“A prescription drug is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription….In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines what requires a prescription. Prescription drugs are generally authorized by veterinarians, dentists, optometrists, and medical practitioners.” (Source Wikipedia).

Okay, most of us understand that a prescription only drug has to be prescribed in order for you to obtain it, use it, etc…   Did you know that most topical pesticides such as Advantage and K-9 Advantix flea and tick prevention products are not required by law to be prescribed?

Pharmaceutical companies have for many years teamed up with veterinarians to market their products exclusively in order to increase sales for the pharmaceutical company and increase profits for the veterinarian hospital.

In a bold and I feel honest move, “Bayer Animal Health announced Tuesday an end to its decades-old policy of selling Advantage and K-9 Advantix flea and tick prevention products exclusively through veterinarians. Citing ongoing consumer demand for more convenient access, the company said it will sell its parasiticides directly to pet specialty retailers and pet specialty Internet sites beginning in March.”

Reading a recent article over at VIN, I was shocked by some of the veterinarians reactions, several reportedly stated that as a result they would cease carrying the Bayer products from fear this move would decrease their profits.

These reactions and the practice of selling/marketing  non-prescription products as “prescription only” creates several questions.

• If a clinic is pushing a particular pesticide such as Advantage exclusively, is it because they really believe in the efficacy of the product ?
• Or is the profit margin the real motivator?  With some veterinarians threatening to drop Bayer simply because other retailers will be able to sell the product implies to me that profit margin not product efficacy as the main motivator.
• Will Bayer’s move to sell their products openly lower prices ? Maybe.
• Marketing or insinuating that a product is “prescription only” is not only accepted but expected in the veterinarian community ?

One Veterinarian wrote “I hope that Bayer understands that losing their highly educated, motivated and dedicated free sales force may have long-term impacts on their business, and it may be difficult for them to regain the trust of the profession“.  

Free sales force? I don’t want to think of my veterinarian as a sales man!  I want to trust that when he writes me a prescription it is because he believes that the drug is the best medication to treat my animal, not because he only carries the drug because a pharmaceutical company gave him a great price or promised him exclusivity.

I want the veterinarian who wrote “Pesticides are a nice source of income, but I will not live or die on those sales…. I will continue to dispense and recommend the products that I feel are the most useful…“.  I wish I believed this poster represented a majority but from reading through the comments and years of observation I believe this world of “make believe prescriptions” and sense of deserved exclusivity has really permeated the veterinarian culture.

• How many other products fall into this world of “make believe prescriptions”?
• How does this falsehood affect client / doctor relations?
• Do “make believe prescriptions” facilitate honesty?

I understand that a large portion of any hospitals income is derived from products not only pharmaceuticals but dog food, toys, etc.. but to create a world of “make believe prescriptions” that forces clients to only purchase a particular product from you?

Just my thoughts

While bloggers are ranting about specifics in the bill they don’t like, all seem to agree that it is a move in the right direction; individual responsibility and an acknowledgment that any breed is capable of being aggressive.

Scotland’s new bill will replace previous “dangerous breed” laws !  Yeah, now for America ?  Think maybe we can figure out it too ?

Read more on the blogosphere about this new act:

• Bully Breeds
• Scotsman
• World Vet

Dogs…Naturally! is for dog owners, breeders, trainers, health professionals, and anybody who wants to learn about the best in alternative care for their dogs.

The Goals of the new magazine are:

• Promote Natural Rearing of dogs. Natural Rearing includes avoiding vaccinations, kibble diets, chemicals and pesticides in an effort to improve the health and longevity of our dogs
• Promote alternative medicine including homeopathy, traditional chinese medicine, chiropractic, aromatherapy and more
• Promote positive and effective training methods
• Make natural care more accessible by creating a community and forum for pet owners, breeders, veterinarians, trainers, and anybody who loves dogs
• Assist readers in securing natural food, products and services by providing affordable advertising for smaller natural care businesses.

The first issue is currently FREE via digital or pdf download here

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/index.html

Looks to be a promising new magazine offering resources and education about caring for your pets naturally.

Below is a summary from their website:

Breeder Day March 7th 2010
Steamboat will once again be hosting it’s bi-annual breeder day.  This day is devoted exclusively to breeders and their needs.

Services Offered

EYE CERTIFICATION

Dr. Sarah Maxwell will be here to evaluate and certify eyes.
This clinic is open from 8am to 4pm on a  first come, first serve basis
Cost for this service is $22.00

HEART CERTIFICATION
This clinic will evaluate and certify hearts.  This clinic will be open from 8am to 4pm on a  first come, first serve basis
Cost for this service is $32.00

IDENTIFICATION CLINIC

Microchipping Services will be available at a discounted price of $22.00
(this includes national registration)

ICSB CLINIC
ICSB will be here offering their semen freezing services.  Scheduling, pricing, and detailed information is available via ICSB at
(503)663-7031 or on their website http://www.ik9sb.com/

“You love your pet. You take good care of your pet. How would you feel if the government tried to limit your ability to have pets in your life? …Angry? …Scared? …Betrayed? …Well, it’s happening.

Each year, local, state and federal governments propose thousands of laws that would restrict your ability to own pets – to include pets as vital members of your family. While we believe that some regulations are warranted to ensure that pets are well care for, we also believe that responsible pet ownership should be applauded, supported, and encouraged, not limited!

Unfortunately, many government officials don’t understand how their bills might affect you, the responsible pet owner. Furthermore, they may be basing their decisions on propaganda that, while it seems to call for better pet care, is actually part of an agenda to end pet ownership.

Help us protect responsible pet ownership by defending you and your pets against misdirected and poorly crafted legislation.

Support the “Don’t Mess with My Pet™” campaign by becoming a Member of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). Your $25 contribution you will help us guard responsible pet ownership…on behalf of you and your non-human family members. As a thank you from us, you’ll receive a free campaign t-shirt.”

Paw Card: Pet Tracker for Your Dog and Cat

I recently downloaded the Paw Card App for my iPhone and I must say it is a very nice app! It allows for you to track multiple pets, customized fields for items you’d like to track, along with built in vaccine tracker, weight graph and much more.

It is a free app with some advertisment which isn’t too obnoxious.

You can down load from Jive Media

Last July, I attended the American Veterinary Medical Association conference in Seattle and attended a seminar about the use of disinfectants and an overview of new delivery systems.  After searching and considering numerous systems we decided on the Cintas System.  This system dispenses pre-measured, diluted hospital grade, 100% environmentally friendly product directly into the mop bucket or spray bottle.  No more measuring and no more plastic jugs of bleach and pine sol to throw into the landfill !

Along with this system we signed up for their weekly mop exchange!  Each week they take our old mop head and give us a new one, the old mop heads are laundered and recycled.  Previously we bought new mop heads each month and threw our old ones away.

We also added the weekly towel service, I must admit I have a serious paper towel dependency.  I love paper towels and we were using about a case of papertowels a month in the kennel ;(

The smaller stack of towels on the right are simple linen towels, which are meant to use for cleaning glass, wiping counters and replacing many of the things we do with paper towels.  The towel service includes weekly pick up and replacement of all towels, which are laundered by Cintas and re-used.

We took down all our standard, save one in the restroom, paper towel racks which was alittle scary to me, and installed 3 commercial bio degradeable paper towel dispensers.  We went from 6 paper towel racks to 3 !

I am proud of us for making this switch, we will now avoid throwing away at least a dozen plastic jugs a month, 2 mop heads a month and decrease our paper towel use by hopefully 80% !

Besides decreasing our contribution to the landfill, most importantly this system of disinfection is more effective, safer for the animals then the old fashioned bleach and pine sol.

We really enjoy having the pleasure of Willa as a guest, she is calm, well trained exceptionally well socialized. She provides nervous guests with a calming influence, we frequently ask Willa to help us with guests who have anxiety.

Thank you Ms. Willa !!!!!

You can also view Ms. Willa featured at Friendly Grove Dog Boarding & Daycamp in Olympia

Learn More about the Golden Retriever:

* AKC Official Golden
* AKC Golden Health Site
* National Golden Retriever Rescue

Coffy is a regular here and loves playing with Taz and Maddy!  She is running like a crazy terrier the minute she arrives till the minute she goes home!

We can hardly believe she actually does sleep!

Here is the inside of the card we got from Coffy this year for Christmas, too cute and we love it!  :

If your dog is apt to running away, be sure to put a sign on the front door reminding visitors to shut the gate and/or close the door securely.

Consider purchasing some really nice chew bones for your dog,  put your dogs crate in a quiet room so if he or she is getting to overwhelmed with visitors and commotion you can let him retire and enjoy  a nice juicy bone in peace.

Keep a close eye on food, especially Christmas Chocolates !

Shadrach the blogging dog wrote a great post last week about holiday safety be sure to check it out !