Vet wanted to pull his teeth out too
 

My mother in law went to drop Shadow off to get his surgery (remember I posted earlier this morning)...she called me from the doctor's office freaking out.
The vet wanted to take out his canine teeth cause' he believes the teeth will shift forward.

Also, I just found out he only has one testicle..so he said the operation was going to be more like a female spay. Should I bring this up to the breeder?

Oh yah...MIL ran out with my little Shadow. We'll seach for a different place.

I found this vet/clinic through the local humane society.

Does Shadow have extra teeth? I know too much space is better than too crowded. (food particles can get trapped in tight spaces). I hope shadow does good and is feeling well soon.

Not at all. They look perfect. that's why it was shocking to hear that.

Hmm, are they baby teeth? Because that's when they like to take them out, so they don't have to put them out again just pull the baby teeth out.
Please keep us posted.;)

Hmmm, I have never heard of a vet wanting to remove perfectly fine teeth because "they might" do something. :confused: Was it going to cost more money due to the one testicle thing? Of course he would have charged to take the teeth out. Sounds like he was just out to make some extra money. Glad your MIL decided to leave with him and hope you find a better vet or at the least get a good second opinion.

No, his adult teeth.

I mean he was just there to get neutered. Why would he start looking at other parts of his body??? weird.

I'd definetly get a second opinion.

Yes, he was going to charge about 25 bucks more cause the operation was going to be more complicated since he had to go seeper to look for the other testicle.

That's what my husband said; H e was looking to make extra money and that's why he brought up that up about his teeth.

Did your vet not require an exam before the surgery? Or maybe even make a note of these problems when you went in for puppy shots?

I find it odd that he/she didn't detect all these things.

I went to a different vet this time.

I just brough over Shadow's records to this new place where is was getting neutered.

Oh, OK. That's odd.

Most vets (including mine) won't spay/neuter without an exam. If they would've done the exam before today, they would've detected on these things.

Is the surgery underway already? Is it to late to find another vet?

No way! My MIL didn't leave him ..she ran out of that office asap!

Maybe you could try Google for recommendations for a new vet.

I'm curious, why didn't you just go with the vet who did the puppy shots (assuming that you went back more than once- meaning you would've like that person)?

I think you probably missunderstood about the teeth. I don't see any vet wanting to pull out healthy adult teeth... maybe you haven't noticed that there are baby teeth still in his mouth - a lot of people don't... Lacy's baby canines never fell out on their own and had to be pulled so most likely yours still has his baby canines too and that's what the vet wanted to pull.

This is why its not a good idea to just skip around to different vets - find one you like and stick with them so they'll know the history of your dog. If you had done that, your dog would have had an exam prior to being neutered and you would have already known about the one non-descended testicle and the vet would have shown you the baby teeth that hadn't fallen out and discussed the situations with you. Also, when taking an animal to a new vet for the first time, always take the animal in yourself. Unless your MIL lives with your dog 24/7 like you do, she's not going to know him like you do and can't give the vet an accurate history. The person/persons closest to the dog (ie. adults living with the dog) should always be the one to take a dog to the vet, not a friend or relative for this reason

Well, first of all they lost an animal..(a maltese)
second, it was a rip off..they were going to charge me 600 for a neutering (including everything) but that's still a lot.

Go back and speak to him or get a second opinion from another vet, to check they are not his baby canines, if they are then yes they do need to be removed. Also if he has an undescended testicle then it will be an invasive surgery more like a spay however it is even more important that you do have this done as an undescended testicle gets very hot inside their bodies and more often than not become cancerous.

surgery
 

I don't blame your MIL for leaving. I would recommend that you find a vet you like and stick with him/her so they will know about your dog. I know that's easier said than done sometimes. Ask lots of questions about the teeth. I would never pull permanent teeth because of something that "might" happen in the future. Don't panic about the undescended testicle. My Bichon boy, Cosmo, had a testicle that didn't come down. He had his neuter and the vet said the testicle was just under the skin, which is the case with most of them. Some are deeper inside the body, but most are not. So try not to get upset about that aspect of his neuter. It isn't like a female spay. That involves removing internal organs and is more invasive. A male neuter just involves removing the testicles no matter where they are located. The only additional surgery he will have is an incision to find the undescended testicle. I would never agree to any surgery unless I was totally satisfied with the vet and what he proposed to do!

I am sorry but I have to disagree. I just had mine nuetered a couple of weeks ago. He had only one testicle descended and the other was not palitable (meaning they could not feel around with thier fingers on his tummy and find it) So he had to have a normal nueter (removing one testicle from the scrotum) them they had to open the abdomen to locate the second testicle and remove it. This is VERY common. Approx 6-10% of yorkie males have this problem according to what I have read from various studies. My ver certainly wasn't just trying to make money. As a matter of fact, although my puppy was barely 6 months old, when the 2cnd testicle was removed, it had already begun looking abnormally shaped. Had he not had the surgery, it is VERY likely he would have gotten cancer. Also it is EXTREMELY COMMON for the vet to check thier teeth prior to nuetering. During the nueter process is the best time to remove any retained puppy teeth. What may appear normal to us, may not be so. That is why they pay the vets the big bucks. Personally, I think any vet who did NOT look at thier teeth before hand would be negligent. It is designed to SAVE you money. Why go under anesthetic twice when they can be removed at the same time. By the way, the big bucks they made on the removal of the retained teeth??? it was $6 each, total of $12. The search for the "missing" testicle certainly CAN be like a spay. Unless it is between the abdomen and the scrotum ( and usually they can feel it) then they DO have to do more extensive surgery to locate and remove it. It is VERY common. All cases are different, but really, you should have spoken to the vet and asked any questions until you understood exactly what the extra work involved and his/her explanation for why it is required before you (or your MIL) just run out and find a different vet. Sure, you might find someone who will just do exactly what YOU say to do and look no further, but your dog may be the one who suffers more in the long run.

Armani just had his surgery and he also had one retained testicle. The vet drew me pictures and explained everything. PM me with questions or you can call me !!!!!!

I would totally understand the retained testicle, what I can not understand is removing ADULT teeth "becuase they might move forward in the future"???

If mom didn't ask questions to try to understand what he was talking about (which I would assume she did) then maybe you could make an appointment to go back and have him explain it further.

Are you kidding? They were going to charge 600 to neuter your dog? Is that a normal fee in NYC? That sounds really high to me. You sure are going to have to do something nice for you MIL because I think she did the right thing.
I understand you changing vets. I changed vets myself when I felt they were not giving my animals proper care and they mis-diagnosed what one of my cats had. I have been with the same vet now for 16 years but before I started going to him I interviewed all the vets where I live and decided on him and I am so glad because he is a great vet. Maybe you should do that. I got a list of questions and asked to see the vet and talked with him/her before I decided on a vet hospital. If a vet is not willing to talk with you then move on.

I still don't think the vet wanted to pull adult teeth. They had to have been baby teeth. The MIL probably missunderstood