06 Mar Pros and Cons of Ordering Pet Meds Online

It should be said, neither Hilary or I have ever purchased medications for any of our dogs from an online pharmacy before. We’re curious…have you? When we buy medications from our local vet clinic, we feel good about supporting their small business. And it’s nice to know we can walk out of the clinic with meds in hand, knowing the products are safe and they have our vet’s approval.

There are pet owners, however, who benefit from purchasing their dog’s medications from reputable sources online. So we thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at one such site: CanadaVet.com. 

CanadaVet.com started in Vancouver in 2005 with the goal of providing less expensive meds, products and supplies to US-based pet parents. To keep prices low, they source and ship many of their medications from around the globe (many of which seem to come from Australia, New Zealand and Germany). Interestingly, due to recent changes in regulations by Health Canada, CanadaVet.com no longer delivers to Canadian customers. According to their website, all products are genuine, labeled in English and have long expiry dates. And the company’s customer service seems to get good reviews from customers. 

Speaking of online reviews, the company seems to get feedback in extremes – either highly rated or one star. From what we can tell, the negative reviews are primarily from 1) long wait times for customers to get their order and 2) Canadian customers who had to pay inflated duty taxes due to their shipment arriving at the Canadian border. For those complaining about long ship times, the site does state orders can take 28 days to arrive, so complaints are often coming from customers who don’t read the website’s FAQs. Since CanadaVet.com no longer ships to customers in Canada, complaints of duty taxes have dropped off. 

To help you decide whether to purchase from CanadaVet.com or not, here’s a quick list of pros and cons when ordering pet meds online from them:

Pros

• You can buy pet medications without a prescription, which saves on the cost of a vet visit. 
• Medications and supplies are often less expensive than purchased at a vet clinic.
• It’s helpful to those who live in rural areas where it’s difficult to get access to a vet. 
• Good for pet parents of dogs (or cats) with severe anxiety issues that make it difficult to go to the vet.
• There is the convenience of ordering online 24/7, especially for those with a multi-pet household.
• The company’s customer service is prompt, friendly, and responsive to issues.

Cons

• The company name is a bit misleading, as pet medications are not stocked and shipped from Canada.
• Medication sizes are written in the metric system, so you need to be careful to give your pet the appropriate dose.
• Orders may take up to a month or more to arrive and do not include tracking numbers. 
• Ordering online may create a communication gap between you and your vet. 
• You may be missing out on new/better treatments or preventative care recommended by your vet.
• Due to the lack of quality control, the majority of pet medication pharmaceuticals do not guarantee the safety or effectiveness of their products when purchased anywhere outside of a veterinary clinics. So if a product is ineffective or causes a dangerous reaction to your pet, you have no recourse with the pharmaceutical company.

It’s unlikely we’ll be switching to ordering pet meds online anytime soon, but it’s good to know CanadaVet.com is a good resource for those who need it.