News, Advice and Resources for Thoughtful Pet People
Here’s Episode 106 – Vet Visit:
Learn the steps you can take so your dog is less anxious when visiting your vet.
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Check out these topics mentioned in the podcast:
Great, great advice on how to help your dog have a better visit to your vet! Alena Van Arendonk from Canines In Action in Indianapolis has an excellent post on what you can do to make visits to the vet less frightening for your dog.(thanks Margaret!) I really like her description of being a training opportunist—taking advantage of a situation to teach your dog. Teaching your dog to get on and off something will make it so much easier to get them on a scale or a low exam table. Can you imagine what it’s like for vet techs to wrestle 50+ lbs. dogs onto the scale all day long? Teach your dog to do it herself and your vet tech will love you—so will your dog!
Some of Alena’s suggestions include training while you’re waiting for the vet and training before you ever get there. The idea of short visits to the vet’s office when you don’t have an appointment is also great. You can just go into the lobby, get your dog to sit, lie down, etc. and give treats. If the scale is accessible, work on on & off. It’ll help for your dog to have more positive associations with the vet.
Saffron became terrified of the scale at our vet’s office. The furnace turned on while she was on it and air suddenly blew out of the vent right into her face. That was enough to scare her so badly that it was almost impossible to get her on the scale ever again. So, I started randomly visiting our vet and if they weren’t too busy, Saffron & I would work on her fear of the scale. It took a while, but she got over it and now when we get to the vet, she walks right over to the scale and plunks her butt down. Help your dog cope better with a trip to the vet and do some training ahead of time!
Excellent advice on 10 things for safe and courteous behavior in your vet’s waiting room. I think my favorite is keep your dog leashed and under your control—no retractable leashes. Vet clinics are places of stress and fear, not to mention being populated with sick and injured animals, so it pays to be alert.
Interesting and disturbing article on how little recourse you have in the U.S. if your veterinarian commits malpractice.
Bad vets may just get a slap on the hand, if that, from your state veterinarian board. And you might be surprised what the courts consider to be the value of your pet. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, your 10 yr. old mixed-breed dog is valued under $100, because they’re only considered property. (via Animal Law Blog)
Visits to veterinarians are down, but preventative care is important for our pets just like it is for us. To help pet owners, Bayer Animal Health is offering downloadable $20 vouchers for vet care as part of their Help Your Pet, Get To The Vet campaign. (The campaign will undoubtedly drum up some business for Bayer too, since they make things like Advantage and Droncit.)
The vouchers are available February 16 through February 28, 2009 on a first come first serve basis. About 80 vouchers will be available every hour on the hour each day beginning at 9:00 a.m. EasternTime and ending at 9:00 p.m. EasternTime. Up to 1,000 will be given out each day. To redeem the voucher, you must see a licensed vet between February 16, 2009 and May 31, 2009 for a preventive care visit.