How to Get Free Medical Advice for Dogs

Research possible treatments for your dog online.

If you need access to free veterinary advice or you believe that you can treat your dog yourself, medical advice for dog care is available for free. Authoritative websites are a great place to start, just make sure to vet each site for authentic, accurate information.

Instructions

1. Review the advice from a free online veterinary service. The Free Online Veterinary Advice website offers information about dog allergies, diarrhea, pregnancy, viruses, infections, infectious diseases and more. Another site, Televets, archives articles and question-and-answer exchanges that deal with tumors, canine dental problems, gastroenterological disorders and other medical issues. An interactive website, Ask a Vet, has a search engine that allows you to access archived articles and answers that the vet has provided in the past.

2. Contact your local Humane Society to see if they have a free advice service. The Idaho Humane society offers a free information advice service via email, for example. The United States' Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) operates a nonprofit humane society that provides free veterinary services to under-served rural communities. A number of humane societies and shelters offer free check-ups for dogs if you bring the dog to them.

3. Ask your veterinarian for her advice. If you have a long-standing client-practitioner relationship, many vets will honor that relationship and will offer general advice by phone.

4. Use a diagnostic database that will allow you to submit the symptoms that you observe and receive information about the possible causes and treatments. The Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine's Diagnostic Database offers a free searchable database that includes 500 clinical signs and symptoms and almost 7,000 possible disease conditions or diagnoses. You can find a summary of different dog diseases and the clinical signs that are associated with the disease.

5. Contact a local veterinary school and ask if they run a free veterinary clinic. Some veterinary schools allow their students, with faculty oversight, to examine and dispense advice to pet owners for free. The Davis Mercer Veterinary School, operated by the University of California-Davis, runs a monthly clinic to offer free advice and care to the animals of homeless individuals, for instance.

References

• Dogtime: 7 Dog Symptoms you Should Not Ignore
• Televets: Peace of Mind
• Cornell: Consultant

Resources

• UC Davis Veterinary Medicine: Small Animal Clinci
• Free Online Veterinarian Advice: Animals
• Ask a Vet a Question: Advice
• Idaho Humane Society: Veterinary care
• Rural Area Vet: Field Services
• Animal Forum: Dog Main