Vetting Vets

Choosing a vet is one of the first and more important decisions you will have to make for a puppy. You need to be confident in your vet, to feel comfortable following their advice. Here’s a few tips for how to choose the right veterinarian, right away.

Finding a Vet

The best place to start, is recommendations. Like you, other pet owners want what’s best for their pet. Ask family and friends, look for local pet owner Facebook groups, and read reviews. This is the best way to learn about both the vets you would like, and the vets you would like to avoid, before you set up an appointment to meet. Keep in mind that veterinarians can have a specialty and may only see certain animals.

Meet your Vet

You’ve done your homework, and now you’re heading to meet your chosen veterinarian for the first time. First impressions matter. From the moment you walk in the door, check the place out.

Is the place clean? The facility should be sanitized frequently to ensure that one pet’s illness doesn’t become another’s. You don’t want a checkup to result in a check-in. However, if the place looks clean and organized, don’t be alarmed by some unpleasant smells. A vet generally has animals on site 24/7.

Licenses may be on display in the waiting area, or they may be elsewhere, but keep an eye out for how many licensed personnel the clinic has. You might feel safer entrusting a licensed professional, and not all vets employ licensed technicians. Don’t be afraid to ask them if you don’t see any licenses on the walls!

Greetings! How are you greeted by the staff, and the vet? If the staff is impatient, cranky, or just off-putting with you, how do you expect they will treat your pet? Many veterinarian offices also sell pet products. This isn’t usually a bad thing. But if the staff seems to be really pushing sales, or if the plan of care for your puppy happens to be the products that they sale, this could be a red flag. You want to trust that their advice is for your puppy, not their profit.

Keep an eye on your pet as you meet the staff. It is normal for your puppy to be nervous at first, but are the staff able to put your puppy at ease? If your puppy appears to like the staff and the vet, that’s a big win.

Prepare questions:

Emergency care. If your pet has an emergency, how easy is it to get in, and be seen?

Approach to pet care. A veterinarian is not just there to give shots, but to provide care for the entire animal. Vets have different approaches when it comes to pets and medication. Have a brief discussion with your potential vet and see what they think about wellness generally and any issues that are important to you. If they are not on the same page with you, then you should keep looking.

when you are asking questions, does the vet take the time to listen to you and answer clearly? This is extremely important. If they won’t now, then they won’t later when you are asking about a test, medication, procedure or anything else that you need to understand to make informed decisions. If you feel rushed or brushed off, then keep looking.

Cost. Costs can vary from office to office. The quality of care makes no difference, if you can’t afford it.

It’s impossible to think of everything when vetting your vet. You may have a concern that only surfaces in time or with circumstance. So lastly, don’t hesitate to get a second opinion or even a second option if you are uncertain. You don’t have to agree with your vet 100% of the time. If you like the second opinion more, you can choose another vet to handle something and still otherwise use the vet you have been using. No vet worth seeing would take offense to that. But it may go a long way towards your peace of mind.