News & Insights
Latest veterinary industry news, recruiting insights, and career stories from Hound.
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News · Medical
Most Pets Are One Vet Bill Away From No Care At All. Here Is What The Numbers Say.
New NAPHIA data shows only 4.27% of U.S. pets are insured despite record growth. The protection gap is real, and it's reshaping how families access vet care.
Christian Coleman
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Culture & Retention · News
Your Practice Culture Is Making People Quit. Here Is How to Finally See It.
New research shows burnout is an organizational problem, not a personal one. Here is what vet practice leaders can do differently.
Hound Team
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News
Two Workforce Pressures Every Vet Practice Should Be Watching Right Now
Veterinary practices are navigating two converging workforce challenges: a staffing shortage that will only deepen through 2030, and sweeping federal student loan changes taking effect July 1 that will reshape how new graduates manage debt. Here is what practice leaders and veterinary professionals need to know.
Hound Team
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News
Feline Hospice Care: What Practices Need to Know About Supporting cats at Home
As cats live longer with chronic illness, demand for veterinary hospice is growing. Here is how to set up home hospice, talk to clients, and reduce fear for feline patients.
Hound Team
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Relief
How to Manage Veterinary Relief Shifts Internally Without Losing Your Mind
Texts, spreadsheets, and group chats are no way to run a relief program. Here is how to build an internal relief system that actually works.
Hound Team
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News
Veterinary Technicians Are Leaving. A New Competency Framework and Smarter Utilization Could Change That.
Burnout and turnover among veterinary technicians come down to two root causes: pay inequity and underutilization. A new national competency framework called ASCEND offers practices a concrete tool to fix the second problem, while retention experts say addressing both together is what will actually keep credentialed techs in the profession.
Hound Team
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News
Are You a Pathologic Accommodator? The Cost of Always Saying Yes in Veterinary Medicine
Saying yes feels like dedication. A veterinary coach explains how chronic overaccommodation quietly drains your effectiveness and what to do instead.
Hound Team
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News
Vet Visits Are Declining Through 2035. Here Is What Your Practice Can Do About It.
A CATalyst Council report forecasts below-average veterinary visits through 2035. Here is what practice leaders need to know now.
Hound Team
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News
Pets Are Family Now. Two New Surveys Prove It.
New data from Rover and Elanco shows pet owners are cutting personal spending before they cut pet care. Here is what that means.
Hound Team
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News
What It Actually Takes to Retain Vet Techs
Vet tech turnover is draining practices. Here is what educators and leaders say actually works to keep your best techs.
Hound Team
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The Full-Time Vet Is Becoming the Exception: What 959 Veterinary Professionals Say About the Future of Work
New survey data from 959 veterinary professionals shows only 10% of practices have full-time vets. Here's what it means for retention, burnout, and how vet med works next.
Hound Team
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News
California Banned Non-Competes. Here's What That Actually Means for Your Practice.
California voids almost every employee non-compete, and 2024's AB 1076 and SB 699 made the ban broader and sharper. A plain-English explainer, with what it means for veterinary employers.
Hound Team
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News91% of Dogs Show Fear or Anxiety, and the Vet Visit Is Often the Trigger
Pet Anxiety Awareness Month turns 10 as new data shows fear and anxiety in 91% of dogs. What practices can do, and where at-home care fits in.
Hound Team
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News · Medical
House-Call Vet Care Is Growing. Here Is Why That Is Good for Everyone.
Mobile and house-call veterinary services are expanding across the U.S. The reasons go beyond convenience — and the implications for pet health, practice capacity, and caregiver careers are significant.
Christian Coleman
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Medical · News
Fear, Stress, and Your Cat: Why the Clinic Visit Is the Problem
Cats are the most stressed veterinary patients and the least likely to receive regular care. The clinic model is the root cause. Here is what the alternative looks like.
Christian Coleman
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Medical · News
Senior Pets Deserve Senior Care: What At-Home Vet Services Mean for Aging Animals
Older pets need more frequent care and handle clinic stress worse than younger animals. At-home vet tech visits offer a better model for the pets who need consistency most.
Christian Coleman
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CommunityWhat are the Different Types of Veterinary Technician Specialists?
The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) currently recognizes 16 Veterinary Technician Specialties (VTS) in the United States.
Elizabeth Santana
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News · Medical
The Case for Taking Vet Care Home: How Mobile Visits Are Changing Pet Healthcare
Mobile and in-home veterinary care is growing fast. Here is what is driving the shift and what it means for pet owners and the practices that serve them.
Christian Coleman
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Medical · News
Why Your Pet Hates the Vet (and What In-Home Care Does Differently)
Most pets show signs of fear or stress at the vet clinic. In-home vet care removes the triggers that cause it — and the difference for your pet is real.
Christian Coleman
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Community13 Ways Vet Med Can Better Support the LGBTQ+ Community
It will take all of us working together to actively educate ourselves on how to be better allies to underrepresented communities. So, how can we be more welcoming to underrepresented communities on both the individual and organizational level?
Danielle Alleman
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Culture & Retention22 Veterinary Culture Statistics That Prove We Need a Change
We’ve compiled stats on challenges in vet med: veterinary mental health & support, veterinary burnout, veterinary career outlook, and veterinary team culture.
Sara Ott
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Jobs & Recruiting24 Vet Assistant Interview Questions
During an interview, it can be hard to know what to ask to get a good sense of the candidate & how they’ll fit into the team, especially when it comes to recruiting veterinary assistants who may not have much industry experience. Inversely, interviewing can be a daunting task, especially for veterinary assistants who may not have as much experience in the field. To give you a starting point, we teamed up with some of the best recruiters in vet med to walk through their interview questions.
Austin Huff
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Jobs & Recruiting24 Veterinary Technician Interview Questions
During an interview, it can be hard to know what to ask to get a good sense of the candidate & how they’ll fit into the team, especially when it comes to recruiting veterinary technicians who can have wide ranges of experiences and expertise. Inversely, interviewing can be a daunting task, especially for veterinary technicians who may be at a turning point in their career or had tough experiences in the past. To give you a starting point, we teamed up with some of the best recruiters in vet med to walk through their interview questions.
Austin Huff
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Jobs & Recruiting27 Veterinary Interview Questions to Ask an Employer
It’s hard to know if you’re asking the right questions in an interview. To help you in your next interview, we asked a few of our community members what you should ask before joining a veterinary practice.
Sara Ott
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Jobs & Recruiting3 Steps to Hiring Better in Veterinary Medicine
Job vacancies in the United States are at a 20 year high — and vet med isn’t immune. In fact, Vet staff is turning over at a weighted average 33%, a rate far outpacing the national average. So, how can you hire better in vet med? To shed some light on this, we teamed up with Alina Smith, Talent Acquisition Specialist at Blue River Pet Care.
Austin Huff
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Culture & Retention4 Veterinary Workplace Benefits to Better Support Mothers
How can the veterinary industry better support mothers? We teamed up with the DVMoms community to find out what benefits would most help them as they navigate motherhood.
DVMoms
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Culture & Retention5 Steps to Building a Successful Veterinary Mentoring Relationship
Mentor and mentee relationships provide people with a strong sense of community and engagement — creating safe, structured spaces that facilitate growth and offering support systems that increase motivation and confidence.
Tiffany Hunt
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Vet School5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Veterinarian Graduation
Transitioning from vet student to practitioner, there were some days I felt not very confident, and I had to research between appointments to feel ready.
Fania Colon
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ReliefAre Relief Vets Ruining, or Saving, Vet Med?
Being a relief vet offers millennials flexibility, autonomy, variety, cultural observation, professional growth, and appreciation.
Cindy Trice, DVM
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CommunityBeyond Appreciation: How Vet Tech Education Builds Stronger Teams
Discover how investing in veterinary technician continuing education boosts retention, strengthens teams, and improves patient care across every clinic.
Austin Huff
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Culture & RetentionBoosting Collaboration in Veterinary Teams with Chat Tools
Boost veterinary team collaboration with chat tools! Improve workflow, real-time communication, and patient care in your vet practice.
Austin Huff
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MedicalBrachycephalic Airway Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms, and Surgical Treatment for Better Pet Health
Learn about Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome in flat-faced dog breeds, including symptoms, diagnosis, surgical treatment, and how new veterinary tech improves care.
Dr. Shadi Ireifej
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Culture & RetentionCreating Better Communication in Veterinary Medicine
Everyone always discusses how important communication with owners is. But, there is much less discussion about how important communication within your team is.
Melody Winterhalter
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Jobs & RecruitingDressing for Success: What to Wear to Your Veterinary Job Interview
Nail your veterinary job interview with the perfect outfit! Discover what to wear for a vet job interview to make a great first impression and land the job.
Austin Huff
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Culture & RetentionFoster Psychological Safety in Your Veterinary Practice
What can we do to make our veterinary teams healthier and happier? The answer lies in psychological safety. Psychological safety means being able to be your whole self without fear of negative consequences. This may be as simple as owning a small mistake they made or as serious as someone proudly living in their gender or racial identity.
Austin Huff
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ReliefFrom Ranch Roots to Emergency Relief: A Companion Animal Vet’s Journey Across the U.S.
Discover how a relief veterinarian with a background in academic science and a passion for emergency companion animal medicine built a flexible, fulfilling career across specialty hospitals nationwide.
Dr. Natalie Punt
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CommunityHound and Relief Rover Join Forces!
Hound has acquired Relief Rover and we are unifying our teams, communities, and tech to continue building a better, brighter future for veterinary medicine!
Andrew Luna
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NewsHound and the North American Veterinary Community Partner to Equip Veterinary Practices and Professionals with innovative Recruiting, Relief, and Retention Software
Hound, a leader in veterinary talent software, and the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), the world’s leading provider of continuing education for veterinary professionals, today announced a groundbreaking partnership.
Andrew Luna
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NewsHound Announces Launch of First-Of-Its-Kind Veterinary Work Platform
With this new release, Hound now offers an all-in-one talent solution that’s the first of its kind in the veterinary industry. This solution offers full-time, part-time, and relief positions all in one place.
Andrew Luna
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NewsHound's Impact: Supporting Veterinary Professionals with $100M+ in Earnings
Discover how Hound is transforming the veterinary profession, enabling over $105M–$158M in earnings for veterinary professionals. Learn how we simplify hiring, empower careers, and drive systemic change to build a brighter future for vet med.
Andrew Luna
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Jobs & RecruitingHow High Turnover is Reshaping Recruitment Strategies in Veterinary Practices
Discover how high veterinary staff turnover is impacting recruitment and learn strategies to attract, hire, and retain top talent in vet med.
Austin Huff
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CommunityHow Practices Can Better Support Mothers in Vet Med
Mothers are 40% more likely than fathers to report that child care issues harmed their careers. With a workforce that’s 62% women — we need to make sure we’re supporting and uplifting mothers in our profession. So, how can we do that better? And, what are some of the specific challenges mothers face in our field?
Bond Vet
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ReliefHow Relief Work Helped This Vet Build a Fulfilling Career in Dentistry
Relief vet shares how flexible shifts and dentistry shaped her veterinary career. A real look at freedom, fulfillment, and finding the right clinic fit.
Beatriz Thayer
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Culture & RetentionHow to Address Gaslighting in Your Veterinary Hospital
Gaslighting can have such a profound negative impact on one’s mental health, so we must learn what gaslighting is and how to manage it in the workplace.
Becky Fitts Jenkins
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Vet SchoolHow to Apply to Vet School in 5 Steps
The process of applying for veterinary school can feel daunting - but, don’t worry! We’ve compiled the ins and outs of how to get yourself prepared to apply.
Elizabeth Santana
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CommunityHow to Become a Veterinary Technician
Can you become a vet tech without a degree? How much does it cost to become a vet tech? We answered all your questions in how to take that next step in vet med!
Elizabeth Santana
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CommunityHow to Better Support Your Trans Veterinary Colleagues
International Transgender Visibility Day is March 31st. Each year, this day is dedicated to celebrating transgender people, raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, and celebrating their contributions to society.
Dane Whitaker
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Culture & RetentionHow to Break Status Quo & Build for the Future in Vet Med
The people of veterinary medicine (and pet owners) expect and deserve more from the experience we provide in our practices - here's how to provide a better one!
Zay Satchu
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Jobs & RecruitingHow to Build a Veterinary Team from Scratch: Lessons from Fauna Vet Collective
Learn how Fauna Vet Collective built a veterinary team from scratch by hiring for values, prioritizing culture, and creating a strong foundation. Discover practical tips for starting your own veterinary team and building a thriving practice.
Sydney Pokard DVM
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Culture & RetentionHow to Celebrate Diversity in Veterinary Medicine
Diversity in vet med not only makes our culture stronger & better, but it makes our workplaces & client experiences more welcoming, human, and magical for all.
Laura Pletz
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Culture & RetentionHow to Celebrate Vet Tech Week in 2025: Creative Ideas to Appreciate Your Veterinary Technicians
Celebrate Vet Tech Week in 2025 with ideas that inspire recognition, wellness, growth, and empowerment for every veterinary technician.
Austin Huff
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Culture & RetentionHow to Champion Culture as a Core Objective in Vet Med
There's no greater asset than your people. Culture is the key differentiator. Make it a core objective, and you’ll attract and retain top veterinary talent.
Jeremy Halperin
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Jobs & RecruitingHow to Create an Irresistible Job Seeker Profile: Stand Out in Veterinary Hiring
Optimize your veterinary job seeker profile to attract top employers. Stand out in vet med hiring & land your dream job with these expert tips
Austin Huff
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CommunityHow to Embrace a Life of Learning & Growth in Vet Med
The Veterinarian’s & Veterinary Technician’s Oath both emphasize the need for learning and growth. So how can we embrace learning and growth better in practice?
Alyssa Mages
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CommunityHow to Empower the Next Gen of Veterinary Professionals
To ensure the continued success of our profession, we must empower the next generation to evolve, operate, and lead our veterinary businesses successfully.
Addie Reinhard
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Jobs & RecruitingHow to Evaluate an Employer and Its Opportunities: A Guide for Veterinary Professionals
Looking for the best veterinary job? Learn how to evaluate veterinary employers, assess clinic culture, compare vet job benefits, and find career growth opportunities. Make informed decisions and build a thriving veterinary career with the right employer!
Andrew Luna
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CommunityHow to Honor Mental Health in Veterinary Medicine
Vet med is in a mental health crisis - and we must be intentional in our support of our people.
Darlene Bos
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Jobs & RecruitingHow to Identify the Right Veterinary Role and Practice Environment for Your Skills and Career Goals
Learn how to choose the right veterinary role and practice environment based on your skills, strengths, and long-term goals. A practical guide for veterinary job seekers.
Austin Huff
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Jobs & RecruitingHow to Make Your Vet Staff's First Day Memorable
Often you can get a decent feel for a team before you join, but as employers, it’s our job to ease that transition and make their first day memorable.
Kelly Erb
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Vet SchoolHow to Move On After Failing the NAVLE
Failing this big test may change your perspective and postpone your career plans for a bit - but you shouldn't be too hard on yourself.
Fania Colon
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Culture & RetentionHow to Prioritize People, Purpose, & Progress in Vet Med
The best veterinary practices care deeply about client and patient care and have strong strategies in place to achieve healthy business performance. You will also find these businesses put their people first.
Paul Spiegelman
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CommunityHow to Seek & Adopt Modern Veterinary Technology
Technology-equipped teams provide greater client satisfaction, deliver better pet health outcomes, experience stronger employee engagement, and achieve more.
Sam Ginn
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CommunityHow to Uplift Your Veterinary Peers & Build a Rich Community
Across our industry, our people are craving authentic, caring connections. We must uplift one another and build rich, unified community in veterinary medicine.
Mac Reddin
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Jobs & RecruitingHow to Volunteer in Veterinary Medicine: A Step-by-Step Guide for Aspiring Professionals
Explore veterinary volunteering opportunities to gain hands-on experience, build skills, and see if a career in vet med is right for you.
Austin Huff
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Culture & RetentionHow You Can Affect Culture as “Just” an Associate Veterinarian
Every one of us, even associates, have a role in affecting how the veterinary team functions, how we all support each other, and how well the team thrives.
Danielle Alleman
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Culture & RetentionMeaningful Ways to Celebrate Your Veterinary Team (Beyond Pizza Parties)
Boost veterinary team morale with meaningful appreciation ideas beyond pizza! Retain top talent & create a thriving vet clinic culture today.
Austin Huff
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NewsMWI Animal Health and Hound Announce Strategic Partnership
MWI Animal Health, a leading provider of state-of-the-art technology solutions and services for veterinary practices, and part of Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), today announced a strategic partnership with Hound, a leading veterinary talent platform.
Andrew Luna
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ReliefNegotiating for Relief Veterinary Professionals
Understanding the "rules" of negotiation is crucial, especially before you attempt to break them. The first rule of negotiation is to know your counterpart. As a relief veterinarian, you might be negotiating with a practice manager or HR.
Elizabeth Santana
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Jobs & RecruitingPros and Cons of Becoming a Veterinary Technician
Wondering what the pros and cons of being a veterinary technician are? Like many in the field, being a veterinary technician has ignited my lifelong passion for veterinary medicine and brought me to some of my closest friends and family. But, being a veterinary technician is not for the faint of heart. This career can be extremely demanding not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.
Elizabeth Santana
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Jobs & RecruitingProven Strategies to Reduce Your Time to Hire in Veterinary Medicine
Reduce your time to hire in vet med! Learn proven strategies to speed up hiring, attract top talent faster & streamline your recruitment process.
Andrew Luna
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Jobs & RecruitingQuestions to Ask in a Veterinarian Interview
During an interview, it can be hard to know what to ask to get a good sense of the candidate & how they’ll fit into the team, especially when recruiting veterinarians who can have wide ranges of expertise and expectations coming into the interview. Inversely, interviewing can be a daunting task, especially for veterinarians who will be tasked with helping lead a brand new team in a brand new practice culture. To give you a starting point, we teamed up with some of the best recruiters in vet med to walk through their interview questions.
Austin Huff
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Jobs & RecruitingThe 4 Best Veterinary Job Boards in 2025
People only know you’re hiring if you meet them where they are. In this article, we’ve listed the top 4 veterinary job boards and the unique benefits of each.
Sara Ott
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Jobs & RecruitingThe Importance of Year-Round Recruitment in Veterinary Practices: Stay Ahead in Hiring
Boost veterinary hiring with year-round recruitment. Reduce turnover, attract top talent, and keep your clinic fully staffed. Learn how to stay ahead!
Austin Huff
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Culture & RetentionThe Power of Honest Feedback: Building Stronger Veterinary Teams
Boost team collaboration with candid feedback in veterinary practices. Improve communication, engagement, and patient care with open dialogue.
Andrew Luna
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Jobs & RecruitingThe Top 3 Must-Haves in a Veterinary Job Posting
Looking for the perfect veterinary job? Learn the top 3 things to review in a job posting to find the best fit for your vet med career.
Austin Huff
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Vet SchoolThings I Wish Someone Told Me: Tips for New Veterinarians
Congratulations on the phenomenal accomplishment of becoming a veterinarian!! I hope these words of wisdom are helpful as you begin your career and I can’t wait to see the wonderful things you will do for our profession.
Laura Pletz
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Vet SchoolTips for Getting Accepted into Veterinary School
Applying & getting into veterinary school is one of the most competitive academic processes. With acceptance rates hovering around 10-15% across all programs (less than 50) worldwide, this process can feel daunting and even discouraging for prospective veterinary students. To de-mystify the process, we teamed up with two veterinary students who recently went through the process.
Gabriela Medina
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Jobs & RecruitingTop 10 Messages to Break the Ice When Reaching Out Cold to Veterinary Talent
Engage top veterinary talent with effective cold outreach! Discover 10 expert-approved messages to break the ice and connect with veterinary professionals.
Austin Huff
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CommunityTop 3 AI Scribes for VetMed: Pros, Cons & Why Hound Chose to Partner with Them
Explore the top AI scribes for veterinary clinics. Compare features, best use cases, and see why Hound partnered with 3 AI solutions to improve veterinary workflows.
Andrew Luna
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Jobs & RecruitingTop Markets for Veterinary Professionals: Where to Build a Thriving Career
Find the best veterinary job markets, from rural vet jobs to top metro areas. Boost your vet career with work-life balance & growth.
Austin Huff
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CommunityVet Med & Togetherness: Findings from Our VMX 2022 Survey
Hound debuted at VMX ‘22 in the Startup Circle. We gave out a bunch of free swag, laughed with a ton of bright spirits, and played fun games for prize giveaways. We also surveyed the people of vet med to take a pulse on how they feel things are going.
Andrew Luna
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Jobs & Recruiting
Veterinary Receptionist Career Path: Growth, Gaps & How to Elevate the Role
Veterinary receptionists – often called client service representatives (CSRs) – serve as the first and last point of contact at animal hospitals.
Austin Huff
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CommunityVeterinary Receptionists are the Backbone of Your Veterinary Practice
Veterinary Receptionists Week is April 24th-30th this year. To celebrate, we asked a few of our favorite veterinary receptionists what their role is and why they truly are the backbone of veterinary practices.
Mary Santivanez
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MedicalVETGuardian®: 8 Studies That Prove It Works
Explore 8 scientific studies validating the effectiveness of VETGuardian®’s contactless monitoring technology for veterinary care.
Lorelei Lanum, DVM
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NewsVetRec and Hound Announce Partnership to Support Veterinary Professionals with AI-Powered Documentation Tools
Hound announces a new partnership with VetRec, offering members 25% off plus one free month of the AI-powered veterinary scribe that streamlines clinical documentation, saves time, and reduces burnout for vet teams.
Austin Huff
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Vet SchoolWhat are the Different Types of Veterinarians?
Veterinarians do many jobs beyond just performing annual exams on household pets. In this article, we have laid out the five main types of veterinarians.
Elizabeth Santana
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Jobs & RecruitingWhat to Look for in a New Veterinary Job in 2024
There has never been a better time to be a job seeker in veterinary medicine. Everywhere you look, practices are offering sign-on bonuses, better benefits, and better pay. Talent is more in demand than ever. The market has flipped. It’s now an employee’s market, and practices know it. But, when it comes to finding that dream job, what should you really be looking for? We asked some of our community members what they would look for in a new veterinary job.
Sara Ott
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Culture & RetentionWhy Team Training is the Key to Veterinary Retention
Create a comprehensive plan for your veterinary team training.
Alyssa Mages
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Culture & RetentionWhy Veterinary Coaching & Training are Both Essential
Both coaching and training are processes, meaning these are dynamic in nature and evolve over time. And as with all things in vet med, they’re subject to change – constantly!
Alyssa Mages
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Jobs & RecruitingWhy You Should Always List Pay in Veterinary Job Postings
Vet med pay transparency has become a polarizing topic recently. We think pay transparency is of the utmost importance, particularly in veterinary job postings.
Sara Ott