Secret shopper survey indicates that veterinarians are split on how to respond to vaccine-hesitant dog owners.

Abstract

Objective: To assess how veterinary practices respond to vaccine-hesitant dog owners.

Methods: We fielded a secret shopper survey in 6 states (California, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington) from February 4 to April 11, 2025. Callers posing as dog owners collected observational data on whether or not the practice imposed any restrictions on dog owners regarding vaccinations as well as whether they required specific vaccinations before accepting patients. We relied on descriptive analyses as well as logit models to assess outcomes.

Results: Of the 5,053 veterinary practices callers sought to reach, 3,387 had available appointments. Of these, 42.2% imposed no vaccination requirements, 49.7% imposed any requirements, 0.6% refused to accept the patient, and 7.4% did not make a determination at the time of the call. We identified substantial differences across states for all outcomes with California veterinarians standing out as particularly unlikely to impose requirements and Pennsylvania veterinarians as most likely to impose requirements. The most common vaccination requirement imposed was rabies vaccinations (49.4%) with all other vaccines mentioned in less than 3% of cases. Outcomes did not vary across state regulatory environment or the number of demographics analyzed at the practice zip code level.

Conclusions: Veterinary practices appear almost evenly split between either imposing no vaccination requirements or at least imposing any requirements with few outrightly refusing treatment.

Clinical relevance: Veterinarians are increasingly likely to face vaccine-hesitant pet owners. Better understanding how veterinarians respond to these challenges can help individual veterinarians and guide broader policy decisions.