very early age.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin is a supplement that has been demonstrated to improve the overall condition of joints and to slow any degenerative diseases that strike the joints. The syrup version of G&C is easy to sneak into a pig's diet.  There is also a powder version that you might try. Both of these products are sold for equines and one half the dosage for a horse will work for your pigs. Be aware, these supplements are expensive! But they are also effective.

Glucosaminoglycans is effective in removing bad fluid from around the joints and improving the fluid around the joint in general. This is usually an injected supplement. It is given weekly for a month and then given once every month. It has been found to be very effective in improving joint health. In some cases the damage arthritis caused the joints were actually reversed!

Pain Relief--An Aspirin Won't Do

Sometimes your veterinarian will prescribe a mild pain medication so that it is easier for your pig to move around. One of the common medications is called Rimadyl, or what is referred to as the best, Derramax. These drugs are not safe over long periods and it is recommended that if your pig is on these medications that it also takes an acid-reducer medicine like Paxil, Ranitidine, or the like. These pain-relieving medications will allow your pig to move around relatively painlessly while the other supplements that you are giving it have time to take effect.

You can find most of these supplements under Equine sections on most on-line vet supply companies. You just type into the search box Chrondroprotec or Cosequin and it should pop up a listing for that item.

 If all else fails you can ask your veterinarian to start your pig on Prednisone, a steroid. Steroids have substantial risk but are effective. The pig must also take an acid reducer like Prilosecor Nexium to prevent digestive tract issues. You vet will know the proper dosages and instructions for taking the medications.

Environment Helps

 Senior pigs should have heated beds and never sleep where cold can get to them. There are many bed warmers you can get from farm, feed or pet supply stores. Look for heated rubber bed warmers. Provide plenty of room for your pig to be able to get off the mat if it gets too warm.

 You should also consider re-think your pig's habitat to provide for an arthritic condition. Make walking surfaces level and provide ramps. Offer heated pens or houses for your pig. A healthy diet of leafy greens coupled with higher protein hog feed will satisfy a big appetite.  Lots of light will limit the possibility of a trip and fall. 

In the end it is quality of life not quantity that counts most, so if your pig starts to suffer more than the drugs can compensate for, you should consider humanely putting your pig down so that it doesn't continue to be in intolerable pain. Providing a comfortable living environment for your arthritic pig is challenging, but it will make it more comfortable and happy for the days to come.

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This blog is brought to you by Diagnostic Imaging Systems.  Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. (DIS) has been providing Quality Imaging products since 1983. The company combines industry knowledge with an understanding of the veterinary practice. For more information, go to Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. website at: www.vetxray.com


All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at any time and without notice.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Wild Horse vs. Domestic Horse-- Less Difference Than You Think

There's no difference in the training, and all horses should be trained. No horse wants to be treated harshly and aggressively, or laxly and indifferently. They do not respond well to anger or nonchalantly.   Like your kids, they will take over if you don't establish clear boundaries and limits. Take your time--horses don't like to be rushed. Remember, wild horses are, simply HORSES. In many ways they are just like any other horse.

There are some important differences, however.

Wild horses haven't been abused, spoiled or taught bad behaviors by you or anyone else.  Think pure when you hear wild.  Think empty canvas on which to paint the most beautiful image.  
Wild horses have a much stronger sense of self-survival than domestic horses, which must be understood in your training program. That's why it's so important to work at your horse's pace, and not yours.  Be sure that your horse understands exactly what you want before moving to the next step.   It's critical that Step 1 in any training  program is trust-building.  Once a mustang trusts you, you'll be their partner.  But until then, that sense of self-preservation will be one of your greater challenges. 

A horse who has spent time in a social setting is smarter, has a stronger sense of self, and is more "in the know"  than one who has grown up a in a stall. Horse society requires good manners, respect and the ability to get on with others.    Perhaps, most importantly, horses understand that there must be a leader in order for the community to work well.  It makes sense to become the good leader that inspires your mustang (or domestic for that matter). 

Wild horses, with their keen senses, read and understand their environment and the beings that move through it.  They have a profound ability to spot and understand body language, energy, movement and purpose.  Who you are is clear as day. Not so true from our side; we do not always read the horse well and that's when the trouble begins.

If you want the horse to trust you, be trustworthy!

All horses are naturally honest, and will give you true and genuine feedback. Calming and training your wild horse will make you a better trainer and handler of all equines.  And, perhaps, a better person too.

Once you have earned the horse's trust and loyalty, it is ready to be trained just like any domestic horse. And as with any horse
The better the trainer
The better the training
The better the horse.

***
This blog is brought to you by Diagnostic Imaging Systems.  Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. (DIS) has been providing Quality Imaging products since 1983. The company combines industry knowledge with an understanding of the veterinary practice. For more information, go to Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. website at: www.vetxray.com

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at any time and without notice.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

July 8th is National Cow Appreciation Day...Bravo to Our Bovines!

No one knows how Cow Appreciation Day got started.  It joins a long list of unofficial holidays:  National Pretzel Day, Name Your Car Day and Bald & Free Day to name just a few.   Let's say thank you to the animal who gives us so much.  As Bart Simpson says, "COW-abunga!"
Did you know that cows are excellent recyclers?  A Cornell study reported that cows are often fed byproducts of industrial processes. The alternative – incineration of the byproducts – directly contributes to environmental degradation, so cows actually help reduce the impact of the human food supply and make that food supply affordable, he reports.
Bet you didn’t know that, did you?
Here are a few little-known facts about these gentle farm creatures:
1.  Dairy cows live about 25 years
2. Cows have almost panoramic, 360-degree vision, allowing them to watch for predators or humans from all angles. Translation: It’s nearly impossible to sneak up on them, would-be cow tippers.
3. Bovines can’t see the color red. Those crimson flags that matadors wave in the rodeo ring only catch a bull’s attention because of their fluttering.
4. Cows have an acute sense of smell and can detect odors up to six miles away, which is also helpful in detecting imminent danger.
5. These mammals have no upper front teeth. Instead, they press their sharp bottom teeth against the top hard palate of their mouth to cut efficiently through blades of grass.
6. Cows move their jaws about 40,000 times a day, chewing cud or grass about 40 times a minute.
7. Thanks to a high metabolism, the average dairy cow consumes more than 100 pounds of food per day and drinks up to 40 gallons of water per day.
8. These extremely social creatures don’t like to be alone. So if a cow isolates herself, she's either not feeling well or she's about to give birth.
9. Cows spend the vast majority of their time lying down — about 10 to 12 hours each day.
10. Cows and humans share a very important trait — gestation for both is 9 months

We all know that cows supply each of us with nutrition in a variety of ways.  Dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream.  Meat products from roasts to steaks to burgers.  Cows have been feeding us for centuries; isn't it time to show our thanks by celebrating National Cow Appreciation Day on July 8th?

Cow-Filled Ways to Celebrate
Scrabble Contest--How many words can you think of that contain the word "cow"?
Art Show--Cow drawings.  Categories may include Most Life-like, Funniest...you decide!
And, of course,
Cow Costumes

The prize?  A loving cup full of ice cream!!!
So, get moo-ving...it's National Cow Appreciation Day!!
***
This blog is brought to you by Diagnostic Imaging Systems.  Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. (DIS) has been providing Quality Imaging products since 1983. The company combines industry knowledge with an understanding of the veterinary practice. For more information, go to Diagnostic Imaging Systems, Inc. website at: www.vetxray.com
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. These terms and conditions of use are subject to change at any time and without notice.


Bioethical Organizational Behavior - a Leadership Mandate

Thomas E. Catanzaro, DVM, MHA, LFACHE
Dipomate, American College of Healthcare Executives
CEO, Veterinary Consulting International
DrTomCat@aol.comwww.drtomcat.com

Bioethics is the study of typically controversial ethics brought about by advances in healthcare, biology, and medicine. It is also moral discernment as it relates to medical policy, practice, and research. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy. It also includes the study of the more commonplace questions of values ("the ethics of the ordinary") which arise in organizational behavior, primary care and other branches of healthcare delivery.

I first published a review of bioethics in my 1998 text, Building the Successful Veterinary Practice: Programs & Procedures (Volume 2), Blackwell/Wiley & Sons Publishing.  In the USA, we consider ear crops, tail docks, and declaws to be examples of bioethical situations, and in Australia and New Zealand, as well as the USA and Canada, elective euthanasia, especially of unwanted litters, and cancer therapy decisions, are two common examples of a bioethical issue.  Then I read the cover story in Bloomberg Businessweek, "the Cheapest, Happiest Company in the World - where toilet paper - and ecstatic employees - can both be found in bulk - COSTCO!"  With Costco just breaking into the Australian market, this was a perspective awakening for me (I wrote the Organizational Behavior monograph about that time and put it into the VIN Bookstore).  The CEO of Costco attributes much of the company's financial and market success to treating its employees well. In fact, in 2013, the CEO of Costco wrote an open letter to Congress addressing the raising of the federal minimum wage, stating, "We know it is a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment, and loyalty."
Australia is looking for Costco to break the petrol duopoly of ever increasing prices, and very little is being said about workplace benefits, since there are so many already established in the Australian wage award and mandated benefit systems. But the article got me pondering about the morale management by the leadership in veterinary healthcare delivery; the value in treating staff members well and managing them in ethically responsible ways, while ensuring the bioethical decisions within the organizational behavior stay aligned to the Core Values, Standards of Care (SOC), and Mission Statement of the practice culture.

THE FOUNDATION
Very few observers would disagree that organizational culture, bioethical standards, and a safe/healthy work environment are essential in fulfilling one's ethical responsibilities to a healthcare delivery team. But while the "right" policies and procedures, and the "right" culture and work environment, may be in place to promote ethical treatment of staff members, it is the day-to-day bioethical management decisions and actions that determine whether managers and leaders are fulfilling their practice culture responsibilities to the staff members of the practice.

Creating a practice infrastructure that includes such things as a written Standards of Care is much easier than establishing an internal code of ethics and tracking metrics to ensure internal compliance by all providers (including specific procedures per 100 patients).  Making bioethical conduct the norm throughout the practice operations is a much more difficult task than tracking new metrics.  More than anything, managers and veterinarians who role model bioethical conduct in their treatment of staff members send a clear message about what is acceptable behavior in the practice. When staff members are treated with honesty, fairness, and respect, they are more likely in turn to treat patients, clients, vendors and peers in the same way, thus contributing to the practice success and reputation in the community and within business relationships.

REPUTATION
Competent, bioethical clinical and ethical employment practices will make the practice a destination of choice for new staff members, who by the nature of this profession, are usually answering a 'calling' that is deep seeded within their own personal values. People want to work for ethical practices with leaders who inspire and challenge them in achieving high levels of bioethical performance. A practice culture where staff and leaders are treated ethically and expected to treat patients and clients within established bioethical standards, in a manner which attracts and retains a workforce, that has pride, and thus will enhance the image of the practice in the community.

When recruiting staff, it is sometimes tempting to oversell the practice, as well as its position in the community.  Staff pride speaks louder than anything the interviewer can say!  When making a job offer to a new candidate, it is a questionable practice to offer more compensation/benefits than what an existing staff member with tenure and experience in the practice is earning. Caution must be exercised to ensure equitable compensation, benefits, and support for all staff members.

TOM CAT'S ROSEWORTHY TECHNIQUE
When first interviewing the core nursing staff for the new Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at Roseworthy, in South Australia, I advertised the job(s) for experienced nursing staff (Certified Veterinary Technicians in Australia are Veterinary Nurses, Cert 4). During the interviews, I stated the wage and benefits in accordance with the established Australian Award system, and interviewed for attitude and aptitude toward team-based healthcare delivery.

When I selected first four, I set them to work on the four-phase Orientation & Training program. When they opened their first pay check, they found they were being paid well above the Australian Award, as well as almost double the established benefit package; they asked for an explanation. The answer was simple - I wanted to hire people who wanted to do the new, cutting edge, duties of a VTH nurse (which included student training and mentoring), not just earn more money or more benefits.

These four veterinary nurses then were tasked to hire next four, using the same techniques, and field test the four-phase Orientation & Training programs they had been evolving to be established as the Roseworthy VTH staff development program.
Point taken - hiring or promoting a staff member into a position, giving them clear expectations of duty zone responsibilities and accountabilities, and then failing to provide resources or the needed authority needed to meet the job expectations is unfair to both the staff member and the practice.

The stethoscope
Did I mention, each of those nurses received a personal stethoscope?  Did I tell you I asked them to pick their own color? Have I told you I consider a personal stethoscope an important message (ear wax control, etc.)? Actually it was a bioethical decision to re-enforce the concept of nurses doing primary care, with clients as well as with patients. I can tell you, it is rare to find a practice empowering their staff with this type of gesture.
Factoid - much has been written in literature and the media about sexual harassment, and yet those cases continue; bullying is now a major issue in Australia. In ethical practices, management has established a zero tolerance policy concerning sexual harassment, yet because we have had veterinary-centric culture for so long, bullying is allowed to continue by control-centered veterinarians.  In a bioethical practice culture, this is intolerable regardless of past paradigms.

PERFORMANCE PLANNING
In bioethical practices, retrospective performance appraisals have been replaced by quarterly prospective performance planning (title specific monograph, with forms and formats, are available in the VIN Bookstore).  The self-assessment used in performance planning is viewed as fair, honest, objective, timely, and focused on the scope of duty being performed.  Zone duty standards replace the traditional job descriptions, and outcome expectations for zone operations are kept within the duty standards.  With the three-column performance plan (competent, needs help, or ready to train others), self-assessment of below standard performance is therefore  not related to age, sex, nationality, health, or family issues which may be viewed as discriminatory.

The quarterly performance planning by individual staff members replaces those retrospective appraisals traditionally done by managers as bureaucratic necessities, and minimize the ethical and bioethical issues now faced by traditional systems that rate 1-10, excellent-outstanding-good-fair- etc.-etc.-etc..  In healthcare skills and delivery, competency is excellence - there are NOT levels of mediocrity.  Study after study in healthcare cultures show staff members want the recognition and feedback of their performance; anything else is unfair and bioethically damning!  The performance planning concept has proven to be far more constructive, since 95% of the healthcare workers will rate themselves tougher than their supervisors would; this allows much more "good news" and "positive feedback" in the performance planning process.

OPEN COMMUNICATION
Effective managers know they need two-way communications within their healthcare delivery team(s). They know they need to seek opinions and ideas from staff members, encourage civil debate, and avoid the practice of listening only to those who agree with their position; these are bioethical observation points, since perspectives on effective listening are not mandated from legal parameters.

Savvy managers recognize that any threat to the status quo or existing stability of the practice, such as expansion of hours, changes in shift staffing, or even new hires, will have a direct impact on the perceived job security of individual staff members.  Zone coordinators need sufficient information to mobilize personal resources to plan or take action as needed. It is unfair to withhold information from existing staff members that may allow them to participate in brainstorming alternatives for the practice.

The practice leadership must not lose sight of the fact that staff satisfaction, loyalty, commitment, and productivity are in large part directly related to how the perceive they are treated as trusted team members by their "boss" - not primarily by organizational policies, procedures, or paradigms - which they .know are manifestations of the "boss's" or managers expectations. It is the day-to-day decisions embedded in routine functions that reflect bioethical treatment of the workforce, clients, patients, and community, which in turn reflects on the character of the leadership and, in turn, the character and image of the practice.