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Choosing a Vet

Choosing the right vet is one of the most important decisions you can make for your dog. You and your vet will form a partnership working for the health and longevity of your faithful friend. Here are some tips to help you go about finding a vet.

The first step is to ask around and compile a short list of potential vets in your area. Ask your dog-owning neighbors where they take their dogs and what experiences they have had with different vets. If you don’t have any dog-owning neighbors, or, even if you do, you might consider calling some local shelters and asking them for veterinarian referrals.  Also, if you have adopted or purchased your dog locally, you might be able to get some recommendations from the shelter or breeder. Some things to consider when getting suggestions and narrowing down your list:

  • Does the vet have a specialty or specialties in particular areas?
  • In case of emergencies, is someone available 24/7 to see your dog?
  • Are the vet’s normal office hours for routine appointments convenient for your schedule? For example, is the veterinarian available on evenings and weekends?
  • Can current clients get appointments easily?
  • Does the doctor return calls promptly?
  • Are there other vets in the practice who will sometimes be covering for your vet?
  • Does the veterinarian have the equipment to perform surgical and emergency procedures properly?

Once you have found one or two vets you feel might be good, make a routine appointment for your dog. You should use this appointment to evaluate how you and your dog feel about both the vet and the general office environment. Some tips and things to think about:

  • Are the receptionists, assistants, and other support staff organized and welcoming to both you and your dog?
  • Does the waiting room appear sufficiently clean? While it’s obviously difficult to keep a waiting room with a constant stream of dogs and cats coming in and out absolutely spotless, for hygiene and health purposes, the waiting room should have an appropriate level of cleanliness.
  • Is the exam room clean and orderly?
  • Take a look now or make an appointment to take a look at the operating areas and recovery areas or make an appointment to do so. Again, are these areas clean and orderly?
  • When you meet the vet, is he or she welcoming and patient? Does he or she take the time to make your dog feel comfortable? Does he or she communicate well with you – offering clear explanations and diagnoses, listening and taking into account your concerns, and anticipating potential issues?
  • Is the vet or the office staff overeager to sell products? For example, it may be true that the vet has the appropriate prescription food for your dog or the best brand of soothing shampoo, but you should never feel you are dealing with a practice where product sales seem as important as veterinary care.

Choose a vet as carefully as you would your own doctor. Your dog deserves nothing less.
 
Discuss (11 posts)

Liz
Choosing a Vet
Sep 16 2008 22:47:31
This thread discusses the Content article: Choosing a Vet

New to L.A. (Encino area). Can anyone recommend a good vet around us? Open late
 #23

doggedone
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 17 2008 15:13:48
Hi

you could try the local shelters and see who they use as their vet.
 #26

jipswitch
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 17 2008 23:41:33
Good idea!!! Thanks. Is that A greyhound??? CUTE
 #29

doggedone
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 18 2008 00:05:46
Yes, that's Rocket Gibraltar. He's a rescue from Cork County, Ireland.
 #30

harrygore1
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 21 2008 14:45:20
New to NYC - upper west side. Good vet open sundays?
 #41

juliusjarcho
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 21 2008 14:57:24
Have a golden mix. My vet told me not get him a lyme disease vaccine. I live 45 minutes away from lyme, ct. Vet said he had seen lots of bad reaction is goldens. Thoughts? Should I get a second opinion?
 #46

Lauragore
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 22 2008 00:30:17
Vets are so expensive. Is there an alternative for getting good care.
 #65

Pamela
Re:Choosing a Vet
Sep 22 2008 00:31:59
Other than getting dog health insurance and finding out if your local spca has a low cost clinic or sponsors low cost spay/neuter, not much. It is important for your dog to get good vet care though
 #66

maryg408
Re:Choosing a Vet
Nov 12 2008 15:46:38
I have an English bulldog named Lulu.She is constantly sick with digestive problems and my vet hasn't been much help. I'm looking for a vet in the Chicago area that specializes in bulldogs. If anyone has advice, I would appreciate hearing from you.
 #116

Liz
Re:Choosing a Vet
Nov 12 2008 16:06:47
I am not from Chicago but have a friend with a dog there who love Blum Animal Hospital. Not sure where it is. My dog had tons of digestive problems and I ran through a million different vets and specialists til I found the right one. Here is what he did. He said we are going to figure out exactly what the cause is of your dog's problem and he put my dog on a special diet to be fed in small quantities multiple times a day (pureed white meat chicken or chicken baby food, brown rice, iams fish and potato, plus a bit of tylan powder). During this time my dog was not allowed to go to dog run or have contact with any other dogs, or brush his teeth or have any treats. The idea was to isolate my dog from everything and slowly re-introduce things one at a time to see what could be the root. As we did this, we learned that other dogs were not the problem but it was something in his diet - we eventually learned it was both chicken and rice that he had a problem with. Thus, he is on iams fish and potato kibble (prescription food) and the tiniest bit of tylan powder each day. The tylan acts as an anti-inflammatory and so does the beet pulp in the kibble I amn not happy with iams fish and potato because I feel there are higher quality foods out there but this food is the only one with only fish and potato plus beet pulp. Hope this helps. The diagnosis was inflammatory bowl disease
 #117

normab50
Re:Choosing a Vet
Nov 13 2008 18:09:37
I know it's important to have a good vet but why do they have to be so expensive? Our lab has allergies and it costs $300 everytime we take her to the vet. All she needs is her rx. How can we find a less expensive vet? We feel like we are being ripped off. Thanks for any help you can give us.
 #118

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