Finding A Veterinarian

It is a good idea to research finding the right veterinarian. Start by asking family, friends, your neighbors, you will probably get some useful information from one or possibly all of them. Your local telephone directory is also helpful. I would even call some animal care centers and see if you can get a tour of their facility. Finding the right animal care center and veterinarian is not an easy task. So many facilities are not set up to handle larger animals, which is why it is a good idea to tour a site. There are even veterinarians who do not like to take on bigger dogs. The other thing I have found is veterinarians are just like a lot of us, they might be dog people or cat people. Some veterinarians specialize in small dogs, probably not a good choice for those of us who have Saint Bernards. You may find you go through a few veterinarians before you find one you are comfortable with.

Keep in mind that very few veterinarians work alone, most are part of a larger conglomerate. In other words, big business. As we all know, a business exists to make money. Many of these animal care facilities have a strategy to convince you that it is necessary to see your puppy or dog every four to six months. Some will say your dog needs a parvo or a bordetella vaccinations every six months, this is just not true. I have encountered facilities where they are wanting to clean your dog's teeth before they are even a year old. This is unnecessary especially when there is no tartar on their teeth. Having a large breed dog, they will tell you to have them x-rayed for hip dysplasia. I have had vets wanting to do this as young as four months old, even though there were no warning signs of problems. Teeth cleaning and x-rays for hip dysplasia involve putting your puppy or dog under anethesia, this is something you should be cautioned in doing too often. I am not against these procedures, I just think that they are performed at too early of an age or too often. These big conglomerates are very much aware of how much we love our dogs and they want to tap in to that as often as they can.

Check back tomorrow for more info from BRANDYKEGS.