Skip to main content

Blog Archives

The Business of Fear Free: How to Positively Impact Profitability & Practice Value

A Fear Free approach to veterinary care is better for our patients, but what about our practices?

This presentation from Michael Hargrove, DVM, MBA, will demonstrate how becoming a Fear Free Certified Practice has business benefits that extend well beyond improved patient care. Every stakeholder in the practice benefits from Fear Free: the patients, the clients, the staff, and the practice owner.

Dr. Hargrove will discuss improved client experience, the development of a clearer brand image for the practice, and increased loyalty from clients, as well as how the change in practice culture improves staff satisfaction, increases employee retention, decreases workplace injury, and boosts employee recruiting. As a certified business appraiser, he also discusses how adopting a Fear Free practice culture can translate to an improved practice value when it comes time to sell.

Dr. Michael Hargrove is the owner of a 7-doctor small animal practice in Duluth, Minnesota. His practice has been AAHA-certified for 41 years and in 2018 became the first Fear Free Certified Practice in Minnesota. Dr. Hargrove is a certified Fear Free Professional and is also Certified in Low Stress Handling and a member of the Fear Free Advisory Group.

Dr. Hargrove also works with Summit Veterinary Advisors as a veterinary management consultant. He has an MBA and is a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) who works primarily with veterinarians who are buying/selling veterinary practices or are looking for more information on how to improve the financial health of their practice. Dr. Hargrove is married with one son and three stepsons as well as three cats and a stepdog.

Brought to you by Ceva.

Location! Location! Location! How to Prevent & Alleviate FAS Through Stress-Mapping Your Practice

Fear Free proudly presents animal welfare and behavior expert Jennifer Barg, MS, ACAAB, CDBC, for a Fear Free Certified Practice exclusive webinar: Location! Location! Location! How to Prevent and Alleviate FAS through Stress-Mapping Your Practice.

Ask any realtor what the three most important things to think about when buying a home are and they’ll tell you location, location, location. Where a pet resides while in your care can have a significant impact on his or her fear, anxiety, and stress (FAS). Identifying “hot” and “cool” areas of your practice and knowing which pets to put where will have a positive impact on them and your team. This webinar will help you learn how to make the most of your real estate.

Training as Enrichment: Your Questions Answered

You asked, and we will answer! Fear Free Head Trainer Mikkel Becker and Education Manager Lori Chamberland will discuss some of the most common questions we’ve received from previous Fear Free training webinars. We’ll talk about leash reactivity/pulling on leash, teaching dogs and cats to live in harmony, counter surfing, and more! We will leave time at the end for you to ask questions in real time, as well. Join us – your dog or cat will thank you!

Interviewing Your Interviewer & Exam Room Secrets Revealed

Knowing how to evaluate your interview experience will help you make a more informed decision about the opportunities being presented to you. Interviewing is a two-way street. The interviewee should be assessing the interviewers just as much, if not more. During this webinar, Paul Diaz, founder of Hire Power Consulting, will provide you information you can use to prepare yourself for an interview and to help you evaluate the employer’s culture.

Dr. Marty Becker, founder of Fear Free and dubbed “America’s veterinarian” by Dr. Oz, will also be joining Paul to discuss how to keep pets happy and calm and clients happy, engaged, and trusting, with an end result of the pet getting the care he/she deserves, the owner feeling like a VIP, and you, the vet, getting to practice great medicine. You’ll learn exam room secrets such as what to do when you first enter the room, what NOT to do with pets as you first greet them, how to express empathy, and more.

A Fear Free Look at Canine Noise Aversion and Feline House Soiling

Join Amy Learn, VMD, and Valarie V. Tynes, DVM, DACVB, DACAW, as they review two behavior problems that may be seen frequently this time of year: canine noise aversions and feline house soiling.

Canine Noise Aversions

Common canine noise aversions including storm and fireworks phobias, their presenting signs, possible contributing causes, diagnosis, and suggestions for management will all be covered.

Feline House Soiling

Both urine marking and inappropriate elimination and the diagnostic criteria for differentiating the two forms of feline house soiling, as well as their different causes, management, and treatment, will be included.

Brought to you by Ceva.

Training as Enrichment: Basic Skills

Reward-based training improves the lives of dogs and their human families. You might not be able to attend group class right now, but you can “home school” your dog during this time and improve their behavior by fitting some simple training exercises into your everyday interactions with your dog. Fear Free Head Trainer Mikkel Becker will give you the basics and answer some questions, as well!

|

Healthy Practice, Healthy People

Studies show that workplaces with fully engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, can change and adapt more quickly, and have lower attrition rates. A healthy culture is good for business and enhances employee satisfaction and morale. Veterinary professionals play essential leadership roles in the intentional development of a culture that determines the success of the practice.

Presented by Laurie Fonken, Ph.D., LPC, this webinar will help you:

  • Define the terms “culture” and “organizational culture”
  • Identify parts of your culture that are by default and by design
  • Know the difference between implicit and explicit elements of culture
  • Leave with one idea to take back to your practice

Fear Free Certified Practices & TeleTails

Fear Free has partnered with TeleTails, a digital vet care platform, to provide Fear Free Certified Practices with an exclusive offer!

Please join Dr. Hilary Jones and Clay Bartlett to learn more about all TeleTails has to offer: simple and secure live video, messaging, and payment capabilities for pet owners to engage with their veterinarians digitally.

Already a TeleTail’s user, Dr. Michele Forbes, owner of Fear Free Certified Practice Compassionate Care Animal Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, will share her best practices and discuss case examples.

Now You’re Here, Now You’re Not: Preparing Your Pet for Yet Another Change

First our pets had to get used to their humans being around more than usual as people sheltered in place. For many pets, this was a positive change, but even positive changes can be stressful. They’ll face upheaval again when pandemic precautions relax and people go back to their normal routines. In this webinar, Valarie V. Tynes, DVM, DACVB, DACAW, will help you determine which patients may be at an elevated risk of increased anxiety and stress due to changes in routine, and offer practical, straightforward tips that you can share with your clients for preparing these pets for a return to “normal.”

Brought to you by Ceva.

|

Cultivating Healthy Resilience

Presented by Laurie Fonken, Ph.D., LPC, this webinar will define Compassion Fatigue and Moral Distress and acknowledge the impact they have on the professional and personal wellbeing of practitioners. We will then look at some key elements necessary to develop a healthy level of resilience, self-compassion, and self-care.