How do you choose a new vet?

When my vets started going crazy with Bacca's diagnosis and prescribing $5,000 in surgery, I consulted my breeder. I know have a new vet - granted an hour away - but I love him.

Look for a "sophisticated" country vet that can do basic diagnostics - e.g. ultrasound, xray. They will charge a whole lot less, plus understand that there is a limit to our pockets. The city vets assume that our pockets are unlimited. I don't know that I'll ever go back to a city vet again.
 
Let's also take this opportunity to mention how we can be better clients to our vets. Again...this is only my opinion.

1. Unless it is an emergency, how about grooming and bathing your dog or having it groomed before the visit. If you schedule an appointment for the following week, WASH your dog on the weekend. Your vet will appreciate the care and time you have given to your fur baby. I have 10 shelties at any given time, and I would be mortified to show up with a dog is sorry grooming shape. Who would go to the doctor without bathing first?? I think people don't realize this, so now you know.

2. Don't show up with nails an inch long, and ask them to trim them... when they haven't been trimmed since the last vet visit. I am sick and tired of people saying "I'm squimish about doing nails!" Take the time to learn how to use a dremel, or nippers from a vet tech, or a groomer.

3. Don't let your dog get overweight. Also, don't ask the vet if your pup is too heavy. For some reason, they seem to say, "No, he's fine". Take the advice of any competent breeder of your breed. They really know what a sheltie should weigh.

4. Learn how to take your dog's temperature. And do it before calling with an immediate concern. It is really helpful to the scheduling staff if you can say,
"My pup is running a temp of 103F". Did you ever notice the very first thing the vets do after weighing your dog, is taking their temperature?

5. Keep concise notes on your dog when dealing with an ongoing problem. It is really helpful to give this information to your vet, instead of saying, "Oh, a few weeks ago, I remember something".

These tips are the reason my vets respect me when I need to be heard. Be the best advocate for your pet that you can be.

(I am now stepping down from my soapbox).
 
That soapbox can sure come in handy some times!:wink2: Thanks for the tips Connie. I always try to give my dogs a good grooming before vet visits, but I never did the others. I always meant to but forgot every time.:o
 
I can agree that Aggie vets are competent (a good friend of DH is going into his 3rd year) but remember that that only means they have good training. I've had a vet that was *the* aggie vet in town but had a horrible reputation. She was known to be very rude to her staff and was a condescending towards me when I said I wanted to avoid ivermectin since we didn't know the dog's MDr1 status. Was terrific with animals, her staff was great but it left a sour taste in my mouth (and was way overpriced for the area.) Our current vet is an aggie vet, absolutely fantastic and on the conservative side which I like. She'll admit if she hadn't heard of a new food, treatment or study and will write it down to research it later, was willing to talk about (and follow!) different vaccine schedules for Olive and even different manufacturers so that we get it all right.

I spent a couple of hours obsessing over sites like Yelp and Angie's List before I decided on a vet when we moved, and I'm very happy with where we ended up. :yes:
 
BarbV said:
Look for a "sophisticated" country vet that can do basic diagnostics - e.g. ultrasound, xray. They will charge a whole lot less, plus understand that there is a limit to our pockets. The city vets assume that our pockets are unlimited. I don't know that I'll ever go back to a city vet again.
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yup.. :winkgrin:. This is what I do.
 
Talk to the office staff on the phone, as Dr. Mac suggested. You'll get a good idea of the friendliness of the place, and the general policies/procedures. If you like what you here, ask if you can stop in and talk to a vet for a few minutes. Keep in mind that some of the best vets may not be great with people - one of my favorite vets in west Michigan is a social misfit with humans but can practically hypnotize cats and dogs with a snap of his fingers. He's brilliant.

My own vet's office is wonderful and set the standard by which I gauge all others. They have a friendly and informed staff, with great basic office procedures (quick on the phones, efficient check-in/-out, etc). We're frequent flyers so they know my family, the 2-legged and 4-legged, and they always ask after those I've left at home. It's a multi-vet, general practice, and all of the vets are great with our pets. Each vet has their own particular interest and personality, but unless we're monitoring a chronic condition, we schedule appts with whoever is available. Appts never feel rushed, all of our concerns are always addressed and answers well-explained. They saw several of my pets through serious illness, to the very end, and I knew the care was the best.

For me, the quality of the medicine comes first, and the bedside manner/personality is a very close second.
 
I think you have to actually set foot into a place where your going to bring your animals and that will tell you volumes. Speaking with who ever answers the phones and making a decision on whether to use the vet is like going to a car dealership and making a purchase by the receptionist recommendation.

Perfect example, I love my vet it has taken me 5 years to finally tolerate his one receptionist...the others I love, but this one when she answers the phone some days I feel like hanging up and calling back to see if someone else answers:biggrin2:

I couldnt agree more with Connie, if you go in armed with detailed information about your dog and a clean dog youve already gained respect.
 
Interesting comments, very useful. I wonder if most people put this much thought into checking out their own physicians ? We have had potential clients come in to "check" the place out and I think this is a good idea. We don't typically have requests to meet with the docs without an appointment or pets. Personally, I think it is asking a lot of a vet to meet with you without paying for his services. From some of the posts here it seems that some vets do this, but it just isn't practical many times. Most practices operate by appointment only and try really hard to stick to their schedules so that the person who has reserved this time is seen at that time. Then you have emergencies which can't really be scheduled. Sometimes we have clients come in and expect to meet with a vet. without an appt. . The docs always do this but someone always winds up waiting because of this. I don't mind waiting if there has been an emergency but I wouldn't want to have to wait because somebody is shopping for a vet or thinks they are special and don't need an appointment. I like to see how the vet handles my pets and how they handle me. I like a multi- vet practice because each doc has a different area of expertise and interest. I like to have options. Word of mouth is great but you have to remember that everyone has a different perspective and POV concerning personalities and cost/value expectations.
 
mellie said:
... Personally, I think it is asking a lot of a vet to meet with you without paying for his services...

... Word of mouth is great but you have to remember that everyone has a different perspective and POV concerning personalities and cost/value expectations.
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Two excellent points, IMO.
 
Well, I guess I have been very fortunate, in that every time I have asked to meet and speak with a new vet specialist, saying I only want a few minutes of their time, at a time convienent for them, I have never been denied.
Sometimes it is just a phone interview. One that stands out, is a reproduction vet, that I ended up changing to from one that I had used for years.

I think part of good practice management is being accessible to your clients, or willing to shake the hand of a prospective client.
 
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