Week In Review, March 14, 2010

This past week our Woof Wednesday guest was Rod Burkert of GoPetFriendly.com. Rod and his family are on the road travelling in their new GoPetFriendly Winnebago, and you can keep up with their adventures on the GoPetFriendly Blog. This week’s Woof Wednesday guest will be Lorie Huston DVM, a veterinarian for over 20 years and the author of The Pet Health Care Gazette; Lorie and I will be discussing behavioral medications in dogs. Guests in the upcoming weeks include Sarah Kalnajs of Blue Dog Training and Behavior and Peta Clarke of Animal Training Solutions.

A point of emphasis that I always try to make when talking about the behavior of dogs is that it is our responsibility to communicate clearly with them, to train them in the behaviors we want them to display. Kelly Gorman Dunbar wrote an excellent article about this recently on Dog Star Daily entitled Change Your Perspective and Train Your Dog.

Although I worry about over anthropomorphizing when it comes to dogs, the article The Ethical Dog appearing in Scientific American Mind has some interesting observations about how dogs keep it fair when it comes to play.

And finally, Debunking the Dominance Myth by Carmen Buitrago (provided by our friend Angela Adams of Fun4Fido) deals with the continuing fallacy of laying the blame for all dog behaviors at the doorstep of dominance.

Have a great weekend and we’ll talk soon.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha, Elbee

0 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 8:49 PM - Categories: Behavior | Dogs | Dominance in Dogs | Health | Training | Veterinarian | Woof Wednesday

Woof Wednesday With Rod Burkert of GoPetFriendly.com

There is no denying that this has been a long winter, not just here in the US, but around the world. Lower than average temperatures, record snowfalls, wet and dreary skies seemed to be the norm not the exception. With spring just around the corner and warmer weather starting to peek out from behind the curtain of grey, many people are thinking about taking to the road for some adventure.

Travelling with our pets is something that is becoming very popular; and thanks to a more accommodating hospitality industry, it is becoming easier to do. Friend, fellow blogger, and co-founder of GoPetFriendly.com Rod Burkert, along with his family have piled into the brand new GoPetFriendly RV to take advantage of some of the great places to go and things to do with your pets. Before they hit the road, I asked Rod some questions about travelling with pets.

DLD: What are some of the things that I can do now with my pet that weren’t available say 5 years ago.

Rod: Generally, there has been a trend toward more places becoming pet friendly - many hotels, campgrounds, beaches, shopping malls, and restaurants are now welcoming pets.  If you choose to, you can include your pet in most things you want/need to do - whether it's going to work, stopping by the bank, picking up dry cleaning, meeting friends for happy hour, or taking a road trip across the country! And we see this trend continuing. States and municipalities continue to pass new laws removing barriers that prevented people from including their pets in their lives, and creative business owners are coming up with new and fun ways to cater to this pet friendly market. 

DLD: What has changed, why is it easier to travel with my pet now?

Rod: We think there has been a shift in society's attitudes about pets. For example, as we've discovered the physical and emotional benefits associated with living with pets we've come to appreciate and respect our animals more. We consider our pets as partners, friends and family members, rather than possessions. We also have a better understanding of our pets' physical and emotional needs, and in striving to meet those needs, we've discovered that simply including our pets in our daily activities provides much of what they need - socialization, exercise and training. Many businesses have taken notice, and have implemented policies that allows them to serve people and their pets. What's really exciting is that this process builds on itself - as more people take their pets with them, more businesses take notice and implement pet friendly policies to attract these customers, which will then make it easier for people to take their pets with them!!

DLD: What are some things that I really need to take into consideration when traveling with my pet?

Rod: First, and foremost, you want to make sure that your pet is healthy enough to travel, and also consider whether they would prefer to go with you or stay at home. Most cats prefer not to travel. With our two dogs, however, there’s no question that they’d rather go with us – and we prefer it that way, too! Second, your dog must be properly trained.  If your dog does not perform well in the familiar surroundings of your home, they are unlikely to perform well when traveling. So don't set your dog up for failure - take the time to train them. Third, it’s important to find accommodations and activities where you can all have fun together. It's no fun traveling with a pet if you feel you can never leave the room. Finally, traveling with pets takes more patience. You may discover that you don’t travel as many miles per day, because (like us) you find that working in a trip to an off-leash dog park each afternoon keeps everyone happier. In the long run, you may not see as many sites, but the trips are a lot more fun, because you enjoy it with your whole family! 

DLD: How can I prepare to handle emergencies when I am on the road with my pet?

Rod: It's really important to plan for those possibilities in advance. While it's not pleasant to think about, being unprepared will make matters much worse. So, before each trip we make sure the dogs' tags are up to date (we include our dogs' names, medical condition, medication, and our cell phone numbers). We also verify that our information is current with the microchip companies. Also, we carry color photos of the dogs, in case we'd need to make copies for posters. In the case of an illness or injury - we've used our website to locate emergency veterinarians on more than one occasion! In these cases, it can be useful to have your pet's medical records available, and we've found that scanning those records to a USB drive is a convenient way to take them along.

DLD: Are there certain areas of the country that are more/less pet friendly than others?

Rod: Yes! Many places, like Austin, TX, Portland, OR, Boulder, CO, and most of California, are very pet friendly and have been for a long time. Other places are moving toward becoming more pet friendly, like the state of Tennessee, which recently passed legislation to allow pets in the outdoor dining areas of restaurants.

DLD: What should I do if I run across a place that says it’s pet friendly but really isn’t?

Rod: WRITE A REVIEW! On Yelp ... on the hotel's web site.  If you found the location on GoPetFriendly.com, we ask that you notify us so that we can update the listing! Input from our user community is extremely important, and we appreciate everyone's help.

DLD: Why did you start GoPetFriendly?

Rod: We rescued a German Shepherd in May of 2008, and realized shortly thereafter that traveling with him and our other dog, Ty, was quite a challenge. We now had two dogs, a large dog, and one that is on some lists of restricted breeds. The hotel booking sites we consulted allowed us to sort for pet-friendly hotels, but provided no information on weight restrictions, additional fees, or even if you’ll be stuck in a smoking room. We wanted to create a website that would make it easy for people to plan fun trips with their pets, including helping them find fun things to do once the reached their destination.

DLD: What is most fun trip you’ve ever taken with your pets?

Rod: We've had great times taking the dogs to Ontario, Canada on family fishing trips. We've also really enjoyed site-seeing in Washington, DC, a relaxing weekend in the Berkshires, and a wonderful days at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and in Forest Park in St. Louis. But I believe that our best trips are yet to come - we've recently taken delivery of a Winnebago View and, by the time this is published, we'll be on our first RV trip with our dogs. We're really excited to have the flexibility to travel for longer periods of time, and therefore, greater distances now that we have a home on wheels! Our travel plan is not to have a plan.

DLD: What are some good weekend getaway ideas that I can take my pets on?

Rod: Certainly, what/where you can get to for a weekend is dependent on where you live. That said, we find pet friendly wineries make a fun get-away. We all know about Napa's wine country - but there are wine making regions all around the country, and a trip to one near you can be wonderful! Check GoPetFriendly.com to see if there are pet friendly wineries in your area, and find a place where you can stroll through the vineyards, enjoy a picnic lunch, and take in fantastic vistas - with your pet. Of course, there will also be great wine! What could be nicer for you and your pal?

If you are thinking about taking a trip with you pets, I highly recommend GoPetFriendly.com as a great research tool to help make your trip planning easier, and your trip more enjoyable. You can also visit Rod's blog and follow him as him takes the new GoPetFriendly Winnebago on its inaugural trip by visiting the GoPetFriendly blog at http://www.gopetfriendlyblog.com.

If you have other tips and tricks to help make travelling easier and more enjoyable for you and your pets, please leave a comment and share them with us.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha, Elbee

2 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 2:22 PM - Categories: Dogs | Pet Friendly Places | Traveling With Pets | Woof Wednesday

Your First Few Weeks With A New Dog

Since Elbee adopted me almost two weeks ago, I am reminded of just how important our early interactions with a new dog are. After Elbee got a few meals in him, got the medicine he needed, and had some shelter over his head, he become less fearful and more curious about his new home, and a curious dog is a dog that’s ready to learn. This is the time when he is discovering the new environment he finds himself in and how he can interact with it. If I want to establish a pattern of acceptable behaviors with him, NOW is the time.

Each and every reaction I make to any of his behaviors is put away in his memory bank. He becomes aware of how to get those things he wants. For instance, Elbee was very emaciated when I found him and as a result his first couple of days with us we fed him just about every six hours. He was very vocal and very excited at each feeding and who could blame him? After a couple of days he was feeling better but he still was very vocal and over excited at feeding time. But now, instead of putting his food down for him to eat I simply waited for him to sit and be quiet. It took Elbee all of about a minute to figure out that the old rules weren’t getting him any food. You could see him looking at me and trying to work out what was different. In the end he backed up, sat quietly, and was feed. His next feeding he was just as excited, but again I waited and it only took about 30 seconds for him to sit quietly. He is still excited for his food, but it takes him less than 5 seconds or so to sit quietly and wait. I’ve taken the same approach to his tendency to jump. He still jumps occasionally, but all I have to do is back up just a bit and he immediately knows that sitting quietly is the only way to get the attention he wants.

There is really no trick to this. Because it is a new environment for him, he is really open to learning how he fits into it and what is expected of him. A sponge that will adsorb every little piece of information he can. If I take care to encourage and reinforce those behaviors I want, and to ignore those that I don’t want, I am putting money in the bank towards a great relationship with him.

I realize that there is no “one size fits all” solution to all the challenges that you may encounter when you bring a new dog into your home. But keeping these simple things in mind during the initial “break in” period, can go a long way to making your lives together easier and more enjoyable for everybody.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha, Elbee

5 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 10:08 PM - Categories: Adoption | Advocacy | Behavior | Bringing a New Dog Home | Dogs | Training

Woof Wednesday With Angela Adams - What Lies Beneath: Behind The Behaviour

First of all I’d like to thank Kevin for inviting me to write a guest blog, and for being such a nice guy to collaborate with. So thank you Kevin.

Kevin and I decided that a good topic for a post is what really drives behaviour in dogs, and this is also a discussion I find myself having on a daily basis during the course of my work as a trainer and canine behaviour counsellor. Unfortunately all too often new clients hold the default assumption that dogs behave badly because they are dominant and seeking to attain alpha status.

Contrary to popular belief there is nothing sinister going on.  So let’s take a look at what dominance is, why it is detrimental to apply it to dog behaviour, and what really is behind the behaviour of our canine companions.

Dominance defined: In ethology (the study of animal behaviour), dominance is defined as a relationship between individuals belonging to the same species (conspecifics), that is established in order to prioritise access to scarce resources, for example food, the opposite sex. Such a relationship cannot exist until one animal consistently defers to another.

Modern qualified behaviourists and trainers take issue with applying the dominance model to the dog for many reasons a few being:

• Dominance theory originated from early studies of unrelated captive wolves. These studies were inaccurate and misleading because the wolves were unrelated and not in their natural environment. Studies of related wild wolves in their natural environment show a family group consisting of parents and their offspring, where the relationships are based on cooperation, with the parents guiding and teaching their young.
•  The dog is not a wolf; it is related to the wolf in the same way that humans are related to the chimp. Although dogs maintain some behavioural qualities of wolves and other canids, thousands of years of domestication, selective breeding, and coevolution with humans has greatly altered and shaped their behaviour.
•  For the past 14,000 years feral dogs have evolved as scavengers, and although sociable their existence has been semi-solitary. Where relationships are formed the associations are loose, unstructured, and changeable; members frequently come and go, a quality not seen in wolf packs. A certain degree of cooperation confers mutual benefit with fellow canines allowing for access to communal resources and shared mates. These transient relationships are based on cooperation not dominance, and the evanescent nature of these groups requires no leader or alpha. Furthermore any aggression would likely result in the perpetrator being ostracised from the group.

The dangers of the dominance model: This concept is erroneously used and sadly leads to the application of aversive tools and techniques, with the sole purpose of intimidating a dog to submit with the objective of stopping unwanted behaviours. The application of aversive techniques in training gives rise to a very serious issue of safety, for both the dog and the owner. Such techniques can push a dog into self preservation mode, “fight” or “flight” because it feels threatened or unsafe. Just as importantly such methods can potentially harm a dog’s physical and emotional/psychological well being, through pain, anxiety, frustration, fear, and high levels of stress. The fallout can result in a dog that is withdrawn, subdued, or shutdown (not “calm submissive”); because it has given up, as nothing it does works for the better. Or the result is displays of aggression because of frustration, fear, or anxiety, in this way aggression functions as a tool to create distance, make the bad thing go away or stop. However if this also fails, if we keep pushing a dog’s self preservation button, or the dog’s temperament is such that it is not able to cope with sustained frustration, anxiety, and high levels of stress, then all that is left is active aggression; a bite.

Motivation drives behaviour: All behaviour is driven by motivation, humans, dogs, cats, rabbits, rodents, horses.  There is always some function, some purpose, a motivation to behaviour(s). Although there could be any number of reasons a dog may present with problem behaviour, here we will consider motivation in relation to the following categories:

Social attention and interaction: Dogs are a sociable species, we have all heard the term “It’s just attention seeking behaviour” applied to humans, but owners will often overlook this very simple explanation as a cause for many common problems behaviours. Let’s take a look at a very typical scenario. Consider this, Fido your 10 week old pup is bored, he has been used to attention and interaction on demand with his littermates. You are doing chores and Fido bounds over to you and nips your ankle, you say “No!” attention, you gently push Fido away interaction, and as you do so you look at him directly making eye contact attention. From Fido’s point of view this works, and each time this scenario is repeated, this behaviour is strengthened, and by the time Fido is 5 months this has escalated to serious problem behaviour.

Tangibles: Like humans dogs have needs, wants, preferences, and desires for certain things such as food, activities, toys, and objects etc., which provide motivation for behaviour. It is not bad for dogs to want these things it is perfectly normal. However it is all too easy for dogs to learn to display inappropriate or undesired actions to attain these things, and this is when problem behaviours can arise.

Distance, survival, escape, and/or avoidance: Many dogs are at a disadvantage because important factors such as genetics, imprinting, habituation, and socialisation, which play a vital role in shaping dogs temperament, were lacking. Such dogs are likely to develop a nervous, reactive, anxious, shy, and/or fearful disposition, coupled with poor social skills. Therefore many of these dogs will not cope well with certain everyday situations and events. They will be motivated to create distance, escape, or avoid the situation, and in extreme cases they will be quick to switch to “fight/flight” response when faced with their fears. It is important to stress that punitive training can also put dogs at a disadvantage.  Fear aggression is one of the most common problem behaviours in this category. Whatever the nature of the issue, treatment should be management, remedial habituation and socialisation and training. Under no circumstances should aversive training techniques be applied. (See above: The dangers of the dominance model).

Sensory and intrinsic motivation: Various behaviours are internally rewarding, or self-reinforcing. Such behaviours are not dependent on external consequences, what is happening on the inside is important. For example, when left alone Fido barks excessively, he barks because he is bored and possibly also anxious. Barking is a sensory, self-reinforcing behaviour for Fido because it relieves him of boredom and stress, and makes him feel better.  Excessive barking is annoying and distressing to the owner; however, for the dog the behaviour serves the function of helping it cope with boredom or anxiety. The behaviour of excessive barking has been adopted by Fido because it functions as a coping strategy. To help resolve this type of problem behaviour we first need to change the way Fido feels when left alone, and provide enrichment to keep Fido mentally stimulated, effectively we are changing/removing the motivators.

This should make it clear that attributing dominance to problem behaviours completely disregards the true nature of behaviour; all behaviour is driven by motivation, it has a function. Canine behaviour is as simple as it is complex; that is, certain behaviours may appear to be complex, but there is normally a simple explanation. We just need to figure out two aspects; motivation and reinforcement.

© Angela Adams 2010 @ www.fun4fido.co.uk

For more about Angela, you can visit her website at http://www.fun4fido.co.uk/. You can find Angela on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fun4fido, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/fun4fido/63862277241, and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/fun4fido.

For more reading on animal behaviour, Angela reccommends the following:

• The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour and Interactions with People – 1996 – James Serpell
• Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition – 2009  - Ádám Miklósi
• Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior and Evolution – 2002 – R. Coppinger & L. Coppinger
• Learning and Behavior – 6th edition, 2008 – Paul Chance
• Reaching The Animal Mind – 2009 - Karen Pryor
• How Dogs Learn – 1999 – Mary R. Burch & Jon S. Bailey
• Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know – 2009 - Alexandra Horowitz
• Animal Training: Successful Animal Management Through Positive Reinforcement - 1999 - Ken Ramirez

13 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 12:00 AM - Categories: Behavior | Dogs | Training | Woof Wednesday

Book Review: Am I Boring My Dog? By Edie Jarolim

Worry is part of the human condition, and it is something we seem to excel at. When we are put into unfamiliar situations and feel out of our depth, it's amazing the questions that can wander through our minds. Enter Edit Jarolim, her significant canine other, Frankie, and their wonderful book, "Am I Boring My Dog? (And 99 Other Things Your Dog Wishes You Knew)."

Written mostly for those considering adding a dog to their house and new dog owners, even veteran dog owners like me can pick up tidbits from this book. Covering 100 questions, from irreverent ones like "How should I refer to my relationship with my dog?" (I had no idea what a SCO was), to serious ones like "How much - and how often - should I feed my dog?" (A question I'm sure your dog has interest in), Edie's congenial style and sharp wit make this a fun and informative read. Chock full of great resources and some pretty clever insights, make sure to pay attention to the footnotes, they alone are worth the price of admission. So if you've ever wondered if you're dog will hate you if you dress him up, this is the book for you.
 
Edie has a terrific blog that can be found at http://www.willmydoghateme.com and you can find out more about her at http://www.ediejarolim.com.  She can also be found on tweeting away at http://www.twitter.com/willmydoghateme.

0 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 9:22 PM - Categories: Adoption | Advocacy | Dogs | Health | Humor | Nutrition | Rescue | Spay & Neuter | Training | Treats | Veterinarian

Woof Wednesday With Dr. Krista Gibson

In the old days, before every car had computers inside, when something went wrong with our cars we had to try and explain the symptoms our car was displaying to a mechanic. Success in getting a quick and accurate diagnosis could rely heavily on your ability to speak in terms your mechanic could understand. Trying to produce the same noise your car did may have produced success at times and a good laugh for your mechanic at others.

Anytime we try and communicate for our dogs, we face the same challenges. Our dogs can’t speak for themselves so they rely on us to do so for them. We have to use our powers of observation about our dog and their behaviors so we can effectively communicate these to the veterinarian. Sometimes this is easier said than done.

My guest this week is veterinarian Dr. Krista Gibson of Animal Medical Services in Scottsdale, AZ. Krista has kindly agreed to answer some question I have about being an effective communicator for our dogs. Here is what she had to say.

DLD: What observations and information should I be able to provide my vet with? What information is overkill?

Dr. Gibson: This is a great question!  It probably seems obvious to you as a pet owner that something is wrong with your pet, but to us who don’t live day to day with them, sometimes vague or subtle issues are less apparent.

First and foremost, it’s helpful to have what we call a “presenting complaint.”  This is really just, in one word or sentence, what is your main problem/concern?  Some examples might be vomiting, diarrhea, lethargic, painful getting up and down, can’t go upstairs anymore, ears are bothering him, can’t chase the Frisbee as long as he used to, won’t eat his favorite food anymore and so on.  Short, simple, and to the point, this helps us with a place to start gathering more information.

Next, and this is especially true if you’re unsure of exactly what the problem may be, knowing your pet’s habits and how they’ve changed can be invaluable to us.  When did you first notice the problem? Has it gotten better/worse or stayed the same?  How much do they eat, drink, urinate and pass stools normally vs. now?  Are any of those increased or decreased?  Changed in character?  What is your pet’s activity levels now vs. normally?  If the presenting problem is pain, when do they seem most painful?  Are there certain activities that are more/less difficult?  Times of day they are more/less comfortable?  If they are vomiting or having diarrhea, what have they eaten over the last few days?  Anything they aren’t supposed to eat/drink? Have you been anywhere unusual?  What time of day does the vomiting/diarrhea happen?  When does it happen relative to eating, if they’re eating at all?  Have you noticed any subtle changes in your pet such as coat or breath changes, unintended weight changes, personality changes, or different sleeping habits?

One frustrating thing we veterinarians hear is, “Fido’s just not himself.”  That doesn’t tell us much, and people will sometimes feel like we’re interrogating them as we pepper them with questions trying to get a better handle on exactly what the problem may be. That doesn’t mean that we expect you as pet owners to know the ins and outs of every medical issue you might be facing and to show up with a diagnosis in hand (in fact, that’s a whole different frustration!), but since our pets can’t tell us what’s wrong, it’s up to us to put on our detective hats and figure it out.  The more specific information you can give us, the better we can be at finding the solution, and if we need to ask what seems like a ton of unrelated questions to better understand the problem, please be patient with us!  I promise we’re trying to help!

Last, if you’ve been to another vet and have any lab test results or other testing done, if you can, bring that along, too.  Some people are worried about asking for copies of test results or records to take for a second opinion, and that’s understandable.  Just let us know ahead of time where you’ve been, and we can usually get copies ourselves directly from the other veterinarian.  We’re all used to it, and we are happy to do it for you.  The most helpful thing here is to tell us BEFORE you come in so we have ample time to gather what we need. 

DLD: I like to use the internet to try and educate myself about potential health problems my dog may have; does this help or hurt the communication process?

Dr. Gibson: Ah, yes, the most dreaded words in many professions these days, I think: “So, doc, I’ve been doing some reading on the internet and…”  They strike fear in the hearts of many a veterinarian.

Seriously, though, the internet does have a ton of great information out there.  Places like your site and many others are doing a good job of helping to educate people with accurate, verified and useful information.  There are also tons of awful websites spreading rumors, unsupported opinions and just plain incorrect information. So, how does an inquisitive pet owner tell the difference?  I don’t have a great answer for that, but I do have a few websites that I trust to be reliable and accurate.  This is the electronic age, and we know it.  Most vets will have a list of places they recommend for reliable, accurate, and helpful information.  You should be able to ask your vet and get a handful of possible sources from which you can start your own research. If I were to list a few I would reccomend the following:

1. http://www.PetDocsOnCall.com - For full disclosure, I participate here, but I don't get paid - it's a forum site for asking veterinary questions.
2. http://www.veterinarypartner.com
3. http://www.healthypet.com - The website for the American Animal Hospital Association
4. http://www.petmd.com/health-library - Really comprehensive library of pet diseases and problems, the info is good but it's heavy on ads.

DLD: What should I do if I disagree with my vet?

Dr. Gibson: That’s another great question!  We veterinarians are still human beings, and we do have feelings, and much as I hate to admit it, sometimes we don’t handle our knowledge or expertise being questioned well. 

That said, good communication will always go a long ways.  If you think perhaps your veterinarian either didn’t clearly understand your issue or even that they may have missed it completely, before you get angry and go somewhere else, try having an open and frank talk with him/her about your concerns.  It’s uncomfortable for everyone, and sometimes it will go better than others, but we can’t try to do things differently or reassess our workup if we don’t know what the problem is. 

My own experience is that when someone is upset with me (yes, in 15 years it has happened once or twice!), it’s usually because either a: I didn’t fully understand their problem and the client was frustrated that I was, in their mind looking in the wrong place, either from lack of listening carefully on my part or from unclear communication on theirs, b: I didn’t fully explain what the diagnosis, treatment plan, risks, likely outcomes and reasonable expectations are and the client had unrealistic expectations because of it, or c: they are angry about a bill, probably because they were unprepared for it.  All of these situations can be resolved with good communication on my part, but also from the client.  If you have questions, don’t be shy, ask!  We can’t answer them if we don’t hear them!

I think it’s important to remember that most of us genuinely just want your pet to be healthy and happy, and we want you to be happy as well.  But, we aren’t mind readers and we don’t have crystal balls.  We don’t necessarily know or understand your values, financial situation or relationship with your pet, and this can often be a source of friction between pet owners/caretakers and veterinarians. If your vet either won’t or can’t take the time to listen to your concerns, and address them to your satisfaction, it may be time to find another vet.

Dr. Krista Gibson is the owner of Animal Medical Services in Scottsdale AZ. She is pictured above with her significant canine other Baloney. For more information about Dr. Gibson you can visit her website at http://amsscottsdale.com. Her Facebook page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Scottsdale-AZ/Animal-Medical-Services-Scottsdale/124795468856?ref=nf&v=wall - you can also find her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Scottsdale_Vet

Ultimately, both vets and owners have the best interest of the dog in mind. Better communication between the two means healthier, happier dogs. We invite you to share your comments and suggestions about effective communications between owners and vets.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Gavin, Annie, Tosha, Elbee

1 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 12:00 AM - Categories: Advocacy | Health | Veterinarian | Woof Wednesday

Upselling at the Vet's Office

As many of you know I had a stray show up at my door on Saturday afternoon in dire need of some food and attention. Elbee, as we are calling him for now, seems to be doing better. I took him to the vets office this morning and apart from some general concerns about his weight (he is 19lbs and probably should be around 30), some minor skin issues, and some parasites, he is in good shape all things considered.

As I stated before, we will hang on to Elbee for a while and get him back on his feet. He is a sweet boy and although I won’t rule out our keeping him, I wasn’t looking to add a fourth dog to the family. But my post today isn’t about Elbee specifically, but about the subject of upselling at the vet’s office.  

If you have ever shopped at all then you have been the target of upselling. When the drive through attendant at the fast food restaurant asks you if “you want an apple pie with that?” that’s upselling. When a waitress asks you if you’ve “saved room for dessert”, that’s upselling. In fact anytime someone suggests or reminds you about other products or services they offer, other than the ones you have specifically asked for, that’s upselling.

Now mind you I understand that businesses need to upsell and I regard it as a legitimate business practice, indeed, it is probably a necessity. However there are places and situations that beg for a bit of decorum, and where I think upselling is inappropriate.

When I showed up at the vet’s office today with Elbee in tow, It was very obvious why I was there. Elbee is extremely emaciated and is obviously a stray or abandoned dog. When I was ushered into the exam room the vet tech did ask why I was there and took what history I knew of Elbee. But before even seeing the vet and coming to a diagnosis of what problems Elbee might have, the vet tech was trying to get me to buy a full series of vaccinations and other services offered by the vet. Now as I’ve said above I recognize that the upsell is a legitimate practice, but at least take my order before asking me if I want an apple pie.

Sadly in my area, this is not an uncommon practice at the vet’s office. And although most aren’t quite as blatant and obnoxious as this was, most all of them could benefit by being a bit more delicate and tactful about the process.

So tell us what you think. How is upselling handled by your vet? Do you think that upselling is legitimate practice for vets to increase their revenue? What is your experience with this?

My Woof Wednesday guest this week will be Veterinarian Krista Gibson (Scottsdale_Vet on Twitter) of Animal Medical Services in Scottsdale Arizona. http://amsscottsdale.com. We will be discussing ways to better communication between owner and vet.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Elbee, Gavin, Annie, Tosha

8 comments - Posted by Kevin Myers at 2:51 PM - Categories: Adoption | Advocacy | Health | Rescue | Veterinarian | Woof Wednesday