5 Summer Pet Owner Education Topic Ideas for Vet Practices

It can be difficult to keep your veterinary practice website and blog looking sharp. It’s hard enough finding time to write regular blogs when you’re running a busy practice, but possibly even harder is the stressful matter of deciding what to write about. As warmer weather approaches, you probably want to write a summer pet owner education article. That’s what everyone else seems to be doing, right? But what can you write that’s a bit different to the usual boring subjects that are repeated across every veterinary practice website across the country?

Here are some fresh ideas for summer pet blog content that can set you apart from the competition and keep your vet practice blog looking smart. (If I’ve put you off writing a blog for your vet practice, scroll down to see why they’re so great!)

1. Heatstroke (A True Story)

It wouldn’t be a vet practice summer blog article without a warning about heatstroke, but how can you differentiate your practice from everyone else’s? Try writing about heatstroke from a new angle – a true story from one of your patients (just get their owner’s permission first!) works great. Your clients are sure to listen up if they realise heatstroke isn’t something that happens in another country or even another town. Another option would be to write a heatstroke article about a different pet species, focussing on rabbits or horses instead of dogs, but making sure to include some aspects to generalise it to all species.

2. XX Fun Summer Activities in YY You Can Do with your Dog

Probably more relevant if you run a veterinary clinic that sees dogs or horses, you could list great summer pet activities that are within travelling distance of your practice. This is a great idea, as this sort of blog content may be found by non-clients – but since they’re in your area, they might decide you’re the kind of practice they like! Try to think outside of the box and include everything from village dog shows that are part of a larger festival through to county-wide events. If your practice is going to be at any of them, don’t forget to encourage clients to pop over and say hi, or give a code word from the blog for a prize!

3. DIY Frozen Treat Recipes our Vets Love

This is a great opportunity to draw people away from the lure of the internet and instead show them that your staff are knowledgeable. You can discuss why you aren’t recommending certain things you’ve seen online, and what you suggest instead. You can link this to your heatstroke blog above, too!

4. Summer Grooming and Hygeine – What’s Changed?

This blog reminds owners that you’re pet experts, and that includes matters related to grooming. You might want to cover whether and when a cat or dog should get a summer clip to keep cool, how to look after your dog’s coat after they’ve been for a swim, and what to do about those smelly, yeasty allergy coats. Oh, and don’t forget to cover shedding – those hairy dogs need a lot of care as the weather warms up!

5. Summer Holidays with your Pet – What you Need to Know

A lot of people want to take their pets on holiday, so you could cover the pros and cons of taking them, local and international pet travel laws, necessary vaccinations and parasite prevention, and other options if you don’t take them with you. Don’t forget to include information about different forms of transport and how to tell if a pet is anxious or travel sick.

Want more summer pet owner education blog ideas?

If that list has whet your appetite, and now you want to write more summer pet blogs, how about these:

• Barbeque dangers
• Toxic flowers in the garden
• Summer parasite prevention
• Summer pet photography tips
• Sunburn advice
• Beach, river, and pool safety
• Water intoxication
• Exercising in the heat

Why a veterinary practice needs a blog

If I’ve put you off by saying how much hard work needs to go into a good blog, don’t give up. Blogs are a fantastic way to educate pet owners without them needing to come into the consult room. They provide Google with plenty of keywords to help them categorise you and show your website to searchers – in fact, websites with regularly updated content tend to rank higher than those that are static. Because you’re giving away your valuable knowledge for free, blogs can help a client feel like they’re getting great value from your services. There are so many benefits of a vet practice blog we could go on and on, but we won’t!

Conclusion

Writing a vet practice blog is difficult, but worth it. Summer pet owner education posts don’t have to be dreary and dull – try some of our excellent ideas, or talk to us for more help with your blog!

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