Our puppy had his first vet appointment there today. For social distancing they had a pretty slick operation where you call when you arrive, and a vet tech comes out to your car and does the paperwork, then when the vet is ready to see you they come and take you in, so you don't have to wait inside for your turn if you don't want to. I didn't see the inside because I elected to stay in the car but the wife said it was huge, nice, and modern. At least 6 staff other than the vet.
Our puppy was terrified and acting aggressive. Dr. Bill tried all the usual tricks and treats but our dog wasn't having any of it. He suggested that we come back a few times just for fun visits until the dog could be handled without being freaked out because he was at an age where one bad experience could scar him for life. They sold us the flea medicine we needed but didn't charge us for the visit.
They have a time in the morning where animals can come in just to be socialized with the staff (for free) and he suggested we do that until the dog gets over his fear before resorting to things like restraint or tranquilizers and based on the fact that the dog looks good and immunizations are up to date he didn't feel the need to rush the dog into an exam that could make him impossible to handle later (when he was larger). He also gave some socializing tips. He has been going to obedience classes and working with a trainer so they weren't anything new but we got a pandemic puppy that made it very difficult to socialize him and the puppy classes were all cancelled during the lockdown so we were happy to get his take.
The wife said that Dr. Bill had seen one of our dogs at Aloha vet and although it wasn't a bad experience it wasn't a great one either. She said today's visit was "much better". She also opined that the clinic looked to be too large for a single vet practice and speculated if another vet(s) might work there some day.
Being livestock owners that perform most routine medical procedures ourselves a lot of vets look down on our self-dosing dogs with ivermectin for heartworm (likely because it means they can't rob us selling their products). All he said was, "keep doing what you're doing".
Our puppy was terrified and acting aggressive. Dr. Bill tried all the usual tricks and treats but our dog wasn't having any of it. He suggested that we come back a few times just for fun visits until the dog could be handled without being freaked out because he was at an age where one bad experience could scar him for life. They sold us the flea medicine we needed but didn't charge us for the visit.
They have a time in the morning where animals can come in just to be socialized with the staff (for free) and he suggested we do that until the dog gets over his fear before resorting to things like restraint or tranquilizers and based on the fact that the dog looks good and immunizations are up to date he didn't feel the need to rush the dog into an exam that could make him impossible to handle later (when he was larger). He also gave some socializing tips. He has been going to obedience classes and working with a trainer so they weren't anything new but we got a pandemic puppy that made it very difficult to socialize him and the puppy classes were all cancelled during the lockdown so we were happy to get his take.
The wife said that Dr. Bill had seen one of our dogs at Aloha vet and although it wasn't a bad experience it wasn't a great one either. She said today's visit was "much better". She also opined that the clinic looked to be too large for a single vet practice and speculated if another vet(s) might work there some day.
Being livestock owners that perform most routine medical procedures ourselves a lot of vets look down on our self-dosing dogs with ivermectin for heartworm (likely because it means they can't rob us selling their products). All he said was, "keep doing what you're doing".