How to find a good vet

[yhb]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

How does everyone find a good vet ?
I’ve decided to get a second opinion for my puppy (there is another thread about the issue ) but very difficult to make a decision on which ver to go to.
I talked with a online vet which was not that helpful.

 

[Tinytom]

Whereabouts are you

 

[excuseme]

I would suggest looking for a small independent vet practice and not one of the larger group practices.

 

[Hemlock]

Seconded about finding an independent vet. Word of mouth is the best - ask lots of people you meet who seem sensible/have dogs that are clearly well-cared-for. Within a single practice, there will be good vets and less good, and the occasional bloody awful. I get a lot of feedback simply through being a good listener. People like to tell someone if they've had a bad/good experience.

 

[JoanneF]

There is also nothing wrong with being on the books of more than one.

I have a local vet who charges £40 to let you through the door - they have a super-duper, state of the art animal hospital so if I think my dog will need that sort of treatment, ill go there. For a broken nail or similar, I go to the rough and ready, works out of a portacabin guy who charges £10.

 

[excuseme]

I would love to be on another vet's books as well as my long standing regular vet (who I would never leave, he is so knowledgeable, practical and honest) but there is a new partner who I and others, have seen kicking his own dog and he is certainly not touching any of mine!!
I just want another vet for emergencies for when this particular one is on duty.

I understand that a dogs details have to be passed to any new practice that I were to register with, and one animal can not be registered with two practices!
How would I overcome this.

 

[yhb]

Thank you everyone

I’m in West London
The current Vet is an independent vet in my area others are all part of a chain

Word of mouth is definitely something I would like but unfortunately I don’t know anyone in my area who has animals

Are online reviews reliable?

 

[JoanneF]

I understand that a dogs details have to be passed to any new practice that I were to register with, and one animal can not be registered with two practices!
How would I overcome this.

I wonder if this is a new thing then? T has been registered for ages with both vets (and also with the practice at Pets at Home because we sometimes get a voucher for a head-to-toe check for £10, which we use).

Word of mouth is definitely something I would like but unfortunately I don’t know anyone in my area who has animals

Can you just ask people you see walking dogs? Maybe not going straight in with interrogating them about their vet, but starting a conversation then saying you are looking for a practice in the area, who do they use and are they happy?

 

[JudyN]

yhb, are you on Facebook by any chance? There's often community groups where you can ask people for recommendations. Of course, you have to take all recommendations with a pinch of salt.

 

[yhb]

JoanneF
thank you for the tip
when I managed to talk with a lady with another Maltipoo, she was with the same vet as me and was very happy with him.

I’ll try your method if my puppy could keep calm with other dogs. Fingers crossed!

JudyN
I’m not on Facebook. Closed long time ago.
Tried to reactivate but it appeared to be very difficult

Thank you again everyone for giving me some advice
It seems really hard to find good vets in London

 

[Hemlock]

It's hard to find good vets anywhere - you have to keep on doing research, and I'd say while the internet has its place, you can't beat talking to actual people in real time.

And you can be registered with as many vets as you like. While I've always told them I see another vet as well, you don't actually have to. Private practice means you pay the bills and you choose those you see.

 

[excuseme]

Oooh @Hemlock that sounds really positive, I am going to contact a small independent practice and register. But I do not want to loose my normal vet that we have used for over 30 years, so I probably will not mention any names.
.

 

[Flobo]

@excuseme Have you, (or any of the other witnesses) talked to your trusted vet about what his new partner has been seen doing to his dog? I'm sure he'd want to know and hopefully understand that you wish to be registered with another practice also rather than have his partner care for your dogs...would he not?

 

[yhb]

I talked with an online vet as a start of getting second opinion
He suggested asking the current vet for a referral to a specialist orthopedic vet.
So booked an appointment with the current vet today

my baby stopped eating properly after she has been sedated and the fact that she has had her first season I’ve been advised by the online vet to ask the current vet to ultrasound my baby’s womb to check any inflammation

He also said he will write to the current vet what he suggested to help the conversation

Online vet was not as useful as I would hoped but considering the cheap price I thought worth the appointment for those advice