Changing Vets - Am I Too Anal?

[aussielover]

I think you are absolutely justified to find a vet that you like and respect their opinion. After all you are entrusting a family member's care to them.

i do the same with doctors and sadly I haven't had any luck yet(not that I ever really need to go to the doctors luckily!!)

[Kiara&Heidi]

I have had multiple problems with vets:

- Trying to convince me that RAW feeding is dangerous

- Trying to sell me Science Diet

- Trying to change my mind about yearly vaccinations

- Trying to convince me to give my dogs the heartworm injection

- Not listening to my concerns - because I am young maybe or because I'm not a vet, who knows

- Not explaining all options properly when it comes to decision making

- Calling me in the middle of class to tell me I have to quickly make a decision about what type of surgery I want my dog to have while she is under anaesthetic because they miscalculated and now I have more than one option, forcing me to make a decision based on very little information

- Telling me my Stafford, who this particular vet had never met, was likely to be aggressive and hurt my Chihuahua

- Getting frustrated when I ask questions because they are clearly in a rush

- Looking at me like I am an idiot when I ask for something to be explained further

- Giving general (opinionated) advice that I didn't ask for

- Or even if they are good that usually means they are not available when I need them

The list goes on...

Needless to say I don't really stick with any one vet and usually the vets I do like end up moving away or there is some other problem

I don't think it's anal, you naturally just want the best you can find. I do envy people who have one vet for years and never have any problems with them.

[Rozzie]

Here there's a choice of two vets 60km away. One lot used to come through the village on Thursdays.

In Sydney I used a vet that was great, until one day when I took our old rescue Shepherd in (think we'd had him a week) and the vet looked at Sultan, looked at me and said 'why'd you bother?' I walked straight out and went to the one closer to home. They were fantastic.

[Aetherglow]

It doesn't sound like you're being anal, I would be shopping around too under the circumstances you describe.

I'm very happy with the practice owner of the current vet clinic I go to and also one of the associates for general veterinary work. The nurses are also terrific. They are, however, very much a 'pet' clinic, and their experience with breeders is very lacking. If I ever become a breeder I'll be going to a specialist repro vet for any problem with mum or young puppies. I have yet to tackle the issue of titre testing rather than yearly vaccination, that's my next conversation. If necessary I'll go to a vet that will do it, but generally my vet respects me and would consider something even if it's not something their clinic offers because he knows that I do right by my pets health-wise. He doesn't try to sell me Science Diet, either

[~*Shell*~]

I don't think you're anal. Both Terranik and I go to the same vet and she's worth her weight in gold. We have 4 dogs between us, they all absolutely love her (Zero who used to hate the vet would happily leave me in the waiting room to go into her consult room!) and she knows her stuff. She has recommended products that she thinks will help Z's back issues and they've all worked wonders and she actually supports feeding barf (and knows what artemis is!).

On top of that, she's got purebred dogs and trials in agility so she knows where I'm coming from with a lot of my beliefs :D

I compare her to my old vet clinic, who misdiagnosed Zero with HD when he has spondylosis (no idea how - even i could see it on the x-ray - and his hip scores are awesome), wanted to muzzle Zero because of his breed and who had vets that were quite frankly, afraid of dogs, I shudder to think I stayed with them for so long.

[Aetherglow]

I don't think you're anal. Both Terranik and I go to the same vet and she's worth her weight in gold. We have 4 dogs between us, they all absolutely love her (Zero who used to hate the vet would happily leave me in the waiting room to go into her consult room!) and she knows her stuff. She has recommended products that she thinks will help Z's back issues and they've all worked wonders and she actually supports feeding barf (and knows what artemis is!).

On top of that, she's got purebred dogs and trials in agility so she knows where I'm coming from with a lot of my beliefs :D

I compare her to my old vet clinic, who misdiagnosed Zero with HD when he has spondylosis (no idea how - even i could see it on the x-ray - and his hip scores are awesome), wanted to muzzle Zero because of his breed and who had vets that were quite frankly, afraid of dogs, I shudder to think I stayed with them for so long.

Why on earth would you be a vet if you were afraid of dogs???!!! And muzzle because of breed???!!! Bizarre!

[Guest donatella]

I think its a bit like doctors for yourself. You wouldn't continue to go to one you weren't happy with so its completely okay to shop around (if permissible in your area). It takes me forever to find a good GP for myself and I wouldn't have any less for my best mate

[Jumabaar]

I another that agrees! I have my holistic vet that I go to for annual health check ups or if I am not able to diagnose the problem myself- she is over an hr and a half from where I currently live so a three hr round trip. I have 5 other vets that I go to for everything that I do know about based on their prices.

I have had a dog in vomiting very lethargic and had diarrhoea. The vet did not take temp or pluse or listen to the stomach!! Just gave her some anti-nausia medication and antibiotics. Another that tried to book my dog in for an entire day and wanted to sedate him for an X-ray of his foot- I politely asked if I could pop him up and ask him to stay and after a very doubtful conversation regarding the dogs unlikeliness to stay in position he had the X-ray awake and behaved like a star. I know most dogs wouldn't but it would only take a client 1 minute to see it wouldn't work if the dog was not going to stay.

You do need a vet that will actually listen to what you say and keep good records! I hope to find a good vet that isn't so far away. I have found going to sydney uni at camden not tooooo bad as the interns are all very up to date (not necessarily the vets themselves lol)

[grumpette]

I have been with my current vet for the last 6 years and she is brilliant. Kate worked for 6 months after the fires with no income just to ensure that the remaining pets and wildlife were looked after. When she found out that the burnt down clinic that she worked for was not going to re-establish she set up a clinic of her own.

Kate still finds it funny that when I first walked into the surgery with Baylee, just for a visit and weigh in, that I was giving them a trial run and checking out how they interacted with a Rottweiler. Many vets will not touch Rottweilers, which makes it impossible for them to provide proper medical care, let alone diagnose anything. This is a real problem when Baylee has a grade 4 heart murmur. One vet missed an ear infection and a rash because she refused to touch Dee when she was 7 months old. Kate and Baylee had an instant rapport. Baylee was comfortable and Kate was engaged and interested in my dog from a holistic viewpoint including activities, diet and alternative therapies, so she passed with flying colours.

Our other vets of choice are an hours drive away, which is 86 km one way. Glenn and Dennis are brilliant, even if Dennis has the bedside manner of Doc Martin, and have treated our dogs for the last 15 years. They have seen five litters arrive, been there when they have needed emergency surgery, and have said goodbye when beloved dogs have gone to the Bridge.

Brilliant vets are so hard to find, but your dogs will tell you when you have found one.

[Missymoo]

Nup not at all

I have my repo. and puppy vet in craigieburn and my fantastic local vet for everything else inbetween! :D

[emery]

i use two vets depending on what i need.

one is an awesome vet no bedside mannere the other is a drive but they rush out for rotti cuddles when i arrive. gotta be happy with your vet.

the vet that pts my rotti boy wanted to muzzle him i graphically told her what i thought of that idea (total different veterinary clinic to either that i use)

[Jasslyn]

I don't think you are being too anal. It's like finding a good human doctor. You have to have a good rapport with them, you have to be able to trust them and you need to feel that there is mutual respect. When it comes to your pet, you are the expert. Trust your gut.

I dragged my old boy from vet to vet for years because he had a supposedly incurable skin condition. After 5 years of searching, I finally found a great vet who, with the aid of a simple piece of sticky tape, diagnosed a yeast infection that was easily fixed. That vet had my trust from that point on. The only downside for me is that the vet became too successful and he hasn't managed to find a team as good as him. My boys still go to that clinic but I learned the hard way that the jnr vets are only good for giving vaccinations and diagnosing ear infections. For real illnesses, I want the genius head vet.

[suziwong66]

we changed vets this year...i have no problems changing vets when i'm being marketed to rather than my dog's emotional and physical well-being not being the priority.

[Cheyd]

I have been seeing my vet for almost 20 years and although he is certainly not the cheapest, I will always travel to him if possible. He has come to our house to pts Holly and Jessie, no one I would trust more with my animals.

He supports our rescue and gives us credit :D

I am dreading the day he tells me he is retiring....

I don't think your being anal either, its so important to trust your vet

[bianca.a]

I love my vet, he is fully supportive of my decision to feed raw. He knows I will titer test and is more than happy about that. With both my crf cats, he knows I try to feed a home-cooked diet instead of hills prescription which they won't eat.

He gets on the floor to say hello to Molly which is the icing on top for me

I certainly think you need to haave a vet that you are comfortable with, so I am another who agrees.

[Zombie Bait]

I have 3 vets that I will use plus the emergency vets.

Vet 1 is an hour away. Got to know her surgery through foster care for Peiradise - Shar Pei Rescue. I take my dogs over for vaccinations - she isnt expensive and the dogs love her plus she is very blunt (I like that!) Dr Susan at Kedron Anvet.

Vet 2 is 15 minutes away. Used to have a great vet/client relationship going but he then took over the surgery (was a 50/50 partner) and he has now jacked up the prices and doesnt have the time to discuss alternative theories (titre testing/3 yearly vacs etc). Last straw was when a friend had to take her dog to the vet after her 2 bitches got into a fight. Her husband had just recently passed away, the dogs had a major fight and one was injured. Dog is a medium/large crossbreed weighing 40 kgs, friend is a 55 year old woman weighing approximately 55kgs. Friend cannot lift injured dog into 4WD ute to take to vets and doesnt feel the dog should walk there, so calls the vet to see if they could come and grab the dog. You can see the surgery from her house - its about 500 meters away. Vet says that they will charge $150 to come and pick dog up. Unfortunately due to the circumstances she paid it. After that I havent been back, but will go if its an emergency as I know he is a good vet.

Vet 3 is 15 minutes away in the other direction. Have only been there twice (both times for anal gland expressing on Brembo). Both times they were lovely, didnt charge the earth (not cheap, but not over the top). I saw a younger vet and when she didnt know something or was unsure of something she deferred to the principle vet which I was happy with. She also got down on Brembo's level, gave him heaps of attention and rewarded him for not trying to eat her after she expressed his anal glands. Park Ridge Animal Hospital.

Emergency Vets are the Animal Emergency Services at Underwood. I have had to use them 3 times for my dogs (Brembo as a 5 month old puppy with Coccidia - stayed overnight, Sierra as a 9 month old puppy with an allergic reaction - shot of anti imflammatories and anti histamine and she was fine, Brembo again as a 3.5 year old dog, shaking and teeth chattering - deemed to be a shock reaction to something, bloods were run, as was an all over check, he was slightly dehydrated but they were happy to send him home to be monitored by me). They really arent that expensive considering they are emergency vets and they seem willing to listen to the owner.

Good luck with your vet search

[hilaryo]

I have been going to the same vet surgery for around 18 years. My current vet (who owns the surgery with her husband) is lovely and never hurries you. She has my breed so takes a special interest. As I show my dogs they never shave hair unless it is vital and then they keep it to a minimum. They are a bit pricey but they have done it tough after virtually losing their equine practice due to Hendra a few years back.

[Sayreovi]

I changed vets about a year and a half ago now, because my vet of 10 (maybe longer) years said my 9 week old Toller puppy would have severe HD by the time she was a year old and he recommended doing JPS on her even though he knew she was a future competition/showing/breeding girl!

I swapped to a vet about 40 minutes away who are highly recommended by people on this forum, never had any problems and they are a great bunch, I will use a different local vet for emergencies if required but everything else I go to Monash :D

[tdierikx]

Just like we train our dogs, we have to train our vets IMHO... we need to be comfortable with the person we put our furkids' lives in the hands of, yes?

My "vet test" is usually finding one that will listen to my input and take it into consideration when dealing with my pets. Not all owners are clueless about animal health and wellbeing - and a good vet will know that and adjust their consultation methods to accommodate it. Vets that don't usually get short shrift from me. In most cases I know exactly what is wrong with my dog(s), and am just needing to source the medication needed to clear it up. In other cases I have a couple of possibilities and need the vet to help confirm which is actually the case.

My current local vet clinic has 2 exceptional vets (Dr Karen and Dr Julie) who do exactly the above - and I trust them with my dogs' lives implicitly. They also love it when I have rescue fosters with some of the less common ailments (barring parvo of course) that the predominately well cared for pets they usually see on a daily basis - it gives them the opportunity to expand their experience... *grin*

For example, I had a foster pup that I suspected had either Guiardia or Coccidia - and needed to have a fecal float done in order to determine which. Dr Karen not only did the float, but she actually showed me the slide, and the images of both bugs, and then let me try to determine which one we had from the slide... sure enough, the pup had Coccidia. Then, because the clinic didn't have Baycox (which can be used to treat Coccidia quickly and effectively), we both pored over the MIMS book to find the best drug to treat the pup with. End result, one happy vet who got to diagnose something they don't see very often, one very chuffed foster carer who got to actively participate in said diagnosis, and one puppy seen well on his way to growing up healthy and happy.

My vets also understand that some clients don't want to vaccinate their pets annually, or desex them as soon as they are big enough - they suggest it gently with each new dog, but don't constantly harp at you about it once you've told them your preference.

My advice? Find a vet that will LISTEN to you and work WITH you when it comes to treating your animals - and stick with them.

T.

[The Spotted Devil]

I was just thinking how fortunate I am to have found a good local vet (10 min away). He seems to take the great condition of my cats and dogs on face value - never questions me having entire dogs (cats are desexed), never markets food products, happy to discuss vax issues and always takes my observations and concerns seriously. He accommodates my (sooky) Dalmatian by examining/vax'ing him in the waiting room and takes his time with each animal.

My Dally was unwell last Friday and I took him to my vet - very sudden shock reaction to an insect bite/sting was the final diagnosis - vet went over him so thoroughly as the symptoms were quite odd. He then said that he believed Zig would recover just as quickly without treatment although he was happy to give him something if I preferred. So I took Zig home, right as rain in 2 hours and ran in agility the next day. I arrived home from dog training on Sunday to find a message from the vet "just checking to see how Ziggy is"