Long-term Bonds

How helping your customers source products that give owners peace of mind about their senior pets can build value.

For all of us who have pets as part of the family, the reality is that our cats and dogs have much shorter life spans than we do. Even though our cherished pets can never live long enough, the good news is that thanks to better preventive care, treatment, and nutrition, they’re living longer. One source found that the life expectancy of dogs has doubled over the past four decades, and house cats typically live twice as long as their outdoor counterparts.

With at least a third of the country’s dogs and cats aged 7 or older, there’s a good chance that senior pets make up a large part of most practices. Knowing the range of products, tests and treatments for aging pets is great preparation for discussions with your clinics about providing the best care for a significant portion of their customers.

Pet owners want to give their animals the best quality of life as long as possible, so veterinary teams should use wellness visits to discuss the preventive care that will provide optimal wellness as pets age so that when they reach senior status, clients will be well-informed on how best to keep their aging pets healthy.

Early detection key

The 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines recommend diagnostic lab work as part of every senior pet’s wellness exam. This includes annual tick and heartworm screenings for dogs, routine fecal testing, and a CBC, comprehensive chemistry panel and urinalysis every six to 12 months. Having an annual record of lab results from a pet when they are clinically healthy provides a baseline of individualized reference intervals for what is normal for that particular animal. Early detection of any abnormalities allows for earlier intervention and treatment to keep the pet clinically healthy for much longer.

I learned this lesson the hard way even though I’ve religiously taken my senior pets in for bloodwork every six months. When we detected a liver tumor in one of my dogs, I asked the vet if I should bring him in for testing more often. She replied, “No, it’ll just make you more worried.” I was worried, but I took her advice a bit too far and skipped his next six-month check. By the time I had diagnostics done again, his kidneys were starting to fail, and I’d lost the opportunity to start early treatment if we’d detected it sooner.

I’ve heard several pet owners question the need – not to mention the cost – of diagnostic lab work, particularly if their pet looks and acts healthy. Veterinary staff should take the time to educate their clients on what is being assessed and how it provides a detailed look at the pet’s internal health, helping them diagnose issues that may not be obvious during a physical exam or from the owner’s observations. Regular blood tests can help catch health issues early, improving outcomes and allowing for treatment before a condition becomes severe, as well as ensure a pet is healthy before surgery or treatment.

Just like many pet owners don’t realize a “dental” involves much more than cleaning teeth, most don’t understand what is included in a complete blood panel or senior wellness screening. Staff should explain that, typically, these tests measure around 50 important values that identify a number of issues that impact a pet’s well-being.

For example, while a “CBC” may sound like one test, it actually reports more than 20 properties about a patient’s red and white blood cells and platelets. Explaining how collectively those results can detect inflammatory disease, anemia, bleeding risk or other clinical conditions shows the value to a pet owner. Similarly, explaining how the chemistry profile assesses a variety of organ functions, metabolic processes and endocrine issues illustrates the importance of regular testing.

Many of your clinics may be sending their tests to an outside lab and telling their customers, “We’ll give you a call once we have the results,” which can seem like a very long wait for a pet owner. Having in-house testing equipment means that your practices can have results in minutes, rather than days – often while the pet is still in the exam room. This gives clinic staff the opportunity to discuss the findings immediately, rather than leaving messages or just emailing results. During the appointment, they can celebrate “normal” results and congratulate the owner’s compliance, or start a treatment plan immediately, if necessary. Discussing the benefits of purchasing in-house testing equipment with your practices can lead to better customer satisfaction and more revenue for you both.

Checking your clinic’s purchase history for the senior pet products they order gives you the chance to see if there are areas where you can make recommendations. Are they stocking supplements and medications for arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, incontinence, cognitive dysfunction, thyroid, liver, or kidney disease? What about dental care, weight management, and calming products? Do they offer laser treatments? Are they offering an online pharmacy with easy refill options for their senior pets with chronic conditions to increase compliance and revenue? What about home delivery with auto ship options for the specialty diets aging pets require?

The personal connection we forge with our pets means that many pet owners are willing to do whatever they can to improve their overall health and extend their lives. Veterinary staff who take an early, proactive approach to preventing, and then later effectively treating age-related issues in turn, build a strong bond with their customers and give their pets a longer, healthier life.

Dawn Singleton-Olson has more than 25 years of experience in the animal health industry, including distributor sales, manufacturing, practice management and as a zoo supervisor. She is a volunteer, fundraiser and board trustee for several humane organizations and the Omaha (Neb.) Police Mounted Patrol.

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