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Good veterinarians are hard to come by. It’s getting harder to find the country vet who knows all about you and your dog and can tell you all of the local gossip. Vets who offered discounts for multiple pets and client loyalty are disappearing. In his place we have vets with more sophisticated equipment but often less time for you and your dog. He or she may see lots of clients every day and be part of a large practice. You may not see the same vet each time you go to the offices.

How can you find a good veterinarian these days? Here are a few tips.

1. Ask around. Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to find a good vet. If you have friends with pets ask them who they use and whether they like them or not. Ask them about their experiences with the vet. Have they been satisfied or are they looking for a new vet? How is the vet with their dog? (Or cat or whatever!) You can learn a lot just by talking to a friend.

2. Make a list of some of the things that are important to you in a vet. Do you need a vet who specializes? Probably not, unless you are a breeder or you have a dog with a particular health problem, but if you do need a specialist, start looking. They can be hard to find. Do you need a vet who will write prescriptions for you so you can buy heartworm medication online? This can be a bone of contention with some vets so you may have to try several vets before you find one who is willing to do this for you. It’s certainly worth pursuing because heartworm medication usually costs twice as much at the vet’s office. Do you need a vet who handles his own emergencies? This is becoming rare. You may have to look far and wide for a vet like this. Most vets now send their emergency cases to a vet emergency clinic at nights and on the weekends.

Decide what is most important to you and look for a vet who can meet your needs.

3. Call vet offices near you and talk to the receptionists. Better yet, go by and meet them in person. Discuss billing arrangements. Veterinary care can be very expensive, especially if your dog has a serious problem that requires surgery and post-op care. What is the vet’s policy about payment? Does he or she require you to pay upfront? Can you make payments? Will they turn your dog away if you can’t pay for the entire procedure ahead of time? These are important considerations and it’s best to know how your vet handles these matters before your dog is in a life or death situation.

4. Does the vet take pet health insurance? Some vets do take health insurance for pets now. If so, which ones?

5. Find out the days and office hours for the vets near you. Do they fit your schedule? Some vets are closed on Saturdays or may only be open half a day. They may not stay open late through the week. Will you be able to work with their schedule? You can have the greatest vet in the world just down the street from you but if you have to work when they’re open it won’t do your dog any good.

6. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has a listing of state veterinary medical associations. Their website is an excellent place to look for accredited vets in your area.

6 Ways To Find A Good Veterinarian courtesy Dog Articles.

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Worms aren’t a very pleasant topic but they are something that you should know about if you have a dog. You may hear about different kinds of worms and wonder how your dog can get them. How does your dog get tapeworms, for instance?

Dogs get tapeworms from eating fleas. Fleas ingest tapeworm eggs and when your dog eats the fleas he eats the tapeworm eggs, too. They then happily hatch out inside your dog. A single tapeworm can grow to be four to six inches long in your dog’s intestine. The tapeworm’s head attaches to the intestine. As it grows it is followed by many little linked segments. These little segments look like rice. They break off and your dog passes them when he uses the bathroom. You can sometimes see them in his stool or they can catch on the fur around his rectum. A single tapeworm may have 90 of these segments. Each of these segments contains more eggs for the tapeworm.

When you take your dog to the vet (and this is one reason why you should take your dog for an annual check-up), your vet can identify these little white links as tapeworm segments. Sometimes these links will show up in a fecal exam, but there is no guarantee that a tapeworm will conveniently break off when your dog is at the vet so your vet may not find the segments when he does the fecal exam.

Over-the-counter wormers for dogs do not work on tapeworms. You will need a prescription wormer from your vet to kill the tapeworms.

A tapeworm can infect your dog for a year or more. They rob your dog of the nutrients that pass through his digestive system. Your dog may have abdominal discomfort, he may be nervous, and he may vomit. If you notice these signs in your dog, even if you don’t see the rice-like segments of the tapeworm around your dog’s tail or in his stool, take your dog to the vet and tell him that you suspect your dog may have tapeworms.

Tapeworms can be passed to humans so it’s very important to kills these parasites as quickly as possible. Beefing up your flea control will help prevent tapeworm infestations from getting started. If your dog has had tapeworms you will also need to treat your yard and home.

If you have a puppy, most vets will offer worming when your puppy has his series of puppy shots. Make sure that you get this worming for your puppy since it will take care of any tapeworms that your puppy may have when you first get him.

There are other worms and parasites that can bother your dog but most of them can be killed by over-the-counter wormers for dogs, with the exception of heartworms. Make sure that you get your dog tested annually for worms with a fecal exam to find out if he has any worms or parasites. Your vet can answer any questions you have about parasites and your dog.

How Do Dogs Get Tapeworms courtesy Dog Articles.

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