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Case Study: Puppy Parties Bond Patients to Practice
Dogs can't wait to get through the front door of Chanhassen Veterinary Clinic in Chanhassen, Minn. For 12 years, the clinic has been throwing free puppy parties in its reception area. And month after month the team finds that when you correct unwanted puppy behavior with a reward-based approach, you build long-lasting family bonds, and in the process, pets' bonds with the practice and with other pets. “Puppies literally come running into the clinic looking for their party pals,” says Dr. Deanne McCabe, one of three practice owners.
CASE STUDY: PUPPY PARTIES BOND PATIENTS TO PRACTICE
Dogs cant wait to get through the front door of Chanhassen Veterinary Clinic in Chanhassen, Minn. For 12 years, the clinic has been throwing free puppy parties in its reception area. And month after month the team finds that when you correct unwanted puppy behavior with a reward-based approach, you build long-lasting family bonds, and in the process, pets bonds with the practice and with other pets. Puppies literally come running into the clinic looking for their party pals, says Dr. Deanne McCabe, one of three practice owners.
Why do puppies and puppy parents love the hour-long parties? They offer an opportunity to visit the practice when no pain is involved, Dr. McCabe says. While a technician runs the event, trainers from Unleashed Behavior and Training Services volunteer to teach clients basic obedience techniques in an intimate setting of no more than eight puppies.
After a question-and-answer session, clients learn the importance of early socialization through a game of pass the puppy. The pups become more receptive to human handling as they are picked up, passed around, and rolled over. Clients can also enroll puppies in obedience classes, which the trainers offer at the practice one night a week.
The reception staff attends the parties to take each puppys picture with the practices digital camera. Clients take home a printed picture, a puppy bandana, and a goody bag full of wellness handouts, dental chews, and shampoo samples.
The practice gets the product samples for free, and each picture costs the clinic about $1 to print. A yard of fabric, which makes 12 bandanas, runs about $3. Two technicians use time between appointments to send out invitations, and team members spend a half hour setting up. Thats not much investment for a service that bonds patients to their owners, each other, and the practice for a lifetime, Dr. McCabe says.
