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07-11-2006, 09:51 AM | #1 |
I love my lil wolf! ;) Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Washington
Posts: 2,434
| Some Vet Advice.. Hey everyone, After reading a lot of the posts about vets giving some bad advices and saying rude things to people on YT and then hearing people comment on how they should "get a new vet"..etc I should think that although we should respect our vets' opnions, we shouldn't ALWAYS believe what they say.. Here are a couple of examples why.. For example.. we all know that "Science Diet" is not a highly rated dog food.. but Vets recommend it because.. yeah they probably get money for recommending it.. I read on a few posts about how some YT are taking their dog to vet their teeth pulled.. the ones that have double teeth.. I was going to do the same thing and my (reputable) vet said it was $50 for each tooth to pull. But then I was thinking.. "they are dogs! It should be able to fall out on its own!".. so when my Yorkie was around 7 months, her first double tooth fell out on its own after the vet recommended it and she still had one left on the bottom.. Its not until NOW when shes almost 14 months old that it finally came out! AND yes her teeth are perfect! I mean I know in some cases there are dogs that REALLY do need to get them pulled because if they won't then they will have bad alignment..etc but in most cases.. I think we should just let our Yorkies' teeth fall out on their own~! Another thing.. I forgot what it is called but our Yorkies are prone to getting something on their legs..or hips displaced and so Vets recommend surgery.. my Yorkie before she was a year old started hopping one day and not using her foot. I was SOO scared!! So after a couple of days, I took her to the Vet and he recommended the surgery which was around $2500, and just to let you all know, I would have done it in a heartbeat if it was a life/death situation or if it was causing my dog a lot of pain! But he also said that dogs should be able to "pop it back into place" in time by themselves BUT the surgery would fix it so it would never pop back out.. After that, my little Princess's foot was fine.. her foot popped itself right back into place! And now, 6 months later, I haven't seen ANY problems with her foot... Sorry this is such a long entry... and I am kinda rambling on but I guess what I am trying to say is that we should trust out own "mommy" instincts with our furbabies before we trust someone else's opinion.. if something doesn't seem right with that our vets say, then don't listen and just trust your own instinct!! (By the way I am not saying Vets are bad or anything, but sometimes they do not give the best of advice in favor of our Yorkies..!) |
Welcome Guest! | |
07-11-2006, 10:39 AM | #2 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Michigan
Posts: 545
| good post....
__________________ o0Tashia, Jonathan, Carlei, and Sophie0o CaSh |
07-11-2006, 10:42 AM | #3 |
I heart Hootie & Hobbs Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 7,149
| I agree....a mommy's instinct is the best thing to go by! A lot of vets don't specialize in small dogs or yorkies, so sometimes us owners of small dogs know more about the minute details of yorkies than most vets do |
07-11-2006, 10:47 AM | #4 |
YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Marcos
Posts: 318
| I believe a vet recommeds teeth pulling because food get get caught between the two and can have a lighly likely chance to rot.
__________________ Zoe's dogster: http://www.dogster.com/?334776 |
07-11-2006, 10:48 AM | #5 |
Luv My Butterflies Donating Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Big Easy
Posts: 2,083
| Good thread! I agree |
07-11-2006, 10:52 AM | #6 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Canada
Posts: 3,617
| Mommy instincts can fail too . |
07-11-2006, 10:55 AM | #7 |
Luv my Angel, too! Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 9,333
| I think it always important to trust your "mommy" instinct. Vets do not always know best, especially if they don't have lots of little ones in their practice or if they are of the old school (meaning they are older themselves).
__________________ Sissy & Angel |
07-11-2006, 11:03 AM | #8 | |
Phantom Queen Morrigan Donating Member | I don't agree with you at all. Just because everything happened to work out fine with your dog doesn't mean that's the case with all dogs in these situations. Science Diet is made by Hills, which also makes Prescription diet food that is sold in most vets offices. All the vet's i have worked for have sold mainly the prescription diet. If a client asked what to feed their dog, they were first recommended a high quality food like wellness, nurto, or solid gold. If they couldn't afford something like this, science diet was mentioned as another more affordable quality food, Not high quality, but good quality as in better then super market brands, and alot of petco brands. NONE of the vet's i've worked for or know on a personal basis are given a money incentive to recommend or push hills science diet. many people believe that they do get money reimbursment, but sorry to burst your bubble, in most cases this is wrong. I'm not saying there may not be a couple vets that do this because anything is possible. However, i do know that the Hills corportation works every closely with veterinarians. We've had many representatives come to teh hospitals to tell us more about a new food they've developed and the benefits of all their foods. They usually bring lunch and give us a nice presentation. We are not required to purchase anything new from them or give them anything. They are just looking to further educate the people in teh animal health field, and yes, they may get more purchases further down the line for that particular food they showed off, but its not guarenteed. Next, puppy teeth. Most puppy teeth fall out on their own without any problems. however, sometimes you can get retained k-9's. Sure they 'might' fall out eventually on their own, but who's to say these retained teeth aren't causing any discomfort or pain to the puppy. Dogs have a higher tolerance for pain then humans, and they also have an instinct not to show pain when they are in it. weaker/sick animals showing sign's of pain in teh wild will be attacked and eatten first. So your puppy maybe acting like its fine but it might not be. That's why its recommend that these teeth be pulled out when they puppy is fixed at 6 months. Vets have different prices for this and maybe your vet just charges too much. Though in my opinion it doesn't matter how much it costs, because i know its better for the puppy to have it done then to play the waiting game. A couple people recently have posted that their dogs were scratching their ears alot and it turned out that the puppy had retained teeth and they were bothering him. Its best to take the puppy teeth out instead of waiting to see if they fall out on their own. The teeth can become infected or start rotting in their mouth. why cause more problems when you can prevent them? LP's are a common problem in small dogs, and HD is a common problem in large breed dogs. They are both genetic and can be prevented with good breeding but since the dogs that are mostly affected are the ones that are very popular, inbreeding and bad breeding occur and these genetic problems get in the lines. While the advise of surgery is good, i don't agree that it should have been done right away at the first sign of LP. But your vet was right when he said the knee will 'pop back into place'. In fact that's the whole problem. The knee will pop in and out at various times. alot of the time they can pop it back into place when they are running around. You'll see a weird little hop and leg flick. But sometimes they cannot get it back into place right away and this causes pain. Your lucky you haven't had any more problems with it, but be on the lookout because it could come back. Quote:
Sorry for the long post, but i just get so annoyed when people come down on vet's because they don't like what was said to them, or they don't know all the facts, or they were given wrong information by someone else. I wanted to be a vet since i was 4 years old ( i have the proof lol) and i've been working with dogs and cat (and others) for the last 14 out of my 23 years.
__________________ Kellie and Morgan | |
07-11-2006, 11:08 AM | #9 |
Slave to Max 'n Abbie Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 1,529
| I know of a lot of people that take their furbabies to vet hospitals where there are usually more than 1 vet on staff and it seems like their biggest complaint is the lack of personalized attention. Many times they don't even get the same vet when they bring their dogs in for routine check-ups/annual vaccinations--they get whomever is available, they spend a short amount of time examining their dogs, and they explain procedures quickly so they can get to the next dog. Some also recommend unnecessary procedures to inflate costs. I'm sure that not ALL of them are like this but some are. I totally agree that we should use our instincts--who knows our furbabies better than we do--but sometimes I need a professional's opinion so I don't think that there is anything wrong with looking for a vet with whom you feel comfortable and confident in his/her abilities. A few dog owners have told me and from my own personal experience I have found that the small vet clinics that have 1 vet provide more personalized attention and services and are cheaper than going to a vet hospital. My vet has his own practice, he's in his 60s and has an 'old school' way of thinking and does not recommend unnecessary procedures. If I bring Max or Abbie to see him and he needs to run additional tests (urine samples, stool samples, etc.) I can drop off the sample and he does not charge me for an office visit--just the cost of the test. His first priority is his 'patients'--not inflating charges so he can make more money, which is why I drive about an hour to take Max and Abbie to see him. There are good vets out there--unfortunately it may take a while to find them. Ask people who have dogs for their recommendations
__________________ Brenda, Max & Abbie |
07-11-2006, 11:08 AM | #10 |
Slave to Max 'n Abbie Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 1,529
| I know of a lot of people that take their furbabies to vet hospitals where there are usually more than 1 vet on staff and it seems like their biggest complaint is the lack of personalized attention. Many times they don't even get the same vet when they bring their dogs in for routine check-ups/annual vaccinations--they get whomever is available, they spend a short amount of time examining their dogs, and they explain procedures quickly so they can get to the next dog. Some also recommend unnecessary procedures to inflate costs. I'm sure that not ALL of them are like this but some are. I totally agree that we should use our instincts--who knows our furbabies better than we do--but sometimes I need a professional's opinion so I don't think that there is anything wrong with looking for a vet with whom you feel comfortable and confident in his/her abilities. A few dog owners have told me and from my own personal experience I have found that the small vet clinics that have 1 vet provide more personalized attention and services and are cheaper than going to a vet hospital. My vet has his own practice, he's in his 60s and has an 'old school' way of thinking and does not recommend unnecessary procedures. If I bring Max or Abbie to see him and he needs to run additional tests (urine samples, stool samples, etc.) I can drop off the sample and he does not charge me for an office visit--just the cost of the test. His first priority is his 'patients'--not inflating charges so he can make more money, which is why I drive about an hour to take Max and Abbie to see him. There are good vets out there--unfortunately it may take a while to find them. Ask people who have dogs for their recommendations
__________________ Brenda, Max & Abbie |
07-11-2006, 11:38 AM | #11 | |
I love my lil wolf! ;) Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Washington
Posts: 2,434
| Quote:
Just to let you know, I did not want to be mean but you know that Science Diet was rated an "F" right? Vets should not be recommending that, they could be recommending something like Iams, or Eukanuba.. which were all rated better than Science Diet. Like I said in my entry, I was not "coming down on vets".. all I said was that not EVERYTHING they say is true.. just like doctors. AND I know vets are "extremely knowledgable".. but everyone makes mistakes, including vets and that's where our instincts should come in and decide. I did not mean to offend anyone from this post, but the whole point of this was that I just wanted to share my own personal experience. Yes it may not be true for some cases, but cases like mine happen a lot and for someone who was in my situation, I personally think that they should just wait a while before making a decision. That's all!! | |
07-11-2006, 11:42 AM | #12 | |
I love my lil wolf! ;) Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Washington
Posts: 2,434
| Quote:
Yes, I know Mommy instincts could fail too.. but I would feel less guilty if a doctor did something I disagreed with, or felt uncomfortable with and something went wrong, than if I went with my own instincts and something went wrong. | |
07-11-2006, 11:49 AM | #13 | |
Phantom Queen Morrigan Donating Member | Quote:
yes its true, vet's are human and they do make mistakes too, but i would not fully trust my instincts before my vets because i know they know more then I. As with anything that goes on with my animals, i ask for the entire rundown of what is happening. I want to know everything that the vet is thinking. And if i don't 100% agree with him, we discuss it. he knows most about the medical side of it and i know the most about my pet. So we combine our knownledge and come up with the best possible treatment for my pet. I know alot of people are scared to question their vet or talk to them. Don't be. Ask all the questions you want. Ask them why they are prescribing this medication or that procedure. Tell them your feelings about it and what you would like to be done. Work something out between the two of you. Don't just dismiss his informtion and do something you think is best. I wasn't offended by your post and i hope you weren't offended by mine. And i appreciate your opinion, but i felt like i had to defend the good vets out there and share my own experiences as a rebuttle.
__________________ Kellie and Morgan | |
07-11-2006, 11:58 AM | #14 | |
I love my lil wolf! ;) Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Washington
Posts: 2,434
| Quote:
Don't worry, I am not offended either! Oh I do ask them everything and get all of the information. But for that situation with my dog's foot, I felt like she did not need the surgery at the time, unless she kept on hopping and not using one of her feet, which I was right (and yes, I know I won't always be so lucky and be right all the time ) I also don't just "dismiss" the information like I am a "know it all" (hehe).. but I also do research it on my own and also have my own opinions about the matter. And I do know that there are very good vets out there! | |
07-11-2006, 12:03 PM | #15 | |
Phantom Queen Morrigan Donating Member | Quote:
with my vet, any dog that comes in with sudden leg problems which look like hip or knee problems, teh dog is given a pain med and lots of rest for a while before taking another look at the problem somewhere done the line. The last thing he wants to do is jump into surgery when it can be taken care of other wise.
__________________ Kellie and Morgan | |
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