Trouble finding a veterinarian?
 

Okay...weird. I live in a decent sized area...kind of a bi-county, if you will. Bradenton/Sarasota, FL. i am actually having a hard time finding a vet familiar with Biewer Terriers. I am doing my research on where I want to take Sheldon when he comes home, but I've had vets outright tell me that they've never even seen one.

At this point, I've been telling them that from what I've read, common health issues are shared with Yorkies. I'm a bit perturbed by this...I'm sure I will find someone, but I want someone who I feel confident with too. As a person who has always had large breeds, I'm feeling a bit lost. I can't believe that living in a good sized city, I can't find a vet familiar :(

Frustrating, to say the least.

I imagine it would be hard to find any vet that is really familiar with Biewer Terriers. I would think that just finding a vet that deals with yorkies and toy breeds would be a good option. Perhaps you could call some of the more reputable yorkies breeders in your area and found out what vet they recommend.

It is not always easy to find one vet that knows it all. My favorite vet is more of a holistic vet and he is very good with dogs but he is not always available for emergencies so I have another vet that I like to use for emergencies.

Finding a vet that knows about biewers is going to be impossible they havent even been recognized by the AKC as a separate breed even though the biewer breeders are working hard to make that happen. Small breeds all have the same health issues so look for one that deals with small breeds

I would loooove to find a vet with a more holistic approach, too. Not so much as to ignore traditional treatment, but one that is open to different ideas than just traditional as well.

They have actually very recently been recognized as a separate breed by the AKC. They are in the foundation stock program stages now. I think this happened in April...?

That's the angle I'm taking at this point...same health concerns as Yorkies.

Have you checked out this vet:]
Dr. Howard L Rand

Oh thats right I read that. There has always been alot of controversy because some clubs believed they were decendants of yorkies while other clubs believed they were a separate breed and the different clubs fought alot over this. In the meanwhile the biewers didnt have any identiity here because the AKc wouldnt recognize them and the mother club of the yorkies the YTCA wouldnt recognize them. Im glad they have Identity here in the US now

Actually, I have emailed that practice and am just waiting for their reply :)

I am too. Not that I have any plan at all to show or breed, it's nice to have a solid US standard and breed classification.

It doesn't matter if they've never seen a biewer. As long as they are familiar with small breed dogs (and most general vets are) then it is a matter of finding someone who you can work with. I've had about 7 or 8 vets over the 14 years I've owned dogs -- all were good, but sometimes they would piss me off for various things so I would just move on -- I like to spend my money being happy if possible. I know that one of the members here, sugarmamma lives in your area so you might want to contact her about a vet, last I heard she had one that she liked.

Be careful with this. There are some vets who are conventional but who use some more natural approaches if there is science to back it up. I recently posted about this elsewhere but basically I've had "regular" vets who have worked in more natural things for my dogs when warranted. I don't believe in testing using holistic methods as they rely on subjectivity and intuition instead of tried and true scientific methodology. Once a diagnosis is made, however, I think some holistic approaches can be integrated if they make sense. I'll give an example. I have a dog with a kidney issue who takes a therapeutic dose of omega 3 fatty acids daily because there is some science that holds that sclerosis of parts of the kidney can be delayed which can prevent further the glomerular filtration system of the kidney from further "dropping" protein into the urine and being lost from the body. It makes real sense that an anti-inflammatory would prevent inflammation but the fact that it might actually tighten up the structures in the kidney is what makes using it worth it. There is no harm in using the fish oil. But I draw the line at tinctures of 100,000,000x dilution of lamb organ and slippery elm bark and flower essence to prevent any various number of diseases that these profiteering holistic gurus try to peddle.

I emailed them with questions about specific tests. I know to visit them first, but I'm not going to drive around to fifteen different places if only three actually have the philosophy I'm looking for.

I doubt you'll find a vet who knows what a Biewer is as they are not common. Personally, what I'd want is someone who is comfortable / familiar w/ terriers in general and small breeds. Beyond that, I look for competence, bedside manner, word of mouth, openness to me being very active in their health care, PROPER and current vaccine protocols (HUGE), hours of operation, comprehensiveness of the practice, feel of the practice, referral network etcetera.

I think it would be better to find a vet who is specialized in small breeds. It's so refreshing and exciting to see the research you are doing about things before you even get your little guy. :)