Staffing for the Surge: How to Schedule Around Heartworm Season, the Holidays, and the Spay/Neuter Rush

The spring schedule looks fine on paper until heartworm tests, wellness visits, and the first wave of spay/neuter surgeries all land in the same few weeks. Suddenly the surgical team is stretched, the front desk is overbooked, and two technicians have vacation requests in the same week. 

The good news is that these surges are predictable, which means they can be planned for. The practices that handle them well treat veterinary staff scheduling as a forecast instead of a daily scramble, and a thoughtful partner in veterinary practice consulting can help build that forecast into everyday operations.

Map Your Year Before the Year Maps You

Start with your own data. Pull two to three years of appointment counts, surgery volumes, and overtime hours, and mark the weeks when your team was stretched thinnest. Your numbers will beat any generic pattern, but these are common pressure points worth checking against them:

• Spring wellness visits and heartworm testing
• Kitten season and the spay/neuter rush
• Summer travel, boarding, and heat-related cases
• Holiday weeks, when staff want time off and clients want appointments
• Year-end, when clients use up insurance and flexible spending funds

Once the peaks are on a calendar, scheduling decisions get easier, because every request for time off or an extra shift can be weighed against what is coming. Flexibility still matters, but it works best when it sits on top of a plan.

Heartworm "Season" Is Really a Scheduling Habit

Many practices notice a spring bump in heartworm testing and preventive requests, but the American Heartworm Society recommends that owners "think 12": get pets tested every 12 months and give heartworm preventive 12 months a year, even in regions with cold winters. 

The society's heartworm basics also notes that annual testing is necessary even for dogs on year-round prevention, to make sure the prevention program is working.

The AVMA's coverage of the updated guidelines adds that the society recommends annual antigen and microfilaria testing for dogs. For scheduling, that points to a practical conclusion. If recalls cluster in spring, the load on your team will too. 

Building year-round reminders and bundling testing into regular wellness visits spreads the work across the calendar, which gives technicians steadier days and gives clients more convenient options.

The Spay/Neuter Rush

Kitten season, the warm-weather stretch when cats breed and shelters fill with kittens, puts steady pressure on practices that perform surgery. The ASPCA reports that many shelters are at capacity, and that high-volume spay/neuter output has not returned to its pre-pandemic level, which adds strain to the demand for veterinary care.

For your schedule, the implications are concrete:

• Block surgery days early, before the calendar fills with other commitments
• Protect a consistent surgical team, so anesthesia and recovery are always covered
• Plan time for recovery monitoring and discharge, not just the procedures themselves
• Avoid stacking procedures that depend on the same technician at the same hour

Clear communication with owners helps, too. Confirm fasting instructions, drop-off times, and discharge appointments in advance so the surgical day runs on time.

Build a Surge Schedule

A repeatable process keeps every surge from feeling like the first one:

1. Pull last year's data, and mark the peak weeks
2. Pre-block surgical and wellness capacity before the surge begins
3. Set time-off rules, such as blackout windows with early request deadlines
4. Line up relief or float coverage well before the peak
5. Cross-train so one absence does not stall an entire department
6. Publish the schedule early, so the team can plan their lives around it
7. Review afterward, and note what worked and what did not

Holidays: Fairness Counts

Holiday weeks test even the best-run schedule. Rotate holiday, weekend, and on-call duty fairly, and track it over months, not just weeks, so the same people are not always the ones who cover. Let team members trade shifts within clear rules, and share the calendar early. 

Announce holiday coverage expectations well in advance, and consider adjusting hours instead of stretching the team to cover every one. Fairness and predictability do as much for morale as extra pay, and the link between scheduling and workload is explored in the post on how smarter appointment scheduling reduces burnout in veterinary practices.

Protect the People Who Carry the Surge

Technicians often absorb the most strain during busy periods, and replacing one is not easy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of veterinary technologists and technicians will grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,400 openings projected each year. In a market where good technicians have options, a schedule that burns people out during every surge is a retention risk.

Protect breaks, cap overtime, and build recovery time into the weeks after a surge. A short debrief afterward can also reveal where tasks piled up on the wrong person. Delegating appropriately, so technicians and assistants work at the top of their training, keeps veterinarians and technicians focused on what only they can do. 

Small commitments like these signal that the team's wellbeing matters, and structured support such as a team well-being program can reinforce them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far ahead should I schedule for a surge?

Well before the surge begins, with time-off rules set early so staff know what to expect.

Is heartworm really seasonal?

The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round prevention and annual testing, so demand can be spread across the year.

When is kitten season?

It varies by climate, but it centers on the warmer months of the year.

How do I handle time-off requests during peak weeks?

Use blackout windows with early request deadlines, and apply the rules fairly to everyone.

How do I avoid overtime during surges?

Pre-block capacity, line up relief coverage early, and stagger procedures that depend on the same people.

Ready to Get Veterinary Staff Scheduling Right? Let's Build Your Surge Plan

Our team at Veterinary Solutions Services works with practices to forecast demand, strengthen scheduling systems, and keep teams steady through the busiest weeks. Schedule a free consultation and let us help you plan your next surge before it arrives.