Veterinary team - Firstline

These Firstline Challenge activities will help you learn to connect with clients.

• Get ideas about how to wow clients on a tight budget with this article.

• Broaching a pet's weight problem can be uncomfortable. Learn how to effectively talk to clients about overweight pets by watching this video.

Building bonds with pets and their owners

Pearls of Practice

Share your tried-and-true tips

FIRSTLINE

Pet Picassos Tip rules for Firstline

FIRSTLINE

Puppy and kitten kits grow up

FIRSTLINE

Time-off request form

FIRSTLINE

Technicians, spread the word about your skills

FIRSTLINE

Our Current Issue

Front Desk

Bracing for the big one
By: Kerry Hillard Johnson
The final chapter of the Firstline Challenge prepares you to build strong bonds with clients by providing excellent service and education.

Ask the Experts

Know-it-all clients
How to address overconfident pet owners.

Talking payment under pressure
What to do when pet owners are upset over emergency bills.

Mentor by the book
By: Amy Butzier, BS, MEd, CVT
Guidelines for training student technicians during an externship.

Pearls of Practice

Puppy and kitten kits grow up
Create adult pet kits to educate clients and increase client compliance.

Faithful follow-ups bond pet owners
Learn how follow-up calls help strengthen the client-clinic bond.

Finders, keepers. Losers, learners.
Have clients laughing—and learning—in the waiting room with this creative educational technique.

Patient care

Practical ideas for managing common urologic problems
By: Kenneth R. Harkin, DVM, DACVIM
These tips—two for dogs and one for cats—are easy to implement and will improve patient care.

Talking to clients about feline elimination problems
By: Kenneth R. Harkin, DVM, DACVIM
Cats that begin urinating outside of the litter box can be a challenge. Here's how to help pet owners deal.

Industry issues

Do you support declaw bans?
By: Leslie Boudreau, RVT, Jennifer Conrad, DVM
Two team members sound off about the recent California declaw bans.

Client Education

5 top client questions answered
By: Michelle Hainer
The barrage of queries can be head spinning. Keep your responses straight by following this advice.

Our Previous Issue

Client Relations

Show respect for patients in the words you use
By: Brendan Howard
Would you talk about your grandma that way?

Top gifts for clients and patients
By: Brenda Tassava, CVPM
An attentive voice, a giving hand, and a dignified ear are on every client and patient's wishlist this year.

Front Desk

I screwed up so you won't
By: Kerry Hillard Johnson
How to continue to grow in your career while humbly remembering lessons learned.

Ask the Experts

The bonus-round question
Are bonuses a right or a privilege?

Give clients a little credit
Wha are the major pros and cons of a third-party payment plan?

Dirty doctor creates a mess for the practice
How to address personal hygeine and practice cleanliness.

Trash, treasure, or recycle X-rays
Trash, treasure, or recycle?

'Tis the season to ask for supplies
How can a practice politely request donated supplies—and actually get clients to follow through?

my view

The call of the client
By: Rachael Hume
Giving clients quotes over the phone can be challenging—but that's what makes it worthwhile.

Pearls of Practice

Mangled mats get brand-new life
The Davis Animal Hospital in Naples, Fla., uses rubber mats in every large cage to provide pets with padding and stability.

Putting the freeze on parasites
Many clients don't realize flea, tick, and heartworm prevention continues to be necessary even when the temperature dips. Here are some ideas on how to jump-start an educational conversation.

Perfectly prepped antibiotic
For reconstituting medications such as amoxicillin drops or amoxicillin drops with clavulanic acid, the practice team at Occidental Veterinary Hospital in Occidental, Calif., uses an 8-oz dispensing bottle with a re-autoclaved 12-ml syringe.

Handing out handmade hugs
When a team member is out sick or experiences a difficult time, the staff at the Waynesville Veterinary Hospital shows it cares by sending hugs—of the personalized paper variety.

Angel pins help pets and people
Team members at the Stanglein Veterinary Clinic in Northampton, Pa., attach angel pins to critical patients' kennels, along with a note explaining the gift.

Gift cards make re-draws a treat
When results from an outside lab or in-clinic equipment show errors with blood samples, clients must bring their pets back in for a re-draw.

Professional Growth

How to cope when disrespect hurts
By: Brendan Howard
Three ways to cope with disrespect on the job at a veterinary hospital.

8 ways to earn the respect you deserve
By: Brendan Howard
Try this approach to reaching big-dog respect levels. It can help you love your veterinary hospital job—and the people who come with it—again.

How to manage disrespect right out the door
By: Brendan Howard
Managers: Work with team members to see how their behavior and words hurt others

By the Numbers

5 reasons to fail today
The coming new year offers the perfect time to go out on a limb—even if you fall flat. Here are five phenomenal ways your setbacks help you climb to the top.

Skill Builder

Why do dogs and cats eat grass?
By: Benjamin L. Hart, DVM, PhD, DACVB
Dogs and cats are often observed eating grass and other plants of no apparent value.