Whether you have a new puppy or have just moved to a new city, you’ll eventually need to set up your dog with a visit to the veterinarian as you try to keep them in the best health possible.
There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a vet, including:
What they specialize in (e.g., Whether or not they specialize in younger or older dogs).
Their level of access to equipment (e.g., can you get an X-ray on premise if needed or do you have to go somewhere else?)
If they have high fees you can’t afford. For example, if they don’t accept your pet insurance (a whole other blog post), you may need to think of going somewhere else.
If they offer telemedicine which is especially helpful during the pandemic.
In addition, with COVID-19 still occurring, a visit to the vet likely means you won’t be by your dog’s side as they meet this person for the first time.
In this article we’ll cover:
A Two-Step Process for Vetting Your Next Vet
You can break up your vet search into two phases:
Online research. This is as straightforward as it sounds. Spending some time online in various forums to find your pet's next vet.
In-person (or virtual) evaluations. Once you find a vet, hospital or clinic that meets your needs, you’ll want to visit their office in real life. This is where you make sure it’s a good fit.
As you go through both steps, focus on three key things:
How does your veterinarian do with your breed of dog?
How does your veterinarian do with dogs that are of similar age to your dog?
Do you feel comfortable having them treat your pack member?
It may seem like a lot, but no amount of time is too much for our dogs, right?
Step One: Your Initial Online Research
Below is a list of practical tips as you do your initial research for Dr. Pawfect.
1. Ask friends and family who they use or recommend. This should be one of the first things you do as it is relatively quick and easy. First text and talk with your core social/family group. Next, take advantage of tools like Facebook and their Recommendations tool to crowdsource suggestions. Follow these steps to ask for recommendations on Facebook:
Click "What's on your mind, [Name]?" at the top of your News Feed.
Scroll down and click Ask for Recommendations.
Select the city where you're looking for recommendations.
Click "What are you looking for?" to add information about the type of recommendations you need.
To choose the audience you'd like to ask, click the audience selector in the bottom right (Example: Public, Friends).
Click Post.
2. Ask the adoption shelter or breeder for a veterinarian they would recommend. Whether you’ve gotten your dog from a shelter or breeder, they may have a recommended vet for you who has seen dogs like yours multiple times.
If the recommendation is from your breeder, this could be especially important as they’re likely seeing dogs that may come from previous litters of your dog’s father, mother or both.
3. Ask coworkers or even your entire company.
If you’re new to a city and have a relatively limited social network, checking in with coworkers may be your best bet.
Asking if anyone knows any veterinarians is a great way to also have something to talk about besides last quarter’s numbers or what you did over the weekend before the start of a meeting.
If your company uses a communication tool like Slack, you may want to ask about vets in your company’s dog owners channel.
4. Check out Yelp and Google reviews.
Like any business, most vets have reviews on Yelp and Google. Checking out reviews is an important part of your search.
One thing to keep in mind is to take the extreme reviews with a grain of salt. And you shouldn’t rely solely on online reviews as businesses might manipulate their reviews and/or incentivize clients to post good reviews in exchange for discounted service.
At the same time, bad reviews shouldn’t penalize the vet too much as that could be the result of billing issues and nothing to do with the care itself. This is a frequent complaint we’ve seen on Yelp while searching for a veterinarian.
See how the vet responds to negative reviews to hear the full story.
5. Read multiple veterinarians’ websites.
Similar to Yelp or Google, this should be part of your process, but not the only deciding factor to your search.
Read through the vet’s website and see what they say that applies for your dog’s breed and age.
In addition, this is a great time to find out some important things, such as:
The vet’s location to you
What the parking situation is
Whether or not they have 24-hour services in case of an emergency
Your vet doesn’t need to be a 10-minute walk away from you, and obviously depending upon where you live, a close vet may be impossible to find.
Still, location and their access to 24-hour emergency services should be something you consider when narrowing your choices.
After you’ve narrowed your search down to 1-3 vets, you can start the next phase of your process.
Step Two: Your In-Person (or Virtual) Evaluation
You’ve narrowed the list and you’re ready to schedule a meeting - fantastic! Here’s a list of things to keep in mind as you meet your new vet.
For now, the “In Person Evaluation” will likely need to be done virtually depending on the level of restrictions in place for COVID-19 where you live. A number of vets won’t allow you to enter with your dog so making sure you have done solid online research is important.
1. Visit the vet for an introductory meeting. Most vets will let you visit and even talk with a doctor briefly if you are considering them for your current and/or future dog. This is a great time to ask questions and get a feel for the facility. If you have an active 80 pound Alaskan Malamute, taking them to a vet with smaller exam areas and a cramped waiting room may not be a wise choice.
Outside of inspecting the office, you can also ask a number of questions, including:
How many vet(s) and licensed vet technicians are on staff?
How long has this veterinarian been practicing for?
Is this veterinarian accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)?
Is the vet a member of a professional association such as the American Veterinary Medical Association and their state or local veterinary association?
What services does this veterinarian provide?
What kind of equipment is available at the office? You can see if they do in-house X-rays (dental and/or bone), ultrasounds, radiology, etc.
Do they do surgeries in-house?
What sort of emergency coverage does this veterinarian offer? Are they available after-hours and weekends or do they recommend anyone for emergency services?
How are specialty referrals handled?
Does this vet believe in alternative treatments?
How much is preventative care emphasized?
Does the veterinarian recommend products such as medications or food?
If it is an office with multiple vets, can you make an appointment with a specific vet or do you need to see who is available?
What is the average wait time for a non-emergency appointment?
How does this veterinarian handle typical services throughout the course of your dog’s life (e.g., spaying/neutering and senior life support)?
What kind of experience does this veterinarian have with your breed of dog?
2. Visit the vet with your dog.
If you’re choosing between two vets, a deciding vote could be given to the future patient. ;)
Bring your dog in as a drop-in, and if your pet likes the place/are made to feel at ease, book your appointment there and then.
This may be an unnecessary step, but again, it is all about making sure you have trust with the team responsible for the health of your fur baby.
Summary
Finding a vet for your dog can seem overwhelming at first but you can definitely make the process easier by:
Finding as many recommendations as possible
Asking the right questions
Trusting your and your dog’s judgment
Pet health is so important, take the time to get it right!
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