Veterinary Medicine - April 2008 - (Page 196)

Idea Exchange tips from the trenches As seen on TV: Broadcast your patients’ weight loss progress We have adapted NBC’s hit reality show “The Biggest Loser” for our canine patients. When a dog starts dirlotapide (Slentrol—Pﬁzer Animal Health) therapy, we take its picture and mark its weight on our waiting-room bulletin board. Each month the owner brings in his or her dog for a weight check, and we add the dog’s weight loss to the bulletin board. Once the dog hits its goal weight, the hospital rewards the owner with free heartworm preventive for a year. In addition, by using the Slentrol computer program, the client receives a certiﬁcate of achievement. We have more than 60 dogs enrolled in our program, and they are losing a lot of weight! Dr. Adam Christman Brick, N.J. Reduce soiled bedding by using a plastic liner We keep the cages of our laterally recumbent patients heavily padded, but these patients are hard to keep dry and clean. Changing the entire bedding can be time-consuming, and it is costly to run laundry all day. So we cut a shower curtain liner to size and use it to separate the padding closest to the patient and the remaining layers of padding, thereby decreasing the amount of laundry and the time it takes to clean the soiled laundry. We still change the top layer frequently to keep the pet dry and clean, but the bottom padding layers stay dry and add extra cushioning. The shower curtain liners are reusable and cheap. Dr. Karina B. Salvo Valley Stream, N.Y. Sometimes you can judge a bottle by its wrapping We have always had trouble using ink to label the plastic bottles in our exam rooms and lab areas (e.g. alcohol, peroxide, lubricant). The writing would smear every time the bottles got wet. So now we color-code the bottles by wrapping them in Vetrap (3M). For example, pink wrap means alcohol and red wrap indicates peroxide. In addition, we can write on the Vetrap with a marker and it doesn’t smear. Jeana Csukker, CVT Waterloo, Iowa Use surgical gowns to support older or nonambulatory pets We needed a way to support dogs that are nonambulatory or very weak in the hindlimbs, so I made slings by rolling up the main torso parts of old surgical gowns and wrapping them in Vetrap (3M). We use the arms of the gowns to hold patients up. These makeshift slings allow us to support a patient while it walks, assist older dogs so they don’t slip, help with rehabilitation after orthopedic surgeries, or keep a dog in a standing position for a neurologic exam. We even send these slings home with owners. Dr. Emily Hoppmann Columbia, S.C. Questioning owners about pets can be a happy distraction Just before performing venipuncture in front of a patient’s owner, I always ask the owner a question that will elicit a long answer, such as “What was Buddy like as a puppy?” This question distracts both the owner and pet as the pet listens to its owner’s voice, and the blood draw is often accomplished without either of them realizing it. Dr. Faith Perrin Berkeley Heights, N.J. Send us your great idea, and we’ll send you $50! E-mail us at vm@advanstar.com, send a fax to (913) 871-3808, or write to Idea Exchange Editor at 8033 Flint, Lenexa, KS 66214. 196 April 2008 VETERINARY MEDICINE Getty Images/George Doyle & Ciaran Grif n

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Veterinary Medicine - April 2008

Veterinary Medicine - April 2008 Contents Letters Leading Off The Veterinary Medicine Interview: Dr. Barrak Pressler Idea Exchange Help! My Dog Licks Everything An Update on Anaplasmosis in Dogs CE Form Advertiser Index Marketplace/Classifieds Mind Over Miller

Veterinary Medicine - April 2008

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