Hospitalization and nursing care

From time to time your dog may be admitted to your veterinary practice for nursing care needs. This is usually when the care is intensive, specialized or if your dog is very poorly and needs 24-hour care.

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Dogs that need to have surgery or are very ill may need to be admitted to the veterinary practice for hospitalization and nursing care. This means your dog can have expert care which would be impossible or very difficult to provide at home. The length of stay will depend upon the reason for the hospitalization and how much progress your dog makes.

This may be possible in some circumstances but will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Some dogs may be distressed if their owner visits and then goes away again and some may be too poorly to be visited. You will need to discuss this with your veterinarian and if possible, arrange a time that suits everyone. If you are unable to visit your pet, you should get telephone calls from the veterinary team with updates on how your dog is. These will be at least once per day and often more frequently.

Dogs may feel more comfortable in their home environment than in a hospital. However, most dogs admitted to hospital will be sick and require specialized care and they may not really be aware of their surroundings. If your dog is very poorly, they may not enjoy your visit although it may give you comfort to see them. The veterinary staff will give the best possible care to your pet and will do their best to make your pet feel as comfortable as they can.

The facilities that each veterinary practice has will vary from practice to practice. Some practices are ‘branch’ practices of a larger practice and may not have hospital facilities on site. If this is the case, you may need to take your dog to the main practice if hospitalization is required.

If your veterinary practice provides 24-hour care, then your pet will stay where they are. Some veterinary practices use an out-of-hours care provider for night-time care and, if so, your pet may have to be transported to another hospital and then brought back the following day. In some cases, you may need to transport your dog to the out-of-hours care provider and then collect and take them back to your regular veterinary practice the next day. Some practices can provide a taxi service to do this. This is less than ideal but the out of hours service will provide a dedicated team of veterinary carers who will be in attendance all night.

Once in the hospital the care your pet receives will be decided by a veterinarian. They will be responsible for prescribing medications, undertaking surgery and monitoring progress. They will be supported by registered veterinary nurses who will be caring for your dog, giving them medication and reporting to the vets. Some practices also have veterinary assistants, who help with day-to-day care such as cleaning and feeding. All of these people will work as a team to ensure your dog receives gold standard care.

In most cases hospitalization is charged by the day. There will be additional costs for any medications and veterinary care required. You can ask your veterinarian to provide a running total each day so you know how much the bill is and therefore do not get a shock when you come to pay. If your pet is insured, the cost of hospitalization may be covered, but you will need to discuss this with your insurance company.

When your dog is well enough to be discharged, your veterinarian will arrange for you to come to the practice and discuss their ongoing care at home. They will go over what medications you need to give your dog and will show you what care is needed and make sure you are happy to do this. They will also discuss any signs you need to look out for which may show that your dog is not improving as they should and tell you when you should ask for more advice. The discharge instructions will be important so you can care for your dog correctly once they are home. Sometimes it can be difficult to take in all the information so ask questions if you do not understand anything. In most cases your veterinarian will give you written instructions to take away but if you are unsure, you can call the practice and ask for someone to explain things to you again.

If you don’t want your dog to be taken into hospital you will need to discuss this with your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will suggest the treatment that is best for your dog and if this includes being hospitalized then you should listen to their advice. However, if hospitalization is not possible for whatever reason, or you are very concerned about costs, then your veterinarian will try and come up with a treatment plan for looking after your dog at home. Remember that this is likely to be a compromise rather than the best thing for your dog.

No-one likes to be in hospital but if your veterinarian recommends that your pet is admitted it will be because they think this is best for your dog. If you have concerns, then always discuss them with your veterinarian.