What to know about communicating to clients about parasite control compliance

Client education and compliance

According to Kathryn E. Reif, MSPH, PhD, selecting the right parasite control strategy starts with knowing what parasites and associated diseases pose the greatest threat in a pet’s environment. Reif discusses how veterinarians can use regional data and owner behavior to guide product selection and improve long-term adherence and outcomes.

: We have a lot of different options available to us when it comes to parasite control products for our pets. Pet owners often want to know, “What product should I choose?” The first thing I want to emphasize is that most pet owners—truly the vast majority—are looking for a recommendation from their veterinarian.

Another helpful tool to guide these decisions is understanding the local parasite pressure. We can utilize resources like the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) prevalence maps to identify common parasites in our neighborhoods and regions. These maps are also helpful when considering travel plans; many pets accompany their owners on trips, and CAPC maps can provide insights into parasite risks in those destination areas as well.

For tick control specifically, I always encourage veterinarians to review the labels of the products they’re recommending. You want to make sure that the most common tick species in your area are actually covered. For instance, in the Northeast or Upper Midwest, 

—the black-legged tick or deer tick—is the most relevant. In the Southeast, the lone star tick is one of the most aggressive and dominant species.

Knowing which tick species are prevalent in your area helps guide both product selection and disease awareness. Many tick-borne diseases—like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis—can present with similar clinical signs, so identifying the likely culprit is important.

Ultimately, when determining the best parasite control product for a given pet, the answer may not always feel definitive. The best product is the one that the pet owner will most use. Whether it’s a monthly or extended-duration product, consistent and proper use is what truly determines effectiveness.

Videos

Kathryn E. Reif, MSPH, PhD, explains why CAPC prevalence maps and tick species awareness can guide veterinarians in choosing the most appropriate parasite control products based on local and travel-related exposure.

Local parasite prevalence and client adherence are key for deciding which parasite control product to prescribe

Fetch Nashville officially commenced at the Music City Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The Fetch conference kicked off with a keynote address delivered by Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD, on Friday, May 30, from 9:15–10:15 am. Her keynote address, billed as a musical journey of discovering one’s passions through veterinary medicine, chronicled her path from studying opera and theater at Indiana University to becoming a veterinarian.

Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD was the star of the show at dvm360’s Keynote Presentation, where she talked about her career trajectory and some of the most important lessons she learned. Photo Credit: dvm360 team.

Miller’s keynote was truly a musical journey. As she shared the story of her career—punctuated by the various “dreams” she got to live—she incorporated musical performances inspired by Broadway productions (

), and Nashville’s iconic country stars, such as Shania Twain.

Her “dreams” included pursuing opera at Indiana University, earning her veterinary degree from Cornell University, joining the Cornell faculty, working in mixed-animal general practice, and ultimately settling into her current role in private practice at Animal Dermatology Clinic in Louisville, Kentucky.

Some of her renditions included (but were not limited to):

“Man, I Feel Like a Horse Vet” (Shania Twain’s 

“What Can I Say Except It’s Scabies” (Dwayne Johnson’s 

Veterinary-themed versions of Journey’s 

Julia Miller, DVM, DAVCD (left) greets Dr. Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, at Fetch Nashville in the Music City Convention Center. Photo Credit: Bob Alaburda, dvm360 associate editorial director

After sharing her career story, Miller transitioned into the second half of her keynote: her 5 “Down and Dermy” tips, drawn from her experiences in dermatology.

If it’s itchy, it’s probably scabies.


Miller explained that pruritus is one of the most common dermatologic complaints, and clinicians should always consider scabies as a differential diagnosis early on.

Cytology is a dermatologist’s best friend.


“Cytology allows you to see your baseline impression, and it really does change what you do with your dermatology cases,” Miller said.¹ “This goes for rechecks as well. First appointments can get really busy, and you may not have the time you want. But when that dog comes back, you have to do something different. This goes back to my mantra: if you don’t succeed, you missed something. Do your diagnostics.”


“There are a lot of dermatologic diseases out there, and it can feel overwhelming,” Miller noted. “If you can get a really good description of the lesions—what they look like and where they are—you can narrow down your differentials.”


“Dermatology is a visual sport,” Miller said. “A physical description is good, but a picture is worth more than 1,000 words.”¹
She added that photos are helpful not only for clinicians but also for clients, who can see the pet’s progress over time.


Miller emphasized the importance of injecting joy into the day-to-day, particularly given the repetitive nature of dermatology.

“I think it's also important to love our patients and our clients,” she said.¹ “When you see a cat with the best angry resting face you’ve ever seen, take a picture of it. Do the things that bring you joy. Yes, it can get monotonous—we see the same things over and over—but finding those moments in your day reminds you why you love the profession.”

A core message of Miller’s keynote was that most veterinarians won’t follow a clear-cut career path.

“My path was far from straight,” she said. “It was incredibly windy.”¹

Miller’s journey to discovering dermatology mirrors that of many aspiring country music artists who come to Nashville seeking success. Through twists, turns, and various jobs, they learn more about themselves—and what they’re meant to do.

“When change needs to happen, it needs to happen,” Miller concluded.¹

Discovering the delights of dermatology: One woman’s journey into derm and how you will learn to love it too!

 Presented at: Fetch dvm360® Conference; Nashville, TN. May 30, 2025.

Articles

Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD, discusses how her career in veterinary medicine led to her discovery of her passion for dermatology

A musical journey in discovering dermatology

Cytology is an important part of day-to-day life in practice, but it can be considered a challenge, plus some veterinary schools might not have taught this to students adequately. Because of this, some general practitioners may not feel confident in their skills when it comes to cytology.

During her lecture, "Lymph Node Cytology for General Practitioners" at the 2025 Fetch Nashville conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Kate Baker, DVM, MS, DACVP (Clinical Pathology), founder and chief pathologist at Pocket Pathologist, shares practical tips that general practitioners can use in practice when it comes to lymph node cytology. 

“I do want to first start by just saying, no matter how long you've been in practice, this is something that is difficult for everybody but does not have to be as difficult as it feels. There are a lot of ways to simplify cytology so that it can be something that you feel comfortable doing in practice,” Baker kicked off her lecture with.

“So I just want to give you that permission and that confidence already if you need it, because it's one of those things that after teaching this for almost 10 years now that I see time and time again, people saying I suck at cytology, but I have to do it, and I understand how that feels,” she continued.

Regarding lymph node cytology, Kate Baker, DVM, MS, DACVPM (Clinical Pathology), the biggest issue veterinary professionals have is broken cells. Baker utilized a video submitted by an oncologist where she explains that for the cytology being done for lymph nodes, the subject in the video is removing the syringe off the needle and putting the needle in the lymph node. Then, she stacks the needle around in a few other directions, withdraws it, and checks to see if there are contents in the hub of the needle. Then, the needle is reattached to the syringe, and then putting it onto the slide.

“She's distributing the contents onto several slides because she has quite a bit to spread it out. Because the second thing that we don't want to have in the cytology world are samples that are too thick, so we want to reduce the amount of cell lysis, and we want to spread the sample out,” explained Baker.

Baker emphasized the most important thing here is to not press down. She explained that she understands that things move fast in the clinic and professionals might not be fully paying attention and then just push and spread. However, she warned to not put any downward pressure on the slide, even if you think you are not you could be, so it is important to pay attention because it will help reduce cell lysis.

There are also obviously other things surrounding the lymph nodes that professionals could potentially hit on accident. One common occurrence Baker noted seeing often is veterinary professionals submitting a salivary gland sample thinking it was a lymph node, and although finding it fun, she offered some tips to help understand what the salivatory gland looks like and told attendees it is no big deal, and to not feel embarrassed.

In a salivary gland, there are epithelial cells, which have a glandular appearance to them, and within them is bony saliva. However, you may not get good tissue like the ones that she discussed during her lecture, and it's possible to just get some proteinaceous stuff in the background.

“A clue that you hit the salivary gland is [the] lining up of cells that are called windrowing. So does anybody come from a farming family? Every time we pass a field that has their hay lined up in windrows, I just geek out because I'm like, ‘Oh it's windrows.’ So that's what windrowing is. It's a borrowed term from farming, where they line the hay up and rows,” said Baker.

“We use that term too and see how these red blood cells are kind of moving along in one direction. So that is when you have cells suspended in a viscous material. And saliva is viscous, so that is something that you may see, even if you don't catch these salivary gland epithelial cells,” continued Baker.

A final important note that Baker included is she does see people trying to interpret broken cells and accidentally diagnose a patient with lymphoma because they don’t realize they are looking at the broken cells.

Cytology can be a daunting thing to tackle as a general practitioner, especially if you did not learn a lot about it in veterinary school. However, lymph node cytology is a great tool that veterinary professionals can utilize in their practices so understanding some of the basics involved in the process and having dos and don'ts can save time, resources, and more for veterinary practices and patients.

Baker K. Lymph Node Cytology for General Practitioners. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 conference; Nashville, TN. May 30-31, 2024.

Kate Baker, DVM, MS, DACVP (Clinical Pathology) explained that although cytology can be challenging, it might be easier than you think.

A pathologist's guide to becoming more comfortable with lymph node cytology

2 common misconceptions about diet trials

Julia Miller's diet trial myths

Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD, outlines practical guidelines for selecting diets, counseling owners, and avoiding the pitfalls that can compromise trial success.

Okay, yeah—so I love talking about diet trials. The goal for my diet‐trial lecture is to make it very approachable, so that practitioners can identify which cases are appropriate for a diet trial, learn the rules of a diet trial, choose the best diet for their patient, and then successfully complete the diet trial. That includes communication tips and tricks for clients. I think it’s essential to equip veterinarians with talking points so they feel confident walking into exam rooms and saying, “I know this patient needs a diet trial. Here’s how I’m going to counsel you, and here’s how we’ll get it done properly.”

I see two big misconceptions routinely as a dermatologist. First, people often choose over‐the‐counter diets for their diet trials—but you really need prescription diets when you suspect a food allergy in a dog. Prescription diets are critical; they are the backbone of the diet trial. Second, many practices do not counsel clients enough. Diet trials require a lot of communication, and you must ensure you have time in your schedule and an educated staff to help clients understand exactly what it takes to complete a diet trial. I see so many patients whose owners are spending money on a prescription diet, but then they add chicken or other foods because the dog “doesn’t like” the diet. That misunderstanding sets the trial up for failure.

Diet trials are very doable—but they require rigorous communication. We’ll discuss how to verbally counsel clients and also how to use handouts effectively. I also want to emphasize that currently, blood tests for food allergies are not accurate. I see veterinarians using blood food‐allergy testing and telling clients, “Your dog must be allergic to X, Y, or Z based on this test.” Multiple studies have shown that those tests do not accurately determine whether a dog (or cat) has a food allergy or identify the specific allergens. I wish there were an “easy button”—blood draw, test says “allergic to beef,” and we avoid beef. But these tests aren’t reliable, and I do not recommend using blood food‐allergy testing for patients.

Julia Miller, DVM, DACVD, busts diet trial myths and shares her thoughts on allergy testing.

2 common misconceptions with diet trials

Megan Brashear, RVT, VTS (ECC), explains how veterinary team members benefit from self-advocacy in the workplace.

Advocating for your career

Megan Brashear, RVT, VTS (ECC), senior manager of veterinary nursing at the Purdue University Veterinary Hospital in West Lafayette, Indiana, presented lectures on self-advocacy and other personal growth topics at the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) SkillShop in Orlando, Florida. In a 

 interview, Brashear explains why veterinary team members, especially technicians, need to advocate for themselves in the workplace.

The following is a transcript of the video.

 Especially for veterinary technicians, we find that their role...kind of expires. After 3 to 5 years, a lot of them are leaving the profession. So, self-advocacy is really understanding what you want to do [and] where you want your career to go, and that's personal for every person. So, figure out what your goals are, where you want to go, [and] what you want to be doing. Then I want to talk to [veterinary technicians] about how to get there, how to talk to your boss, how to talk to your team, [and] how to get yourself to that place.

Benjamin Bergstrom, DVM, MS, DACVO, talks about causes and treatment options for these lenticular diseases in cats and dogs

Understanding and managing cataracts and lens luxation in cats and dogsBenjamin Bergstrom, DVM, MS, DACVO, talks about causes and treatment options for these lenticular diseases in cats and dogs

Benjamin Bergstrom, DVM, MS, DACVO, owner of The Eye Vets in Nashville, Tennessee, discusses cataracts and luxation of the lens in cats and dogs ahead of his lecture “Cloudy with a Chance of Cataracts: Diagnosis and Management of Lenticular Disease,” at the Fetch dvm360 Conference in Nashville. In this interview, Bergstrom explains causes of these lenticular diseases as well as their treatment options, noting differences in the causes of luxation between species and in treatment approaches.

Below is the transcript of the video, which has been lightly edited for clarity:

 We will discuss cataracts, which is what we most commonly think of when we think of lenticular disease, diseases of the lens. The most common procedure associated with the development of cataracts is cataract removal. So, as cataracts progress to a point where an animal's vision is compromised, my objective as an ophthalmologist is, I want an animal to be able to see and see the best that they can, so removing the cataract can restore normal vision in a lot of instances.

The other disease process, or another disease process that we talk about, is luxation of the lens in both the dog and the cat, [which] can happen for different reasons. So, luxation of the lens, again, means separation from its normal attachments in the eye, which is normally behind the pupil. It can shift into the front of the eye—which is an ocular emergency in dogs—can fall to the back of the eye in dogs; that can happen as a primary birth defect, birth inherited issue. In cats, it most commonly happens secondary to chronic inflammation in the eye, or uveitis.

To remedy the situation, in dogs, the gold standard of care is removing the lens. If they luxated anteriorly, we make an incision in the eye, remove it, close the eye. We have the option of also pushing the lens back to the back of the eye, closing the pupil with a medication to keep it in a safer place back in the back of the eye.

In kitties, however, we don't have to immediately consider surgical intervention. A lot of times, we can medically manage cats with pressure medications, anti-inflammatory medications. The most important part about cats is, because it happens secondary to chronic inflammation, is figuring out what the source of chronic inflammation is.