“I’ve done a lot of research.”
For many veterinary professionals, those words can create a moment of apprehension.
Maybe the client has spent hours reading about raw diets. Maybe they are concerned about an ingredient in their pet’s food. Maybe they’ve watched videos about vaccines, supplements, microbiome testing, or a new treatment. Increasingly, perhaps they have already asked an artificial intelligence tool what could be wrong with their pet before walking through the clinic door.
They aren’t arriving empty-handed. They are arriving with information, and sometimes with strongly developed impressions about what that information means.
It can be tempting to see this as a challenge to veterinary expertise. But what if “I’ve done my research” is often another way of saying, “I care deeply about this animal, and I’m trying very hard to make the right decision”?
That mindset shift may matter more than ever for the future of the veterinarian-client relationship.
This Shift Started Long Before ChatGPT
Pet owners seeking health information outside the veterinary clinic is hardly new.
In a 2018 Veterinary Record study of 571 pet owners in the United Kingdom, 78.6% reported using the internet as a source of pet health information, yet veterinarians remained their most trusted source. Nearly half used online information to help decide whether to schedule a veterinary appointment, while more than 90% said they would visit a website recommended by their veterinarian.
Research published a few years later reinforced that relationship. In qualitative studies published in 2021, pet owners described wanting veterinarians who would discuss information they found elsewhere, direct them toward credible resources, understand what they already knew, explain their options, and include them in decision-making.
They weren’t replacing the veterinarian. They were asking to be included.
What has changed is the sheer volume and accessibility of information. Today, a pet owner can search Google, scroll social media, ask an online community, listen to a podcast, or have an extended conversation with an AI chatbot all before calling the veterinary clinic.
That creates obvious challenges. Not all information is accurate or applicable to an individual pet. Algorithms reward engagement, not scientific rigor, and complex medical questions can be reduced to confident, oversimplified answers.
But greater access to information also reflects something positive: pet owners have never had more opportunity, or perhaps more motivation, to learn about their animals. Researching a disease, diet, or treatment may be less an expression of distrust than an expression of responsibility.
They are trying to be good pet parents.
That doesn’t mean every conclusion will be correct. But how the veterinary team responds to that effort can either build trust or erode it.
Nutrition Offers a Window Into the Challenge
A recently published Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association study provides an interesting case study.
Researchers surveyed 561 practicing veterinarians in the United States and Canada about barriers and potential solutions to nutrition conversations. The survey itself was conducted in 2022, providing another snapshot of the evolving information environment.
The leading communication barrier identified by veterinarians was not time.
It was pet owners’ preconceived notions about nutrition, reported by 86% of respondents. Insufficient time followed at 63%, while 41% identified owner resistance to discussing nutrition as a barrier.
That finding is understandable, but the wording is worth reconsidering.
What veterinarians interpret as a “preconceived notion” may, from the client’s perspective, represent hours spent trying to understand how best to care for their pet.
Nutrition is a particularly useful case study because it sits at the intersection of rapidly evolving science, a noisy consumer information environment, and something pet owners do every single day to care for their animals.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that they arrive with opinions. The more important question is what we do with them.
Consider a client who says: “I’ve been doing a lot of research, and I really don’t want to feed my dog an ultra-processed food.”
We can immediately counter the premise. We can explain why the terminology may be misleading, point out weaknesses in the evidence, and defend our recommendation.
Scientifically, we may be completely right.
But communication isn’t only about transferring accurate information. It is also about understanding what the other person is trying to communicate.
What if instead we first ask: “Tell me what you’ve learned and what you’re hoping to accomplish with diet.”
That question helps us understand the client’s motivation while signaling that their perspective matters. Maybe they are trying to help their dog live longer. Maybe a previous pet died from a disease they fear could have been prevented. The information they found may be questionable, but the motivation behind seeking it is worth understanding.
Understanding the motivation doesn’t require agreeing with the conclusion. It gives us the context necessary to have a better conversation.
In other words, the goal isn’t to win the argument. It’s to become the person they want beside them while making the decision.
Expertise Still Matters, Perhaps More Than Ever
Greater access to information does not have to diminish the veterinarian’s role. In fact, I think the opposite may ultimately be true.
When information was scarce, expertise meant knowing something your client didn’t.
When information is abundant, expertise means helping someone determine what matters, what is credible, and what applies to the animal sitting in front of you.
Most available information sources don’t inherently understand the individual animal’s medical history, physical examination, laboratory findings, lifestyle, risk factors, family, or the client’s goals.
The veterinarian can. That positions veterinary professionals not simply as sources of information, but as trusted interpreters of it.
Of course, listening well doesn’t mean simply validating whatever information a client brings into the exam room. Trust also depends on being able to provide credible guidance.
That requires investment in the subjects our clients care about.
Nutrition is again a good example. Nutrition science and the marketplace continue to evolve rapidly, and it is unrealistic to expect every general practitioner to stay current on every emerging question while keeping pace with everything else required of modern veterinary practice.
Fortunately, they don’t have to.
Great veterinarians don’t know everything. They know how to access expertise.
We already build relationships with specialists when cases extend beyond our own expertise. Nutrition can work the same way. Relationships with board-certified veterinary nutritionists, veterinary technician specialists (VTSs), professional organizations, and other evidence-based resources can help veterinary teams confidently navigate questions without requiring every practitioner to become a nutrition expert.
The same principle extends well beyond nutrition. As medicine becomes more complex and information becomes easier to access, knowing where to find trusted expertise and how to bring it back to the client may become one of our most valuable professional skills.
The Informed Client Is an Opportunity
The next time a client says, “I’ve done a lot of research,” perhaps our first response shouldn’t be apprehension, but curiosity. What does that research tell us about what this client values?
I care.
I’m paying attention.
I want to make the right decision.
I need someone I trust to help me figure this out.
Veterinary professionals don’t need to compete with Google, social media, Reddit, or artificial intelligence for who can provide the most information. That was never the right competition.
Our opportunity is much more human.
We can be curious about what clients have learned. We can understand what motivates their questions. We can compassionately and respectfully correct misinformation when necessary. And we can invest in the expertise and relationships that help us confidently guide them when the answers extend beyond our own knowledge.
Information will continue to change. Technology certainly will.
But the abundance of information doesn’t make the veterinarian less important. It makes the ability to interpret that information and the trust required for someone to listen even more valuable.
If veterinary medicine can pair its expertise with curiosity, humility, and partnership, the evolving veterinarian-client relationship and resulting patient care will only grow stronger.
REFERENCES:
Kogan L, Oxley JA, Hellyer P, Schoenfeld R, Rishniw M. UK pet owners’ use of the internet for online pet health information. Vet Rec. 2018;182(21):601.
Lai N, Khosa DK, Jones-Bitton A, Dewey CE. Pet owners’ online information searches and the perceived effects on interactions and relationships with their veterinarians. Veterinary Evidence. 2021;6(1).
Janke N, Coe JB, Bernardo TM, Dewey CE, Stone EA. Pet owners’ and veterinarians’ perceptions of information exchange and clinical decision-making in companion animal practice. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(2):e0245632.
O’Brien JS, Wenzel SG, Hungerford LL, Gravely D, Coe JB, Shepherd ML. Small animal veterinarians identify proactive, specific, and multimodal communication as helpful in supporting nutrition conversations with clients. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2026;264(8):1-10.
Wenzel SG, Coe JB, Long T, Koerner S, Harvey M, Shepherd ML. Qualitative analysis of small animal veterinarian-perceived barriers to nutrition communication. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023;262(1):79-87.