​Getting the Most Out of Your Pets Visit to the Vet

Dr. Taylor Moore, DVM

Healthy Pets Veterinary Hospital

 

This article appeared in the 2012 edition of Baywoof

 

It’s midday on a Saturday at the vet clinic, and the appointment books are full from open to close. Our receptionist hands me a chart. Pet Name: Sandy. Age: 7 years. Problem: Itchy skin.

 

 

I introduce myself and Sandy’s owner reaches out to shake my hand, dropping roughly 50 pages of patient records, research printouts, and notes on the ground. I stoop to help her pick them up as Sandy bounds between us, tail wagging, stepping all over the paperwork.

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We sit down. “So Sandy is itchy?” I ask.

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“Well, yes,” Sandy’s mom says, brushing a flyaway hair out of her face. “She has had itchy skin off and on for about six years, and nothing we’ve tried seems to help.” From there, she launches into a complicated history of skin scrapes, diagnostic tests, diet changes, and therapeutic trials. I try to keep up, scrawling hasty notes, asking questions as we go, and performing a physical exam while I listen.

 

Suddenly the intercom on the wall beeps. “Your next appointment is here.” A half hour has passed and the appointment is already over. We discuss a few options for further tests or treatments and I promise to read through the rest of her notes and get back to her. Which leads me to this article. If your dog has a chronic illness, what is the best way to get the most out of your veterinary appointment? Here are some tips that can help.

 

When scheduling an appointment, let us know if you are seeking a second (or third or fourth) opinion. Get specific: Sassy has chronic kidney disease and was diagnosed two years ago. You are the third veterinarian we are seeing for this condition. This gives us a great heads up so we can prepare appropriately and even schedule a longer appointment, if necessary.

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Try to schedule your appointment for a low-flow clinic day. Wednesdays and Thursdays tend to be slower days in our clinic, so there is a better opportunity to sit down and have a detailed conversation. The other plus of a midweek appointment: we get blood work and labs back before the end of the week and can make decisions based on the results.

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Have records from all previous vets sent to your new veterinarian before the appointment. A lot of clients are great about bringing records in to the appointment, which is very helpful. However, if you get records faxed over at least 24 to 48 hours before an appointment, the doctor can review them in advance. A vet appointment is an investment, and you get better bang for your buck if the doc spends less time catching up on old records and more time focusing on your pet’s current status.
 

Prepare a journal/diary. Keeping track of symptoms and changes (medications, food, lifestyle) on a calendar can help reveal trends, especially when dealing with a chronic illness like allergies. Take along a copy for your veterinarian’s records.

Write your questions down ahead of time. This may seem like a no-brainer, but when things are written down, you are less likely to forget them. It is great to have two copies of your question list - one for you to refer to and one so your vet can follow along.
 

Bring all medications and supplements to the appointment. This makes it easier for us to accurately modify doses, add new medications as necessary, and keep an eye out for possible drug interactions. Most importantly, be honest about how often your pet receives the medications. If your dog routinely spits out his thyroid pill, we need to keep that in mind when we interpret his test results.

 

Bring samples if possible. If we are seeing your dog for diarrhea, bring in a stool sample. If your pet is urinating frequently, try to catch a sample. This ensures that we can perform a good visual exam of the specimen, get it sent to the lab if necessary, and get results and answers faster for your pet.

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Follow these suggestions and we can both achieve our goal: to get your pup  feeling better as soon as possible.

Dr. Taylor Moore is a veterinarian at Healthy Pets Veterinary Hospital. She is a general practitioner with special interests in dermatology, internal medicine, and integrative medicine. She lives in San Francisco and loves spending time with her fiance Ryan and their two pets, Socks and Palu.