How to choose a vet

Your vet is a pretty significant figure in your dog’s life – and thus, in yours. Hopefully, you’ll only ever need him or her for routine checkups and preventative procedures, but just in case, it’s worth taking the time to develop a good relationship with a suitable vet, before you need their services.


WHERE TO  LOOK

Sure, you could just pick a vet at random from the Yellow Pages or from an Internet search; but having the right vet is crucial to your dog’s health and
happiness (and, presumably, this plays at least some part in your own happiness and peace of mind as an owner, right?) Think about it this way: if you were trying to choose a doctor for yourself, would you be happy to just select one at random from an impersonal list? Probably not. You’d want somebody who comes highly recommended – somebody you feel like you can trust. Your vet isn’t just your dog’s doctor; he or she is also the dentist manicurist, psychologist, and – hopefully! – a friend. When you roll all these things up into one, you can see why it’s necessary to spend some time confirming that you’ve made the right choice. The best place to start  looking for a vet is by word of mouth. If you have any friends or relatives who take good care of their dogs, then that’s a great place to start: ask them who they’d recommend, and why. This last one is particularly important, because
everyone has different priorities: for example, perhaps they like their own vet because he/she is a specialist in their own particular breed; or they don’t  charge very much; or the clinic is only five minutes’ drive … their priorities are not necessarily yours, so it’s a good idea to make sure that your values coincide with the person giving the recommendations. Another great place to find a vet is through local training clubs (Schutzhund, agility, herding classes, police K-9 academies, etc.) These organizations are almost guaranteed to place a great deal of importance on high-quality veterinary care, because the health and well-being of their dogs is such a priority.

Once you’ve got a list of vets that you’re interested in pursuing further, all you have to do is call up the clinic and explain that you’re looking to find a regular vet for your dog(s): can you come in for a quick chat, introduce your dog, and have a look at  the premises?


HAVE A LOOK  BEFORE YOU NEED TO

Before you decide to align yourself and your dog with a particular clinic, test the waters first. Ideally, you want a chance to talk to the vet, and discuss his or her philosophies and approach to pet care.This is really important. If your dog ever really needs vet-care (if there’s an emergency, or  if she needs an urgent short-term appointment), you want to be sure that you’ve
made the best possible choice as far as her health and comfort levels are concerned. Neither of you should be subjected to any unnecessary extra stress at a time like that – and you can avoid a lot of grief by spending a bit of time in preparation.


THINGS TO ASK  THE VET

While you’re at the clinic, you’ll want to be assessing your potential vet’s overall attitude and approach to health care and animals; and you’ll also probably want answers to some specific questions. Here’s a list of useful questions to help you on your way:
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How many vets are there on staff? If you need to make an urgent  appointment, you don’t want to be waiting around while precious minutes tick past. Ideally, there’ll be at least two qualified veterinarians on hand (not just technicians or assistants.)

What kind of testing and analysis capabilities does the clinic have. If they have to send away to a lab for this kind of stuff, it means that the results are going to be delayed. If your dog is very sick, time is an important factor: It’s best if the clinic has at least blood-analysis testing on hand.
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What after-hours services are available? A lot of clinics close the doors in the evenings and on weekends, which means that if there’s an emergency, you’ll have to go somewhere else – and subject your dog (and yourself) to an unfamiliar vet. (If you don’t mind this, then that’s fine; but be aware that in a high-stress situation when emotions are running high, it’s reassuring for your  dog and yourself to deal with someone familiar.)

What’s their price range? How are payments made? Is there a facility for payment plans in case of unexpected vet bills? The payment-plan option is particularly important. Even with pet insurance, vet bills can sometimes be astronomical – and not everyone has the resources to deal with large vet bills straight away. Ask the clinic how they cater for situations like  that.
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How up-to-date is the staff with advances in the industry?  Do the vet, the technicians, and the assistants attend seminars and workshops regularly? The field of medical care is always moving forward – responsible vets make the  effort to keep up with the times, and see that their staff do, too.


MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE

When you choose a vet, you’re balancing convenience and quality. There’s no right or wrong vet for you and your dog – which is partly why making the choice can be so confusing. There are lots of vets to choose from, and they’re all different! Even though it’s tempting to go for the one right around the corner with the rock-bottom prices, it really is worthwhile taking the time to shop around. Your dog is utterly dependent on you for her healthcare – and if you take her seriously as a companion and member of the family, you’ll want to do the best thing by her.

 A good vet knows how to take care of you as well as your dog. The relationship that you have with your  vet will hopefully be one that’s based around a healthy mutual respect and positive synergy – there should be very little scope for misunderstanding. When the two of you see eye to eye, it makes caring for your dog that much easier.


 

  

GETTING STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT

 You must be aware of the various conditions and activities that tend to stimulate  puppies  to eliminate. These include feeding, drinking, playing and waking up. Learn to be aware of  these activities so you will know when your puppy has to eliminate. Keep in mind that younger puppies  will have to eliminate more often that older ones. The next step is to teach your puppy where you want it to eliminate. You need to choose a specific location that the puppy will use at all times. It will become a familiar spot  because the puppy will  recognize its own odor. When taking the puppy to eliminate, start using
a command such as  “go outside” or “go potty” and the puppy will start relating the command with the behavior.Praise your puppy during and after eliminating. When teaching your puppy  to eliminate outside it is important to differentiate between play time and potty time. The way to do this is to allow the puppy to eliminate and immediately bring the puppy back inside so the puppy understands when and where to eliminate. If you let your puppy spend more time  outside than inside during the house training process, it will be difficult for the puppy to understand what  you want it to do and where you want it to eliminate.

TAKING THE FIRST STEPS

Your puppy’s feeding schedule provides some control over its elimination. Most  puppies will eliminate anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour after eating. Meals for small toy breed puppies should be  provided 2 to 3 times a day, most other breeds will be fine with twice a day feeding. The food should be made available for no longer than 20 minutes at a time. Making the food available for 20 minutes at a time will help your puppy get on a feeding schedule and help you know when it has to eliminate. To ensure that you are not over feeding your  puppy, look on the bag of food you are feeding and go by the age and weight of your  puppy.  For example, If it says feed 1 cup –1 1/2 cups per day, then divide the lesser amount of food by the times per day that your are feeding and give that amount at each meal, so you would give 1/2 a cup in the morning and 1/2 cup in the evening. Over feeding puppies can cause them to have excessive bowel movements. The last meal should be finished 2 to  3 hours before bedtime, also make sure that you take your puppy to eliminate right  before bedtime. 

Drinking large amounts of water, as puppies sometimes tend to do, will make them have to eliminate even more often. Their bladders can’t hold large amounts of water at one time and  therefore they get  blotted and have to urinate every few minutes. Because of this, it is best  to ration the water supply and not let the puppy drink a large amount of water at one time. By doing this it will also help you to know when the puppy has to eliminate. 

CRATE TRAINING

Crate training is a good way to help house train your puppy. Since dogs are den animals, the crate becomes their den and they will learn how to hold it while in their den. You will need to start with a small crate, just big enough for the puppy to stand up and lay down in. If the crate is to big then the puppy can eliminate on one side and sleep on the other, thus defeating the purpose to teach the puppy to hold it. You can expect your puppy to cry the first few time you put it in there. The puppy is not crying because it is in a crate, it is crying because it is alone. More than likely the puppy has never been alone before and this takes sometime to get adjusted to. A few things that you can do to help your puppy get adjusted are feeding the puppy in the crate, throwing toys in there and letting the puppy retrieve them, hiding treats in the crate for your puppy to find and sometimes a radio with the station on the fuzz sound can help (this is called white noise.) When you are not able to  provide constant supervision because you are busy, sleeping, or away for the house always confine your puppy to its crate. This will provide a safe environment for your puppy while you can’t be there. Getting your puppy in a daily routine with feeding and going into the crate should help your puppy house train quicker. You can start using a command word when you put the puppy in the crate  like“get in” or “ crate.” Once you put the puppy in the crate walk away and don’t say anything to the puppy as you are leaving, this will just add to any anxiety that the puppy has about being alone. Don’t try to comfort the puppy if it starts to cry just ignore it; I know this is a hard thing to do. You think that you are comforting the puppy when it  is  crying but in reality you are giving in to it and may make matters worse in the long run by causing separation anxiety.

COMMON MISTAKES

Some of the most common mistakes when dealing with house training are misinterpretation, discipline, consistency and failure to teach the puppy to hold it. Be aware of your puppy’s actions and body language. For instance, if you observe your puppy sniffing frantically around the room, immediately use your “go outside” command and take the puppy to its special place that you want it to eliminate. Some young puppies don’t start sniffing for a place to eliminate, they just seem to be walking and the urge hits them and they go on the floor. Young puppies don’t quite know what to do with the urge that they feel just yet, but it will come to them it time. In the early stages of house training, it is good practice to allow your puppy out every 30 minutes to an hour to help prevent accidents and establish good habits. After eating and drinking you can count on your puppy to have to eliminate. Each time you take your puppy outside, take it to the same location and out the same door each time. Doing this will help your puppy recognize where it is supposed to go to eliminate and help start a consistent  routine. Be sure that your feeding schedule is around the same time every day to help your puppy become accustomed to the elimination schedule. In the event that you witness an accident taking place in the house, quickly tell the puppy “NO,” then place the puppy outside and use your outside command. Keeping the puppy on a leash while in the house can also help you pay more attention to its needs. This way the puppy can’t get more than the length of  the leash away from you and you will know if it has an accident. Do not, under any circumstances, rub your puppy’s nose in the urine or feces. Doing this may  cause  irreversible negativity when it comes to eliminating. Never let your puppy watch you clean  up its mess in the  house, as this will tend to make the puppy proud of it. If your puppy defecates on the floor, take that and put it outside where you want the puppy to go. This will help the puppy understand where you want it to go by helping the puppy recognize its own  scent.

Just as a note, if your puppy has an accident in the house, clean it up with an odor eliminating cleaner. Using this type of product will keep the puppy from returning to the same spot. I recommend a product called Nature’s Miracle.