Things to Keep in Mind When You Are Taking Your Pet to the Vet

When you take your pet to the veterinarian, the experience could either resemble a scene from an overly dramatic disaster or be a calm, relaxing visit without any extra whining, scratching, or loud noises. Your pet needs regular examinations at the vet whether or not it's a breeze. Here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that your next visit is stress-free and successful. Whether you’re an experienced pet parent or a complete newbie, this quick guide will help you get the most out of your vet visit.

7 Tips to Keep In Mind Before Taking Your Pet To The Vet

1. Plan In Advance

Although it’s a one-day trip to the vet, you need an extensive amount of planning for this extra-adventurous excursion with your pet. Start by booking an appointment with a trusted vet. If you are visiting this vet for the first time, make sure you check their reviews online before booking an appointment.

Ask your doctor if they need any reports or stool samples, which are prerequisites of an overall health check-up. If you have a bird, you may not require a stool sample, but for other pets, it is very common to collect stool samples.

Things you need to bring for your pet's visit:

• Your pet’s previous vet records
• Pet owner’s identification (for the first visit )
• Your pet’s medicines or pet supplements
• Bring their favorite snacks to munch on.
• Stool and urine samples ( if required)

2. Take Proper Safety Measures

Some pets are very aggressive by nature, but on the other paw, we have calm pets who get aggressive purely out of stress, anxiety, and fear. It is very common to see pets getting angry, not listening to their parents, biting, and hurting anyone who tries to come near them. So for your and everyone else’s safety, make sure you use a leash or put them in a carrier.

3. Help Your Anxious Minion

Pets get anxious in new places, in front of new people, and in front of other pets. Moreover, some pets get anxious when they are in a moving vehicle. Their anxiety isn’t great for their health, plus it can cause havoc during the vet visit. So here are a few things that you can try to ease their anxiety and nervousness.

Help them get used to being touched by strangers. It all starts at home. Invite your friends or neighbors over and let them play with your pet. The more comfortable they get with strangers, the better.

Your furbaby won’t magically get used to having so many pets and people around him. So for starters, you can make an early appointment and skip the crowd. Nobody takes their pet to the vet early in the morning; if you can manage it, try to make an appointment in the morning when the clinic is not too crowded. You can slowly train your pet to be at ease even in crowded places. You can also carry pet products, like your pet’s favorite chew toy.

Along with these small tricks, you could also use pet supplements that induce a calming effect. The best anxiety supplements for dogs and cats are those with potent ingredients like L-theanine and Tryptophan which are known to calm their nerves and help them relax. When choosing a pet supplement, make sure you get your hands on a non-drowsy formula to avoid any grogginess.

4. Take A Note

Your pet can only make silly little noises, but they can’t really answer questions related to their health. You have to be their voice. The vet will ask you a lot of questions related to your pet’s regular behavior, abnormalities in their behavior, their eating habits, and a lot more. You need to know all these things about your pet so that the vet can accurately predict what your pet’s health concern is. Make sure to note all these things about your pet in a diary, so that you have accurate information.

Some questions the vet might ask you:

• What vaccinations have you given your pet?
• Has your pet ever undergone a surgical procedure?
• Does your pet have any major health concerns?
• Has he or she ever traveled with or without you outside the area you live in?
• How much does your pet eat, and how frequently?
• Have their eating habits changed lately?
• How good is their water intake?
• Is their feces normal?
• Are there any changes in their daily bathroom routine?
• Is your pet barking or meowing excessively?

5. List Down Your Health Goals

Make a list of all the goals and issues related to your pet's health that you wish to discuss with your veterinarian. Given how expensive veterinarian visits are, be mindful to ask all the questions you have. Pet parents frequently forget the questions they planned to ask the doctor because their furry child is leaping all over the place and hissing at other animals, causing a commotion. Therefore, it's a good idea to make a note of everything at home and bring it with you to the veterinarian.

6. Decide On Your Budget

There are a lot of examinations that can be done during a regular checkup. But every little test will cost you some money. You can talk about your budget with the vet so that they can decide how many or how few examinations need to be done. If your pet is perfectly healthy and exhibiting no abnormalities, you might just need to check their heart rate and perform a quick physical examination, which costs way less than a holistic check-up.

7. Come Hungry

Most of the time, the vets will reward your pet for exhibiting good behavior during the check-up. To ensure that your pet will enjoy their rewards and cooperate throughout the examination, make sure that they are still a little hungry.

Wrapping Up

We have all heard funny stories of vet visits and laughed our lungs out. But only pet parents will understand the struggle behind these stories. Most of the time, it’s their anxiety that makes a simple vet visit the most important episode of your life. The best way to help them be at ease is with calming supplements for dogs and cats that help decrease their anxiety. Take it slow, give them any help they need, and sooner or later, your vet visits will be more fun and less of a hassle.