Taking a Healthy Pet to the Veterinarian - An Extra Visit

The veterinarian is the most important person when your dog is sick or when the dog has been in an accident. The vet is your very best resource when your canine pal needs help. However, how often does your pet see the vet, simply for a visit? And the annual visit for the yearly needles does not count. What I mean is a visit to the vet by a healthy dog, when the vet just can say ‘hello’ and sit down on the floor with your four legged best friend.

Does this sound ridiculous? - There are reasons for this suggestion. You want to let the vet see the dog when it is healthy. It gives the vet some idea what your pet is like - in a healthy condition. It also provides the vet with a few minutes just to become ‘friends’ with your dog - and not while sticking in needles and running through other standard procedures. It is also a welcome break for most vets. They love animals - healthy animals; and it is nice break in their day.

For your dog, it is a visit that will remold his/her expectations about what constitutes a car ride to visit this person. Usually, it means needles, thermometers and other intrusions. This is just a visit. Perhaps going to that office isn’t so bad after all.

If you think this is an intrusion on your veterinarian, you might be surprised by how many practitioners welcome such a visit. Generally, there is no charge or a very minor fee (if anything) for these few minutes. A good vet will know that there is a huge payoff for these few minutes. At some time in the dog’s lifetime, the vet will need the dog to co-operate and trust in the hands that will poke and probe - and perhaps at a very serious time. The few minutes spent during such a visit is simply good preventative medicine; and it is a step in insuring that the vet and the dog are good friends. And your dog will remember - you know that.

Catherine Forsythe

[tags]veterinarian, office visit, pet, dog, preventative medicine[/tags]