Many pet owners treat selecting a vet as just an exercise in opening the phone book, and dialing the 1st number at the top of the list. Choosing a veterinarian deserves more consideration than just that. When it comes to professionals were all pretty trusting, and frequently blinkered.
Believing that every vet's first priority is your dog's health is unfortunately often naive. So why not read through this article which is designed to help you find a vet that's right for your pet.
If you're a caring dog owner then your vet is going to play an important role in your dog's life. With regular visits to the surgery from puppy hood to old age a 3 way partnership between you, your dog, and your vet needs to develop, and the cornerstone of that relationship is trust.
With that in mind the most logical place to start your search for a vet is locally. Why? Simply, because if there is ever an emergency you don't want to have to travel too many miles with an ailing pet.
Here's a checklist of useful guidelines for locating a vet:
Obviously personal recommendations are a good starting point. Try talking to other pet owners. If you know anyone with a "problem pet" such as pet's that are shy, reluctant to be handled, very boisterous, or one's that are just plain awkward. Ask their owners how the vet responded to them. This will uncover some very useful information.
The reason why is because you want to know exactly how any prospective vet will interact with your dog. The vet that is going to be right for your dog will know how to deal with all pet behaviours; good or bad. If your new to an area, or simply don't know any other pet owners, you'll find that the vast majority of owner's love to talk about their pets; just ask.
The next question that you need to ask is whether or not the vet fully explains what the pet's problems are? What the treatment is going to be? Also, does he take the time to answer any questions you might have-no matter how trivial they might appear to be?
Ask them point blank whether they believe that your prospective vet is competent or not? Are they aware of any complaints that might have been been lodged against the surgery? The nitty gritty of this line of questioning is to discover whether he genuinely cares about the owner and their pets, or about himself, and growing his bank balance?
Dog shelters, obedience trainers, grooming parlors and even pet shops are another good source of local information.
At this point you should have a very short list of prospective vets. So now it's on to stage 2: The visit. Phone to arrange an appointment asking for a routine health check for your pet. Go prepared with this checklist of questions for the vet's receptionist.
What type of services do you provide? Do you provide any treatments after surgery hours? What about emergency treatment? Is it possible to see the same vet on each visit? Do you provide payment plans? If so what type?
In many cases your first impressions will be right. What was yours? Did you feel that you were welcomed? What about your pet? What was the reaction to you asking questions? Were they answered as you'd hoped for? Was the waiting area clean and tidy? What was on the waiting room walls? Was it littered with adverts encouraging you to buy a plethora of pet products? Or was there information that was genuinely useful regarding a pet's health, and general information about local and national animal organisations?
Was the staff helpful and friendly? If you thought to ask a few basic animal health questions did they seem knowledgeable? Would you trust them to look after your pet if a stay at the surgery became necessary?
The final test is your meeting with the vet. Few if any animals like visits to the vet. How your prospective vet deals with this situation will determine the type of conclusions that you will draw from this visit. What type of questions were you asked? How do you think he replied to your questions about your pet's health?
The final question is one that you must ask yourself. Are you willing to deliver your dog's future health, and any related problems, in to the hands of this vet? Does it feel right to you, are you confident?
Selecting a vet that's right for your pet isn't a decision that you should let a telephone directory make for you. You're responsible for your pet, and that means doing the very best that you can for him. So, please don't let him down.
Andy Matthews is a long time dog lover having bred, kept and shown a number of dogs for many years. He lives with his best pal Suki, a 5 year old Cocker Spaniel. Between them they have built from scratch Dog Names.
A new section on dog health has just been added at Dog Health. Check them both out --they're kind of unique!
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