Proper Animal Restraint

Proper restraint of an animal is an important aspect working within a veterinary hospital as it can easily compromise the safety of everyone involved if proper technique has not been taught. Proper restraint can vary depending on the species of animal and procedure being performed. For this blog discussion, the species will be limited to dogs and cats. For a general exam in which the doctor will examine the heart, lungs, skin, ears, eyes, abdomen, etc., proper restraint for a dog would be to wrap one arm under the neck and around the head and the other arm under the abdomen and up and around the other side. This allows you to have full control over the head so that both you and the doctor will not get bit. Having one arm wrapped around the abdomen gives you more control if the animal becomes difficult to restrain. If a general exam is being done on a cat, you basically just want to make sure the cat does not jump off the table and remains somewhat still for the examination. In my experience, cats typically do better with less restraint. If, however, the cat is aggressive, more severe restraint techniques become necessary. This may include, sometimes in extreme cases, using one arm to grab the scruff (back of the neck, by the skin) of the cat and the other arm to stretch its hind legs outwards. By holding the scruff, you have control over the head in case the cat tries to bite and the other arm prevents the cat from moving too much. While there are many different ways to restrain animals depending on the situation and circumstances, you want to be able to effectively restrain the animal without causing any harm. Sometimes this takes practice for you to determine how much force effectively restrains the animal and how much force is considered "too much".

Saltwater Aquarium Maintenance

Saltwater aquarium maintenance is a job that is done by not only the aquarium enthusiast but also the "clean up crew", which include invertebrates, snails, and starfish. For the aquarium owner, the most important job is maintaining water chemistry, such as calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. Ideally, calcium must be between 450-500 ppm (parts per million), alkalinity between 9-10 dKH, and magnesium between 1350-1400 ppm. If these are not within their specified parameters, it could lead to poor coral growth and dead fish. Another responsibility is for the owner to periodically clean the inside and outside of the aquarium glass. Lastly, it is also important for the owner to empty and clean the protein skimmer, which is responsible for collecting dissolved organics from the water.
The main duties of the "clean up crew" include eating algae off the glass and rocks, eating uneaten food and detritus (waste or debri of any kind), and cleaning the sand bed.

Drawing Blood on Cats & Dogs

Veterinary assistants are responsible for a wide range of duties within a veterinary hospital. These can range from animal restraint to administering anesthesia. One of the most common duties associated with working in the veterinary field is knowing how to draw blood from both cats and dogs and from multiple locations on the pet. What makes this task somewhat challenging at times is aggression on behalf of the patient, a patient's inability to sit still, and some patients having long fur (making it difficult to see or locate the vein). Depending on the volume of blood needed, the most common blood draw sites are from one of the front legs and the jugular vein. If a technician is drawing blood for, say, a heart worm test, only two drops are needed and the most appropriate site to draw blood from in this scenario would be from one of the front legs. If, however, a more extensive panel is required, such as a kidney/liver panel, then the technician would need approximately 2-3 ml's of blood (enough to fill two blood tubes), making the draw site from the jugular vein. The jugular vein is a great area to obtain blood samples from because there are less nerve endings and because you are almost guaranteed to obtain a sample fairly quickly.