Time to rethink your pet's vet

Things have changed since the 2019 start of the Covid-19 Pandemic. As the ability of vets to help dogs became hampered by human disease, the number of pets to care for went up drastically. Today, if you want to get your dog a checkup and shot, you may be waiting a couple of months to get in.

If you have a new pet, things get even harder. Many vets have closed off to taking new patients, including new dogs to old owners, and dogs that haven’t been seen in over a year.

Mostly, this is just a hassle for vaccines, but what if you have a real concern about your pet and can’t wait to get an answer? Telemedicine could be the tool you need to keep in your back pocket.

The benefits of telemedicine

Telemedicine gives you a real vet right away—not when they have an appointment slot. That vet can look at your dog through video, listen to symptoms, and give you advice on how to handle the situation. While obviously telemedicine won’t work if your dog has been hit by a car or needs on site treatment, it can be used for a number of other conditions. Here’s just a few:

·       Recurrent flea allergy symptoms

·       Recurrent behavior problems

·       Minor limping (may still be referred to on-site vet)

·       Minor diarrhea (may still be referred to on-site vet)

·       Exam without vaccines

·       Follow-up for previous condition

·       Prescription refills

·       Paliative care

Telemedicine for situations where the dog doesn’t need bloodwork or other things that require the pet physically being there can save both time and money. It can also reduce stress on the pet. Most pets aren’t wild about going to the vet, but they probably won’t mind snuggling in your lap while you discuss the problems they may be having in the comfort of your own home.

If you like the idea of telemedicine and want to have one, we highly recommend downloading the Petzey app to get you started. Petzey is a leader in the pet health space and offers a large selection of top quality vets available any time of day or night and it only costs $20 per consultation!

If you need answers about your pet and need help right away, Petzey is a safe place to find a top quality vet without ever having to leave your home. You may even be able to find your own vet on Petzey—many veterinarians offer telemedicine as an additional service to their clients.

Drawbacks to Telemedicine

You already know the drawbacks of an in-person visit to your vet. The difficulty of getting in at this time, long waits, stress to the animal, and other dogs in close proximity can all be problematic for our pets. Just like with any service however, there are also drawbacks to telemedicine.

In telemedicine, your vet can’t physically touch your pet. That means their advice is limited to what they can see, and what you tell them. That means they can’t get x-rays on a broken leg, draw blood, palpate the dog, or a number of other ways of checking the animal.

This is fine for many different problems. If your dog is violently itchy after getting fleas, the vet doesn’t need to flea comb the dog to know what to do. If your dog has diarrhea from a Thanksgiving indiscretion, your vet can help.

Telemedicine isn’t meant to replace your vet, but it can free them up to take pets who need on-site help, while also giving you the freedom to get help right now for the things that don’t.