Where to draw the line?
Boss asked:
If you’re one of the many dog owners who doesn’t trust your vet’s judgment about nutrition, over vaccination and early spay/neuter, how do you justify trusting his or her judgment about other issues?
If you’re one of the many dog owners who doesn’t trust your vet’s judgment about nutrition, over vaccination and early spay/neuter, how do you justify trusting his or her judgment about other issues?
All of the concerns I listed are things I’m conscious of with my own dogs, so I’m not singling anyone out. If you and your vet don’t see eye to eye on one important issue, how can you have total faith regarding another? Is there a point at which you concede to the possibility that the vet just may know what he’s doing better than you do?
Where do you draw the line?
Hugh
February 4th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Jacqualine
When a patient and vet don’t share the same philosophies, it’s time to find a new vet who does.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Crissy
I draw the line at where my own research disagrees with the vet. (and odds are I’ve conferred with more than one vet about it).
In my mind there is a difference between things that are preventative (nutrition, spay/neuter, vaccinosis) and other immediate medical issues.
I also will NOT work with a vet who cannot have a reasonable discussion with me. I am not an idiot - I will not be talked down to. My vet and I agreed to disagree about raw feeding - until he had a client with a dog who simply couldn’t tolerate ANY kibble - he asked me if I wanted to coach on raw feeding and there was drastic improvement in the dog’s health. - now he concedes that raw feeding should be looked at as an option.
February 6th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Fredericka
I would get a second opinion, and ask those who are knowledgeable of my breed. I don’t like the fact that vets push bad food and over vaccination down the throats of most dog owners. However, if there is a more serious situation going on, I would consult another veterinarian, and ask those who are well versed in my breed.
Veterinarians are looking to make their paycheck as well. Do you take everything your doctor says without questioning it? I wouldn’t. Not to say they don’t care about the welfare of the animals they care for, but the majority of their profits come from basic “routine” things like vaccinating and pushing their products like dogs foods, whose companies pay a lot of money for them to stock and sell.
February 7th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Giuseppe
You find a vet that will work with you or you learn to agree to disagree. I plan to raw feed. I found a vet that is raw friendly.
There are VETS who can’t even agree amongst themselves about these issues. You educate yourself and you use your best judgment. Same as anything else in life.
When I had my son - I did not have the drops put in his eyes because I have no STD and I did not want his already blurred newborn vision blurred more and he got his vitamin K orally rather than by injections. I also didn’t have him circumcised despite having to voice this SEVEN times after he was born and having it written in the charts BEFORE it was done in his birth plan not to have it done. He was roomed with me and not given a pacifier to suck on.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Tequila
You have to consider why your vet has that opinion, then go from there. You and your vet are not the same person, it’s expected that some of your opinions may be different!
For example, if your vet recommends you feed science diet because he doesn’t know better or is being paid a kickback from the company, it is time to find a new vet. If they are recommending it because it would somehow be beneficial to your dog or they know it’s the best food in your price range, that’s different and you should think about the vet’s opinion too.
As for early spay/neuter, most vets recommend that because if they didn’t, a large number of dogs/cats would become pregnant on their first heat. They also want to get it done early to make sure the owner doesn’t “forget” or just stop caring about the pet. For owners who are capable of keeping their dog supervised and preventing pregnancy, and will get it done at an appropriate time, a slightly later spay/neuter is best. However, how is your vet supposed to know that you are one of those people? They can’t see the future or read minds, so they just have to do what’s best, on average, for most people/pets.
If the vet is being unreasonable, can’t explain his reasoning, or seems to have a cursory knowledge of the subject, it might be a good idea to see a different vet.
Also, there’s no law saying you can’t do your own research! Go to the library and get some books about the health problem, google it, ask some other experts, do whatever you need to gather your own facts and make your own decisions.
The good thing is, you own your dog. What you feed it, when it gets fixed, what shots go into it, etc are all your decision. Even if the vet disagrees, it’s your dog and you should do what is best for it.
February 11th, 2010 at 1:47 am
Geoffrey
I don’t take my animals to a vet that I dont implicitly trust. Likewise, my vet trusts me to make good decisions for my animals.
February 14th, 2010 at 2:52 am
Edra
Well, you should research everything that your vet is recommending. You never know if they are suggesting something because it would coast you more money or if that’s what’s best.
With spay/neutering you only have to do that if your male dog is trying to be dominate or if you don’t want your dog reproducing. I was once told that if you neuter your dog it helps with constipation. So we neutered my dog. It didn’t help.
Three years later, and he’s still constipated. And we wanted to breed him.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Stephanie
I don’t. As of last year my dog had only seen one vet. I thought everything was fine, until she got really sick. Increased thirst and urination, accidents in the house, eating less, lethargic and losing weight. His advice was switch her food.
From that point on I was determined to find a better vet. I drove 45 miles to a veterinary university to get my dog properly diagnosed and treated. I found vets there that understood what I was going through. I wanted to put my dog on a homemade diet, and they helped me develop a diet that was better for her. She has recovered, and I thank them for it.
I recently found a vet locally that I really like. I asked my neighbors who they took their dogs to and why. I did research and took my time. I trust my new vet. We see eye to eye on all of my dog’s health concerns. It was the best decision I made. If I come to a point with this vet that we disagree, I will do my research and find a second, third or fourth opinion. My dog’s health is too important to hand over to someone who I don’t completely trust.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Eun
Someone said if you don’t agree, find a new vet. This is true in some cases.
In many cases, though, you really need to take what they say to heart. They have gone to school for 4 years (on top of their undergrad classes) so that they are knowledgeable on these issues. They also spend a lot of time reading scientific journals or attending conferences to make sure they are aware of any new developments and discoveries that could affect your pet (in fact, they are required to do this–they have to have so many hours of “Continuing Education” each year). Many owners take something they read on some crackpot website (there’s lots of them out there, and they may seem like good sources), or something they heard from their breeder who has no medical training, more seriously than something their veterinarian (a trained professional) says! That’s ridiculous!
February 18th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Giuseppina
The first dog our family had was taken to the vet for skin issues. The first question I asked was “Should we change her diet?” I was told no, the food she was on would be fine. Next came 6 weeks of antibiotics, 3 baths per week in an expensive shampoo and fish oil pills(to put back all the oil we stripped out during the baths. The pills were so big we had to shove them down her throat. She began nervous peeing on the floor every time she saw one.
I decided this was not best for my dog and sought help. I went to 3 or 4 different vets and told them my story. The first thing they asked was”Did they change her diet?” the second thing was never bathe a dog more than once a week. I was told to switch her food to a lamb & rice formula. After switching her food she never had the problem again.
The clincher was taking her in for a rabies shot(written down on the sign in sheet) and they gave her the whole series of shots and said they had to charge me for them. That was the last time we saw that vet.
Never second guess your instincts….get other opinions.
February 19th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Carole
My vet is ‘old school’. He attends many seminars and is very well educated on new procedures and drugs. He put my APBT, who has genetic bone/joint disease, on a new medication given as a shot.
It is working absolutely fantastic. The first 2 months were shots twice a week and we are now at the maintenance level of once every six weeks. The cost of the shot is nominal.
His knowledge of ‘good’ food is still lacking. He is doing more research and has stopped carrying
Science Diet and other Hills products except for the prescription foods.
I have had the same vet for almost 30 years.
To give you an idea of just how good he is a new client contacted him about their dog. He was being treated at another vet for over 2 months and $2000.00. SEVEN different medications and the dog is STILL the same.
The dog is at my vet. He took him off of all of the meds prescribed by another vet clinic, did an ultra sound, found a tumor in his neck and is now treating the dog. The dog is improving.
Second new client. Drove 2 hours to my vet for an emergency C section. Their vet would not do it for some insane reason.
Mother and puppies are doing fine.
I trust and respect my vet. He has never let me down and the man can diagnose many problems with just his hands.
February 20th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Leslie
It’s easier for me than for a lot of people when it comes to undestanding anatomy and physiology, so I’m quick to spot BS. To be honest, most vets are really good at their job and don’t go in for that. Where I tend to draw a line is if I don’t think they’re paying enough attention to what I’m saying ,so I’ll usually hand them a concise typed note with bullets and one or two references if it is a difficult case. That way they know they either need to dismiss it logically or take it onboard. Another line I draw is where it might not be their policy to do something that other vets might be prepared to do; I actually ask them to come clean about stuff like that. I’ve never had reason to take my dog to a different vet and even though my dogs are insured I always get the basic costs of tests worked out before committing.
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:00 am
Emmaline
I dont take anything anyone says without questioning or doing research, and that includes my vet.
Vets are just people, and they can always be wrong.
(The subject of nutrition has never come up with my vet ….maybe because my dogs are muscular, shiny, and the proper weight.)
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:30 am
Tyra
My vet recommends Science Diet dog food. I absolutely do not agree, I feed Wellness core.
In every other aspect she is a wonderful vet. I have never had call to question her judgement and even when our last dog tried to bite her she very calmly put a muzzle on him and resumed what she was doing. Even though we had to muzzle him after that she never said anything bad about him and cried when she put him down.
I do a lot of research on my own, I am not the kind of person that sees something odd on my dog and runs to the vet. If I don’t think it’s life threatening (basically anything with breathing, eyes, puncture wounds or profuse bleeding get a trip to the vet ASAP) I will watch it and wait to see what happens and see what I can find using the magic of Google. If I take my pet in and say “I think she has miliary dermatitis because we just recently switched foods” my vet will ask about fleas, anything else new in the home that may have caused an allergic reaction and go on from there. If I say that same thing and she tells me she needs to do a full blood workup and hospitalize her for the day to keep her in a sterile environment I’d go to another vet. This is going to sound bad but if she was always trying to get me to spend more money than I needed to that’s when I’d say enough was enough. Or if she was different with my other dog.
I don’t see eye to eye with my vet, my trainer (dog or horse), or my husband on every single thing. I find individuals that are knowledgeable about things and we see eye to eye on MOST things - the other things aren’t that important.
And as for the food thing - she’s called me up numerous times to find out what I’m feeding my dogs and always compliments me on how my dogs look, followed up by “are you still feeding the same food?” She hasn’t ever ONCE told me I should feed my dogs Science Diet instead of what I do feed.
February 24th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Carletta
I wouldn’t switch vets because the vet disagreed with me. I have switched vets, because they twice tried to brush me off as a mother-hen cat owner, where I had to insist to bring in the cat for treatment and both times it turned out that I was right and had I followed their advice, I would have lost two cats.
Another vet I had disagreed with me about a cat having an injury, but he did finally agree to take an x-ray - and it turned out that the cat had a bent spine after a fall. In this case, I did not change vthe et, because to be fair, the cat did not show any symptoms at the vet’s office during the check-up.
To me the most important thing is to respect a vet’s expertise, but not to do so blindly and always keep in the back of the mind, that the person, who knows my pet the best, is me.
Regarding nutrition, vaccination, early spay/neuter etc. my vet and I are in agreement, but even we weren’t, it wouldn’t change anything, as I do what I believe is best for my pet. The only reason for changing a vet because of this, would be if he didn’t respect my choices.
February 27th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Salome
I like what Animal Artwork said- there is a difference between preventative care such as diet & vaccines, and medical care for injury or illness.
I can research & think for myself when it comes to preventative care….it really doesn’t matter to me whether or not the vet agrees- I am the paying client and it is my animal, so if I don’t want to buy Science Diet or I don’t want to give the combo vaccine, I don’t argue or try to change their mind, I simply decline it. At most I tell them that one of my dogs has a vaccine reaction & it is common in the breed (true) so I prefer to skip the combo and do Rabies every 3 yrs as per law. So far, my vets have been reasonable- in fact, I’ve never had anybody try to sell me Science Diet. They can see my dogs are in good shape and I feed a good brand of food…”What do you feed?” is as far as that question ever goes. My current vet doesn’t even go that far. (my current vet is awesome, lol).
When it comes to real medical care, the vet obviously knows more than I do and I would never try to convince myself otherwise. A sick dog, an injured dog- something that requires attention….I’m not going to try & treat him at home with tobacco juice & cider vinegar just because some random website said I could :). Just because the vet may believe a raw diet isn’t good or Science Diet is a superior food….it doesn’t mean he is incapable of performing surgery or treating an infection. There may be 100 different schools of thought when it comes to diet or vaccine, but there aren’t many different ways to suture a wound or treat a thyroid condition.