Welcome to Veterinary Forum

Why Blog?

Informed opinion. Expert advice. Good judgment. Even though all of us make diagnoses and treatment decisions based on clinical facts, no one can deny the value of wisdom derived from experience, the hunches that can lead to a quicker decision and a better outcome. That’s why we’ve created this space. We want to provide a forum where experts can provide us with their informed opinions and viewpoints on everything from clinical care to the state of our industry.

You may not always agree with our bloggers, but we hope you will read with an open mind and a comment or two of your own. All of us have experiences to draw on. As a better connected community, that experience can help us all to become better veterinarians and healthcare providers. And maybe, just a bit more engaged, energized, and entertained.

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Check out our blogs and post your comment!

Rosanna Marsella, DVM, DACVD

How Do You Treat Pyoderma?
February 3, 2010

Have you noticed that, when performing culture and sensitivity testing on pyoderma cases, we have more and more results of methicillin resistance and multi drug resistance? We used to believe that only animals exposed to many antibiotic or belonging to veterinarians or other medical personnel would have this problem. Do you now see it also in other situations (e.g., first time pyoderma)?

Veterinarians have been lucky for many years and have been able to...

Annie Mills, LVT, VTS (Dentistry)

How are you improving your role in dentistry?
January 21, 2010

For many years, veterinary dentistry was primarily a "technician task" with minimum involvement by the veterinarian. The field of dentistry, through education, and the need for improved patient care, is rapidly changing throughout the veterinary community. Veterinarians are learning more advanced therapies and applying them in everyday practice. The technician's role is changing as well. The veterinarian and technician are becoming (or should be) a cohesive team in...

Sheila Grosdidier

The Golden Rule Was Wrong – 3 Trends in Client Service
January 14, 2010

Many businesses were built upon the client is always right, do onto clients as you would have them do onto you and never turn away a client. Have we reached a point in the market where these words of advice need to be set aside? Dialed down or just plain erased?

The answer is…..could be, could be now. Look at these trends:

1. This last year you saw Sprint fire 1,000 customers who were mercilessly congesting their toll free numbers and costing...

Karen R. Todd-Jenkins, VMD

Feline Heartworm Disease
January 9, 2010

Let’s face it - we know that the actual compliance with heartworm preventative use in dogs is probably close to 50%. And this is for a disease that is well-known to the public and can be deadly. So moving the needle on feline heartworm awareness is an uphill battle. Feline heartworm disease is unpredictable. It’s complicated. It is difficult to diagnose. Antigen tests, antibody tests, and radiography can all be inconclusive depending on the stage of infection. In fact...

Robert Backus, DVM, PhD, DACVN

Cats and Carbohydrates
January 8, 2010

The reservations of cat owners about feeding commercially prepared diets have been around for many more than the 15 years that I have been studying feline nutrition. The basis for owner objections is quite varied in my experience. Cat owners have not been especially focused on dietary carbohydrate until recent years when internists began expressing their concerns. In support of my impression about the focus of owners is the now seemly common advertisement of...