Dog and cat osteopathy: practice or home sessions?
Anxious cats, big dogs, older pets that hate the car: how animal osteopaths can offer practice and home sessions, set their lengths and prepare with the owner.
6 min read
Offer both, as two separate services: practice sessions for animals that travel well, and home sessions for those that don't, such as cats that panic in a carrier, older dogs that struggle in the car, or households with several pets. Home sessions take longer because of travel and settling in, so give them longer slots and group them by area. In each service description, tell owners what to prepare, and ask them in the booking note for the animal's name, species, age and the reason for the visit.
What changes between practice and home
| At your practice | At the owner's home | |
|---|---|---|
| Animal | Travels calmly, used to the car | Anxious, old, in pain, or a cat |
| Slot | Session only | Session + travel + settling in |
| Example length | 45 min | 75 min |
| Example price | €55 | €75 |
| Owner prepares | Lead, carrier, a towel | A quiet room, other pets kept apart |
Lengths and prices are examples: set your own. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end. An owner who picks "Home session, dog or cat" only sees home slots, of the length you chose.
Practice sessions
At the practice, you control the room, the table and the time. Some things help animals and owners:
- leave a few minutes between slots so a nervous dog doesn't meet the next one in the waiting area;
- keep cats and dogs on different half-days if you can, and say so in the service names;
- ask owners to come a little early so the animal can sniff around before you start;
- in the description, say how to find you and where to park, so the owner doesn't arrive stressed.
Home sessions
At home, the animal is on its own ground and calmer, but you depend on the house. Plan for it:
- Travel: make the slot long enough to cover the journey, or leave a gap before the next one.
- Address and access: ask for them in the booking note, with door code and parking.
- Settling in: a cat may hide at first; a few quiet minutes before touching it save time later.
- Other animals: ask owners to keep other pets in another room.
- Areas: say which areas you cover, and group home visits by area on the same half-day.
What owners write in the booking note
The public booking form asks for the owner's first name, last name, email and phone, and has an optional note. Ask for the animal's name, species and breed, age, the reason (stiffness after a walk, a limp, back pain after surgery), and whether the vet has already seen it. For home sessions, add the address and access. You get all of this in your new-booking email.
Say plainly in your descriptions that osteopathy doesn't replace the vet, and that an animal in acute pain or injured should see a vet first.
Several animals in one household
An owner with two dogs may want both seen on the same visit. Each animal needs its own time, so each needs its own booking: the owner books two slots in a row, with each animal's name in the note. At home, this saves you a second trip. If the owner calls instead, book both yourself from your calendar.
Follow-ups
At the end of a first session, agree with the owner whether and when a follow-up makes sense, and book it before you leave. You can book from your calendar with the owner's name; email and phone are optional, and if you add the email they get the confirmation and calendar file. Owners can't move bookings online: they call you, and you move or cancel from your bookings list. Book doesn't email them about changes, so confirm the new time yourself.
Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.