CattleDog Publishing has just wrapped up a whirlwind of two major veterinary conferences in February of 2018. First, we were at the VMX (formerly known as NAVC) conference in Orlando, Florida for 4 days, then we exhibited at the Midwest Veterinary Conference in Columbus, Ohio for 3 days. These booth events provide a way for myself and our staff to personally talk to interested animal professionals about Low Stress Handling®.

New this year is our wonderful backdrop for our booth and display stands to better show off the books and DVD products. Putting the backdrop together the first time was a little interesting, but by the next conference Debbie and I had it together in no time. The graphic was designed by Sarah Flowers, Marketing Manager and University Program Manager, from CattleDog Publishing. I think it captures the heart and soul of the products and services we offer and the mission of the company.

I love meeting fellow Low Stress Handling® Certified professionals. Denise Mulry is a Low Stress Handling® Silver Certified DVM from Ohio and had recently passed her certification. I also met the staff from the Fort Wayne Humane society who supported a presentation I did in Fort Wayne, IN 3 years ago. We also supported Dr. Lisa Rodasta’s handling labs with body language posters, books, and position statements for the attendees.

I am often touched by the people who worked for Dr. Yin and stop by the booth to tell us about their work and ask about past employees and of course Jonesy and Dante. Jayin, who is now a veterinary student at Ohio State University – College of Veterinary Medicine, is a former intern of Dr. Yin. She was an undergraduate at UC Davis in animal science when she worked for Dr Yin. Small world!

In Ohio, the staff and I had a nice house we rented for the conference. This provided a wonderful place to meet up with colleagues to talk about adding Low Stress Handling® into their curriculum and further promotion of reducing stress and anxiety of patients during veterinary care. Meghan Hoffman, RVT and head instructor at Stautzenberger College in Brecksville, Ohio, gave me some pictures of her class practicing examination and nursing skills while incorporating less stressful handling. In the image below, you can see the towels on the tables and the use of e-collars for safety and patient comfort.

Many attendees really liked the post cards we made promoting the individual products. That spawned a clever idea: have these for clinics to hand out to clients for good books and DVDs on pet behavior. If you would like to have a set of the cards to use to hand out contact [email protected] and Traci can mail you a set. We also have a brochure for certified handlers and clinics to use to market themselves to the community.

• Low Stress Handling, Restraint and Behavior Modification of Dogs & Cats (Book)
• Creating the Perfect Puppy (DVD)
• Handling, Moving, and Restraining 1 (DVD)
• Handling, Moving, and Restraining 2 (DVD)
• Handling, Moving, and Restraining 3 (DVD)
• Dog Aggression (DVD)
• Kitty Kindergarten (DVD)
• The Small Animal Veterinary Nerdbook – 3rd Edition (Book)
• Perfect Puppy in 7 Days (Book)
• Pet Dogs, Problem Dogs, High Performance Dogs (DVD)
• Creating a Pet-Friendly Hospital, Animal Shelter, or Petcare Business (DVD)
• Skills for Handling your Reactive or Hyperactive Dog: Part 1 (DVD)
• Skills for Handling your Reactive or Hyperactive Dog: Part 2 (DVD)
• Towel Wrap Techniques for Handling Cats with Skill & Ease (DVD)

Debbie and Tabitha were popular as they demonstrated the various Low Stress Handling® holds, towel wraps, and other techniques. At the VMX booth, Lorena Patti created a short video to display which explains in a fun way what Low Stress Handling is. Sarah, who you may have met last year was supporting our programs from the California office as she was training our new archivist, supporting all of the new and past enrollments in the Low Stress Handling University, helping in the development of new courses for the Gold Certification Level (currently in planning & development), and designing new marketing and advertising materials for CattleDog Publishing. I appreciate the energy, passion, and knowledge that all of our staff and volunteers have regarding our products. The days at the booth can be long and tiring, but they keep the energy up right to the very end.

The biggest thrill for me was presenting at the VMX conference on Monday, February 5th. My topic “Low Stress Handling in Emergency Medicine – Yes, It is Possible!” was well received. Despite the fact I ran a bit over, just about everyone stayed and many came by the booth to find out more about Low Stress Handling®. I was especially honored to be presenting on this day as it was Dr. Sophia Yin’s birthday. We had delicious dark chocolate candy bars at the booth that day in honor of her love of chocolate.

Thank you to everyone who came by and made our booth experience great. Some of our upcoming booth events include:

• Southern Illinois Veterinary Medical Association conference in Collinsville, IL, on April 13th and 14th.
  • I will be presenting 4 hours of Low Stress Handling® topics including demonstration of low stress handling® skills.
• NAVC Institute in Orlando, FL, on May 20th – 25th.
  • You can find Lorena Patti at the CattleDog Publishing booth there.
• AVMA convention in Denver, CO, on July 13th – 17th.
  • I will present my Low Stress Handling® in Emergency Care topic there also and host a round table discussion for any attendee to participate.

For all of you who made purchases at the CattleDog Publishing booth at any of our 2018 events, don’t forget to contact me about your 30-minute consult perk. I love talking to you and helping with what ever your behavior or Low Stress Handling® needs are. If you did purchase products at our booth and you need Dr. Foote’s contact information, please contact Traci Sennesael at [email protected] so that she can verify your purchase.