Veterinarians play a crucial role in animal health and welfare. One way to expand our impact to future generations of animals is to become an attending veterinarian for commercial dog breeders.

The attending veterinarian's main role is to help promote the health and wellbeing of breeding programs, breeding stock, and offspring, by applying both an individual and population medicine approach. This involves working closely with dog breeders to develop and maintain a program of veterinary care. Services through this partnership may be delivered on a full-time, part-time, or contract basis.

An attending veterinarian is required for any canine breeding program that is licensed and registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Some breeders who don't meet USDA and/or state license and registration requirements also may choose to have a specific veterinarian serve in the same capacity as an attending veterinarian for their kennel or other facility and/or to establish a program of veterinary care with one. The USDA provides a public search tool to find people who are licensed or registered.

Duties and responsibilities of an attending veterinarian

In promoting animal welfare and ensuring adequate veterinary care, the attending veterinarian has the following tasks:

• Performing physical exams
• Developing, maintaining, and signing the written program of veterinary care for a breeder
• Creating and approving a canine exercise plan
• Conducting regular visits to the premises
• Providing care for sick and/or injured animals
• Maintaining medical records

Site visits

Site visits are a key source of information about the health and wellbeing of the dogs, the breeder and animal caretakers, and the facility or kennel itself. Visits provide an excellent opportunity to interact with the dogs and assess husbandry, socialization, enrichment, and exercise plans. Firsthand familiarity with the building design and utilization can facilitate discussions on ventilation, heating, cooling, and waste disposal systems. Visits also allow assessment of quarantine areas and biosecurity. You don't need to have a mobile veterinary practice to fulfill the requirement for a site visit.

Visits are conducted as often as needed to ensure the dogs are receiving adequate care and to be aware of the dogs' and facility's current conditions. The USDA requires that regular visits occur at least once every 12 months. Additional visits may be necessary during a disease outbreak, to evaluate ill or injured animals, to train animal caretakers, or when new animals are introduced. Although dogs in need of veterinary care may be brought to your practice, these visits do not replace regularly scheduled site visits.

Scheduling and recordkeeping

It's common for attending veterinarians to have a standing schedule of visits with breeders to meet the breeding program's and kennel's needs. This approach also allows for more efficient scheduling if you have more than one client (e.g., visits to different kennels located close to each other could be scheduled on the same day to reduce driving time).

In terms of recordkeeping, the kennels or facilities you provide care for must maintain all medical records as well and make them available during an inspection by USDA and, if applicable, the state inspector.

Liability

When it comes to law, the USDA-licensed breeder is the one ultimately held responsible for complying with the program of veterinary care. They must also provide you with adequate authority to carry out your functions. In addition, although the federal Animal Welfare Act grants the USDA authority over regulated facilities, the agency does not have the authority to pursue action against the attending veterinarian. See the USDA's website for additional information.

Becoming an attending veterinarian

Interested in becoming an attending veterinarian? It can be a wonderfully rewarding career. You must meet these basic criteria:

• Graduation from a veterinary school accredited by the AVMA Council on Education, or—for foreign-trained graduates—certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates
• Training and/or experience in the care and management of dogs
• Direct or delegated authority by the USDA-licensed breeder for activities involving the veterinary care of their dogs

Although animal welfare regulations do not require that you have a state veterinary license, it will be much easier to provide a full spectrum of care and services to a commercial dog breeder if you are licensed in your state. All states require a license to issue a health certificate, and most states require a license to administer rabies vaccines. Additionally, it's often necessary to have accreditation in your state to fill out interstate and/or international travel documents for dogs in order to meet the needs of commercial breeders.

Questions?

Have questions or concerns about the attending veterinarian's or breeder's role or responsibilities? Email the USDA at animalcareusda [dot] gov (animalcare[at]usda[dot]gov). Alternatively, if you're working with a USDA-licensed breeder who has already had an inspection, they may be able to provide you with the contact information for the inspector in your area.