Touchy subjects with clients

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Ems — Wed, 18 May 2016 09:34:13 GMT

Ah Sal, that's a really good approach! Being overweight myself I always get a bit nervous making comments about pets and there weight as owners may use it as ammunition against me!

The little pug was only 5y6m :( and I totally agree about the breeding thing, especially as this pug appeared "normal" in consult

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Sal the 1st — Wed, 18 May 2016 09:03:42 GMT

being overweight myself I used to get away with quite a lot in the weight clinics - ie 'yep you are a bit like me sweetheart - your ribs have gone into hiding' (said to the pet so owner could definitely hear) and that usually got at least a smile if not a laugh - but backed that up with 'the difference is I'm fat because of what I feed myself they are fat because of what YOU are feeding them' ( said directly to the owner) I used to get good results.

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Sal the 1st — Wed, 18 May 2016 08:48:24 GMT

and if that pug makes it for much longer I suppose it will be prime breeding stock because that appears to be the 'in thing' these days. It makes me very very sad what is being done to animals to supply a demand for the latest top ten breeds

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Selena Carnell — Tue, 17 May 2016 21:20:25 GMT

[quote user="Ems"]

These are the radiographs from a poorly little pug that came to see us :-(

[/quote] *clucking bell!* (as Blackadder would say) poor thing, how old was it. doesn't look like a great prognosis! :(

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Ems — Tue, 17 May 2016 19:50:11 GMT

These are the radiographs from a poorly little pug that came to see us :-(

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Ems — Tue, 17 May 2016 19:49:23 GMT

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Selena Carnell — Tue, 17 May 2016 18:36:44 GMT

I'm worried about these 'designer dog' crosses and how long before we see badly matted dogs, some of the coat crosses gong to be interesting. will caesars increase due to more obscure crosses, seems to be the more unique the cross the higher the puppy value is. No-one is seeing the potential health issues in the future. Beginning to be rare to see a pure breed lately.

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Ems — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:59:33 GMT

For me, it's the fear of the client complaining about me being rude (especially now we have social media to contend with!) when I'm trying to be realistic and honest about their pets health!

But from what I can see in some of these above comments, I think some clients might actually appreciate the fact you're completely honest and not afraid to speak your mind! At the end of the day, they're coming to you for advice, I suppose every client is different too...

I have been very honest with clients in the past, both in person and on the phone but there still seems to be this fear factor and I feel this sometimes this puts our pets wellbeing at risk. I think I'm slowly getting better at this with time.

I think even honesty within the practice can be frowned upon, for instance at one clinic I worked at, they were trying to force us to start doing puppy parties to boost our revenue/foot fall. The other nurses were concerned that our lack in behaviour training may make for issues in these puppies future but refused to tell our practice manager!

In the end I had to tell them myself that we were refusing to do it and that I wanted a qualified behaviourist to do it or pay to put me through training!

But yes, Arlo, I think maybe some advice sheet would be useful - not sure what everyone else thinks?

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 17 May 2016 08:48:45 GMT

[quote user="SmegSlayer"]If your pet is fat I'm going to say it's fat. i once had a 40+kg collie that was struggling to get up and the owners just weren't hearing me so i put a mug of water on it's back and it walked around the room with the mug perfectly balanced, and said they didn't have a dog anymore but they had made a furry coffee table.[/quote]

Laughed out loud. That's got my day off to a good start!

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]I fully expected to get a carpeting from the boss for my comment but it never happened and I was upfront and told them exactly what I had said. [/quote]

Is this probably the biggest barrier to nurses speaking their minds to a client? The worry about getting a carpeting, or worse? Same for employee vets.

And perhaps one of the barriers to boss vets speaking their minds too (ie fear of upsetting fee paying client).

. How about a series of VetNurse / VetSurgeon pro forma information sheets / letters that can be given to clients who make basic animal husbandry mistakes. Written in a humourous way but conveying a serious message - SmegSlayer I think 'furry coffee table' is a great example of using humour to avoid a combative situation, but nevertheless making a point very powerfully.

Advantage of having these things as a vetnurse / vetsurgeon downloadable info sheets:

a) a common approach that can be agreed by everyone in the practice (so remove risk of carpetting!)

b) as a VS/VN info sheet, it's semi 'independent' - ie this is a message from the veterinary community, not your practice specifically (thereby making it slightly less combative).

If anyone thinks there is some mileage in this idea, how about you suggest which is the most commonly seen mistake being made by owners. Shall we kick off with breeds that need caesars, which the owner should never have bred from in the first place? Or Brachcephalic breeds? Perhaps the latter would be an easier one for me to write about.

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Sam.23 — Mon, 16 May 2016 22:22:25 GMT

We dont offer an advice service as such but I have found myself discussing breeds with clients wanting a new pet. I find if they've sought advice before even looking at a specific breed they're more likely to follow it. However the clients who are of the mind set that breeders know all, vets are out to rip them off and their puppy will never ever get sick because they paid a grand for it are a bit more challenging. Brutal honesty is sometimes the best way to get through to them.

RE: Touchy subjects with clients

Sal the 1st — Mon, 16 May 2016 21:50:30 GMT

I did once have a breeder with a hugely pregnant bitch express concern that the puppies may be too big for the bitch to give birth naturally (bitch had had surgical intervention with the previous two litters) not naming the breed but it is one that often requires a caesar - I am afraid my muttered comment of 'ideally the best time to have been worried would have been before you decided to mate her again? - but as you have mated her we just have to deal with it and hope she doesn't come to any harm' I fully expected to get a carpeting from the boss for my comment but it never happened and I was upfront and told them exactly what I had said.

The breeder never stopped using us because basically we were the cheapest in the area for ooh caesars and we were still prepared to see her - she had already been fired by a couple of the neighbouring practices.

It would have to be an absolutely exceptional case that I would make any such comment normally but this client had really upset me with all this last minute concern about a situation they were totally responsible for. I really hope she did think very carefully about mating this bitch in the future.

RE: Touchy subject's with clients

SmegSlayer — Mon, 16 May 2016 17:22:36 GMT

I do have a reputation for saying things as they are with all the cushioning of a brick to the face at times...a collegue called me the Dr House of vet nurses.

If your pet is fat I'm going to say it's fat. i once had a 40+kg collie that was struggling to get up and the owners just weren't hearing me so i put a mug of water on it's back and it walked around the room with the mug perfectly balanced, and said they didn't have a dog anymore but they had made a furry coffee table.

A breeder of cockers once called the tails on the hours old pups we had caesarian delivered as disgusting worms and picked up my scissors and made as if to cut the tails off. I looked her straight in the eyes and said that they wouldn't have been born with them if they didn't have a purpose. Breeder put down my scissors and didn't say another word until the vet came back into the room.