Vets and veterinary nurses are experts in animal health and medication. But they're also very familiar with the practical realities of helping people give medication to dogs at home. They can often suggest alternative approaches, formulations and techniques, as well as answering questions if things don't go according to plan. Many people find that developing a good relationship with their veterinary practice makes medication much easier to manage. As one survey respondent put it: "Develop a good relationship with your vets and their staff - they'll be your best friend." Another wrote: "My vets have been fantastically supportive and always available for advice." This section looks at some of the ways vets, nurses and receptionists can help, from deciding whether an appointment is needed to getting the most from consultations and understanding medication advice.
1. Deciding whether to go to the vet
You could consider:
Discussing with vet receptionist or vet nurse if possible
Contacting an online vet or vet nurse. This is sometimes a free option with pet insurance and other pet products
If your dog has a specialist (eg for skin, sight etc), it might be possible to email or ring them. Photos and videos are particularly useful when the vet isn’t directly with the dog.
If you keep notes about your dog’s health, check these. You might keep notes about symptoms noticed (with photos), questions for vets, what vet said etc.
The following options can provide helpful information or could be irrelevant, useless or even dangerous, so should be used with caution, and checked with the vet or vet nurse:
Google, ChatGPT or other online sources
Some pet shop owners can be very knowledgeable about some issues
Facebook dog forums – local, breed specific, rescue organisations
Vet receptionists can be a valuable source of advice and support
2. With the vet
a. Preparation
Make notes when they occur to you, rather than waiting til just before the appointment. You could include timings – of symptoms, medication taken, visits to vets about it etc. Some of this they’ll have on their records, some they might not.
Stuff to bring to vet:
o photos and/or videos to show vet o list of or their actual current medication o list of info and questions eg:
symptoms, when you first noticed them, if they’ve changed etc.
concerns about the symptoms, possible diagnosis/prognosis, treatment etc
what you’ve tried
what do they think is wrong?
implications – how bad, how long might it last
treatment choices, pros and cons of each
medication – buying online usually much cheaper than getting from vet
potential costs
It helps if we bring notes, questions, medications, photos, videos
The NHS has a useful list of questions to ask healthcare professionals, and other ways of making the most of the appointment. This advice is also helpful when visiting the vet
b. During appointment
Go through list of how your dog has been and your questions
Show photos/videos
Make a record of what the vet says for example by:
Writing notes on your phone or with pen and paper (I bring paper on a clipboard with a pen attached!)
Asking your vet’s permission to make a voice or video recording. AI tools, including ChatGPT, can now produce written summaries from recordings
If it isn't possible to do the recording during the appointment, you could dictate your notes soon afterwards while everything is fresh in your mind, and either keep them as a voice recording or use AI to produce a summary.
Asking your vet if they could record the information onto your phone
Asking if they vet can print out or email a written summary or treatment plan, which could include recommendations of websites, videos or other information to help you better understand your dog's situation
If someone else is with you at the appointment, they could make notes while you focus on the conversation with the vet and keeping your dog comfortable
Ask about ways to give medication. If it’s in a bottle with syringe, is it tricky to use? If your dog isn’t great about taking pills, discuss different ideas for helping with this.
If medication is non-urgent, it’s usually cheaper to buy online, even if you have to pay for vet prescription
Vets are usually happy for us to use our phone to record notes or to video techniques
