How did you choose your vet?

I moved here 6yrs ago. Far away from where I lived prior. Got Tyson before jess needed  her annual shots so I hadnt found a vet here yet. Didnt know anyone here yet to ask for recommendations, so I just took tyson to the one up the road. Everything was great till.... jess needed her annual shots.

Now keep in mind, jess is bigger than a male doberman & chunky due to the staffy in her, but she is so very gentle by nature....but... this man is a vet!

He MUZZLED MY GIRL! Are you kidding me! She's never been muzzled her entire life! He was actually scared of her!  
Jess didnt know what was going on & I was just plain annoyed!
Well, we never went back!!!

I found an equine vet that backs onto the racetrack just up the road here that also services your dogs /cats if your horse is their patient. They do not take dog owners. It is only a service for their horse owners. They call it their small animal clinic    some of the dogs I've met there actually ARE horses.   Well, if they can treat horses, jess shouldnt be a problem! I spoke to the vet & told the story to him.

Ok! Ill see her! Yippee! We have never looked back! Jessup just loves him. 

He actually kisses jess each visit & he allowed me to bring tyson to him also!    

Ohhhh..... now Chilli goes to an equine vet to.          

You gotta have a great vet!

Sounds good! It's always nice to know you can rely and trust your vet.

I've been to several vets over the years, but when we got Dempsey we hadn't had a dog for a little while, so I didn't know any of the vets around here.

I first went to one that I was told was good, and Dempsey had his first shots. The receptionists were rude, miserable pigs, but the vets seemed ok, so I decided to stay with them. When Demps was about 5 months old (ish) he developed a strange cough. Now, I've had a dog with kennel cough before & I was pretty certain it wasn't that, so I phoned the vets to make an appointment.

The receptionist told me it was kennel cough, to bring him down & wait in the car park! The receptionist, mind, who has no vet training whatsoever!

I told them to stick it, and went to the vet my boss uses. A bit further, but never looked back. They are all brilliant with Dempsey & only twice have they suggested muzzling him (one was when he just wouldn't have a vaccination, and the other was when they had to cut a broken dew claw off right at the base & they didn't want to use anaesthetic). The head vet is a university lecturer, and really knows his stuff, making sure the practice keeps up with modern veterinary medicine/treatment.

Even the receptionists are good - friendly with people and animals alike & no trying to diagnose your pet before you get to see the vet!

Never looked back.

I used to use the cosiest vets.
A few years back my cat never come home, went everywhere looking for her. Anyway over a year later a vets phoned and said you still missing your cat? Went and wow it was mine. So changed vets then. Thought anyone who can keep info like that is organised.
Also took blue there couple of years back as he had bald patches, vet said to me give it 6 months until then he won't do anything as the tests can do more harm than good and cost hundreds and I won't put any dog through it unless it is 100% needed. Any vet that puts animals before money is rare so feel I have a keeper

Here it's a vetinary group with practices in two towns and the head vets work between the two. It's hit or miss which vet you see, some are really good and others not so much. All of the nurses I've seen have been lovely.

Mikey wrote: Any vet that puts animals before money is rare so feel I have a keeper

  

Caryll wrote:I first went to one that I was told was good, and Dempsey had his first shots. The receptionists were rude, miserable pigs, but the vets seemed ok, so I decided to stay with them. When Demps was about 5 months old (ish) he developed a strange cough. Now, I've had a dog with kennel cough before & I was pretty certain it wasn't that, so I phoned the vets to make an appointment.

The receptionist told me it was kennel cough, to bring him down & wait in the car park! The receptionist, mind, who has no vet training whatsoever!

Also to add: this was when the weather was really cold! Expecting a young puppy to stand around for that long, potentially ill for all they knew, in the cold and rain.

I love our vets!

I chose mine because they listen to me. I'm not one to sit back and take all the crap they throw at me. I do my research and know my stuff before i get there and know what to ask for and i'm happy to contradict them, and they are happy to let me and give the treatment i want. Hahaha.

Hayley wrote:I chose mine because they listen to me. I'm not one to sit back and take all the crap they throw at me. I do my research and know my stuff before i get there and know what to ask for and i'm happy to contradict them, and they are happy to let me and give the treatment i want. Hahaha.

Yes, that's like ours as well!

Well the first one we had, I picked as it was close but had great reviews.

We didn't stay with them long.... They wanted Harvey neutered from day one, horrified I feed raw, terrified of harvey for being a staffy, and then Chance came along   Chance i muzzle for my piece of mind, and yet they seem to think it takes all the vets on duty to man handle him for a simple check up, scream at him if he so much as looked at them AND recommended he be PTS   

This was all within a year of having the boys, so i told them to stop sending my Vax reminders as I don't vaccinate and the i was leaving.

I found another vets not to far away, which also have a E vet which is 24 hours, so I went and registered with them, but haven't needed to take them boys for anything until i needed them signed off for hydro, so they went for a good general check up, and although the female vet was very nervous of Chance, i explained he's muzzled, and how to approach him and what not to do, she soon gained confidence with him and they had a little cuddle. Couldn't fault them at all, and due to a computer error on their website they gave me 50% off the bill

Can't complain about that!

How did I choose my vet?  There was no choice really when our family moved 50 odd years ago to what was then a very small town and there was only one vet.  I took our cats, guinea pigs, budgies, and even my pony to his surgery on the side of his big Victorian house.

The years rolled on and he took on partners, the house was demolished and an up-to-date surgery built.  One of his earliest partners is now the owner of the practice and is my most trusted vet, but he does have several other vets and it is pot luck who you get to see.  I've had no complaints except for one vet about 15 years ago who criticised his senior partner's treatment of my dog, and then unforgivably refused to leave his bed a year or so later when the same dog was dying (I hoped she wasn't dying and could be saved but I'll never know because he told me to bring her to the surgery in the morning, by which time it was too late). I discussed the matter a week or so later with the senior partner and he was most apologetic. (This was in the days when vets, like doctors, did a rota of night calls)

Ten years later with Kuchar I am still with the same practice, although I told them when Kuchar was a puppy going for his first check-up that I absolutely refused to have anything to do with Mr. BarSteward and was reassured that he had left the practice - thank heavens.

Although I got the usual spiel about neutering puppies when they were 6 months old from the newly qualified vets, it was never pressed and the decision to neuter him when I did was mine alone.  

So that's how I chose my vet!

Ella, sounds like your current vets are much better! Any vet who shies away from the chance that they might get bitten, to the extent to which is affects their work, shouldn't be a vet. Frightened, sick and injured dogs can bite - those vets should be ashamed of themselves for not knowing how to deal with that.

Sounds like your current vets are nice as well, Lynda! Shame on that vet who let you down!

Yeah I'm happy with my vets, now that BarSteward has gone. When Kuchar split his stitches after his castration they did muzzle him (I was told afterwards) when they restitched him, but I forgive them for that and don't think it traumatised him.

Provided they do it for a valid reason (i.e., a dog may be distressed/in discomfort, not just because of a certain breed) and do it properly, it's not too bad.

When Demps had his stitches taken out, the vet nurse was quite nervous of him and he was muzzled. Demps is fine with muzzling (actually quite likes it, as he loves things covering his face and is comforted by it) but he didn't even give her a funny look throughout.

Well yes, Kuchar was distressed and in discomfort of course (he hates being at the vets) and the nurse said that he had "mouthed" her, which he possibly did. I don't blame her for not wanting to have her hand ripped off and erring on the side of caution.

I suppose it depends on what she meant by 'mouth!' I don't blame her, but I hope she didn't just muzzle him for a light slobber!

No it wouldn't have been a slight slobber. Kuchar is not vicious and has been taught bite inhibition from tiny so I don't think he would bite in earnest, but they weren't to know that. He does have teeth though and they touch the skin when he "mouths". No harm done!

Ah, well. Just one of those things, I suppose!

Yes our current vet is a lot better, I'm much happier with them!

Over the years being involved with dog training, rescue, behaviour bla bla bla ... I got to know most of the vets in MosselBay and chose the 2 practices I use on account of personal compatibility.
I get along with my 2 vets, they listen to what I say and understand that I'm not a complete numpty.

Vets can cause a lot of damage with their advice. Yesterday we had a new GSD puppy start training, stunning 4 month old girl. The owners vet had told him not to start training until she was a year old and to keep her on the property. Luckily he ran into a friend that told him that's wrong. This poor pup was completely shut down. She was scared out of her mind by everyone and everything. Completely shut down.

A vet told him to keep her on his property until she was a year old? I've only ever heard that advice given by ignorant bystanders before! That's disgraceful!

Terrible!

Just goes to show that not all vets are the same!

I wanted to cry. Such a gorgeous puppy scared out of her mind in a safe place with lots of friends to play with.
Another time a vet told people with a very DA Ridgeback, that they could not control, not to neuter but to breed as he was 'nice looking'.
They came to us because it had almost killed their female dog.
Vets should not interfere with behaviour.

If a vet has extra qualifications and experience with dog behaviour, that's fine, but a lot of them don't. I agree; they shouldn't be giving advice on something they're not knowledgeable about.

Luckily, our current vet is extremely knowledgeable. He's a university lecturer at the place I did my course.

My vets are also fabulous. They've gotten up at ridiculous hours to see my lot. They know if I say I'm on my way it's for a reason and my emergencies are usually at 22:00 on a Sunday night.