Research can pay off
Dr. Nan Boss
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Dr. Nan Boss, a well-known veterinary author and owner of Best Friends Veterinary Center in Grafton, Wis., introduced breed-specific
wellness care to her clients in 2007. She saw breed-specific wellness as a natural progression in her practice's pet-wellness
services, which she tries to update and improve each year. Today, her practice sees many patients that benefit from this new
approach.
For example, a client's Boxer recently received an ECG as part of his breed-specific wellness exam. The ECG showed PVCs, an
early warning sign for cardiomyopathy. Boss was able to share this information with the clients and recommend ways to monitor
and help the pet.
Boss says being able to find problems at an early stage has resulted in some rewarding surprises. Recently a client brought
in a Goldie-Poo (Golden Retriever-Poodle mix) for a spay. One of the dog's parents was a miniature Poodle instead of a Standard
Poodle, so she wasn't overly big, but the hospital's protocols called for a hip screen along with the surgery. The owners
agreed to have it done. The X-rays revealed hip dysplasia in the small dog. Boss was able to start her patient on glucosamine
right away, rather than wait until she was older or had developed noticeable symptoms.
The hardest part of introducing breed-specific wellness was finding the time to research it, Boss says. To research breed
risks took four or five months. After that, she had to determine the recommendations to offer clients for their pets. Finally,
she had to decide on breed-wellness protocols, develop client handouts to support the new program and educate her staff. Talking
to clients about it was the easy part, Boss says.
By the time she launched the program, everyone in the practice had become a believer in breed-specific wellness and felt confident
talking to clients about it. Boss says she never had to promote the program formally. Her team just made a point of talking
to clients about it in the exam room. Her clients instantly "get it" and seem to appreciate the fine-tuned, customized care
it affords their pets.
Designer dog food sparks a breed-specific wellness venture
Shannon Pigott, CVPM, AAC
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Shannon Pigott, CVPM, AAC, a hospital owner and former AAHA accreditation consultant, first started thinking about breed-specific
medicine in 2005, when the dog genome map was completed. She saw how pet food companies jumped on the idea of "designer dog
food" for breeds and how quickly the demand for genetic breed testing grew. Pigott felt pet owners were ready to embrace breed-specific
wellness plans. In 2009 she asked Boss to serve as a consultant on breed-specific materials for her new venture, Genesis Breed-Specific
Health Care. Together, they developed training modules for veterinarians and their staffs and breed-specific client handouts
to help veterinarians jump start their own breed-specific wellness programs and harness the opportunity.
Dr. Jeff Bloomberg
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Other veterinarians, such as practice owner Dr. Jeff Bloomberg, Schaumburg, Ill., also caught the bug early and have forged
ahead. Bloomberg says he incorporated breed-specific wellness into his practice several years ago after hearing Cloud give
a talk on the topic at a veterinary meeting.
He first turned to the AKC website to get a list of purebred dogs. He reviewed the information that the AKC had published
on 140 dog breeds to learn what they were telling pet owners to look for in the different breeds. Next, he ran an online search
and discovered the Cambridge University Inherited Diseases of Dogs database. He said he used the AKC list and the information
he identified in the Cambridge database to create handouts on each of the AKC breeds in the list. His plan was to use the
materials as discussion aids with purebred dog owners and with owners of mixed-breeds who had genetic testing information
about their pets or knew their origins.
When Bloomberg finished his handouts, he bought his first veterinary hospital, about two years ago. He was reluctant to introduce
breed-specific wellness care to his new clients until he knew them better. Now that he knows them, he has decided to focus
on new puppy owners and explain the benefits of breed-specific wellness care to them as part of his puppy program. He says
that new puppy owners are open to new ideas and interested in learning everything they can to ensure the health of their new
puppies. Starting with puppies helps set the stage for a lifetime of care and is a manageable way for a practice to introduce
the concept of breed-specific wellness to pet owners.
These practitioners are a few of the early pioneers in breed-specific medicine. They were driven by the desire to practice
good medicine and offer new services that would both make sense to their clients and be financially viable for their practices.
Along the way, they have discovered that breed-specific medicine can meet the market with medical satisfaction and financial
success.
Today, purebred dogs are common and genetic testing for mixed-breeds is readily available. Researchers estimate that as many
as 40 percent of dogs are affected by genetically predisposed conditions. Technology and new laboratory tests offer practical
means of early detection. Breed-specific medicine may be just the new, better and different approach that brings your clients
back to the office.
Karyn Gavzer, MBA, CVPM, is a veterinary business consultant and nationally known writer and speaker.She says her job is to
help practices "go and grow" with training, marketing and new ideas. She is a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager, an adjunct
instructor for AAHA, and a founding member of VetPartners (formerly the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants
and Advisors).
For a complete list of articles by Dr. Gavzer, visit
http://dvm360.com/gavzer.
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