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Make the call and Just ASK

October 14, 2025 by Kirk Augustine Source: Veterinary Practice News, VetWatch

Commentary The call from a local but unrecognized number seemed random. Still, I answered it. It was from my dog’s veterinary clinic. Sharing her name and the clinic’s, the vet tech was calling to check on my dog, noting I hadn’t responded to two wellness visit emails. Yes, I remembered one of the emails but did not act on it at the moment, nor did I act on one text message … [Read more...]

July VetWatch metrics

August 26, 2025 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Commentary The July VetWatch® commentary indicates practices are doing a good job of managing visit revenue when presented with pets. It is no surprise that pet owners express concerns about rising veterinary services costs and pet food prices, especially when higher spending on essentials, affordability of healthcare and overall consumer prices keep rising (2.7 percent in … [Read more...]

Simplicity equals success for parasiticide compliance

May 20, 2025 by Kirk Augustine Source: Veterinary Advantage, Vetsource, VetWatch

Recent metrics from Vetsource show year-over-year parasiticide purchases remain in the negative <Link>. The April 2025 VetWatch® commentary echoed the decline <Link>. Across the industry, client adherence to preventatives remains a primary concern. Jamie Lyn asked three veterinarians to identify the practical insights and tactics some practices use to … [Read more...]

Vet Watch Insight Report. 8.5 percent YTD practice revenue growth, other improvements

February 28, 2023 by Kirk Augustine Source: Animalytix, VetWatch

Commentary Growth in core vaccines, kennel cough vaccine and surgery at this point in the new year is good news. While invoices, patient and client numbers are still negative, these results are much improved over what was seen mid-November <Link>. Prevention medicine requires proactive communication.” Consider sharing this market information as part of employee … [Read more...]

VetWatch shows more dollars YOY, fewer pets, fewer invoices

January 10, 2023 by Kirk Augustine Source: Animalytix, VetWatch

VetWatch year end report for the ~3,000 reporting practices shows: For the month ending December 31, 2022, aggregate YTD practice revenues are at + 4.5 percent net growth versus YTD 2021 Period performance growth in unique patients (pets) is at (-1.9 percent) Unique client and invoice growth posted (-2.0 percent) and (-3.1 percent) growth respectively vs PYTD … [Read more...]

Petflation: Inflation’s impact on pet industry

July 19, 2022 by Kirk Augustine Source: A GPS for Pet Business, Pet Age, VetWatch

Inflation is strong in the pet market says John Gibbons. The Consumer Price Index has shown four straight months of double-digit, year-over-year monthly percentage increases. These are the first increases of more than 10 percent since 1981. We’re sharing quotes from two sources that present economic trends in the animal health industry. Inflation historically affects pet … [Read more...]

Possible connection between Lyme disease and Alzheimer’s

July 12, 2022 by Kirk Augustine Source: Amen Clinics, VetWatch

Commentary In 2022 we’ve shared the advancing movement of ticks <Link>, that Lyme-carrying ticks live longer <Link> and have seen articles indicating tick-borne diseases and illnesses are on the rise <Link>. While the latest Vetwatch® report shows parasite product growth at 1.4 percent year over year, one might conclude that tick risks are more prevalent … [Read more...]

VetWatch™ Commentary, for Week 19 – thru May 14, 2022

May 17, 2022 by Kirk Augustine Source: Animalytix, VetWatch

Complimentary  Content Trends from more than 32,000 practices and shelters help animal health professionals understand shifts in our industry’s business. The data captures purchasing trends reported for practices & shelters of core therapeutic and supply categories. The VetWatch™ weekly report provides the option to see trends by geographies, a significant benefit for … [Read more...]

Catching up or just back to normal?

February 1, 2022 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Opinion The recent Vetwatch™ Commentary provides consistent data to help assess the scope, velocity and significance of developments in the veterinary care sector across the United States. Following more current trends, the national 3-week rolling average for practice revenue growth fell to -9.1 percent. None of the nine census divisions posted positive revenue growth for … [Read more...]

VetWatch™ then and now shows continued growth

November 22, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Providing consistent data on practice visits and revenues, the VetWatch™ weekly insight reports and commentary brings practices and industry a perspective on demand, especially in the pet segments. We’ve linked to the current report and the report from a year ago. Take a few minutes to compare these commentaries. We’ve come a long ways in the past 12 months!” Source: Vet … [Read more...]

VetWatch commentary reveals pet owner influencers, satisfaction

September 28, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Opinion These excerpts from the VetWatchSM Commentary for Week 37 - thru September 18, 2021 are important because they reveal the value of current market trends and changes in pet owner mindshare. Excerpt: “As of September 18, 2021, year-over-year growth remains robust though continues to slow versus the previous year.” Question: Does -0.2 percent seem minimal to … [Read more...]

Usage rates for non-medical pet care services show positive trends

August 31, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Complimentary Content Dog grooming is the marquee non-medical pet care service. Its usage rates rose from 25 percent in 2012/2013 to 41 percent in 2018/2019, dipping only slightly in the wake of Covid. Among dog owners overall, usage rates for nonmedical services edged up from 44 percent in 2012/2013 to 50 percent in 2019/2020, before dipping slightly due to the … [Read more...]

Clients with new pets need more time with vets: Part 2

August 31, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: AAHA, Animal Health Digest, VetWatch

Opinion In last week’s AHD Bulletin, we urged veterinary teams to consider spending more time with new and existing clients presenting new pets. We asserted the need for onboarding processes or guidelines as paramount to developing long-term relationships with pet owners, the health of pets and the revenue that flows from interactions with happy, engaged clients. AAHA’s … [Read more...]

VetWatch shares remix of pet ownership

August 24, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Complimentary The VetWatch Commentary thru August 14th remains positive while a bit softer. Beyond the economic measurements, the veterinarian and pet owner sentiments section draws attention to findings from an eighth wave of M/A/R/C research and information from Packaged Facts and MRI-Simmons National Consumer Study that may disrupt some generalized assumptions: … [Read more...]

VetWatch commentary could raise questions

August 3, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

OPINION Capturing the amount of source data about product sales and client transactions, then assembling it consistently takes much time and commitment. The efforts and vision over the last decade-plus have allowed Animalytix to lead the development of VetWatchSM. THANK YOU! The sustained overall growth bodes well for the industry in the near term. However, it is … [Read more...]

Purchase growth plateaus, but still ahead of 2020, VetWatch™

July 13, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Monitoring the scope, velocity and importance of developments in the U.S. veterinary care sector, VetWatch™ helps veterinary hospitals and the animal health industry stay on top of the ever-changing landscape affected by current events through multiple sources of real-time data. Source: VetWatch, week ending July 3, 2021. Link. For the week ending July 3, aggregate YTD … [Read more...]

VetWatch Commentary thru April 17, 2021, Week 15

April 27, 2021 by AHD Staff Source: VetWatch

Complimentary Sponsored Content For the week ending April 17, 2021, the canine and feline core vaccine indices combined and expanded with the inclusion of the lifestyle vaccines for Lyme, Lepto, and FeLV shot up to a robust +29.3 percent YTD across the more than 32,000 practices and shelter locations in the Animalytix Marketplace. The growth in unique patients was up at … [Read more...]

VetWatch’s week 52 report shows continued promise

January 12, 2021 by Kirk Augustine Source: VetWatch

Complimentary Content The final week for 2020 reporting for VetWatch shows the canine and feline core vaccine indices ended at a robust 9.0 percent YTD growth across the 32,000+ practices and shelter locations in the Animalytix Marketplace. Other key findings include: Revenue growth year to date for the week remained positive in all areas of the country, averaging … [Read more...]

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Animal Health Digest, LLC is a content curation and aggregation service for animal health professionals. We continuously read and review more than 150 publications that produce articles, studies, reviews, white papers and other material for veterinarians, veterinary professionals, veterinary support staff, companion animal owners and livestock owners. Learn more.

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