The Savvy VetTech

If you work as a vet tech in small animal general practice, you will become familiar with the treatment of canine and feline diabetes. While there are several interspecies differences in the management of diabetes, there’s also a key similarity between dogs and cats: the need for insulin.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a month for our entire country to focus on mental health and suicide prevention. While suicide is always a hot topic within the veterinary profession, September is a good time for all of us to take a moment and focus on this issue.

While a radiograph can be taken with a pet in nearly any position, depending on the veterinarian’s goals and the specific area to be imaged, there are certain views that are utilized more often than others.

As a vet tech student, it’s important to be familiar with these commonly-ordered images, so that you are prepared to assist on externships or at your first job.

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are chronic retroviral infections with significant impacts on feline health. Studies suggest that each of these conditions has a prevalence of approximately 2-4% of North American cats.^1-2

When veterinarians perform radiographs to evaluate the hips of potential breeding dogs, there are two methods they may use: PennHip radiographs and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) hip radiographs. While these two methods of hip evaluation have similar goals, there are a number of differences between the two techniques. 

If you find yourself working in a small animal general practice as a new vet tech, you will need to be familiar with vaccine reactions. Fortunately, serious reactions are relatively uncommon. Client questions about vaccine reactions, however, arise on a regular basis! 

An understanding of vaccine reactions will help you react quickly when these reactions do occur and help you provide valuable information to your clients.

As a vet tech student, you probably understand the importance of puppy socialization. Puppies that are exposed to a variety of people, animals, and experiences early in their lives are much more likely to remain receptive to these things as they age.

Puppies that do not receive proper socialization may become fearful and even demonstrate fear-aggressive behavior.

When you imagine your first job as a vet tech, you probably envision that you will be spending much of your time providing quality care for your patients. While that is true, to an extent, you will also spend much of your time communicating with the owners of those patients!

When we discuss veterinary behavior, the conversation is often centered on dogs and cats. Realistically, canine and feline behavior issues will comprise the majority of cases you will encounter in small animal practice. Even exotic animal patients can have behavioral issues, however, and it’s important to be prepared for those cases!

Veterinary behavior is an interesting field, as well as an important one. Behavioral issues are the number one reason that dogs are relinquished to animal shelters and the second most common that cats are relinquished to shelters.¹

Once these animals enter shelters, they may be adopted and re-homed... but pets with serious behavior problems face an increased risk of euthanasia. Behavioral interventions not only improve the quality of life for pets and their owners, but can also be a life-saving treatment.

If you’re a vet tech who is passionate about animal nutrition, there are a number of different training opportunities you can pursue to gain more knowledge in this field. From continuing education to certification to specialization, there are options to suit every interest level.

While most pets do well on any high-quality, over-the-counter commercial diet that is appropriate for their lifestage, some pets will benefit from a prescription diet. Prescription diets are specially formulated to mitigate a specific medical condition. These diets should be fed only under the supervision of a veterinarian; their formulation may not be appropriate for all pets.

For many clients, visiting the veterinarian is just another chore to check off their to-do list. It’s not good and it’s not bad; it’s just something that needs to be done.

But what if it doesn’t have to be that way? Clients who have a positive experience are more likely to keep returning to your clinic, giving you and your coworkers more opportunities to educate that client and provide optimal care for their pet.

As you work in veterinary practices, day in and day out, you may begin to notice some trends. There are certain types of clients that seem to crop up on a regular basis… and those clients can either make or break your day!

Understanding common clients that you may see in practice, and developing strategies to work with these clients, can go a long way towards helping your career off to a successful start.

Imagine this scenario: You’re working as a vet tech at your first job, just a few months after graduation. One morning, a client rushes into the clinic in a panic, on the verge of tears. 

“Help, I think Duke had a stroke! He seemed fine when I left to take the kids to school, but when I came home he was lying on the ground. He can’t even stand up without falling over! Can someone please help me bring him in?!”

You and your coworker get Duke, a 10 yo MN Labrador Retriever, from the car and carry him inside to an exam room. The client tells you that Duke had been acting completely normal.