Hi everyone,

My question is, are there certain things to ask when choosing a vet that will help me find not only a very knowledgeable vet, but also one who maybe supports holistic medicine and doesn't push Hill's Prescription Diet on me? Or questions to help me weed out the "money grubbing" vets from the ones who really care about the dog?

So I've gone to 3 different vets who are all very similar and completely unsupportive of alternative, homeopathic, or holistic medicine. I wanted to take my puppy to a vet who was knowledgeable, but who wouldn't overcharge me for something that I could concoct myself (herbs, diet change, etc). Recently, I expressed my concerns over vaccinosis with a "knowledgeable" vet and he abruptly replied, "it's not a problem she'll be fine". For some reason, I figured it'd be easier to find someone who supported this.

I found this list:

http://leerburg.com/holisticvets.htm

but all of the vets are at least 6+ hours away from where I live. Any help would be appreciated!

I spent about 45 min on the phone discussing my dogs & my feelings about vaccines, care, my handling my own dogs for proceedures, x-rays, raw diet that I feed..etc etc etc before I walked in the door.

I am very happy with my regular vet & my holistic chiro/accupuncture vet.

I would suggest that you make an appointment to speak with the prospective vet & make a list of things that are inmportant to you in a vet & for your dogs,that you would like to discuss with said vet & go from there. You need to find one that is on the same page with you or that is willing to agree to disagree on some issues.

As an example: my regular vet doesn't promote raw diets...but is supportive if you can demonstrate that you are knowledgable & can do it properly listing what & how you feed & your dog's good health & condition show this to be the case. Vet see too many dogs in poor health as a result of owners feed incorrect homemand raw diets to just promote it to clients.

PS.,I did offer to pay for the time the vet spent with me on the phone,but was never charged. I suspect that had I not decided to go with her, I would have been charged.

Can't help with specific vets as I live on the east coast. Good luck researching a vet for you & your pup.

When I was looking for a vet for a friend I found two questions seemed to reveal the most quickly.

Would you support a minimal vaccination protocol?

What would you recommend I feed my dog and/or what do you sell in your office?

Diet and vaccination seems to be the easiest way to weed out the ones who haven't done any studies past what Hill's, Purina, or the pharmaceutical reps taught them.

You may often find that the girls at the desk that you speak with when you call may say something that is just the scripted answers for the practice. But in speaking directly with the vet you may find them more receptive to your feelings about the care of your dog.

Many vets today promote yearly checkups & vacs every 3 years. By yearly checkups they recoup some of the lost income for the switch in vacs to every 3 years instead of every year, which many of their clients are comfortable with. For most practices, that is basically their conscession to 'limited' vaccinations.

Most vets carry at least some of the SD foods...many carry other foods as well.

So talking directly with the vet sounds like the best way to go.

It's not so much my concern that they sell SD food, but just that they understand and support the higher protein diets as well. So far, I've only found vets that completely devalue everything that isn't sold in the office.

Also, if my puppy comes down with something, I want a vet who cares about welfare and not as much how much money they can get. I understand they need to make a living too, but I'm trying to find someone who will say "well I'd prescribe this med, but you can get the generic cheaper here" or something along those lines. What are good questions to ask to see if a vet will support this?

Thanks for all your help!

As far as the meds go...most vets carry the most common drugs needed to treat their patients & prescribe those drugs that they have in house.

I have found a couple of occasions that the vet has called in an Rx to the pharmacy for my dog. This was my holistice/chiro vet that I usually see outside of the office setting & that was the reason for calling in the Rx for me. Her office is 1 1/2 hours away. She sees my dogs at a barn call, at a friends, most of the time. (she treats horses as well as dogs) It would most likely be a very unusual situation that they would have you get the Rx someplace else.

My holistic/chiro vet matches the prices that I can get overline etc. So I have no problem. I actually see her more then my regular vet. Her prices are VERY fair.

I would expect that there would be a delay in treatment if you were to have to wait for something to be sent to you.

I am not sure that pharmancies would carry all the drugs that would be prescribed to dogs, generic or otherwise. I think that you can only anticipate & discuss so much in speaking to a vet before becoming a client. You may be being somewhat unrealitic in your expectations.

Before treatment, other than a life or death emergency..even then to some extent, I would expect to discuss treatment options & I would think that most vet would be happy to do that.

In a true life & death situation where time was of the essence...I guess that I would have to put my trust in my vet & their knowledge to have my dogs best interest in mind in the decisions that they need to make in caring for them. I trust that my vets will do that.

Ask friends & family who they are usuing & why they have chosen that vet. My chiro vet was already working on a frieds horses & dogs for several years & she was very pleased with her. My regular vet was also at the suggestion of a friend.

Good luck with finding one that you are happy with.

 Quote: megan mcbratney

Also, if my puppy comes down with something, I want a vet who cares about welfare and not as much how much money they can get. I understand they need to make a living too, but I'm trying to find someone who will say "well I'd prescribe this med, but you can get the generic cheaper here" or something along those lines. What are good questions to ask to see if a vet will support this?

Thanks for all your help!

That is a lot to ask. Not saying you won't find it, but they do have a business to run too!

IMO, it's up to you to do the leg work, check out prices, etc. For instance when Missy needed to go on heart meds, I looked around and found that it was on the $10/3 month drug list at wal-mart. So I asked for a prescription and they gave me one - not a problem.

I think you want someone who is smart, experienced and caring. Smart is #1.
They also should have the basic instrumentation, a gas machine, modern Xray, a tech. Someone with whom you can have a relationship, someone you can call in the middle of the night. If all emergencies are handled by the emergency clinic, I'd pick another practice. They don't need to do complicated orthopedics, they can refer that away-but they need to be willing to refer, to consult with the U.
You can feed your dog what you want. Some clients need Science diet, it's better than bread soaked in milk or feed store kibble. You can choose the vaccines that you wish to have given. At minimum, most vets are going to want DHLP-Parvo boosted 2x as a pup w/ a yearly booster, then every 2 yrs, and the standard Rabies. Otherwise when your dog gets gastroenteritis one is always wondering if they are looking at the early stages of deadly virus, it just complicates care to have unvaccinated patients.
You want someone who is open minded but not namby-pamby, they need to know their science. Any one selling holistic remedies for fleas or worms, for example, would be a quack in my book and I'd avoid them.

 Quote:

Otherwise when your dog gets gastroenteritis one is always wondering if they are looking at the early stages of deadly virus, it just complicates care to have unvaccinated patients

I had never thought of that.

Betty L pretty much nailed it.

Someone who's actually smart, not pretending to be smart. Without having gone to vet school, it's hard for me to know what questions to ask to differentiate the two. For example, for advice on problems I have with my puppy, I have to come here. I'd like to instead be able to go to my vet (or at least have them confirm what people here have told me