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After being sprayed in the face by a skunk, one Jack Russell Terrier developed a life-threatening blood issue. 

Skunk encounter creates rare near-death experience 

Annika VanNoy, PhD, joins this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast to discuss mental health in the veterinary profession

Healing the healers: Mental health in the veterinary profession

Bond Vet Launches New Position: Area Lead Nurse

Here is how veterinary teams can help clients honor the cherished memories of their beloved pets and find comfort after pets cross the Rainbow Bridge

Honoring beloved pets on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

The investment includes funding for high-priority research initiatives on zoonotic infectious diseases, vaccines, animal welfare, and more

USDA announces $17.6 million investment to protect livestock welfare and fund research 

This year’s theme will focus on the impact veterinary technicians have on more than just clients and patients

NAVTA announces 2024 theme of National Veterinary Technician Week 

Atlantic Veterinary College is investigating the use of a commonly prescribed children’s medication to treat these cardiac tumor canine patients  

Veterinary college launches clinical trial to treat cardiac tumors in dogs

Linda Ellis, DVM, sits down with Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to talk about common liability claims in the veterinary profession.



Podcast CE: veterinary professional liability - common claim drivers

The behavior page is a comprehensive resource for Veterinary news, animal health, and pet care insights on behavior. Read more at dvm360.

Behavior | Veterinary News & Animal Health | dvm360

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 The dvm360® behavior page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on companion animal traits and behavior. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos, and research on the latest discoveries and treatments for behavior, and more.

Canine osteoarthritis is a complex disease that impacts quality of life for many of our canine patients. Part 2 of this podcast series will highlight why effective management requires development of a baseline treatment plan that is customized to the individual patient and includes a plan for managing flare-ups. A systematic, evidence-based approach will be presented that can be implemented in general practice.



Recognize the importance of a customized treatment plan; that one-size does not fit all for canine osteoarthritis

Appreciate the ebb and flow of osteoarthritis with periods of calmness followed by periods of flare-ups

Appreciate the multimodal management of osteoarthritis 

David L. Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to explain treatment for osteoarthritis and the need for individualized patient plans.




Podcast CE: A Surgeon’s Perspective on Current Trends for the Management of Osteoarthritis, Part 2

Canine osteoarthritis is a complex disease that impacts quality of life for many of our canine patients. Part 1 of this podcast series will focus on the epidemiology of this disease, the importance of a proactive approach to diagnosis, and will introduce a standardized staging tool to be utilized in general practice.



Recognize that osteoarthritis affects the entire joint

Appreciate that canine osteoarthritis impacts many younger dogs and is not an “old-dog” disease

Understand the importance of a proactive approach utilizing the Canine OsteoArthritis Staging Tool

David L. Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss a proactive approach to the diagnosis of osteoarthritis and the best tools for general practice.


Podcast CE: A Surgeon’s Perspective on Current Trends for the Management of Osteoarthritis, Part 1



Osteoarthritis (or degenerative joint disease) is the most common cause of chronic (maladaptive) pain in cats but is underrecognized by owners and therefore many cats go untreated. Up to 92% of all cats have radiographic changes (radiographic disease) in the axial and appendicular skeleton and these changes are more common in cats over the age of 10. There is often a mismatch between radiographic changes and clinical findings (painful joints, mobility impairment) but the relationship between radiographic changes and clinical disease increases with age. Screening and assessment tools have been developed and validated for cats and should be used to help diagnose the disease and monitor the response to treatment. Treatment is multimodal and includes drug and non-drug therapies in combination with environmental changes to ensure that stress in the affected cat’s household is addressed. Pain related to osteoarthritis is responsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the feline specific anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibody, Frunevetmab (Solensia™). Non-drug therapies include Omega-3 fish oil, physical therapy, and acupuncture. Ensuring cats have a safe place to hide, have help with accessing “high” places, and easy-entry litter boxes are important for improving the cat’s quality of life.





Sheilah Robertson, BVMS (Hons), PhD, DACVAA, DECVAA, DACAW, DECAWBM (WSEL), CVA, FRCVS, Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, discusses diagnosis and treatment options for osteoarthritis in cats.



Recognize the changes in behavior that suggest chronic pain in cats

Know which assessment tools can be used to document disability and monitor response to treatment

Know what treatment options are available for cats with osteoarthritis

Sheilah Robertson, BVMS (Hons), PhD, DACVAA, DECVAA, DACAW, DECAWBM (WSEL), CVA, FRCVS, joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss the management and treatment of osteoarthritis in cats.

Podcast CE: Osteoarthritis in cats: diagnosis and treatment options

#7: Touching the untouchables: The first reactive referral center for pets with behavioral challenges

Tracy Paukette, DVM, shared more about the Reactive Referral Center, a first-of-its-kind place to treat pets with special needs. In this episode, she also discusses with Dr Christman how she came to create the center, all it does, and some success stories.

We have compiled a countdown of our top Vet Blast Podcast Episodes in 2023, here is number 7

Top Vet Blast Podcast episodes of 2023: #7

Most veterinary professionals have witnessed an increase in separation anxiety when it comes to all of the pandemic puppies booking appointments. However, as more patients come in with clients thinking they have separation anxiety, how can veterinary professionals talk to them about treatment options or even other possible diagnoses? 

On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Lisa Radosta, DVM, DACVB, and host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, chat about how teams can approach clients who suspect their pet is suffering from behavior anxiety, what questions to ask clients, and how to rule it out. 

For us as veterinarians, we want to first be objective. So we see this all the time, clients will come in and say 'My dog has separation anxiety' so I come into that appointment with [not knowing] what your dog has, I can't come into that with 'your dog has separation anxiety,' because if the client knew how to diagnose and treat, she wouldn't be in the exam room.  

So I want to be super objective. Separation anxiety occurs really frequently with 2 things, confinement distress, so creating being confined in a bathroom, or to behind a gate, and noise phobia. And if we're gonna just play the slots in Vegas, the dog is more likely to have noise phobia than separation anxiety. About 50% of US dogs—50, like 5-0, that's a big number—have noise phobia, based on the pre COVID numbers, and we didn't know post COVID. But pre COVID numbers about maybe 25% of dogs have separation, we're going to call them related disorders.

Dr Lisa Radosta joins this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast to unpack separation anxiety in pets

Discussing separation anxiety with clients

On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Tabitha Kucera, RVT, KPA-CTP, CCBC, VTS (Behavior) joins host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, as they discuss the importance of understanding patient behavior, plus how to get staff on board with addressing patients' emotional needs. 

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full podcast for more.

Tabitha Kucera, RVT, KPA-CTP, CCBC, VTS (Behavior)

: I think a big thing that we can all do better is better understand our patient's body language, essentially how they communicate with us. I can't tell you, especially with cats but also with dogs, I will share a video of me doing gentle control with a cat for a blood draw and all of the comments, again this is just data for me, all of the comments are like 'that cat is going to bite you in the face' and I'm like guys, cats give us a lot of signals and this cats' body language so now I actually narrate the videos I share on social media, but it was really eye-opening to me because I was like there is a huge lack of understanding of basic body language. 

Learn how veterinary professionals can better address patients' emotional needs on this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast

Let's chat behavior

On this episode of the latest Vet Blast Podcast, Tracy Paukette, DVM, joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss the Reactive Referral Center, the first of its kind to help treat pets with special needs. Paukette tells listeners about her path to the referral center, the work they do, and some of the success stories they had.  

 I gotta go through that history before I even talk to that client. So go through what history we have, including trading history. So it's not just medical, but if they have any training history, I go through all of that, then we set up actually a telehealth appointment with me. So we take that time to I break down every single detail as far as because I want to set this patient up for success. And I want these [clients] to trust me that, hey, it's gonna be okay. It may be that you walk in the door and your dog may try to lunge at me right away. That's okay. We're gonna be okay. 

We break down all the details starting from you know, 'how was your last visit?' And I'll start with them in their own home and walk you through  'did your dog get into the car? How did the car ride though? Did they get out of the car? What happened at the door? What did you use for restraint? Was a towel ever used? Where were the vaccines given?' All these things, because oftentimes is you know, these pets remember all of that and so they're fearful. We want to try to readjust some of those things in advance.

Take a look inside the Reactive Referral Center

Touching the untouchables: The first reactive referral center for pets with behavioral challenges

According to Editorial Advisory Board member, Steve Dale, CABC, simply taking the time to discuss and 

 resolve behavioral issues with clients can positively impact the quality of life for the pet and their owner, thus strengthening your relationship with the client. 

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dale shares with Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, that oftentimes clients feel embarrassed to talk about their pet's behavioral concerns, or they wonder how a veterinarian can help them with this issue, or they simply brush the behavior aside and deem it as OK.

Dale explains that veterinary professionals do have time to ask about their patient's behavior during a veterinary visit, and recommends asking the pet owner about behavior "in a way that’s open-ended and a way to encourage people to tell you the truth.”

“If you are able to solve a medical problem, wonderful, your clients will love you. I am telling you when you solve a behavior problem, you are changing their quality of life,” he says. 

Listen below to learn more about the significance of approaching the behavior topic with clients.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Steve Dale, CABC, emphasizes the importance of asking clients about behavioral concerns, offers advice on addressing the topic, and beyond. 

Episode 56: Tips for talking behavior with clients and why it matters 

Often, all the time and training pet owners invest in their puppies can go right out the window once their furry friend reaches adolescence. According to Billie Groom, the creator of 

—a scientifically proven formula adhering to the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy—that is where incorporating cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) comes into play.

In this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Groom tells Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, that while canine CBT works to “retrain the brain” of a dog 6 months or older, teaching the concepts of it can also help retrain the brains of their owners too. 

“So, it’s really interesting working with clients and it’s really interesting applying cognitive behavioral therapy because you always adhere to the principles, but it allows for creativity and to adjust to individual dogs,” she says.

Listen below to learn more about Groom’s 30-year background in dog training, plus the benefits of CBT training for dogs.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Billie Groom, the creator of UPWARD Dogology, reveals the secrets behind why cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for dogs over 6 months is effective.


Episode 55: Retrain your (and your dog’s) brain with canine CBT

Due to the constant uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many people, including your clients, are emotionally overwhelmed. When an anxious pet owner steps into your clinic, offering behavior recommendations can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re strapped for time.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast veterinary behavioralist Chris Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, says the best way to approach these clients is by asking them what advice would be most meaningful.

“To me, this is such an important detail for us to nail down because I can give 300 resources, but the average client doesn’t have the time, bandwidth, or the comprehension to make sense of all that information without some guidance,” he tells Adam Christman, DVM, MBA.

Find out if clients are looking for a referral to a trainer? Or maybe, they just want you to listen to their concerns and devote extra time to correcting a certain behavior. Overall, finding out what matters most to the client in that given moment in time will help ease anxiety and save time for everyone.

For clients who struggle with communicating or aren’t sure what they’re looking for, Pachel recommends showing them a video, handing them a handout, and connecting them with a technician and/or trainer who can best address their current situation, instead of going through 20 to 30 minutes of dialogue and recommendations.

“Chances are neither you nor the client has the time, so we triage it just like we do everything else,” he says.

Listen below for more on triaging behavior recommendations and pet behavior modification advice.

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Dr Christman is joined by Dr Chris Pachel as they discuss some helpful nuggets for communicating with on-edge clients about behavior recommendations.

Episode 47: Tips for triaging behavior recommendations for overwhelmed clients

Updates on the intravenous fluid shortage impacting Australian veterinary practices, a welcome funding boost for the Veterinary and Community Care charity, and Australia’s first Fear Free Certified veterinary practice.

Veterinary scene down under: IV fluid shortage updates, and more news

As more practices around the world adopt Fear Free methodology, Avoca Drive Animal Hospital's certification marks a milestone

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