The Wagging Tail

When my son was very young, we started reading to him just about the time he could hold his head up. As he grew older, picture books became part of the bedtime routine. We would read as many as two dozen books a night together and he always wanted more. He started talking by his first birthday and the running family joke is that he never stopped. He has quite a vocabulary now as a teenager.

One of his favorite books was, “Can Dogs Talk,” by Mary Shields. The book is about two kids, Rita and Ryan, who answer their own question, with the help of Mary and her team of huskies. The author was one of two women to be the first to participate in the Iditarod Trail Race in 1974, and the first to finish the Iditarod. She had a team of eight dogs, the smallest team in the entire race. Her book reveals how her dogs communicate among themselves.

When I go to the local dog park with my two-year-old German Shepherd, Fredrich, the topic of dogs and how they communicate often comes up. On one occasion, it was just me, Fredrich and another owner and her dog. The dogs did their usual you-smell-mine, I’ll-smell-yours ritual but then something strange occurred. Fredrich started to get nervous and began to pace around me. He whimpered a little bit at first and then let out a whiney kind of bark. Very different from his protective watchdog bark he exhibits at home when he means business. Then he came right over to me and urinated on my leg! When I asked our veterinarian, he told me Fredrich was definitely marking his territory.

So why do some dogs immediately make a connection and play well together and others don’t get along or act out of character? And, depending on the situation, why are there different sounds to their barks and what do they mean? Was Fredrich intimidated by this other dog? Did he sense a threat of some sort? Someone suggested reading, “Barking: The Sound of a Language,” by Turid Rugaas, to find out how to address the underlying source of the barking. The book explains that barking is a form of canine communication; a language we humans simply don’t speak. When your clients come in with barking/behavior issues, you may want to suggest this book to help them better understand their dog’s emotions.

The experts say dogs express their emotions through barking and by managing it, we can help reduce barking that is creating a problem. There are, of course, methods for how we can curb excessive or problem barking/behavior, but essentially, the message is if we really listen, we can hear what they are trying to tell us.

There’s also talk about the importance of behavioral medicine being part of the curriculum at every veterinary school, given that abnormal or unacceptable behavior is responsible for more Pet deaths each year than any other disease – see the question regarding which animal health needs are currently unmet in the following DVM360.com article.

A day in the life of a veterinarian in a busy hospital is hard work, both physically and mentally. Being on your feet all day as well as moving, turning and lifting dogs takes its toll on your physical energy. Managing multiple cases, both ill and well, tailoring the way you communicate with clients based on need and understanding can be challenging. Transitioning from delivering bad news to a great client to enthusiastically welcoming a new client and family member in the next room can be emotionally draining. Excellent communication skills and compassionate bedside manner are more important than ever.

Looking back on 16+ years of clinical practice I can say there were a few days when I wished I had been something other than a veterinarian. The day I unexpectedly lost my surgery patient following a spay. A day, (long before using IV catheters was routine), when a large dog I was euthanizing with the owner present, flipped out halfway through the injection and dislodged the needle. You can only imagine how that played out.

Thankfully, over the years those really tough moments have been few. There isn’t anything that takes the place of being licked by a golden retriever puppy, snuggled by a purring kitten or getting a heartfelt thanks from a client whose life you have made better. Not long ago I received a message from an old client whose name I didn’t recognize. He was asking me to write a recommendation for him so he could purchase a Shiba Inu puppy from a breeder. I looked back and saw that the last time I had actually seen this client was in 1994. I reluctantly called him back because I wasn’t sure I could honor his request. An older gentleman answered the phone, greeted me like a long time friend and went onto ask me if I remembered teasing him and asking if he knew how big his Akita puppy would get to be. He was laughing as he recounted the visit. And you know what? I don’t remember the man but I do remember his puppy Koda!

Have you heard the phrase “balancing work and family?” To me, it’s misleading and an oxymoron at best because it implies that it is possible to balance your life and find your “happy place.” Kind of hard when these opposing worlds – such as your patients/hospital team, veterinary career and your family – ask for equal amounts of your time, attention and energy. If there was a way, a viable answer out there, that could neatly layout how-you-can-achieve-balance-in-6-easy-steps, could someone figure it out and share it with the rest of us? Who doesn’t feel like we are standing in the middle of an old-fashioned game of Tug-of-War? You’ve got things like clients and Pets that need attention and care as well as a business to run, employees to manage – all on one side, versus a child who needs homework help, not to mention dinner to make, errands to run and a house that needs cleaning.

Remember the objective of Tug-of-War as a child: to get as many people as you could on one side of a rope and collectively pull as hard as possible, combining the strength of each individual, attempting to overpower the opposing side, thus winning the game? I think our lives are like the rope and we stand in the middle holding on, while each respective side, one work and the other family, pulls us in opposing directions, each competing with the other and hoping to win a bigger portion.

Now, if I close my eyes and picture myself, here I am, the official rope holder, trying to keep each side stable, standing not on two feet, but one foot, as I desperately try to maintain balance! That’s what it’s like. Can you see yourself wobbling to stay in an upright position then suddenly falling down with a thud? Your one-foot foundation is not stable enough to keep the rope (your life) up without sending the Rope Holder (you) flying off in one direction or the other.

I don’t expect personal or professional demands to drop out of the game. I think it’s more about creating a broader base of support, a two-footed stance that will withstand the give and take of both sides.

I’ve found that deciding what brings me a sense of contentment, joy and peace, such as taking time for myself, even if its only 20 minutes, a couple times a week, helps me handle life’s constant tugging. If I make it a commitment and actually write it down on my calendar, nothing else short of an emergency will take precedence. You could probably take a little time for yourself out of the hospital even if just for a few minutes each day.

And it’s not about being selfish. If you put something back into your energy source, you’ll have more to give to yourself and to your patients… no matter what side of the rope they are on. Meditation, reading, walking or exercise? What do you do to take time for yourself?

Do you remember your first summer while enrolled in veterinary school? My first summer job as a veterinary student was in research as I worked toward earning a Master’s Degree.

As I reflect on that experience I think about veterinary students embarking on their summer plans and the many options that are available. Many hospitals around the country hire summer students for positions ranging from kennel cleaner to PetNurse — assisting in procedures, diagnosis and treatment. Ideally, students make money while learning about client communication and practice management, work on their clinical skills, and further their medical knowledge prior to graduation.

However, although I believe clinical summer jobs are very important and should make up part of every student’s veterinary education, I equally believe that non-clinical opportunities should be explored as well to help students become well-rounded veterinarians. My previous work with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), after graduating and practicing feline medicine for two years, opened my eyes to the world of organized veterinary medicine which has shaped the type of veterinarian that I am today. I know your time is very limited, but exposure to both clinical and non-clinical veterinary careers is so very important to get the full breadth and depth of our profession. Ideally, if your summer can accommodate both a clinical and a non-clinical experience you would get the very best exposure to our profession.

If a veterinary student asked me today for advice on non-clinical opportunities, I’d tell them, “Don’t let your summers pass you by without really exploring our vast and diverse profession. Explore opportunities with governmental agencies, organized veterinary medicine such as AVMA and State VMA opportunities, industry, non-profit and many more. The world is an open book for those of us holding a veterinary degree and in this economy that is a blessing and security we must never take for granted.”

I think most of us can agree that as a student, we were more worried about next week than considering what we will be doing 5 years out of school. Looking back, I’d want today’s students to get all the exposure and experience they can – across our entire profession so they really enter in with their eyes open and know all the opportunities that are truly available to them as an esteemed veterinarian in the most diverse profession in the world!

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