pet care – iCare WordWide

What Veterinary Practices Can Learn from Dental Practice Transitions

Veterinary practices and dental practices share surprising similarities. Both serve loyal clients who rely on consistent, high-quality care. Both require specialized skills and trust built over the years. When it comes to selling a practice, these industries face parallel challenges. How can veterinary practices ensure smooth transitions while keeping pet owners confident in their care? The answer lies in lessons from dental practice transitions.

Trust is the cornerstone of both industries. Pet owners, like dental patients, form deep bonds with their providers. A change in ownership can spark worry about care quality. Dental practices have mastered strategies to ease these concerns, and veterinary clinics can follow suit. For example, when dentists sell dental practice, they prioritize clear communication with patients. They introduce the new owner early, often through meet-and-greet events or letters. This builds familiarity. Veterinary practices can adopt similar tactics, reassuring pet owners that their furry companions remain in good hands.

Planning for a Seamless Handover

Preparation makes all the difference. Dental practices rarely sell overnight. Owners plan years in advance, assessing their practice’s value and addressing weaknesses. Veterinary practices should do the same. Is the clinic’s equipment up to date? Are financial records organized? A well-prepared practice attracts better buyers and ensures a smoother transition. By tackling these details early, veterinarians can avoid last-minute stress and secure a sale that benefits both parties.

Another key lesson is retaining staff. Dental practices know that familiar faces reassure patients. When a clinic changes hands, keeping hygienists and assistants on board maintains continuity. Veterinary practices can apply this principle. Retaining skilled technicians and receptionists helps pet owners feel at ease. It signals stability. Owners can offer incentives, like bonuses or clear communication about job security, to encourage staff to stay through the transition.

Maintaining Client Relationships

Pet owners, much like dental patients, value relationships. They want to know their provider understands their needs. Dental practices excel at preserving these connections during transitions. They often involve the outgoing owner in the handover process, allowing them to introduce the new dentist personally. Veterinary practices can borrow this approach. A retiring veterinarian might stay on part-time, easing clients into the change. This gradual shift builds trust and prevents clients from seeking care elsewhere.

What about communication? Dental practices use newsletters, social media, and websites to keep patients informed. Veterinary clinics can do the same. Regular updates about the transition—shared via email or social posts—can calm anxious pet owners. Highlight the new owner’s qualifications. Share their passion for animals. Transparency fosters confidence, ensuring clients stick around.

Learning from Financial Strategies

Financial planning is another area where dental practices shine. Selling a practice involves complex valuations, tax considerations, and negotiations. Dental owners often work with transition specialists to maximize value and minimize headaches. Veterinary practices can benefit from similar expertise. Hiring a consultant familiar with practice sales can streamline the process. They can identify buyers who align with the clinic’s values, ensuring a cultural fit that benefits staff and clients alike.

Moreover, dental practices emphasize long-term client retention to boost practice value. A loyal patient base increases a practice’s appeal to buyers. Veterinary clinics can adopt this mindset. Offering wellness plans or loyalty programs encourages pet owners to stay engaged. A strong client base not only supports day-to-day operations but also makes the practice more attractive during a sale.

Why These Lessons Matter

Transitions are inevitable. Owners retire, relocate, or shift careers. Yet, the goal remains the same: ensuring clients—whether pet owners or dental patients—receive uninterrupted care. By learning from dental practices, veterinary clinics can navigate ownership changes with confidence. Thoughtful planning, clear communication, and a focus on relationships pave the way for success.

Can veterinary practices afford to ignore these lessons? Not if they want to thrive. A well-executed transition preserves the practice’s legacy and protects its future. Pet owners deserve continuity. Staff deserve stability. And owners deserve peace of mind. By borrowing strategies from dental practice transitions, veterinary clinics can achieve all three.

Is It Okay to Keep Pets During Pregnancy?

Pregnant women do not have to give up pets, provided that hygiene measures are observed. In addition, it is advisable to prepare the animal for the addition of the family.

The two lines on the pregnancy test not only change the lives of expectant parents; they also turn the everyday life of their pets upside down. With the first pregnancy, many pet owners automatically have all sorts of fears: Do you have to give up the dog now? Is it still allowed to pet strange cats? Will pet hair cause Hamiləlikdə ürəkbulanma və qusma (Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy)? And does the hamster possibly transmit diseases that could harm the unborn child?

Even with a short search query on the net, it is likely to be scary and anxious for many an expectant mother. There is talk of all kinds of bacteria and viruses, of the ominous parrot disease, of meningitis due to guinea pigs, and skin diseases caused by fish. There is hardly a pet, it seems, that cannot potentially harm the pregnant woman or the unborn child.

Hygiene is the be-all and end-all

Barbara Stocker doesn’t think much of the alarmism that sometimes prevails on the Internet and unsettles expectant parents. She should know: The President of the Swiss Midwives Association has rarely encountered health problems in pregnant women due to pet ownership.

Probably the best-known threat is toxoplasmosis, an infection with flu-like symptoms that basically leaves lifelong immunity. If a woman already has antibodies against the pathogen before the start of pregnancy, the unborn baby is also protected. If a pregnant woman becomes infected for the first time, it can lead to a miscarriage or, rarely, to severe malformations in the child. The pathogens can be absorbed mainly by touching the excrement of the cat. Pregnant women should therefore either keep their fingers off the litter box or wear plastic gloves for cleaning, so the often quoted appeal.

ALSO READ: Animals Can Get Diabetes, Too!

“20 years ago, toxoplasmosis was a major topic during pregnancy, and all pregnant women were tested for antibodies,” says Stocker. The cases in which unborn babies actually suffer harm are so rare that antibody tests are only carried out if an acute illness is suspected. The examination is only paid for by the health insurance in these cases. “If you pay attention to hygiene by washing and disinfecting your hands regularly or using gloves when cleaning the litter box, there is hardly any risk from cats for pregnant women,” says Stocker.

Never before has the midwife from Strengelbach AG met a pregnant woman who caught one of the diseases mentioned on the net, which parrots, rodents or aquarium fish can transmit. “These must be extremely rare cases,” she suspects. She, therefore, does not consider it necessary to explicitly point out such rare dangers to pregnant women. “Especially since these cases can also be prevented by adhering to hygiene measures.”

Children’s room becomes a taboo zone

If she noticed during a home visit that hygiene in dealing with a pet is poor or a pregnant woman has, for example, bite marks from the cat or a guinea pig, she would of course address that, says Stocker. In the wake of the corona pandemic, however, women now know more than ever what it means to pay attention to hygiene. And this ultimately applies to all areas, from the prevention of communicable diseases to food preparation. “If you also use common sense when dealing with animal roommates, there is nothing wrong with keeping one or more pets during pregnancy,” says Stocker.

In addition to uncertainties regarding the health risks of pets, Stocker is also occasionally confronted with questions about the behavior and education of dogs and cats during pregnancy or in the puerperium. “Of course, I refer the pregnant woman to specialists,” says Stocker with a laugh, “because I’m not responsible for animals.”

The advice of behavioral veterinarians on how best to prepare pets for the arrival of the newborn is varied: from playing, baby sounds from tape for acoustic preparation, to carrying around stuffed animals as baby dummies, to bringing full diapers from the hospital. However, the most important difference that the pets notice with the new family member is that the master and mistress will then have less time for them. It is important to prepare the animal for this during pregnancy. For example, by declaring the children’s room a taboo zone and getting the dog used to more flexible walking and feeding times.

iCare WordWide

Tag: pet care