Vets Make Mistakes Too

[Julz]

Where would we be without our vets? They really are great...however, they make mistakes too. Tiah just had a litter of pups on Memorial Day...I am not trying to be redundant...its just that her ears were itchy when I took her in for a check up like a week before the puppies were born. The vet gave me "OTOMAX" for the ears. Said 1-2 drops a day per ear (knowing she was due to have pups of course). I figured I better read all of the small print on the printed information sheet inside the med. box. Good thing I did! It said that it can cause cleft palate and deformed forelegs to the fetus in pregnant dogs. It went on to say that it can cause deafness and liver damage to elderly dogs. Then in another section it said that it can cause premature labor and fetal death. Oddly, it even said that it can cause intoxication! Needless to say, I didn't administer it. I mentioned it to the vet when I went back with the puppies and the Mamma. She said "Oh, that's only if the drink it". But its not, it is if you administer it. Just want to warn you to read the small print if you have a pregnant or elderly dog, any age for that matter.

I just want to add, Who would think so much horror might come from somethng as simple as putting drops in a dog's ears?!? I have done the prox/water mix and alcohol. Her ears are so clean that I don't think the vet checked them thoroughly enough. I can hear a little bit of fluid in them. I feel so bad for her, but I will not give her the Otomax until the puppies all have new homes...I don't want to run any health risks.

[yorkiegal719]

We have to be careful about all the drugs we get, even for ourselves. Your were a good mommy and took the time to read! It would have been terrible if something would have happed to her or the puppies. It's a wake up call to us all...

[Biddy's Mom]

Good catch! I automatically trust the vet, because let's face it - he's smarter than me! But now I know to double check anything I give to my babies!

[red98vett]

Thank you for the heads up - I usually trust what the vet says and have NOT read the warnings on my cockers ear medication - but I will now !

[Julie1]

Think my vet must hate me I always ask to read the leaflets before the prescription is dispensed then we have 10 minutes of questions

[Julz]

I believe the leaflets always put the worst case scenarios in, but you wouldn't want to be one of them. It's like all the commercials on tv now...maybe you are shy...now there is medication for it...however...the side affects may be headache, rash, the runs, tiredness, and sexual side affects.
GEEZE, with all of that, what good is "being outgoing" going to do you!?!? LOL

[Laura]

Funny Julz - we always laugh at those drug commercials.

Zowie's pups are 12 days old today . My tiniest one opened his eyes .
Question: It is time for flea treatment. Do I treat Zowie or wait until the pups are older? - and when??

[Julz]

Originally Posted by Laura

Funny Julz - we always laugh at those drug commercials.

Zowie's pups are 12 days old today . My tiniest one opened his eyes .
Question: It is time for flea treatment. Do I treat Zowie or wait until the pups are older? - and when??

NO, it is not time for flea treatment. Do not treat Zowie or the puppies. Do not put a flea collar (or any collar) on Zowie. congrats on the first eye openining!!! Was Zowie pretty tired her first week with the babies? I know it's Tiah's 3rd litter, but every time is the first time for me. I panick, reread all the books, reread tons of stuff on line, and stare at her way too much to make sure everything is ok. She just seems a little "down" to me. I know it is a huge job for her, but still. She will run and stuff when she is outside, but when I pick her up out of the play pen, she is almost like a rag doll at first. She does perk up, oh I don't know, I'm probably just overly concerned.

[momofyorkies]

With small dogs such as Yorkies, I will never "trust" the vets again. I think we Yorkie lovers know our dogs better than any vet. We have to make certain that they don't over anesthesize or over medicate our small pets. We almost lost one of our Yorkies from too much anesthesia. He was out for almost two days. the Vet had to take him home with him to monitor for the weekend. Diane

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Originally Posted by momofyorkies

With small dogs such as Yorkies, I will never "trust" the vets again. I think we Yorkie lovers know our dogs better than any vet. We have to make certain that they don't over anesthesize or over medicate our small pets. We almost lost one of our Yorkies from too much anesthesia. He was out for almost two days. the Vet had to take him home with him to monitor for the weekend. Diane

Unfortunately, this is how I feel. I too am a thorn in my vets side. I ask lots of questions and I read and challenge everything. I hate the fact that, unlike doctors for humans, there is no requirements that they inform us of the possible side effects or anything of what they do for our pets. The rules are very lax and they can get away with "murder". literally.

I do respect the veterinary profession but I just don't trust them blindly like I wish I could. I have only had Hefner for 6 months and I have discovered errors in almost everything they have done. That's pretty scary. It's hard to find a good vet for small dogs, the breeders usually know way more than the vets!

[momofyorkies]

This is important--read on. We had a two year old healthy, two pounder named Lucky who had been coughing so took him to our vet and had him checked out. The vet gave him antibiotics etc. About two weeks later he was still coughing and sneezing so I took him again and had him looked at. Vet gave him more antibiotics. When I got home, I gave him a closer look and noticed something green in his nose. So being the "pseudo vet", I started looking at it and got tweezers and pulled out a four inch piece of grass! I was very upset about this and sent a nasty letter to the vet along with a picture of the grass and chastising him for NEVER EVEN LOOKING IN HIS NOSE!. Two weeks later Lucky just dropped dead while begging for a treat. I am sure that he had been compromised by this piece of grass in his nose and will never forgive the vet for not finding this. Thankfully, they now have malpractice insurance for dogs because this would certainly have been a good case. I still miss little Lucky though very much....Diane

[Laura]

Thanks Julz, I haven't been making her wear her collar, she's been through and isn't going anywhere right now. She is tired and very thin. I am feeding her goats milk, cottage cheese, puppy food (wet and dry), and nutrical. I doubled her up yesterday cause she looks so thin, but it just caused her to have diarrhea. ugh! I am thinking of supplementing the puppies as soon as they can drink from a dropper - What do you think?

I have to say, I am more comfortable getting a few opinions here than to check with my vet. I loved my breeder, but I hate to bother him, he is very busy.

[Laura]

Poor Lucky, I am sorry for your loss. I just think vets are often there for the money, same way I feel about most doctors and dentists, too. There are good ones, but few and far between. And really hard to find them.

[chachi]

When I took Jewels to the vet they said her hair wasn't coming in and wanted to check her for mites. So they did a skin scrape came back negative. Decided to put her on antibiotics. When I got home I looked closely at her. Her hair on her back was long then there was this thin undercoat that was gray. It made her look like she had bare spots. Now that hair has completely grown in and yes her hair was just changing to gray is all. I didn't give her the antibiotics.

[Julz]

Originally Posted by Laura

Thanks Julz, I haven't been making her wear her collar, she's been through and isn't going anywhere right now. She is tired and very thin. I am feeding her goats milk, cottage cheese, puppy food (wet and dry), and nutrical. I doubled her up yesterday cause she looks so thin, but it just caused her to have diarrhea. ugh! I am thinking of supplementing the puppies as soon as they can drink from a dropper - What do you think?

I have to say, I am more comfortable getting a few opinions here than to check with my vet. I loved my breeder, but I hate to bother him, he is very busy.

Hi Laura, I would leave this one up to the vet. You can make a mistake trying to help supplement the puppies and that would make you feel terrible if they got a bellyache. I read in the book that orphaned puppies actually need burbed. I honesly would ask your vet. I know there are some home remedies (milk replacement + egg yolks), but I would try and get your female to eat more first. Offer her meat and cheese in addition to what you are doing. The cottage cheese you are giving her should help "bind" her from the runs. Make sure she is drinking plenty of water. Here is a neat little trick I do to get Tiah to eat if she isn't real interested......I put my other dog in the back yard and put food in his dish. Tiah can't help but want to eat it out of his dish no matter what it is. I can't imagine giving my dog raw liver, but they do say to give small bits of it to the mother. You can also boil chicken for her. I fry an egg and mix it with Tiah's food for extra protien (no salt or butter). Today I took a piece of cheese to the living room and pretened I was going to eat it. Up on the couch and around to my sholder she came, hoping for a nibble. The whole thing was for her, she just didn't know it! LOL