Bad dog versus good dog: behaviour options explained

Transcription

1 Vet Times The website for the veterinary profession Bad dog versus good dog: behaviour options explained Author : James Barnes Categories : Business Date : December 1, 2008 Animal behaviour is a topic of increasing focus for pet owners, but many practices have tended to shy away from it. In the first of a two-part series, the author explains why behaviour wellness programmes should be considered. IT WAS BOUND to happen. In a world where pets are viewed as family members, someone, somewhere, was bound to come up with a pet horoscope. Consider this assessment of the Virgo Dog: Your owner wonders what motivates you, but the answer is obvious your emotions. They d be digging to China too if they were bored day after day. Or how about this advice for a pooch born under the sign of Scorpio: The reaction you have to strangers is intense. If you love them without knowing them for more than 30 seconds, then calm down. But if you hate them for no reason, stay on the leash 1. Astrology aside, the issue of what motivates and shapes animal behaviour is a topic of increasing focus among pet owners and veterinary professionals. Just as in human health, the range of emotional and mental conditions that affect today s pets can run the gamut from simple digging to storm phobias, severe separation anxiety to (worse yet), aggressive behaviour conditions that can cause havoc with the human/animal bond. How and why should the veterinary profession respond to this challenge? And how can practice management systems help? This two-part series will examine the trend toward behaviour wellness programmes as part of veterinary practice offerings, explore the potential benefits, and provide practical tips on how practice management automation can be used to set up, drive and measure the success of such programmes. 1 / 7

2 Sizing the impact It is estimated that about 40 per cent of household animals today have some form of difficult, sometimes dangerous, behaviour. But the true seriousness of the trend is underscored by the fact that bad behaviour is identified as a leading cause of requested dog euthanasia. Also, 25 per cent of owners who place pets in shelters cite bad behaviour as the reason 2. While there may be other reasons, such as a pending move, behind the decision to give up a pet, there s no doubt that the diminished quality of life and concern over safety resulting from bad behaviour negatively impacts all involved pets and people. Why vets avoid behaviour wellness It s natural for veterinarians to focus on the physical aspects of animal health, rather than behavioural ones. Why? Because the perception is that treating behaviours takes more time, requires a different level of expertise and returns far less to clinic profits than medical diagnoses and treatment. After all, while a medical check may take 15 minutes, a behavioural consult could take one to two hours, depending on the problem. And, certainly, animal trainers charge far less for their services than veterinarians. That s where the wellness perspective comes in. If, as a veterinarian, you believe in the benefits of behavioural wellness, the trick is to concentrate on what you are best equipped to do with your existing practice resource and expertise. You can use what you already have in place to expand your offering. Behaviour wellness in the clinic setting Ill-behaved pets aren t only a nuisance in the home setting. Be honest there are certain clients you re anxious to see come through the door based on their ill-behaved, shivering or hostile pets. You may have experienced your share of nips or injuries to your staff in fact, bad behaviour can contribute to the most dedicated vet feeling burned out in his or her profession. It can be within your interests to hit this challenge head on, by contributing to problem behaviour resolution and long-term wellness in the pets you treat. There are other ethical and business reasons for embracing behaviour wellness as part of your practice. First, correcting troublesome pet behaviour saves pets lives, improves quality of life and contributes to the human/ animal bond. An awareness of animal behaviour in the clinic setting also helps keep both pets and people safe and enables your staff to better serve both patients and clients. In truth, many pet behaviour problems can be prevented or resolved before they reach 2 / 7

3 crisis status with the right wellness approach. Preventive behaviour programmes can also be good for your bottom line. After all, the growth of a practice is influenced by the number of new patients you gain, less the ones you lose, and dealing successfully with behaviour problems could reduce the number of patients you lose each year. Consider these bottom-line benefits of behaviour wellness in the clinic setting: Reduce danger (and associated liability) to staff and clients. Are all members of your staff on the alert for potential dangerous behaviour in the animals you treat? Do they know how to handle these situations quickly, skilfully and tactfully? If not, you could be putting your staff and your practice at risk. Injuries not only cause emotional and physical distress, they also cost staff time and affect job satisfaction and employee retention. Also, your practice could be legally liable if pets or people (including staff or clients), are injured on your premises. By understanding more about animal behaviour, including the physical and emotional causes that may trigger it, you reduce the chance of an incident that could expose your practice legally. Spur staff productivity and career opportunity. By adding behaviour wellness to your practice portfolio, you help ensure that all staff members are fully productive while providing them with an added area of career expertise. Marketing and client retention opportunity. The more value you provide your clients through offerings that affect their dayto- day relationship with, and enjoyment of, their pets, the more you build client loyalty and retention. Conversely, if staff do not know how to handle a fractious pet in the clinic setting, owners are less likely to bring their pets in again. Practice profitability. Like other service offerings, behaviour wellness is a discipline that can add to quality care programmes, which not only benefits patients and clients, but contributes to your ongoing revenue stream. Take advantage of what you already have The key is to offer behavioural services that marry well with your existing preventive health services and your overall practice management resource. For example, veterinarians have a unique opportunity in the area of problem behaviour prevention one that trainers don t, since they often do not see an animal until a problem already exists. Veterinary practices see clients on a regular basis, and many already offer preventive/wellness health exams as part of their standard of care offerings. These exams can be used to incorporate behaviour wellness into the pet s ongoing wellness programme. And just as you develop medical standards of care protocols, you can develop behavioural protocols that ensure planned attention to a pet s conduct as part of your 3 / 7

4 broadened service offering. Getting started ask yourself the right questions As you consider the types of behaviour programmes you might incorporate, it s important to have the right perspective. Firstly, you and your staff must be comfortable initiating discussions about pet behaviour with clients. That includes a willingness to be proactive by discussing specific behaviours before they become a problem. Also, you should develop working relationships with trainers and behaviourists who can provide important input and act as experts to whom you may refer clients when needed. Finally, you must broaden your perspective about the scope of possible and beneficial behavioural services your practice is prepared to offer, and look to your practice management system as well as your staff, to make these services both possible and practical. Here s a checklist of questions to ask yourself before you launch a behaviour wellness practice offering: Am I interested in diagnosing, treating and preventing behavioural problems in the animal population I serve? Am I open and willing to discuss a pet s behaviour with a client, and to gather the necessary information to create a behavioural baseline? Am I willing to make the behavioural record a part of the patient s overall health wellness profile? Am I willing to ensure that my clinic is a behavioural-friendly place for pets? Is the atmosphere one that helps lower the arousal level and provides a calm haven for both client and pet? What range of behavioural problems am I willing to address? Am I willing and able to determine potential physical problems that can cause or exacerbate behavioural issues (and vice versa)? Are my staff willing and able to support behaviour wellness offerings? What kind of training do I need to properly prepare staff? Is my practice management system able to help me automate patient and client records and practice protocols in ways needed to support the specific programmes I wish to offer? Is my vendor willing to help educate me on how to automate the specific behaviour wellness programmes I m interested in? 4 / 7

5 While you may not have an immediate yes in answer to all of these questions, your practice management vendor and/or a consultant in the area of animal behaviour can help you to identify where you need help and how best to move forward. The possibilities: behaviour wellness programmes The ability to automate practicespecific standards of care is a big part of the move toward wellness/ prevention offerings. Automation allows practices to effectively track and manage the health of individual pets and to communicate effectively with clients. For example, with today s systems, timed alerts can be attached to the electronic patient record so that staff can communicate in advance the need for medical wellness checkups, preventive vaccinations, dental cleanings, etc. The same automation principles can help practices to set up, implement and track the success of behaviour wellness programmes. There are a wide range of behaviour wellness offerings to consider, including: Pre-purchase or adoption counselling for those considering a pet. Behaviour wellness assessments gathering the baseline information needed to assess behaviour wellness, then including behavioural updates as part of the pet s overall wellness tracking and treatment. Proper behaviour assessments help prevent problems by identifying any potential behaviour problems early, and starting appropriate intervention sooner. Bad behaviour prevention counselling for new pet owners. Puppy parties and training sessions that include good behaviour milestones. Behaviour modification training sessions. Head collar fitting and training sessions. Recommended drug and dosing regimens for common behavioural diagnoses. The concluding part of this series will provide specific tips for initiating behaviour assessments, making your practice a behaviourally friendly setting, and keeping records that can make behaviour wellness useful for your staff and beneficial to the clients and pets you serve halloffame.com 5 / 7

6 2. US National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy. 6 / 7

7 Powered by TCPDF ( Illustration: OKSANA GRIVINA/iSTOCK Common pet behaviour problems 7 / 7