Do you trust veterinarians?

[JackieJack]

I feel pretty lucky with the 3 vets where I go! They have always seemed right on the money and have saved a few of my animals in the past. They always call on the phone when you are having serious issues. I saw tears in the eyes of the female vet years ago when she put my cat too sleep. I agree you have to have that love and compassion for animals, and if I didn't see it in the staff and the vets, I would go somewhere else ASAP!!

And although I do trust them I still feel I am the best advicate for my pets and always stay on top of everything and do alot of research.

[JackieJack]

I also wanted to add if anyone had doubts it is a good thing to change now, before something serious happens, because during the time of a life threatening emergency or sickness is not when you want to be doubting your vet!!! Same with people doctors!! Now that is a whole other issue LOL

[Nikki+2]

Originally Posted by JackieJack

I feel pretty lucky with the 3 vets where I go! They have always seemed right on the money and have saved a few of my animals in the past. They always call on the phone when you are having serious issues. I saw tears in the eyes of the female vet years ago when she put my cat too sleep. I agree you have to have that love and compassion for animals, and if I didn't see it in the staff and the vets, I would go somewhere else ASAP!!

And although I do trust them I still feel I am the best advicate for my pets and always stay on top of everything and do alot of research.

Perfectly put! I agree 100%.

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by chachi

I do agree that the owners should save for emergencies but not alll have the money and sometimes it is a matter of life or death that the animal get the care. If it were a child it would get the care and I dont think animals should be any different. I know not everyones going to agree with me but its my opinion

I totally agree! My husband and I feel very strongly for this. If a person is wanting to have a pet (or many) they need to be willing to cover the costs of medical care. Its just part of the responsibility of having a pet.

Personally, our cats and dogs aren't just animals to us. They are our kids (we don't have skin babies, yet). We love each and everyone of them and we have spent lots of money in the past for different medical issues. We aren't going to give up on them for just an expensive procedure, you wouldn't do that on your child! Anyway...

To answer the question about vets. The vet we go to is amazing. He is very affordable and a family friend. He is really the only person we go to. He really isn't an expert in small breeds (more like livestock) but he does a pretty good job. They recently expanded and hired a few more vets to help and then this past year they opened up a separate facility 30 mins away that is a 24hr hospital. Supposedly, they are still affordable (the hospital), which is great.

I've been debating changing to a vet that comes to my home. We have 2 cats and 2 dogs and it would be much more convenient to just have someone come here and get all 4 of them checked up on and just be done with it, instead of having to get them all out. I do love my vet but this is just is a convenience that just sounds too tempting to pass up and at least give it a try....

[LuvMySissy]

The office we go to has 9 vets there. There is only one I will see unless and absolute emergency (thankfully we have not encountered any). I trust her completely. She is not only very knowledgeable about nutrition (and is actually an advocate of home cooking and raw diets), but she is extremely cautious when it comes to vaccinations and does not recommend additional boosters for toy breeds once they have their first. She also does not recommend spending the $ on titer testing. This isn't the policy of the clinic, but as long as the owner is informed, she will share and support.

With my girls, just like with my skin kids, I do my research beforehand. I don't think anyone should put blind complete faith in any practitioner and if you feel uncomfortable or unsure of anything - always question!!!!!

[jp4m2]

It used to be that I held people in the medical field in high regard....But in the past few years I have been doing a lot of reading, I also have had the displeasure of dealing with several incompetent vets, the last one being responsible for the death of my Joey.....

There are many reasons I have mistrust in vets, one being the vaccine issue. I find it hard to believe in the year of 2009 that all vets are not following the new vaccine protocol. The vets should be informing all clients of the benefits v/ risks and the adverse reactions and of all vaccines. They should be told that boosters are generally useless and cause more harm that good.

The studies have been done and they show clear and conclusive evidence that there are too many vaccines done, the vaccines are started too soon on pups, and studies where done indicating the damage boosters are doing instead of helping our pets. . It has been demonstrated that the duration of immunity for Canine Distemper virus is 7 years by challenge, and 15 years by serology; for Canine Parvovirus is 7 years by challenge, rabies vaccination for dogs duration of immunity is 7 years or more.

"A survey by the American Animal Hospital Association shows that less than 7% of Veterinarians have updated their vaccination recommendations, in spite of the fact that these new recommendations have been published twice in every major Veterinary Medical Journal since 1995.
The people of the State of Texas have paid over $360 million dollars per year for vaccinations that are unnecessary and potentially harmful to their pets. Over 600,000 pets suffer every year from adverse reactions to unnecessary vaccinations. Many of them die." (Dr. Bob Rogers DVM)


This doesn't even touch on the subject of over use of heartworm products ( I don't like to use the word " medicine" because it is not). The recommendation for people to put the toxic chemicals on their pets for months when there is no chance of transmission occurring. The over use of flea products is also included in this observation.

It's no wonder our pets leading cause of death is from cancer followed by liver, kidney and thyroid problems. Our poor pets little bodies can only take so much from the cumulative effect of all these toxins before it finally breaks down. It's the vets responsibility to be as informed as possible of all aspects of the products he is prescribing. But that is just not happening so it's our duty as the owner of the pet to do it for them, after all they depend on us to keep them healthy. I don't care how nice the vet is, if he is lacking in just the basics then I will find one who is more knowledgeable.

[chloe n kaylee]

Originally Posted by chachi

I for the most part trust their knowledge except when it comes to nutrition. I do believe there are good vets their also some that want every dime they can get out of you. I dont like emergency vets policies of only treating an animal if you have cash upfront. It seems very uncaring and unrealistic

I agree When it comes to nutrition, I do not trust them at all!!!!!!

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by chloe n kaylee

I agree When it comes to nutrition, I do not trust them at all!!!!!!

Why don't you trust them about nutrition?

[Gingergirlsmom]

I trust the vet I use. But, I believe, as with our own health care you need to be informed and ready to speak up.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Why don't you trust them about nutrition?

Well, this is one area that I don't trust vets with at all either.
There are some that go on to study it by themselves and that's great but the ones who don't are going on whatever they learned from school which is very little. In fact, Ellie's vet told me to talk to a nutritionist or search online because they don't learn very much about it and this is not her area of expertise.

[SweetPea53]

I totally trust my vet and his judgement....He has been my vet for over 20+ years and has always been extremely forward, honest and extremely caring for all my animals over the years. I am extremely lucky that he specializes in small animals and has even seen Lil' Miss Izzie and not charged me at all for shots or office visits. I know that he is truly concerned with the animal and not into making a profit for himself....

[kjc]

I trust my Vet for the most part. I like to get as much info as possible so I ask alot of questions, and he knows this, so he answers them. If he doesn't, he leaves the room and sends in his wife (a Vet), or another Vet if he doesn't have time, or if another Vet has more expertise in a particular area, he sends them in to talk to me. I don't mind.

His charges are very reasonable, he won't try to sell me things that won't improve the knowledge base at that point, and if he does recommend something, he tells me why and how the info gained will help. And then he answers more questions.

Totally agree with jp4m2. I'll be doing more research myself...

As for Emergency Vets, I think it's a sad situation. I worked as an ER Vet Tech at night at a few places for 8 years or so. I just don't get it that they take advantage of people. Their prices are higher on everything. Why? They actually do more business bc you really don't have too much of a choice during an emergency. Best thing to do would be to find a regular vet that runs a staffed ER at night, It's much easier on the pet, their history is on file, and you don't have to juggle back and forth between them. I do feel gouged everytime I look at a receipt from an EV.

I accept my responsibility as a pet owner. Maybe I would have a bigger Emergency fund if maintenence meds/products weren't so expensive.

[chloe n kaylee]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Well, this is one area that I don't trust vets with at all either.
There are some that go on to study it by themselves and that's great but the ones who don't are going on whatever they learned from school which is very little. In fact, Ellie's vet told me to talk to a nutritionist or search online because they don't learn very much about it and this is not her area of expertise.

Yes, that is what I was told also. Also, most vets (unless they are holistic vets) will recommend Science Diet which is not a food.

But as far as the medical aspect goes, I trust my vet

[Wylie's Mom]

I think this is a great subject, and an important one!

I have had many very bad experiences with vets, and have only met 2 or so whom I respect and feel comfortable with, in terms of their knowledge (see my recent thread on Wylie, for one ). I think there ARE good vets out there, but I think you really have to look or just be lucky to find them. I think there are a lot of vets out there who aren't very good at all - and I don't know what recourse there is for that. Because the industry isn't all that well regulated, it truly puts a lot responsibility on pet owners to be advocates (and do their own research) for their pets. While that's fine, in one way, in another it's not - bc we "should" be able to pay them for their expertise and trust that they have it. Just look at the subject of overvaccination and one can see that the best interest of our pets' health - and what a vet actually does in practice can be 2 very polar things....and that's sad.

I think it's tough being a vet - you have to know multiple species, and all systems - very few people's brains can be *really* skilled at dealing with that amount of information. A good vet, imo, should be skilled at the basics - a good generalist - and be secure enough to refer on to a specialist when they hit a road block (and many don't do that ).

As far as nutrition, no way. And it really disappoints me when vets who know hardly anything about nutrition (given the 1.5 hrs of animal nutrition in vet school) feel qualified to give advice about it.

[MeAndMyOlivia]

Excellent topic for discussion. I will admit that I am struggling with this right now. 3 weeks ago yesterday, my Olivia died while at the vet. She was 8 yrs old and her teeth were very bad (I only had her 6 months). We did pre-op bloodwork etc. but they said when they gave her the anesthetic, her heart stopped beating. My vet's office has several doctors, I have worked with 2 of them. They are nice enough and seem to know what they are doing...however, in the back of my mind I am accusing myself of not checking around more for a vet that works with tiny breeds. I don't think I've ever seen a tiny dog in there - always bigger ones (which is what my kids always had when they were at home, so this vet was fine for them) and I believe they also do farm vetting. I now have another little one and I will be looking for a vet that regularly sees tiny breeds. I cannot imagine even walking in the same vet's office ever again - not specifically because I think they are inept or aren't trustworthy...but because I feel responsible for taking Olivia there and not investigating their expertise in tiny breeds more ahead of time. Maybe time will change my thinking..I do know that my little 10-month old girl seems to have a baby tooth still there, right in front of a permanent tooth - and seeing that, knowing that it might have to be removed by a vet, literally made me sick to my stomach.