Pamper Pet Care Blog/Best Pet Vitamins

Owners outraged over botched surgeries, medication errors, misdiagnoses
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By JoNel Aleccia
Health writer
msnbc.com

Jared Genser was a day away from euthanizing his family dog,
Finnegan, when the Washington, D.C. lawyer discovered that the
lab’s diagnosis of a painful and deadly bone cancer was wrong.

Jenn Diederich of Riverton, Utah, sent her dog, Ted, for surgery
to repair a torn ligament in a right rear leg, only to find that
the veterinarian had operated on the left leg instead.

And Stefani Olsen of Silver Spring, Md., returned from a weekend
business trip to discover that the clinic where she’d boarded her
elderly diabetic cat, Toonces, had overdosed him with 10 times the
amount of insulin he needed, leaving the animal blind, wracked with
seizures and suffering from severe brain damage that lasted until
his death.

“It goes beyond heartbreak,” said Olsen, a 45-year-old health
information technician who’d had the 15-year-old cat since he
was a kitten.

If any of these mistakes had occurred in human patients, they’d be
classified as medical errors worthy of investigation, public
reporting and professional discipline, including dismissal.

Wrong-site surgery and medication overdoses, for instance, are among
the so-called “never events” regarded as inexcusable in a human
health care setting.

But because the errors occurred in animals, owners and advocates
say they were ignored, minimized or outright denied by a system
that devalues the bond between pets and their owners and fails to
hold veterinarians sufficiently accountable when they make mistakes.

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‘Woefully inadequate’
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“When someone’s companion animal is injured by a veterinarian,
their choices are between slim and none,” said Joyce Tischler,
founder and general counselor for the Animal Legal Defense Fund,
a Cotati, Calif., group that fields several calls a month about
pet medical errors.

“Action against veterinarians is woefully inadequate,” she added.

Owners of injured animals say they’re stunned to discover state
veterinary boards that dismiss up to 80 percent of the complaints
filed against their members, and a legal system that regards pets
as mere property, with no way to recover damages for emotional loss.

Laws vary, but in most state courts animals are worth their market
value, plus perhaps any economic value they generate for their
owners, Tischler said. That could be a considerable amount of
money for a high-value show dog or a racehorse, for instance,
but for most household pets, it’s not.

“If you have a 10-year-old mixed-breed dog, the value of that dog
is generally considered to be under $100,” Tischler said. “It’s a
sad situation, it’s an unfair situation for people who care about
their animals and are quite shocked to find when their animal is
killed or injured they cannot sue.”

But industry advocates and vets themselves say that such rhetoric
overstates the problem. They contend that mistakes occur only in a
tiny fraction of the nearly 190 million for veterinary visits for
dogs, cats, birds and horses each year, and that there is adequate
monitoring and discipline when they do happen.

“I guess I don’t agree that there is a lot of malpractice out
there,” said Adrian Hochstadt, assistant director of state
legislative and regulatory affairs for the American Veterinary
Medical Association, which represents about 80,000 vets.

“If there are negligent doctors — and there are probably a few in
every system — if it’s a big problem, it would have been addressed
by legislation,” he added.

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No tracking of vet errors
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It’s difficult to know how often medical errors occur in pets. The
AVMA collects no statistics on veterinary malpractice suits,
Hochstadt said, and the group’s associated Professional Liability
Insurance Trust, or PLIT, which offers malpractice insurance for
vets, refused to release numbers or outcomes of such cases.

One small study of veterinary errors, a 2004 paper published in the
journal Veterinary Record, found that 78 percent of recent
veterinary graduates surveyed in Scotland and England admitted
making a mistake that could have endangered an animal. It’s not
clear whether those results can be extrapolated to the larger
profession, however.

In the absence of better data, most industry experts look to human
medicine, where medical errors kill as many as 98,000 people a year,
and likely more, according to a decade-old Institute of Medicine
report widely regarded as a baseline.

“There’s no reason to think that it’s so different than what occurs
in humans,” said Kathleen Bonvicini, chief executive of the
Institute for Healthcare Communication Inc., a New Haven, Conn.,
nonprofit that had to add sessions on veterinary errors several
years ago to address a growing demand.

The AVMA stands by the state discipline system, Hochstadt said. At
the same time, the group has staunchly opposed efforts to allow
courts to impose non-economic damages for animals, arguing that the
move would drive up costs, push vets out of the profession and
create many of the problems found in the medical malpractice realm
for humans.

“Our position is that the current legal structure is working well,”
Hochstadt said.

That sentiment outrages some pet owners, prompting them to take
their plight to the Internet. Greg Munson, 44, a Mesquite, Texas,
businessman created the Web site www.vetsfromhell.net  after the
2005 death of his beloved 8-year-old Shih Tzu, Stempy, from an
alleged veterinary error after surgery for a bladder stone.

Munson’s site, which features flaming letters and “story after
story of EVIL Vets from HELL,” was designed to gain attention — and
prompt action, Munson said.

“Vets in this country literally get away with murder,” Munson said.
“Even when a vet board does hold a vet accountable, it’s nothing
more than a slap on the wrist.”

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P.S. So what is the REAL instance of Veterinary Errors?

Well we don’t know, except that by comparison, Doctors are the 3rd
leading cause of death in the U.S. – causing 250,000 deaths a year- 
and that is according to stats from JAMA.

Our dog and cat population is approx 1/3 of the human population-
by comparison that could mean 100,000 pets dying a year due to
Veterinary Error.

My point of all this is that it happens- and because there is NO
central reporting of it, we Don’t know the real numbers.

Don’t let your pet become one of these stats.

Become an EMPOWERED Pet Owner.

Learn more at Pamper Pet Care

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The act of chewing seems to be a matter of individual preference among dogs: some have an innate desire to chew as a pleasurable activity in itself, and some seem to have no need to chew whatsoever unless they’re driven to it out of sheer boredom.

The phrase “destructive chewing” may sound redundant, because by its very nature all chewing is destructive. Your dog has strong jaws full of sharp, pointy teeth: just about anything she starts to chew on is probably going to show the effects of it inside of a minute. So just to clarify, when I use the phrase “destructive chewing”, I’m referring to inappropriate chewing: the kind of chewing that’s focused on your own possessions and household items, instead of on your dog’s own designated toys and chews.

The three main reasons why dogs chew:

– Most dogs have a natural desire to chew. It’s fun, it passes the time, and it’s a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity (for example, if she’s chewing on something that tastes good.)

– Chewing provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for her emotions. To an anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing is soothing it’s the doggie equivalent of comfort food.

– Under exercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving themselves something to do.

– How to prevent destructive chewing -

Dogs are perfectly capable of learning not to chew your stuff you just have to put in a little effort first, that’s all.

1. Take control of the situation: manage your own possessions. Your first step should be to dog-proof your home. Even if you have the best-behaved dog in the world, there’s still no reason to test her self-control after all, dogs explore the world with their mouths.

Dog-proofing your home means taking whatever you don’t want to end up in her mouth, and making it unavailable. Consider her size and agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach: can she jump? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? How tall is she when standing on her back legs?

Common targets in the home include books, eye wear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.

It should go without saying that all food needs to be put securely away: don’t leave snacks on low tables (or even counter tops you’d be surprised how acrobatic she can be when there’s food at stake!), put all food into containers or the pantry. Rinse your dirty plates clean of any food scraps before leaving them by the sink.

2. Prevent her from learning the joys of illegal chewing. The more times she manages to snatch a jaw full of a forbidden substance a chair-leg, a pillow, a running shoe the more readily she’ll target those items in future. If you can prevent her from chewing your stuff in the first place, it’s a lot easier for her to understand what you expect of her. Practically speaking, this means confining her in a dog-proofed area until you’re confident of her understanding of the house rules.

3. Don’t set her up for failure by blurring the boundaries between her stuff (OK to chew) and your stuff (not OK to chew). Don’t offer your dog cast-off clothes, shoes, or towels to chew and play with: realistically, you can’t possibly expect her to be able to tell the difference between your current shoes and the one she’s got in her mouth that you gave her five minutes ago.

4. Provide her with lots of tasty alternatives to your stuff. If her environment is relatively barren of attractive, appropriate chewing objects, you can hardly blame her for targeting your possessions. Remember, most dogs need to chew; if she’s an adolescent (under three years) or a puppy (under one year), her needs will be even more pronounced. Go on a toy and chew shopping spree, then give her two or three to play with at a time. Rotating the available toys every few days will keep things novel and interesting for her.

5. Spend lots of time in active supervision. Yes, it might be easier for you to just keep her penned up in her crate, run, or the yard but that’s boring and horrible for her, and hardly much fun for you either (if you wanted a pet that you don’t need to interact with, you’d have got a goldfish, right?) She can’t learn what you expect of her if she’s spending all her time boxed up in the dog-proof zone: she needs the opportunity to explore the boundaries of your expectations, so she can understand what’s appropriate and what’s not.

6. When you catch her chewing something inappropriate, interrupt her by making a loud noise: clap your hands or make an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” noise. Then, immediately hand her a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy); as soon as her jaws close around it, praise her lavishly. There is no better way to get your dog to understand that chewing “her” toys equals praise from you, but everything else equals trouble.

– Maintain a productive attitude -

Above all, remember to keep your expectations realistic. You’re not perfect, and neither is your dog: there’s likely to be at least one incident where a cherished item is damaged by her curiosity.

Particularly in the early stages of your relationship, she’s still learning the ropes: it’ll take awhile before she’s completely reliable (and even then, if she’s left by herself for too long or feels neglected, she may choose your stuff over hers to occupy her time and jaws with.) Remember to give her time to learn the rules, and plenty of ‘you-time’ to help her learn faster and don’t forget to take precautions and keep things out of reach until she’s got the hang of the chewing rules!

Get your FREE 6 day Dog Training Mini Course at Pamper Pet Care Dog Training.   Your online resource for pet health care, nutrition and training.

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How to lose fat quickly

It’s true, many of us over-indulge in food, and when we want to lose weight and to lose fat quickly that is the first thing we focus on.

Taking out the bad snacks like chips and soda and replacing them with healthier options like fruit and veggies and water.

This IS a very important part of not only losing weight, but also becoming healthier overall, but many of us tend to ignore the importance of exercise.

By combining exercise with our food diets, we can allow ourselves a higher daily caloric intake, because if we are burning more calories than we take in, we can consume more.

For example, let’s say Sally weighs 150 pounds, and allows herself 2,000 calories per day.  By including exercise into her lifestyle, she can add 200-500 more calories into her daily meal plans, which will help her feel more satisfied and less inclined to `cheat and over-eat.

So, what type of exercises can you do to increase your daily calorie limit? Here are just a few ideas:

    * Clean the house (burns 160 calories/hr)

    * Golf (burns 180 calories/hr)

    * Garden (burns 250 calories/hr)

    * Walk (burns 280 calories/hr)

    * Play tennis (burns 290 calories/hr)

    * Go skating (burns 420 calories/hr)

    * Bike (burns 450 calories/hr)

    * Swim (burns 500 calories/hr)

    * Cross Country Ski (burns 500 calories/hr)

    * Hike (burns 500 calories/hr)

    * Do Step Aerobics (burns 550 calories/hr)

    * Play squash (burns 650 calories/hr)

    * Jump rope (burns 700 calories/hr)

    * Go for a run (burns 700 calories/hr)

To lose fat quickly you must burn more calories than you consume.  One pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories, so to burn fat, you must combine diet and exercise in order to lose and maintain weight loss.

Generally people cut out 500 calories a day, but cutting out 500 calories from your diet alone is quite a lot. By combining diet plus exercise, you can cut 250 calories out of your diet and you can burn off the other 250 calories per day by exercising.

Ideally, you should do a combination of both, (such as cut back 250 calories; burn an extra 250 calories).  So, if we go back to Sally’s example, she could cut out 250 calories from her diet, allowing her daily caloric intake to be 1,750 if she also burns 250 calories per day by going for a run for half an hour during her lunch break.  At this rate, Sally would be losing weight at a safe and steady rate, and she could keep this diet up long-term.

The key to sustainable weight loss and losing fat quickly is in the combining of diet AND exercise. You don’t have to deprive yourself of food and starve in order to lose weight.  You do not need to eat less food to lose weight; instead, you need to consume fewer calories. With smart choices, this is very doable.

The key is to choose “low density” foods, which means foods that allow you to eat a larger portion sizes but that is lower in calories. These foods, including many fruits and vegetables, tend to contain more water and fibre. Try starting your meal with a low-density salad or soup (just watch the dressings and sodium) to help fill you up, so you eat less of your entrée.

Some substitution ideas are:

• Instead of a Starbucks Grande Cafe Late (190 cals), choose a 16oz Coffee or Tea (5 cals) and save 185 calories
• Instead of a Glazed Doughnut (239 cals) , choose an apple (72 cals) and save 135 calories
• Instead of a bag of corn chips (441 cals), choose 2 large carrots with 2 tbsp hummus (138 cals) and save 318 calories
• Instead of pancakes with butter and syrup (520 cals), choose 1 cup cooked oats (166 cals) and save 354 calories

To lose fat quickly and stay healthy, choose healthy snacks and meal plans, and exercise routines that you enjoy to cut 500 calories from your regular caloric intake, and you will be losing weight while remaining healthy, and you will be losing weight for the long-term!

Have a healthy one,

Learn how to lose weight the natural way.
The Weightloss Belt System.

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