Tag: Behaviour
-
Hormones in practice, part 1: breaking the hormonal taboo
—
by
Did you know more than half of women find their hormones affect their work? In a profession with an increase proportion of females, that’s a hefty impact. But wait, I’m not supposed to talk about “women’s problems”. We’re supposed to just get on with it – after all, it’s a natural part of being a…
-
Blue dog and Blackfish
—
by
For the second post in my self-imposed “communication month”, I have a Netflix-based idea. I finally watched Blackfish as I’m working my way through my playlist on the app. If you’re unaware, this is a documentary concerning the capturing of wild whales and cetaceans, and keeping them in captivity to perform for the public. Blackfish…
-
We’ll look after them
—
by
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many small animal vets adopted a “no clients in the building” policy. To begin with, we didn’t like it. Everything took longer, we ran back and forth between practice and car park, history taking was stilted, the practice phone lines were jammed and we often ended up running around…
-
Research the change you want to see in the world
—
by
As a good 60% of my masters is research based, there will come a time, all too soon, when I must decide definitively what avenue of research I want to explore. We don’t have much time to touch upon research or develop our skills in the area on the vet course due to the huge…
-
The borrowers?
—
by
Having written on what I see as the perils of the popularity of “borrowing” pets via apps and websites, I was saddened to see that, with the COVID-19 puppy boom, these are now being seen as a “normal” alternative to doggy day care. A sad narrative of puppy farm dogs with behavioural issues and ill…
-
Feline fine in lockdown
—
by
Since the start of lockdown, I’ve been seeing a lot of cats in practice – not that I’m complaining, as a self-confessed “crazy cat lady”. A lot of these cases have been geriatric cats – many of which presented with chronic vomiting or reduced food intake (with various aetiologies). However, when we tore through our…
-
Overcoming impostor syndrome
—
by
Are you used to doing things well, with certain skills coming naturally to you? Often, when you do come up against something that is more of a struggle, or you have to work harder to accomplish your aim, you then doubt your worth and whether you really are good enough. If something is difficult, then…
-
Look after each other – including the four-legged ones
—
by
As much as we’re having to adapt our lives in so many ways during these strange and uncertain times, I think a lot of us take for granted that our pets will always be so reassuringly consistent. This is mainly because, while our own lives are currently being turned upside down and inside out, our…
-
Being powerful during a crisis, pt 3
—
by
3: Role model the way It is inevitable, during times of crisis, that people will look around for reassurance that everything is going to be okay. So, think of yourself as an emotional barometer where you set the emotional temperature for those in your team – or your family – and it will give them cues on…
-
Are stereotypes damaging to animal welfare?
—
by
We know with people that stereotyping leads to assumptions and judgements that may be unhelpful – so is this the case with animals, too? I’ve pondered this question for a while and, while it seems we are trying to address this with regard to dog welfare, it strikes me it affects all animals. We recognise…