by: ANOJ J. CHEERAN
Insider Tips in Controlling Ticks & Fleas effectively - Part 1
This is 'Part One' of a series on Tick & Flea control programme.
Most of the animal owners face a real challenge in tackling
ticks, fleas and lice which infests their animals resulting in
reduced productivity and health. Even more importantly, they
are also concerned about the zoonotic nature of those
infestations.
In-fact, field veterinarians are mostly smart enough in
choosing the best molecule to tackle this menace, but
the issue is also related to the compliance on the animal
owners' side. And, animal owners are often unaware of
the many marketing gimmicks, tactics and arm-twisting
practices of the trade.
Field practitioners are often concerned with the indications
and contra-indications of the product. Other than this, many
pharmaceutically significant aspects influence the real field
effectiveness and product compliance.
A simple point to illustrate is that, many synthetic preparations
are photo-sensitive and as such, these products may have
undergone considerable degradation before reaching the client !
Typically, the product would have been exhibited in the trade
counters for days and kept even at window-panes of animal
shelters before it was applied. This stresses the importance
to choose a reliable and time-tested product from the market
as proven manufacturers always (or know how to) use more
' chemically stable or competent ' formulations.
This raises question to the mere concept of "chemical analysis"
to prove label claim and effectiveness. Emulsion properties,
particle size, water miscibility, penetrability, biological activity, therapeutic index, mammalian toxicity and rheologic properties are only a few of the other numerous parameters considered.
Also important is the knowledge about the combination of
formulations you choose. When you choose a particular brand
of ecto-parasiticide for spraying around the animal house and
resting places, it is equally important to use similar classes of
compounds to be applied as dusting powders. This gives an
extra edge to your tick & flea control programme. Be cautious
when preferring brands that cannot complement your strategy,
i.e., using different formulation of the same chemical, at the same
time. Of course, one formulation may be quiet effective; but use
of different molecules at the same time may induce conditions
of cross-resistance.
Compliance of a product starts right from the ease of opening
the containers ! Some of the containers are too strong, secure
or tiny that it may be quite difficult for the animal keeper / owner
to open it efficiently without any difficulty or spill offs. Ask your vet to open such 'secure' or ' tiny' containers themselves and
imagine how the laymen would have handled it. Many of the
containers are just adaptations of other product packings or
use of idle machine lines. As you would agree, the containers
should be of reasonable size and sealing for client convenience.
Also, the highly priced product need not always be the best
in the market. Pricing of similar formulations of different
companies are wildly deviating. Then, where are these huge
margins diverted ? Truly, such products are not priced on the
cost price plus margin, but certainly on the concept of how
much you can afford to pay or opportunity cost.
Ask the product executive of each company about their trade
discount structure and free offer trade policies ! Probably,
it will be difficult to know the real situation; but if you get the
chance, you will be amazed to know the real market game.
Obviously, the heavy free-trade-offer pushing is seen for the
new market entrants as well as for the poor product players.
For certain antibiotics, there are even 1:1 free offers in the
wholesale trade, just for "retail counter - pushing " !
On the other hand, stronger brands can always offer competitive
pricing by mass production and balancing their overheads on a
range of their own products. Again, remember to avoid spurious,
inferior or cheap products. Quite sadly, 'copy-cats' follow the
most unethical means of selling.
Here is where the vet's prescription preference decides; whether
the animal owner can afford such inflated / unethical pricing or
the vet's ability to strike a balance between product performance
and market dynamics. Or do you think the animal owners would
comply the prescription when he finds the product too expensive?
About The Author
ANOJ J. CHEERAN Visit http://www.vethealth.com for more Articles & Subscribe to their widely acclaimed FREE eMagazine ! The Author Mr. ANOJ J. CHEERAN B.Pharm, MBA is the Director (operations) of Cheerans Lab (P) Limited (www.cheerans.com) -one of India's oldest Animal Health Products company, part of the Cheerans group started in 1904. The company also runs Informational Veterinary Search website http://www.cheerans.org.
|
by: Armen T. Ghazarians
A sound temperament is a must in a German Shepherd Dog (GSD). By sound, I mean a disposition where one minute you can let a protection trained GSD play alone with your 5-year old child, pull on its ears, pet its head, tug on its tail and NEVER-EVER be in harms way; while the next minute, it should turn into the 鍍erminator・and crush its enemies as soon as it senses an intruder.
There are three conventional methods of dog training that you can choose from in order to train you German Shepherd Dog (GSD). They are training with treats, training with treats and clickers, and training with praise. All three methods of training will work; however, there is one that stands out from the rest. That is, oral praise. Why? Because you want your dog to listen to your commands even when you don't have any toys, clickers, and/or food. Imagine you dog wanting to jump at your every command simply because it wants your praise and love and not because you are going to bribe it with treats. Once your dog gets used to getting treats for performance, it will cease to perform when you don't have any more treats left. So, treat your GSD with kindness, and train it with praise!
Training a GSD which has not been genetically selected for working ability is that much more difficult than one that has already been selected for that trait. In my opinion, the age-old debate about beauty vs. functionality of the pure-bread GSD dog was settled by the founder of the German Shepherd Dog breed, Captain Max Von Stephanitz, when he said in his book,"...Utility is the true criterion of beauty..." (The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture, pg. 163). Many American GSDs today have been selected for beauty rather than functionality in order to win dog shows. In many of these dog shows, obedience and showmanship are separate events and a dogs' working ability is never considered in events where the dogs are required to meet breed standards. Hence, you have the decline of the traits for which the breeds were originated for in the first place. So when you set out to buy your dream GSD, look for temperament, health, and working ability first, and beauty last.
The importance of beauty, however, should not be ignored when it comes to posing your dog for a memorable photograph. Unlike other breeds, GSD痴 are shown differently in the breed ring. The proper method for posing your GSD for the breed judges is called a 都tack・ 鉄tacking・is the method whereby one allows the forequarters of a dog to be shown parallel to one another when looking through the viewfinder of a camera and when one allows the hindquarters of the GSD to be arranged so that the limb facing the camera is placed backward while the limb facing away from the camera is placed forward. Most professional handlers who pose their GSD痴 for photographers walk them into a 都tack・instead of artificially manipulating them into it. If you plan to stack your GSD for a professional snapshot, remember to compose the image in such a way as to depict it from the tip of its nose to the tip of its hindquarters; NO MORE, NO LESS (please visit my web site to view photographs of how a GSD is stacked for the camera).
These topics cover just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to knowing the German Shepherd Dog breed. You can learn more about the GSD by visiting my web site or by getting involved in breed organizations like the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA). With a little more reading you can become more familiar with this wonderful breed and all that it has to offer. And then perhaps you can decide whether this is the right breed for you or not.
About The Author
Armen T. Ghazarians offers advice and articles for those interested in training their dogs like the professionals. His blog http://www.newdogtrainingsecrets.com offers information regarding many aspects of professional Dog Training for anyone who is not a professional dog trainer.
|
About The Author
Hope Saidel is the co-owner of http://www.GollyGear.com, a bricks-and-mortar and online small dog shop featuring fun, affordable and practical products for small dogs. She has trained and competed in Obedience with small dogs for over a decade and is on the Board of Directors of the North Shore Dog Training Club. > |
About The Author
Peter Garant's pet meds site http://www.pet-meds-101.com/ concentrates on cat http://www.pet-meds-101.com/your-cat.php and dog health and medicine http://www.pet-meds-101.com/your-dog.php.