Virtual Veterinarian: Best Practices?

If you have a dog who loves going to the vet, count yourself lucky. An oft-cited study from the School of Animal and Veterinary Science at the University of Adelaide in Australia found that the majority of dogs experience mild to severe anxiety when faced with a visit to their vet.

Can Telemedicine  Help?

If you’re in this majority, you probably don’t need to be told what that experience is like. You’ve thwarted escape attempts, soothed their whimpering and cowering, worried while they avoided eye contact. Sometimes, wary of putting your dog in an anxiety-inducing position, you may have chosen to delay care for small things. But just like their human counterparts, putting off preventative check-ins for pets can result in more serious diagnoses down the road. Though there are strategies for making in-person medical visits more joyful for both of you, a newer pandemic-induced solution has gained popularity: Zoom vets.

If your dog is more comfortable with screens than a ride in the car, you may want to consider learning more about the pros and cons of virtual vet offerings. Though some health conditions require in-person care, a number of routine concerns can be addressed from your dog’s favorite spot on the couch.

Advice for Beginners

Not unlike the numbers of human patients who moved therapy online in the past few years, behavior-related questions for your dog are a great way to test out online veterinary options. Skin conditions and nutrition consults are other worries that are well suited to Zoom, though the American Veterinary Medical Association recommends relying on a remote format only when your pet has already met her doctor in person previously—so if you want to stick with your current provider instead of the apps that are proliferating, don’t be shy about asking your favorite office if they have expertise with online care. And of course, if your dog is experiencing life-threatening injuries or changes in breathing patterns, you should go straight to an office or ER option.

Early Adopters

A study published this summer in the Veterinary Record found that only 12% of dog owners have used telemedicine when seeking healthcare whereas a study last fall from the CDC suggested 37% of humans have used it for their own concerns

If you are new to the landscape of choices, consider testing it out as an add-on service at your current vet. If you are more comfortable accessing telemedicine through an app, Wired has a helpful breakdown of popular options.

The most important outcome of using telemedicine as a tool might be that it could help your anxious dog become more comfortable seeing a doctor when it comes time for an in-person diagnosis.