Choosing a Veterinarian

[Vinnie]

How did you chose the vet you have?

We all need a vet for our dogs. Some vets are very good and some vets are not the greatest. Do you just go to any vet or did you search for (and find) a really good vet? Share with us all how you found the vet you use.

[Deuce]

I searched for a local place first. Once I had a list I asked friends and family about any experiences they had with them and did some google searching for complaints.

[LaRen616]

I chose my Vet because her hospital is kept very clean, it doesn't have plain white walls, it has personality, it's colorful, all of the exam rooms are painted and they all have a different theme. There is a cat room that has hand painted cats and a maze. There is a room full of quotes about animals from famous people. The Vet's are all super smiley and friendly. The receptionist's are very polite and welcoming. My personal Vet loves all 5 of my animals, she knows them all very well and she always gets on the floor to play with them.

[DnP]

When I moved up to upstate NY, I didn't know a soul and made finding a vet my #1 priority for Dakota b/c of his DM and his regular acupuncture appointments. My vet in PA didn't know anyone who practiced up here, so he directed me to various websites to do some research.

Basically, I originally chose my vet because of he did acupuncture. I stayed with him because of the great care he provided both to me and Dakota. He sealed the deal when I got Phoenix. As I have "grown" as a dog owner, he and I have great discussions on pet care and nutrition. He is open minded and will actually listen to me when I have questions and take the time to thoroughly answer them and make sure I understand his point of view as well as understanding mine. He was also instrumental in referring me to our current holistic vet who now provides Phoenix's acupuncture and chiropractic. He is still our primary vet, but he willing referred me to someone else when it came to holistic care.

[boeselager]

I don't know about any where else, but in Michigan you can actually look up your vets back ground to see if they have been fined and/or on probation, etc. I had a vet for just over 12 years until a couple of my dog's were done wrong. Then I found where I can look up his back ground and found out how many times (what year, etc)he was fined and/or on probation. That was a HUGE Shock to me!!!! The website I use can also be used for human doctors, etc too!!!!

[ken k]

the back yard breeder i got Max from, suggested the Vet that was takeing care of his mother and litter mates, (not cheap in the least) and i was not happy with my last vet, so i went there on a visit, she was young, graduated top of her class, i had some questions to ask, i already knew the answers, she passed, she has been taking care of all 3 for the passed 5 years, one thing I will say is she was bitten pretty bad in the face by a dog once, but she has no fear and thats one thing i liked about her, if the Vet has or shows fear then the dog is going to pick up on it, shes the only Vet I let handle my pac

[GSD Fan]

When it came down to the last vet I had, there were two choices: one vet office was run by a veteran vet and the other was a new man. I choose the veteran vet not only because he's more experienced, but he offered customers more stuff. His office was small and clean and he even had an office pet, a declawed goofy cat.

[GSDAlphaMom]

I've always used breeder vets. The experience of being a breeder brings something more to the table (for me anyway).

[Chicagocanine]

If you know anyone with pets in your area I'd ask them for suggestions/recommendations.
I didn't really choose a clinic originally-- my parents had been taking our family's pets to one clinic ever since I could remember as a kid so I just took my own pets there since I'd already been taking the family pets for so long...
I decided to change after they started having problems, ended up being bought by VCA, and the vets I liked at the clinic kept leaving. I chose a new vet by just finding out where one of the vets I'd really liked from that clinic had moved to, and I followed her to the new place she was working and when she opened her own new hospital I went there and that's where I still am taking my pets. I really like her because although she does "traditional" medicine she also is interested in holistic medicine and natural treatments and will often give options of both types of treatments.

The only other clinics I've used were picked either because I had a gift certificate for them or because they had some sort of specialty service that I needed (like acupuncture, hydrotherapy, oncology, surgery, exotics, etc...)

[gsdpup]

I've never given this any thought. We will add it to our list of things to do before getting a puppy/dog.