Business

What's your take on this doctor's take on "designer dogs"? Comment now online.

Q. I'm opening a veterinary practice with grooming services. The groomer wants to lease a room monthly, but I'm not sure how much to charge for rent. Do I charge base rent plus a percentage of her production?

It's probably hard to believe there's anything about your practice that irritates your clients that you don't already know about. But consider this recently discovered problem at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. It started with a survey that hospital administrators gave to patients when they were sent home from the hospital.

Quicksand fees will sink a practice.

Click here for the Department of Labor Fair Standards Act fact sheet on exempt positions.

Weight loss is tough for anyone-two-legged or four-legged. However, weight loss can not only add years to a pet's life, it can also make those years more enjoyable. Helping your clients trim a few pounds off of their cuddly companions may be easier than you think. They just need to understand the process, pay attention to detail, and call on your assistance and that of your healthcare team.

Q. We employ a bookkeeper, a head technician, and an inventory manager who all share some of the management duties at my practice. I perform about four days' worth of management tasks a month. My partner and I are looking at a tiered approach to compensation-management will be compensated at 3 percent to 4 percent of gross. What goes into this figure?

Here are three ways we recognize our team members' efforts at Michigan Veterinary Specialists

If you practice with partners, your buy-sell agreement is an important way to develop a plan to purchase an owner's interest under a variety of circumstances and to protect your own interest in those same circumstances-one of which is the death of a partner.

Finally, during the second round, the leg popped out. I started celebrating like I'd just won a gold medal.

Whether you are about to graduate and join a practice as a new associate or if you are still in school, it is important to understand the new findings concerning the role emotions play in building healthy, successful client relationships.

Hurricanes. Embezzlers. Lawsuits. If you put the proper safeguards in place, you can stay out of trouble.

Things to think about when dealing with contract and health certificates.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Educational indebtedness for 2007 veterinary medical graduates increased nearly 100 percent since 1997, while starting salaries rose 46.5 percent during the same 10-year period.

February is National Dental Health Month, putting the annual spotlight on dental care. But Dr. Scott Linick, FAVD, owner of Plainfield Animal Hospital in South Plainfield, N.J., knows the importance of dental care, and not just during Dental Health Month. He uses two methods for encouraging clients to take better care of their pets' teeth year round.

New study finds that your attitude for the day is determined largely by what happens before you get to work.

You're the heart of your hospital. Making changes to get fit, eat healthy, and work smart will take courage and resolve, but we know you've got it in you.

Before, Drs. Scott McLelland and Charles Sleeth practiced in an 1,800-square-foot facility with a thriving boarding service, but they needed a new space. The building couldn't accommodate their growing practice-and the boarding facility was located across the parking lot with its own receptionist, separate from the clinic.

Technician and veterinarian are fastest-growing top 10 jobs.

The Internal Revenue Service is trying hard to convince everyone to file income-tax returns electronically.

This hospital in Panama City Beach, Fla., finds one home for all its services.

This educational piece arms your entire practice team to talk to clients about heartworm disease.

This team education and client communication piece arms your practice team to talk to clients about anaplasmosis.

Fight misinformation and reward curiosity with a handout that teaches clients to sort fact from fiction on the Web.

Fight misinformation and reward curiosity with a handout that teaches clients to sort fact from fiction on the Web.

Form asking employees to acknowledge that they understand the hospital manual and their at-will status

Employee manual wording for introductory employment periods and discplinary procedures

Use this PDF of paper pies to track ideas that team members submit to improve efficiency, save money, or boost service.

I've had quite a few mishaps with my cell phone. I wasn't worried this last time, though, because I'd opted for the "backup assistant" service provided by my wireless carrier. At least my contact list would be safe-so I thought.

You've decided to expand the horizons of your practice, accept the mantle of the primary care veterinarian, and become part of a network of colleagues-responding to the health care needs of pets with the best care possible.