Questions to ask a new vet?
 

We are taking Ivan and Iris to a new vet tomorrow because we moved recently. We plan to maintain a relationship with our old vet but we wanted to have a vet closer to our new place that knows us and our pups just in case (especially with Ivan's severe bee allergy). Any thoughts on questions I should ask the new vet to see if he will be a good fit for our pups? Our other vet has been seeing them since they were babies and we first brought them home so we've built a lot of trust in him. It's scary to start with someone new. Thanks for any advice you may have.

You could start with:

Make sure the office is clean and orderly.
I don't let front desk staff influence the vets I use personally.

-Hours?
-Payment (do they accept Care Credit, etc.)?
-Policies (what vaccines do they require for hospitalization and do you agree that your dogs should have these)?
-Anesthesia used.
-Onsite equipment (do they do things like ultrasound, digital xray? dental xray? can they do blood work in-house in an urgent situation - depends what's important to you)?
-Most importantly, what experience do they have/how is their diagnostic ability (this will be something that you will figure out the more you see them)?
-How do they feel about you deciding to not agree with them on something... This will also be figured out as you go.
-Do they charge for phone calls?


Completely depends on what you are looking for in a vet.

When I go to a vet, I also need them to be not terribly quick to put my dog on rx food for life. I need them to consider giving older, tried and true drugs before pulling out brand new ones just bc a rep had just been there (it does happen occasionally). I need them to listen to my thoughts on vaccines and nutrition. And they can't be afraid to refer my dogs to specialists or admit "I don't know the answer to that, but I'll look it up and get back to you".

Great advice! I hadn't thought of a lot of this. I'm going to print it and take it with me. :)

One of the things we really like about our other vet is that he's been willing to work with us as we consult with a holistic vet too. He will give us the 'conventional' viewpoint and then not judge us if we take a different approach. He's been very open to that. He will also fully admit when we have a question that he's not as knowledgeable about (that has happened when we are looking at less conventional treatments or raw diets, etc.) but he will do research or tell us his experience and opinions. This is why we will continue to see him.

Not sure we will find all this in a new vet but I'm hoping we can find someone we can trust in an emergency. We definitely want a good listener!! So that will be the biggest test at our appointment tomorrow.

I would add to Ellie May's list:

What is their practice for vaccinations? Do they follow Dr Dodd's program or is it vaccines every year for every dog?

Do they have a relationship with an ER vet for after hours care?

Are they willing to make referrals to outside specialists if you request one?

If for some reason your dog were to have to stay overnight after a procedure, do they have someone on staff who is there in-house 24/7?

We loved the new vet we met with yesterday! Thanks for the advice. We asked a lot of these questions, among others, and felt great about the visit. The office is a hospital and very well equipped with a great relationship with the speciality/emergency hospital that we were already going to. They are open 7 days and fairly late in the day. The front office staff and the techs that we dealt with were all very friendly, helpful, and really loved on our pups. The vet was comfortable with our vaccine plan as well as working in conjunction with our holistic vet. Our pups were due for their titer tests so we took care of that at our appointment. He was even able to give us the epi syringe for Ivan's bee allergy that our other vet was not comfortable with. He seemed to have a lot of experience dealing with this issue. He also seemed very knowledgeable discussing Ivan's GI issues as well as their LP history and Yorkie breed concerns in general. And the pups really liked all the extra pets and cuddles he gave them to help them feel comfortable. Overall, I feel like we found a great vet near our new home. What a relief! Hopefully, we will continue to feel this way over time as we work with him and the rest of the staff. Oh, and no charge for phone consults and an invitation to call 24/7 and vet will be paged if needed. Loved that!

Do they have experience with small breeds and what vaccines do they give and when. Some vets give vaccines when they really arent necessary and also give the rabies once a year when the state only requires it every 3 yrs. So some vets overvaccinate so its good to know what is needed and what your vet gives