Why Pet Owners are Avoiding Veterinarians

A recent article came out in a veterinary publication:

“Why clients are skipping your exam room”

The author of the article claims that: “Pet owners don’t know as much as we think they do about taking care of their pets—and their ignorance is jeopardizing your patients’ health.”

The authors, By: Karen Felsted, DVM, CPA, CVPM, MS, John Volk then go onto give tips..

What I find interesting is the reasons WHY this is happening..

Veterinarians and team members have been working for years to educate pet owners about the care pets need to stay healthy. And undoubtedly we’ve made progress. Many pet owners simply don’t understand the need for routine care throughout their pets’ lives. They’re ignoring your recommendation for checkups and wellness visits and think of the veterinary clinic as a place for pets who need shots, not regular care. The bottom line is, pets aren’t getting the care they need, and dangerous illnesses are going undetected and untreated.

The study identified six key reasons that visits have been declining: the U.S. recession, the fragmentation of veterinary services, the Internet, a lack of understanding about the need for care, sticker shock, and feline resistance to transportation to the veterinarian. (For details, see “6 factors that lead to fewer visits to the veterinary practice”). While you can’t necessarily do much in your practice about the recession or the fragmentation of services in the market, there are many things you can do to address the other four factors, starting with educating pet owners about the care their pets need.

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Really???
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I suspect that bigger factors are in play.

Too many diagnostic tests etc ‘advised’…as in too many upsells

This then leads to the ‘HIGH sticker shock’

Few to NO alternate options ever offered..HOW many times has your veterinarian ever suggested that you consider curcumin for allergies, dandelion root for cancer, or acupressure for arthritis??

Clearly most of North America is feeling a big financial strain, but we are all still willing to spend money on our pets.

We just want it to be in the ‘best interests’ of our animals health, NOT some prescribed medications that a drug company is advising.

ALL of this then leads to the BIG ‘T’ word

Trust

Or a lack of it.

It’s hard to gain, easy to lose, and much harder to get back

I get the sense that some of this is happening in the veterinary profession….which then also leads to the ‘lower client visits…’

Heal Your Pet At Home!

Best Wishes,

Dr Andrew Jones, DVM

P.S. I encourage everyone to have a good relationship with a local veterinarian.

BUT I also encourage you to be MORE involved with your pet’s health care.

As in being assertive.

ADVOCATING for your dog or cat.

And then doing some basic care at home.

No question here is the BEST way to start: