That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Heather Thorne — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:10:04 GMT

Hi,

I love puppy parties as they do bond the client to the practice and the pups have a great time. But on the other hand it is time and effort, and you need people/pups to attend.

2sessions a week is quite intense unless you have the need for it? but once a week is a good starting point, plus the client might not have time and if they miss a session then they would be behind everyone else.

When I did puppy parties I would mix education with playtime as it is highly boring to listen to someone rambling on whilst trying to control a pup.

Intervet do a info folder/package on puppy parties so it is worth contacting them to see if they can send this out to you to give you more info.

Something else that may help is doing a questionnaire for pup owners to see if they are interested so you can see the demand.

Hope this helps :D

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Susan Jackson — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:46:04 GMT

I think it's great idea. I'm only used to doing puppy clinics, The puppies I saw started from 2nd vacc (possibly 1st vacc) and I saw them once a month for 6 months. I had a set education which started with worming and flea treatment which would be done at every visit (for accurate dosing). I would discuss having a microchip and as the sessions went on start to get them thinking about neutering.

There was a behaviourist that would run our puppy classes each month and they then may sign up with him to continue puppy training classes.

The great thing I liked about the clinics though is that I got to know the animals and the clients much better. They would come and ask me all sorts of things. My point being that they would ask me for advice, not their groomer or breeder and I felt that the puppies and kittens were really getting the best care.

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Sal the 1st — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:16:49 GMT

we dont run our puppy classes - they are run by the local dog training group who use our waiting room. Classes are comfortably busy every single week.I have attended a few and both puppies and owners seem to enjoy them very much. They charge each person a nominal fee (I think its a couple of pounds per session)

We have a Christmas party which goes down very well and last year some of the older 'puppies' that had moved onto their 'good citizen awards' joined in. Children are encouraged.

I used to run puppy parties at previous places I have worked and have to say the dog training group are a lot more popular than anything I have ever run - we benefit from this arrangement and so do the dog training group.

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

SmegSlayer — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 21:30:04 GMT

my old practice did puppy parties as a course with only 5 or 6 puppies depending on the pup's size- mixing sizes is good as it gives them a chance to interact with each other in a controlled environment. We usually only had 1 or 2 large eg rottie/gsd per group with the rest a mixture of smaller breeds.

We also played the sounds scary CD in the background during each session, gradually increasing the volume each session.

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Leigh Hinsley RVN NCert(BDev) MBVNA — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:54:21 GMT

See thats my fear! 30 minutes of people waiting for the following 15 minutes. So should I incorporate the two? My lovely ANA do a party focussing on behavior and training and the rest covered in frequent nurse appointments?

We do have a lit of puppies (much to my "rescue roots" dismay) so there is the market for it BUT whether they would attend such an intense education programme - the juries still out on that one.

Thank you for your feedback, much much appreciated! And lovely Emma, one pm coming your way!

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Helen Tottey — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:19:30 GMT

[quote user="Leigh Hinsley"]

2 sessions weekly for 3 weeks between 1 st vaccine and going outside totally 6 sessions
separate sessions for small/medium pups then large/extra-large pups
45 minutes for each session; 30 minutes of education, 15 minutes of play time/Q & A
sessions to cover preventative healthcare inc parasites, vaccination, neutering & dental care, insurance, basic training, safety & the law and nutrition
sessions to take place at 10am and/or 3pm
course to cost £25-£30 per pup
Free goodie bag at the completion of the course including advocate application, droncit tablet, kong toy voucher, finger brush & toothpaste sachet, and (hopefully) voucher for further puppy classes

What do you think?

[/quote]

Hi. Its great you are been asked to do this, you are right when you say owners need educating. I have been doing nurse consulting now since 1998 (aaahhh - i sound old!) and puppies are definatley the place to start.

Can i ask how many puppies in the size groups you mention that you see each week? Reason for asking is you may find you are setting yourself a very ambitious target, not only with getting the right amount of puppies but also with how much time these will take. I have never done a puppy party/group clinic that hasn;t take at least 1.5 hour of my time (prep, actual group time and then tidying/sorting).

Personally this is what I/our practice does.

a double appointment with the nurse at the same time as the vet for 1st vaccination. The nurse calls puppy in and vet comes in to do their health check bit then leaves the nurse to do everything else, worming, flea control, diet, socialising, insurance etc.
The nurse see's the puppy for 2nd vaccination as another double appointment to worm again, answer any other questions and advise on neutering, training classes etc.
another appointment 2 weeks later for worming/flea control and whatever is appropriate for that person/puppy.
Puppy parties are then run if we have a suitible number of similar sized and aged puppies purely for socialising.

I used to try to do all the "educating" at puppy parties but generally clients don;t listen as the puppies are more entertaining than anyone speaking about stuff!

Over the years i have found this bonds clients to me as the nurse and to the practice. Sales of food, parasite control and other products/services also increase and the vet gets to do more clinical appointments in the time they would normally be doing a 1st vaccination.

I hope this helps and sorry to mention in this post but i hope you have voted for someone in the VN Council elections!

Re: That age old question; puppy parties vs puppy clinics

Emma Purnell — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 17:48:24 GMT

Hi Leigh :)

I think I met you a week or so ago (wound stitching!), if not then don't worry!

I set up and did hand-outs for all our clinics - if you want to PM me your email address I will send you a copy to peek over and hope it gives you some ideas!

Be prepared for take up to be low to start with. When I did it the first few really knocked my confidence that so few people turned out, but once they get going numbers will come up. Good luck!