Expertise, Credibility, Trust and Advice in Veterinarian-Client-Pet Health Communication on Reality Television

Veterinarian health communication differs from human medical communication in that the patient cannot speak for themselves but instead the owner – and the veterinarian have to ask questions and answer them. Since previous research has shown the relative social precariousness of medical discourse, where the patient is clearly marked as a layperson and the veterinarian as the expert, strategies have to be employed to gain the client’s trust. These strategies as well as advice-giving and uptake are studied in three different veterinarian reality television shows with a focus on how the pet patient’s needs is negotiated through the client-veterinarian communication.