Encouraging active lifestyles for pets is an important part of preventive care, and pet holidays like National Walk Your Dog Week are a perfect opportunity to get pet owners involved. Plus, it’s just plain fun—for your team, your clients, and their pets!
What can you do at your veterinary clinic?
Host a costume parade
Who doesn’t love seeing pets in cute, funny costumes? Whether it’s for Halloween or not, hosting a costume parade is a great and creative way to get pets active. The idea here is to incorporate a walk around the neighborhood to show off the outfits, and then offer a prize for the best one.
Organize events at your practice
Speaking of prizes, offering free events for clients at your practice can get pets active and build relationships with clients. Check with local businesses to see who may be willing to donate food or beverages, or even volunteer their time to help. Offering an outdoor BBQ, free games, and small prizes is a good incentive to get pets out and about.
Organize therapy pet visits
Do you treat any therapy pets at your practice, or know any calm, reliable patients who’d make a great fit? Organizing a group therapy visit to a hospital, nursing home, or university can be a great stress-buster and joy-bringer for many—and it’s good exercise for pets, too.
How do you spread the word?
If you’re planning an event, start by advertising at your practice with posters. If you work with a graphic designer, ask them about it; if not, you can use tools like these for professional, eye-catching graphics. Don’t forget to use word-of-mouth, too.
You can also craft a fun email invitation to send to your practice’s subscriber list, and your veterinary social media is the perfect place to remind clients. Plus, with pet owner permission, you can even post images of the event online.
Excited to promote your practice’s next event? WebDVM Social—part of the LifeLearn ECOsystem—can help you plan, schedule and share important details with pet owners!
What can pet owners do at home?
You can also use your veterinary social media to share fun ideas for clients to keep their pets active and healthy at home. Whether you’d rather write ideas into a blog post, or share a video on social media, here are a few prompts that you can use to get started.
Encourage your pet owners to:
Change up dog walking routes
Making even the smallest changes can turn mundane walks into exciting exploration opportunities. Finding a walking buddy can also help spice up your routine—providing you a play date for your dog, and a walk-and-talk partner for you.
Take on a new DIY pet project
The fun doesn’t stop at walks! DIY pet projects are a cost-effective, hands-on way to infuse some fun activity into your pet’s life. You can build an obstacle course for dogs, or an agility course for cats—even hay-filled tunnels for rabbits to enjoy!
Add some adventure to your routine
If you’re bored of the same old walk, take your dog hiking! Go to the beach, and have a nice swim with your pet, or enjoy a sandy jaunt on the shore. Exercise doesn’t have to mean dog parks and around-the-block walks!
Tip: Encourage clients to post photos of their adventures online, and tag your clinic to be featured on your page—this is a great engagement strategy for your veterinary social media.
While these are all great ideas, they’re only effective if communicated well to pet owners. Preventive care is a team effort, and encouraging fun activities is a great way to make it stick.
Ready to have some fun at your veterinary practice? See how the LifeLearn ECOsystem can help you get the word out to pet owners!
