What do you do on vacation? My family enjoys camping and the relaxed pace of a 'combination' of laying around a swimming beach, and having fun around the campfire.
What are your favorite vacation memories?
One of mine is the time we discovered that our daughter Elyse had a soy allergy - she threw up all over as she was 6 months old!
Not a lot of fun, but it was memorable.
A very fun one was when were were in Wisconsin about 1 hr north of Madison. It was a 2 week stay, and the beach was very close, and the weather was very pleasant. This was our definition: warm enough in the day to play in the water, yet cool enough at night that the campfire was not uncomfortable.
Imagine the campfire the past week!
We will be camping in a couple of weeks, but we have a great Dr, Dr Lorna Sifford, who will be filling in while I am away. She his from near St Louis, and has a lot of hunting dogs. So bring your hunting dog stories in for her. :-)
Share your favorite vacation times on our Facebook page here:By becoming a Fan of ours!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Helping keep pet's teeth clean - and in their mouth
We have been excitedly encouraging folks to brush their pet's teeth, and use the tartar control treats and chew sticks.
Why? you may ask?
Not too long ago, it was unusual for grandparents to have all of their natural teeth. My own maternal grandparents did not have their own teeth, and my children's maternal grandparents did not either (my wife's parents).
Yet today, it is very common for folks in their 60's and 70's to still have all of their natural teeth. My mom does, and when my dad died 11 years ago, he also had all his natural teeth.
So what changed, and how can we apply the same techniques to our dogs?
A couple of factors and we will address how we can help with our pets:
* flouride in the water
* brushing and flossing teeth
* professional teeth 'prophy' cleanings done regularly before a lot of tartar builds up.
So how can we do these same things with our pets?
* Flouride in the water.
-- This is easy to continue unless your pet has problems with minerals in the urine. Make sure you use city water to get the trace amounts of floride.
* Brushing and flossing teeth
-- This is something that can be done for dogs and cats. It is not as easy to do if the pets have not been taught at an early age to sit while you brush their teeth. And even if you can not do this every day, every little bit does help reduce the plaque and tartar.
-- Tartar control treats. There are many treats down the isles that claim to reduce tartar on your pets teeth, but the question is, do they help? The veterinary association created a Veterinary Oral Health Council, which is like the American Dental society seal we see on tooth paste. This council investigates all products - water additives, foods and treats to see which ones actually do reduce plaque.
Their web site above has the list, and we keep the t/d food and CET chews here at our office.
*Professional cleaning
-- Getting your pet's teeth professionally cleaned at our clinic. We use an ultrasonic scaler to remove the tartar and plaque. Then the teeth are examined, probed, and the teeth are then polished with a polishing compound. After the polishing, the teeth are rinsed and reexamined. Then if all the teeth are cleaned, we apply a fluoride treatment directly to the teeth.
We take before and after pictures so you can see what an improvement the teeth have made.
And we can help your pet keep all of it's natural teeth, and in the process help your pet live one day longer to forever with you.
Why? you may ask?
Not too long ago, it was unusual for grandparents to have all of their natural teeth. My own maternal grandparents did not have their own teeth, and my children's maternal grandparents did not either (my wife's parents).
Yet today, it is very common for folks in their 60's and 70's to still have all of their natural teeth. My mom does, and when my dad died 11 years ago, he also had all his natural teeth.
So what changed, and how can we apply the same techniques to our dogs?
A couple of factors and we will address how we can help with our pets:
* flouride in the water
* brushing and flossing teeth
* professional teeth 'prophy' cleanings done regularly before a lot of tartar builds up.
So how can we do these same things with our pets?
* Flouride in the water.
-- This is easy to continue unless your pet has problems with minerals in the urine. Make sure you use city water to get the trace amounts of floride.
* Brushing and flossing teeth
-- This is something that can be done for dogs and cats. It is not as easy to do if the pets have not been taught at an early age to sit while you brush their teeth. And even if you can not do this every day, every little bit does help reduce the plaque and tartar.
-- Tartar control treats. There are many treats down the isles that claim to reduce tartar on your pets teeth, but the question is, do they help? The veterinary association created a Veterinary Oral Health Council, which is like the American Dental society seal we see on tooth paste. This council investigates all products - water additives, foods and treats to see which ones actually do reduce plaque.
Their web site above has the list, and we keep the t/d food and CET chews here at our office.
*Professional cleaning
-- Getting your pet's teeth professionally cleaned at our clinic. We use an ultrasonic scaler to remove the tartar and plaque. Then the teeth are examined, probed, and the teeth are then polished with a polishing compound. After the polishing, the teeth are rinsed and reexamined. Then if all the teeth are cleaned, we apply a fluoride treatment directly to the teeth.
We take before and after pictures so you can see what an improvement the teeth have made.
And we can help your pet keep all of it's natural teeth, and in the process help your pet live one day longer to forever with you.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Make some money breeding
Hello everyone,
We may think about this a lot when we invest in a purebred dog. I know I did as a child, and even as a veterinarian, this logic of 'making some of my money back with breeding and selling the puppies' seemed to make sense.
Until I found this article on the myth of making money as a breeder.
Average Profit or Loss on Litter
Then;
We may think about this a lot when we invest in a purebred dog. I know I did as a child, and even as a veterinarian, this logic of 'making some of my money back with breeding and selling the puppies' seemed to make sense.
Until I found this article on the myth of making money as a breeder.
Average Profit or Loss on Litter
The average number of pups:
born in each letter .....……..7
Dying before eight weeks.......2
Sold per litter.....………….....4
Given away or kept by owners......1
Then;
The percentage of breeders…
who had at least one pup returned to them ....31%
who had legal complications with buyers..…....8%
who’s bitch or pups encountered medical problems endangering animals lives......63%
whose bitch will not be bred again*..........49%
The average expenses incurred to breed the bitch and raise pups until they were sold:
| Original cost of bitch | $462.29 |
| Cost of male | $772.57 |
| Veterinary Expenses | $430.09 |
| Extra food for pregnant/nursing bitch | $73.44 |
| Food for pups | $175.65 |
| Equipment for deliver and housing pups | $282.13 |
| Salaries lost because of absence from work | $247.20 |
| Ads and other costs to sell pups | $173.31 |
| Total average expenses: | $2,616.68 |
|
|
|
| Average number of hours spent with bitch and pups until they are sold: | 345 |
| Multiplied by minimum wage (x$3.50) | $1,207.50
|
Average income from sale of litter: $2,345.71
Average amount LOST per litter sale: $2,488.47
Even if you don't count paying yourself, the loss is ONLY $1,280.97
The 35 breedings included a litter form each of the following: one Alaskan Malamute, one Border Terrier, one Borzoi, one Boston Terrier, one Doberman Pinscher, one English Springer Spaniel, one German Short Haired Pointer, one Great Dane, one Kuvasz, one Labrador Retriever , one Lhasa Apso, one Mastiff, one Samoyed, one Siberian Husky, one Vizsla, two Dachshunds, two Golden Retrievers, 2 Norwegian Elkhounds, 2 Rottweillers, two Shetland Sheep Dogs, three German Shepherd Dogs, three Newfoundland, and four Poodles (one Miniature, three Standards).
* It may be the result of increased danger to the bitch’s health, a strong possibility of reproducing a serious genetic abnormality in future pups, or extreme financial loss.
This data was compiled by Ms. Linda Johnson in 1987 (hence the low minimum hourly wage), but the data is still accurate.
Just some food for thought if you consider 'breeding to make some money back'.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Freedom and why we should be grateful
Freedom is something we all yearn for.
Those who were wise enough and courageous enough 234 years ago knew this. They also knew that anything worth having is worth sacrifice.
And their sacrifice may not even be realized in their lifetime. I remind my children of that every July 4, as I also try to remind them daily.
I think we all can see this in small ways - we don't eat out for lunch to save money for a special dinner. Or we skip some coffee in the morning to buy a special gift for a girlfriend or spouse.
A favorite author and speaker, Andy Andrews, has a great Blog on this, and how we need to forgive ourselves of the mistakes we an make.
That is what freedom is all about. How many people do you know that always 'hold a grudge'? It does not take these folks more than 5 minutes of conversation to get back around to who harmed them 10+ years ago, or whenever it was.
You don't move on, you are not free.... you forever classify yourself with this lense.
May God continue to bless our great nation as we continue to strive to remain free to follow our laws. Freedom to follow a leader we are excited about.
Those who were wise enough and courageous enough 234 years ago knew this. They also knew that anything worth having is worth sacrifice.
And their sacrifice may not even be realized in their lifetime. I remind my children of that every July 4, as I also try to remind them daily.
I think we all can see this in small ways - we don't eat out for lunch to save money for a special dinner. Or we skip some coffee in the morning to buy a special gift for a girlfriend or spouse.
A favorite author and speaker, Andy Andrews, has a great Blog on this, and how we need to forgive ourselves of the mistakes we an make.
That is what freedom is all about. How many people do you know that always 'hold a grudge'? It does not take these folks more than 5 minutes of conversation to get back around to who harmed them 10+ years ago, or whenever it was.
You don't move on, you are not free.... you forever classify yourself with this lense.
May God continue to bless our great nation as we continue to strive to remain free to follow our laws. Freedom to follow a leader we are excited about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)