Hi, having just taken my new puppy to the vets I was wondering how people choose their vet and what I should look for.

I found that I felt she was very knowledgable however I wasn't convinced I could approach her with my views. She did push petplan insurance (which I expected her to) and their own stocked food (hills). I have actually decided to go with JWB and will say that when Tatty goes for next jabs and will see what she says!

What do people look for in a vet?...Is it a good knowledgable vet and you trust them completely or is it a balance of a knowing vet but one you feel you can bring ideas too?

I asked people I knew who had pets what vets they used and what they thought of them.  We haven't got that much choice here but the vets I use I have been perfectly happy with so far.  As for feeding, this is a very personal choice and I think you have to do a bit of research and then do what you think is best for you and your dog. 

it is now illegal for vets to recommend a insurence company they are only allowed to tell you what to look in one.
a lot of vets like hills as it is one of the most well known and easiest to get but in the end it is your opinion.

when i found my vets (luckily the nearest to me) i looked for:
1. receptionist and nurses to be happy to interact with your pup (if theyhave time) to get it to like the vets.
2. the vet to say hello to the pup before starting the health check + etc...
3. during the consultation i like to see the vet giving cuddles to the pup between checking eyes, ears, mouth etc...
4. giving a treat after the injection always helps.
5. explaining what they are doing and if anything is wrong explaining it before just handing out drugs (and perhaps give two solutions to the same problem if there are)
6. and generally if you feel comfortable with asking questions and they answer nicely then that is the main one
7. go with your feelings as they are usually best and if you find out that you don't like him/her you can always move

good luck with your pup
Anna

Like any other professional you might choose to use I like my vet to know their stuff, be a good clinician, diagnostician etc, asking around locally for satisfied customers and listening to what they say about how well their dogs were sorted out rather than how pliable to their will ;) the vet was is useful I believe.  I'm not too worried about bedside manner, I can give treats to my dogs myself in the surgery if I think that is necessary to ensure they will allow me to drag them in :)  I don't particularly think they need to take my ideas on board I'm paying for their greater knowledge as it is :)  I do have my own views about things like how much surgery, for instance, is justifiable for an animal but I expect the vet will have the greater knowledge about how successful something is likely to be so it makes sense to take that on board before making your own decision.

I dont trust anyone completely,vets are not gods and do not know everything,they make mistakes aswell,especially when it comes to feeding and what to feed Which is why i think it's great that you plan on feeding something other than what the vet recommends and sells,be prepared for a speel on how hills is the best and only food you should be feeding your dog blahdy blahdy blah,or hopefully she will accept YOUR way of feeding ;)

We have a great vet around the corner from us,they have different specialist vets in just about every field,however their main objective is MONEY,and wont even give your pet a sideways glance if you cant pay straight away!!! They shuffle the pets along like a production line,and there is ZERO bedside manner :(

Then there is the vet about 10 minutes drive away,she cuddles and kisses my dogs everytime we visit,always offers to let me pay off bills wether i need to or not,however she is not half as experienced as the vets around the corner,but she is warm,friendly and does her very best for the pets in her care.She sells Hills but understands/accepts that i will never,ever feed it,she applauds that i give my dogs raw bones as it does save on yearly dentals(the other vet pushes them without even checking the dogs teeth first:rolleyes: )

I think you will feel if this vet is right for you and your dog,if not there are plenty of others to choose from :) Stay away from vets who wont think outside the box and who are rigid in their ways,the first vet above scoffs at feeding fresh foods and pushes hills down their clients throats,they will not consider homeopathic treatments as it is not scientific enough,the exact opposite of my prefered vet.

Edited: Anna's numbers 5 and 6 are also very important,i think :)

We have three vets in our town one of which my cat was registered with mainly because it was local and came with good recommendations. When Paddy (lab) arrived I was lucky enough to have a reasonably full medical history despite this being his third( at least) home since leaving his breeders and the previous two had used the same vet in another town. He was due to have a post castration check a few days after he arrived so I took him to this vets and I really like it. It is a vet hospital with different specialists, vets seem to know their stuff (or appear to for a novice dog owner like myself), I asked about food and despite stocking Hills did not mention it at all and they made me feel at ease with no rushing and plenty of time to answer my questions (believe me there were plenty!!) despite it being a busy practice. They are happy for Paddy to 'visit' the nurse on a regular basis to desensitise him as he gets quite stressed (their idea), make a fuss of him even if they are just walking past (both vets and  other staff) and seem to listen to my ideas and views. On the whole I am extremely happy with them. If I needed to find a new vets I would be looking for a place like this that fills me with confidence.

Thankyou for all your views...the vets were recommended but I was surprised (and a little hurt...lol) that apart from the vet who dealt with my puppy no-one else took any notice of her - even though they weren't busy and she is little and cute!

It will be interesting to see what they are like the next time - maybe I caught everyone on a bad day!

One thing which I didn't think of investigating when we found a vet practice was which vaccine they use to vaccinate puppies and for annual boosters.

There is a vaccine made by Intervet called Nobivac, which most diseases only need to be vaccinated for every 3 yrs, instead of annually.  The vaccine has been tested to be effective when only given every 3 yrs, so you're safe to do this.  The leptospirosis and parainfluenza vaccines still need to be given annually, but I'd rather just give 2 vaccines annually than 7.  (And the remainder every 3 yrs.)

See http://www.future-of-vaccination.co.uk/

So, if I were a new dog owner, looking for a vet, I'd make sure they used Nobivac.

When I first took my puppy to the vet, none of the staff fussed over her in the waiting room....they waited until she was taken out the back to be weighed and then did it :D :D Took about 15 minutes to get her back off them :D

I chose this particular vet because the general consensus among fellow pet owners was that they were good. I am happy with them so far - my dogs have always been treated well and in a professional manner. The most senior vet in the practice has a dreadful 'bedside manner' IMO but I am paying for his expertise, not for him to cuddle and coo over my dogs ;)

We've been with ours for about 16 years and I really can't remember why we chose that one but it is very good - the vets and staff are lovely :)

that is true, just so everyone knows that i do look for expertise but then i thought it was assumed that everyone would want a expert vet. i was just adding the extras. sorry if i confused anyone
anna

I have been to a number of vets over the years before choosing and sticking with one.
She was the old school vet knew your name and the dogs as you walked through the door pet the animal and had an obvious love of dogs took time to listen didnt always send you home with medication if she didnt think it was necessary.She also gave us her home number and was always available day or night if we were concerned about anything.
Had proved herself by saving the life of one of my dogs with speedy diagnosis and treatment.
she was head hunted a few years ago to teach at the liverpool University Small Animal hospital and asked us along with her other clients to move with her as the facilities available were second to none.
We were very happy to stay with the LSAH after she retired last year as her predesessors have been taught by her and give the same level of care and treatment.

Roni

I've used our vet's practice for years and years - first with cats and then the dogs - and I've always found them professional, helpful and caring. Plus they never, ever, attempt to sell you anything! Initially I went to them because they were well recommended by people whose judgement I trusted.

However, they have two branches which, in terms of distance, are equally accessible and I choose to go to the one which has a particular vet whose attitude and approach I like the best. In both branches ignoring a pet is unheard of and it takes me ages to get past the desk with the particularly cute pup I have now. All staff do their best to know and remember names and when I had Bob pts last year, the vet I consulted sent me a personal letter of sympathy afterwards.

All things being equal I don't think I'm qualified to make judgements on expertise and I wouldn't put bedside manner before competence. However, if you feel at ease with your vet it makes the whole experience more rewarding for everyone.

Have checked my puppy's vaccine card and she has had Nobivac so I am pleased about that and hopefully when it comes to a year and the boosters it will be more widely recognised that some vacines do not need every year boosters

Some vaccines may not, but others do. And if a dog's immune system is up to scratch, an unnecessary dose of vaccine (or live infection) will do no harm. :) If its immunity has waned for any reason it could be seriously ill.

*And if a dog's immune system is up to scratch, an unnecessary dose of vaccine (or live infection) will do no harm.

That is not correct, all vaccines have the potential to harm!

Not as much as the illness itself, though.

In many reported cases much worse than the disease, not to mention the fact vaccines can also cause the same disease its supposed to prevent

I'm sure most vets are aware, mine has a chart up in her room displaying what is given when.  I think your vaccine card may do as well :)

Ttatty-I'm so glad you didnt end up going with hills,i'm sure your dog will thank you in years to come :)

I go to my vet because

1 He listens to me, and discusses all aspects of a treatment and doesn't treat me like an idiot
2 If he doesn't know something, he will look it up , he doesn't pretend to know everything
3 Got my shepherd onto a clinical trial at the Queen Mother Hosp for animals when she had AF, which helped hugely with the expense associated with the drug Cyclosporin
4 Will often offer a (very cheap) homeopathic remedy if he believes it is the best solution. Has an open mind concerning alternative/homeopathic treatment
5 Came to my house on his day off to PTS my beautiful old girl Elsa, as I didn't want any of the other vets to do it
6 Has shown infinite patience and always fitted us in straight awaywhen my old shepherd girl had a bad turn and I just turned up

He's further away than other vets, but I wouldn't change for the world

Kat

Can't remember why I picked my first vet, but I didn't stay long. She criticised one dog's pedigree (he's half brother to half sister), and criticised the other dog's 'unnatural pushed in face' (he's a Yankee) and then mucked up his cherry eye op at 5 months old. At that point I switched, and my new vet seems very pleasant. :-)

Kat your vet sounds absolutely fantastic, fancy coming out on his day off - wonderful!

I'm with the vets I'm with because my family always has been - but, I do have preference.  There's 5 different vets there now, and I've seen all of them at some stage or another.  But, the one vet I do like to see is very good with all my animals - he seems to know what he's doing, but more importantly (unlike the other vets) trusts me to do some things myself - for example, my ratties are on antibiotic injections every 3 days, and I was taking them in each time to do it; as soon as I saw him for one visit, he handed me the syringes of medicine, told me which rat got how much, and now I do them at home.  He's also very attentive, listens to any concerns I have, and is very good with my animals - very patient and gentle.  He's also done ops on rats I've had in the past, and he neutered Opi, also giving great after-op care for her and explaining in detail about her op, why she was under a bit longer and so on - he seems to realise that I do understand what he's talking about and doesn't suger-coat it or simplify it.

Hopefully when I move I'll find a similar vet near my new place; I'll be keeping my account at the current place anyway, for when I come down visiting.

Oh gosh but Hailey, Hills must be ok because the government says so, and we know they're never wrong ,don't we? 

When have the government ever commented on Hills? 

im with my vets because they are "the horse" vets in my area. So even though i dont have horses anymore i know & trust them well. (hallie bought one of their range rovers im sure...she was very accident prone bless her). Anyway so i stuck with them. they have a "dog" specialist & hes a exellent surgeon, did wonders for nellies leg when she killed it. They often have students in which i think is exellent for keeping up with new ideas etc.

At first glance they seem alittle more expensive then the smallers vets, but i find they dont charge for alot of the aftercare whereas the smaller vets do.

ive always been impressed by the cleaniness of the premesis, & have seen the area where the dogs stay,which is nice.

vet nurses & reception peeps are friendly & its very organised.

re money, they bill me at end of month & if it was a big one (mainley over now that hallie-horse has gone) they would be ok iff i paid it over a couple of months.

Our vet is open minded which for me is great as I dont want to pump my dog full of drugs when there is a safer ways to treat her. If I dont understand something he doesnt mind taking the time to explain.  He will offer a variety of treatments and help me decide what is best for Abby.
I look at the way Abby gets treated at the vets an it is much better than i get treated at the doctors.
Mary

I wish my vet was my own doctor he,s brill with my two gsds,  in the past I,ve had vets take a look at them and stand with their hands behind them up against a wall and this was only when the dogs were three months old pups and going for jabs and checkups etc.
We changed to a guy who used to be an army vet so is absolutely at ease with them the first thing my dogs do when they visit him is go straight to the scales and plonk themselves on whether they are invited too or not and quite often they get on them together if not made to wait their turn.
My girls are perfectly happy to visit and if they are happy then so am I every one is very good at the practice I luckily so far only go for check ups boosters etc but both girls have been left for hip scoring and elbow testing and were happy to be taken from me by the nurse and were not in the least distressed.
I feel really fortunate to have such a good relationship with this practice
Sharon

We have the most fantastic vet. He fusses the girls when he sees them, the nurses and reception people are also friendly and most of all he listens to what we say.  Hes amazing and my friend also goes to him and thinks hes brill. The dogs also wag their tails when they see him :)

I've always been happy with my vet but he went even higher in my estimation after he left a family party late at night to open up his surgery for me when my 14 yr old weimaraner bitch had collapsed. Sadly she had to be PTS (though I knew that would happen) He even carried her from my car. He was calm and understanding and made it all very dignified. I have never forgotten his kindness.
Now he treats my male dobie (He didnt like the fact that I had a docked one though) I guess we cant agree on everything but I trust his judgement and I like his manner. I have experienced other vets in the past but none that I like as much.