Second Opinion

[Mas1981]

I am thinking of getting a second opinion on something and was wondering what the right way to go about it is? Do you tell the vet when you go in that you are looking for a second opinion or do you just tell them what the issue is and see how they would treat it and then let them know you what you are doing for treatment at the moment??

[raffikki]

If it were me, I'd just go to the second vet and tell them the problem and what's been advised so far.

I gather whatever the problem, the treatments not working? Have you discussed your concerns with the original vet?

[Fordogs]

For me I would visit the vet and tell them the symptoms and then say that you would like their opinion as another vet has said """""""""""""""" .

You do need to be upfront with what you would like to know and if possible take records from your other vet as that would save you $$$ because they would not need to double up on tests.

[Mas1981]

Yes I have spoken to the vet about my concerns, told them I dont want certain meds which were till given, advised that the food we were told to feed is making the dog not well but just told to keep trying it all. Bottom line is I dont want my dog to take cortisone and eat a food that doesnt agree with him.

[Dogsfevr]

I wouldnt say im there for a second opinion, i would explain the symptoms,what has been tried so far & the fact it wasnt working .

Alot would depend on the vet i was heading to next as well & what experience they have had in the area or the fact they have been recommended for being more open minded & looking at other options.

Having said that before seeking a second opinion i would if possible be trying to research the issue as much as possible to be able to understand why seeking a second opinion is warranted & what possible options could be tried or not tried.

[Mas1981]

I wouldnt say im there for a second opinion, i would explain the symptoms,what has been tried so far & the fact it wasnt working .

Alot would depend on the vet i was heading to next as well & what experience they have had in the area or the fact they have been recommended for being more open minded & looking at other options.

Having said that before seeking a second opinion i would if possible be trying to research the issue as much as possible to be able to understand why seeking a second opinion is warranted & what possible options could be tried or not tried.

The vet I have been recommended has a special interest in allergies ( got told about him from another forum member and it makes more sense to see him as he is 5 minutes away, my vet is in my old area) and more importantly I want someone who listens to me and can see my point of view. I would never suggest things for my dog if I thought they had no hope in hell of working or if I knew they would make him worse.

[stormie]

Have you seen a Dermatologist? Maybe that could be the best option rather than seeing another general practice vet?

[Mas1981]

Have you seen a Dermatologist? Maybe that could be the best option rather than seeing another general practice vet?

Thats another reason why I want to see another vet my vet says she doesnt feel that my dog needs a dermatologist, I have asked 2x for a referral.

[aj2251]

I don't think you need to tell your original Vet that you are going elsewhere. I have 2 dogs and we have 3 vets we attend, depending on what the problem is. Our closest (location wise) Vet and original Vet, we go to primarily for emergencies as we don't need an appointment. The other 2 Vets are our "special interest" Vets. One dog has hip dysplasia, so sees the Chiro Vet and the other is a bulldog with lots of health issues and therefore sees the Vet who grew up with and bred bulldogs.

Now, you mentioned allergies, our bulldog has allergies. Been doing loads of research, tried lots of things, I prefer natural things. My latest thing has been an online consultation with a Vet naturopath and getting a fur analysis done. So far the drops given by naturopath are working well and the fur analysis (which I just got the results of today) was well worth the money!!!! OF the 205 things they tested I can now confidently feed Wendell without guessing what he is and isn't allergic to. Granted a more comprehensive kibble testing would've been nice, but since I was feeding Vet's All Natural and raw anyway, now knowing my boy is allergic to chicken has totally blown my mind, made sense of his symptoms and I can now adjust his food accordingly without having to waste time on an elimination diet

Good luck

[Staff'n'Toller]

To be fair on the second Vet, you should let them know you are there for a 2nd opinion, it's quite common really.

Otherwise they may think you are there for a workup and start from the beginning- which is not what you are after.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Staff'n'Toller

[Mas1981]

I don't think you need to tell your original Vet that you are going elsewhere. I have 2 dogs and we have 3 vets we attend, depending on what the problem is. Our closest (location wise) Vet and original Vet, we go to primarily for emergencies as we don't need an appointment. The other 2 Vets are our "special interest" Vets. One dog has hip dysplasia, so sees the Chiro Vet and the other is a bulldog with lots of health issues and therefore sees the Vet who grew up with and bred bulldogs.

Now, you mentioned allergies, our bulldog has allergies. Been doing loads of research, tried lots of things, I prefer natural things. My latest thing has been an online consultation with a Vet naturopath and getting a fur analysis done. So far the drops given by naturopath are working well and the fur analysis (which I just got the results of today) was well worth the money!!!! OF the 205 things they tested I can now confidently feed Wendell without guessing what he is and isn't allergic to. Granted a more comprehensive kibble testing would've been nice, but since I was feeding Vet's All Natural and raw anyway, now knowing my boy is allergic to chicken has totally blown my mind, made sense of his symptoms and I can now adjust his food accordingly without having to waste time on an elimination diet

Good luck

I would love to feed my boy natural foods and get him allergy tested but its not something my vet feels is useful. I did see a naturopath but those treatments were stopped once we had seen the vet.

[stormie]

Have you seen a Dermatologist? Maybe that could be the best option rather than seeing another general practice vet?

Thats another reason why I want to see another vet my vet says she doesnt feel that my dog needs a dermatologist, I have asked 2x for a referral.

That sucks. And totally unprofessional. I'd go to second vet and just be honest. It will be more helpful to them to know you've already gone down certain paths so they have an idea of where you're at.

[Swiss Girl]

We've saw a second vet for our pointer with allergies just yesterday, we just took our bills (so they can see what they've done, took all our medication and food. We told thet vet when making the appointment that we wanted a second opinion and there wasn't a problem at all.

I wouldn't tell your other vet, if you like the new vet you probably will not be going back again.

[Mas1981]

We've saw a second vet for our pointer with allergies just yesterday, we just took our bills (so they can see what they've done, took all our medication and food. We told thet vet when making the appointment that we wanted a second opinion and there wasn't a problem at all.

I wouldn't tell your other vet, if you like the new vet you probably will not be going back again.

Yeah if I like the new vet I will probably just go there as I could walk there The other vet 30 mins away, more in traffic.

[Swiss Girl]

same here, a new vet moved into the area, and as I'm slightly PO with our other vet thought we would give this one a go, seems reasonably thorough, it was his idea to bring all our vet bills so he can track what had been done, so at least his intelligent.

[becks]

I'd just say you want to change vets as the new guy is closer, sounds like your current vet isn't listening to you and that is a major No for me.

[Rappie]

I suggest that you do tell the new vet that your dog has been undergoing treatment and outline what that has been and the outcomes of it. There is nothing wrong with wanting a fresh set of eyes, or different opinion if you are not happy with the results so far. You don't need to get into anything personal but it does help the second vet gauge the situation better if they know what has been done (or not done) already.

[Mas1981]

I suggest that you do tell the new vet that your dog has been undergoing treatment and outline what that has been and the outcomes of it. There is nothing wrong with wanting a fresh set of eyes, or different opinion if you are not happy with the results so far. You don't need to get into anything personal but it does help the second vet gauge the situation better if they know what has been done (or not done) already.

I will let him know what treatment we are on and I will take all the bills with the medications on them etc, I only saw my old vet once for the allergies as they were not that bad when he was younger but seem to be getting a bit worse.

[dianed]

Twice in the last two years I have been to another vet in the next town for a second opinion. The last time was 2 weeks ago when I was told my cat had hyperthyroidism. I was up front and explained that I wanted a T4 blood test. The result came back with a very high reading confirming what my local vet had told me. the first blood test was an overall test done on their in house blood testing machine. Those findings would not have been good enough for the specialist vet who is treating her now.For the cost $120 my mind was at ease.

[W Sibs]

With Charlie.. i went to second, thirds and forth opinions. I'm pretty upfront person, so I tell the vets/specialist everything, who've I see, what has been done. Everyone understood... sash even printed out Charlie's whole medicial history for me, as well as Charlie's normal vet. We took that to other specialist, uni etc. No one was offended and they understood, that you're doing what's best for your pet and it's not judging them on their work.