Vet – is this thorough or excessive? (Treatment and costs)

[mowgliandme]

35 minutes ago, Rascalmyshadow said:

What was the locums name? Was he an english guy?

 

I think so! Steven le Nepveu - hes not on the Black Rock Vet website and as he's a locum i don't think we'd be able to get him as a regular vet

Edited April 4, 2017 by mowgliandme

[Rascalmyshadow]

13 minutes ago, mowgliandme said:

I think so! Steven le Nepveu - hes not on the Black Rock Vet website and as he's a locum i don't think we'd be able to get him as a regular vet

Is who I thought, Steven is awsome we usually saw him while Juliet was on maternity leave. He regularly works at Black Rock and if he's not on Juliet the owner is the best, she's the only vet my dogs have been excited to see.

[mowgliandme]

3 minutes ago, Rascalmyshadow said:

Is who I thought, Steven is awsome we usually saw him while Juliet was on maternity leave. He regularly works at Black Rock and if he's not on Juliet the owner is the best, she's the only vet my dogs have been excited to see.

Thanks for the recommendation - we'll be going there next - he really explained what was going on properly to us and its not too far!  

[Dogsfevr]

I would suggest looking for a Bowen therapist or even trigger point treatment .

Dogs with arthritis can experience nerve pain as a result and chew spots to relive the pain or just end up tingly .Ven using rock tape or the problem areas will help 

diet can plain abig part ,grain free isn't the be all end all ,the dog may still be reactive to the main source of the bikkie .That may mean chicken,fish etc etc .

Some find using an antihistamine a great help etc etc .Wandering Jew is a nightmare .

 

So it depends what is being feed including any and all treats.

Also the protein level etc etc .

There are options out there 

[mowgliandme]

25 minutes ago, showdog said:

I would suggest looking for a Bowen therapist or even trigger point treatment .

Dogs with arthritis can experience nerve pain as a result and chew spots to relive the pain or just end up tingly .Ven using rock tape or the problem areas will help 

diet can plain abig part ,grain free isn't the be all end all ,the dog may still be reactive to the main source of the bikkie .That may mean chicken,fish etc etc .

Some find using an antihistamine a great help etc etc .Wandering Jew is a nightmare .

 

So it depends what is being feed including any and all treats.

Also the protein level etc etc .

There are options out there 

Is this someone that your vet is meant to refer you to or do you just decide to do Bowen therapy and find one?

He is still occasionally chewing the leg (albeit a lot less than before) on the metacam so it may be tingly or nerve pain...

[~Anne~]

The elimination diet does not need vet input, however, most people simply don't understand what an elimination diet is and therefore it fails. I've read dozens of posts where people have their dog on an 'elimination' diet which is little more than a change of diet in reality and the dog owners convinces themselves they have a result, when they actually don't.  

 

The important points are:

- the diet needs to be totally restricted to only the novel food types.

- it has to be truly novel. Food that the dog may have had previously, at any point in its life, will give unreliable results. 

- expect to have the dog on th diet for upwards of 12 weeks or more. 

 

Although it doesnt sound much, it's important that the above is followed. And trust me, if you're normally a kibble or commercial feeder, making food for a dog (particularly a large one) for 12 weeks plus is time consuming and often expensive. 

 

As for the fees, vets are free to charge what they see fit. Most are reasonable. They're humans. They run a business. Unlike humans, there is no care plan like Medicare. If our doctors charged us for everything, we'd see a lot more complaints made about costs too. And unlike human docs, who work in hospitals etc, vets have to actually buy all their own equipment. Their own X-rays machines. Their own buildings to operate in. Everything. 

 

Fro he limp - as others have noted. It needs to b checked out. The vet is actually possibly helping the owner by not going the expensive route, but it's the expensive route that needs to happen to get an accurate diagnosis. 

[Dogsfevr]

Bowen ,chiro etc etc you can source yourself .Maybe ask on here .

I have used an excellent person in Vic for bowen i will see if i can find her details or someone may know another area.

 

 

For example my old dog who has had regular bowen all its life as he was a competition dog started to chew his hock & create hotspots there .he actually has arthritis higher up but the nerve pain was lower down ,we have adjusted his treatment & he is on meloxicam (minimun dose & not every day ) & has stopped chewing .

He has also started to lick his front legs as that would soothe re direct but cause other issues .All now stopped .

He also gets red light theraphy,bowen & a few other things

[Airedaler]

I suggest you go to see Ann Nevill in South Road. East West Veterinary. 

Ann works in both Eastern and Western methods and I have had fantastic success with her over a couple of issues.

[Airedaler]

On 4/5/2017 at 10:27 AM, showdog said:

Bowen ,chiro etc etc you can source yourself .Maybe ask on here .

I have used an excellent person in Vic for bowen i will see if i can find her details or someone may know another area.

 

 

For example my old dog who has had regular bowen all its life as he was a competition dog started to chew his hock & create hotspots there .he actually has arthritis higher up but the nerve pain was lower down ,we have adjusted his treatment & he is on meloxicam (minimun dose & not every day ) & has stopped chewing .

He has also started to lick his front legs as that would soothe re direct but cause other issues .All now stopped .

He also gets red light theraphy,bowen & a few other things

There is also a Bowen Therapist at the clinic I mentioned above. I've been taking my girl to her for a couple of weeks. It is my first experience with  Bowen Therapy and I have to say it seems to have had a great impact on Spice.

[karly101]

Seems normal and reasonable to me. 

 

The vet is actually trying to work up the lameness and try and get the dog off pred. That's good. Your friend has options in terms of skin - work it up more. Or use the band aid solutions. Pred - which is cheap but does have some negative side effects long term. Or apoquel - new, effective, probably less side effects it was very well tested.. but it's also expensive. 

 

They could also try a proper diet trial at home but it has to be proper - new protein and carb source for 6-8 weeks. Each week record itchiness. Then challenge with old diet. If the itchyness is just on the feet they could also test if its contact or inhaled - dog wears boots and does not contact plant material for 4 weeks. 

 

I've done the work up options for my dog and its very pricey but I know what his issue is and can treat accordingly. Elimination trial wasn't cheap and the boot thing was a pain! 

[mowgliandme]

Thanks everyone - i'll pass on the info to her!  

 

Its a bit tricky at the moment as she is working 1.5 hours away from home (for the next few months) so even getting to vet has been difficult and it seems like she'll need to go a bunch more times to really get to the cause of the issues