Hello.
MY name is emma i have a ESS and a Golden Lab.
I take both of my pets to the vets once a week for a general health check, could this be considered as a bit to often and as me being a bit to paranoid and caustious, especially as my boy devon hates it..(needs a lot of bribes with treats) and even then it still takes persuation..could i be over doing it.
any advice greatly appreciated thank you
emma

Hi Emma,
Your vet must rub his hands with glee! I honestly think you should be able to do the routine daily, weekly and monthly checks yourself. Barring accidents, my dogs see the vet only for their annual boosters ...

Emma taking a dog to the vets is like us going to the doctor. The question you need to ask yourself is do I see the doctor every week. Please do not think I am being rude

Jean

NO not at all jean ..you make a valid point but you see for myself its different im aware, if im under the weather and can obviously do something about it im quite lucky that more often than not my vet dosent charge me
I have been seeing him for many years he is a very good vet and i think he understands why i do it so frequently to stop me worring, my main concern is i dont want to do any mental damage to my ess and he reaaly dislikes going.
In saying this though he is never aggressive or bad tempered.
emma.

If it keeps you happy and he is not charging then dae away

Jean

sorry may sound thick but what does dae stand for
so this isnt likely to have any affect on my ess then.

It means do and i think I shoud bow out here

Jean

sorry i still dont understand...(im a dip i know) the reason i do go so much is because i used to own two rough collies a dog called luke and a bitch called lady.
Luke had to be put to sleep on his fourth birthday due to cancer that in the end was not treatable he got so bad he didnt want to walk and it broke my heart. One year after this  after much thought and consideration i decided to get another rough collie (lady) sadly one year ago when she was 5 i also had to have her put to sleep..i woke up one morning to find her laying in her own urine i took her to the vets straight away they run bloods ect and decided to take a look that afternoon as they couldnt find anything out of the norm wrong ...1 hour later i got what can only be described as the worst phone call i have ever had i was told that she had cancer of the bladder and there was nothing they could do.. i have always blamed my self for not detecting this there was no outwards signs no temp not off food no weight loss/gain no pain and befor that day no problems with going to the toilet i too only used to take my dogs for there boostes or when they appered sick or injured.The loss of her devastated me and still haunts me to this day (crying at the mo..lol silly eh) that i should have done more probably because it was totally unexpected i hope this goes some way into people seeing why i do what i do ..but that said i would not want to do anything to harm my boy or girl..
so any kind advice is most welcom thank emma.

Cancers can be very difficult to detect so don't think you could have done anything to prevent them getting it. You can easily do your own check weekly. Just feel them all over, check feet, ears, eyes, teeth and under the tail. That is basically all the vet is doing and pop them along if you find anything you are not happy with. Can understand how you feel when you have lost 2 dogs in such tragic circumstances but you have to weigh up the benefits with the stress your dogs go through when you pop them off to the vet.

Jesse

i used to check lady i think that is why im most frightened because there was no outwards signs at all? I try not to think about it but i just cant seem to let that go..im just scared that the same thing is going to happen all over again.
emma

Emma it is very sad you lost both your dogs at such a young age. And you are right the vet will give you the reassurance you need. Just enjoy your two dogs

Jean

thankyou very much jeanie dean.
emma

Hi Emma
That is a very sad story. If it makes you feel better then carry on. Maybe try only going every 2 weeks?

Jo
x

Emma

Please don't take this the wrong way but have you thought about going to get some grief counselling ?

You have suffered two very sad events with the two dogs you lost and are showing signs I feel of anxiety with the two you have now. Maybe talking through your feelings may help you come to terms with what happened and may put a new perspective on the two you have now.It may help you stop worrying about them and enjoy them.

HTH

Lucy

Hi Emma,
It was certainly a terrible loss you suffered with your two dogs. I lost a dearly-loved bitch in tragic circumstances - what should have been routine surgery killed her - which nobody could have predicted. It took me very many years to come to terms with it, and other bitches have had the same surgery, and I go through hell every time wondering if the same thing is going to happen. Touch wood, it hasn't been repeated - but I am always aware that it could.

This is probably going to come out all wrong, but please, try very hard to let this grief go. It seems to be spoiling your pleasure and relationship in your current dogs - which is neither fair nor healthy for any of you.

Take care.
:)

Hi Emma,i can under stand why,BUT it is too much-as i think you know! i can understand why,but its become some sort of "support " for you,abit like a hypochondrac(sp?).i dont think you should be worrying like this all the time,its not good & most be expensive. why dont you set your self some goals,
      Over the next month take them every other week
      Over the next 2months wean them down to once a month
      then by 6months ,do one 1month & the other the next month.

if they have anything wrong with them obvisley go in as & when.

Mine just have a health check once a year,you might decide that only once a year is two drastic so what about building up to twice yearly?

unless you have a VERY SEXY HANDSOME vet!!LOL!

good luck EMMA!

thanks very much for the kind replys...I am going to try very hard to cut it down to two weekly visits and see how it goes..the greif councelling was an interesting point made and perhaps i should look into it as the loss of my two beatiful collies really has affected me and like you say it is unfair to inflict my insecurities on my two now, so ive cancled my vet appointment for friday and the following one isnt till the week after ,so the dogs will get a two week break,going to try, and stick to this and then cut down to once a week ,and so on.
you have all been very kind with your replys to me and a great help as well
thankyou all.
emma

Hi Emma,

The loss of dogs you love is always so very hard.  I lost my "once in a lifetime" dog, Moxie, a year ago August.  I had dogs before .. and now a new dog, but for me I always knew that Moxie was so special that no other would ever come close to what she meant to me.   Part of that is that she was very special .. and the other part is that she gave me great comfort during a very difficult period of my life.  I worried about Moxie dying almost her entire life because I knew how deeply it would affect me.   Now, I cannot help look at my new dog, Abby, and not wonder how long she has and if she will become ill.  I tell myself it's ridiculous, she's only 16 months old, and then I say to myself, but .....  you know the feeling.

First, I think it's great that you were able to let new dogs into your life, even though you knew how much it hurts when they pass.  I always feel so sorry for people that are so afraid of being hurt that they cut themselves off from the joy of sharing their life with a dog again. 

Second, I agree with the suggestion on grief counseling.   I think it will help you.   Your dogs may not mind the vet, but I am sure they would much rather be doing something else.    I also believe that a dog should only be taken to the vet when necessary.  It really is not the best place to take an otherwise healthy dog.  It's like going to the doctor's surgery -- a good place to catch a cold or flu!  And since you know that you are taking the dogs to the vet to make you feel a bit better, I would suggest that you keep them at home and think of something fun to do with them instead. 

Third, we all have our little "quirks" :-)   I do not know what you are paying for a weekly visit, but here's what I would suggest instead.   Ask your doctor what tests he or she could run on a semi-annual basis to monitor that all the vital organs (like kidneys, liver) are working properly. You can probably do this with a simple blood test.   Maybe you gradually reduce the number of times you take your dogs to the vet and replace those minor check ups with a really good health check twice a year.

All the best,

Stacey

Emma, I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your dogs in such sad circumstances.  I am curious as to why your vet does not discourage you from visiting him weekly.  In our veterinary practice we have a nurse who you can talk to at any time about anything that concerns you and is often the first port of call before seeing the vet.  We also have a behaviour specialist. I find everyone in our practice very understanding of the emotional cost of owning a pet and the difficulties this can bring.

I am concerned that you feel the need to visit so often with your dogs, but also concerned that your vet seems to accept this and does not offer you the necessary reassurance to visit slightly less frequently.  I too agree with the suggestion of grief counselling and also feel you would benefit from support to be confident in your dogs health and your own ability to know when something is wrong.

Please talk to your vet, if he understands the problem correctly he may be able to support you in a more productive manner.

my vet is fully aware of my cicumstances and is frequently telling me that i need not visit, the problem does not lie with my vet, he is a very kind considerate man, it lies fully with me and me alone.
Im going to seek the help and advice/support that i am aware that i need to help me break this habit,(im looking into feild and trial training for my ess).
This should give me new goals to reach and help me enjoy my dog's  and occupy my mind.
Each time i take the dogs to the practice, we will have a chat and more often than not he will only ask me about there general well being and at the most he gives them a general ,check over, if he had not have taken the time to do this i would have gone elsewhere, and no doubt those vets would have charged me as they do not no me from adam.
I would absolutely hate for anyone to lay any assumptions on my vet,   with out him i think i would have been in deep dispair,
emma

Hi Emma,
I really feel that you have made an enormously huge leap forward here, which pleases me enormously. You can be very proud of yourself that you are taking the first steps towards a more relaxed and contented life for both you and your dogs (and the rest of your family). My very best wishes go to you!
:)

thankyou for your reply jeangenie.
I know that it is not going to be an easy task to acheive as this has become a way of life for me but i am going to try my hardest and give it my all, hopefully as each week passes ill be able to inform you all that im making good progress
although got to admit im all ready feeling anxious about missing this weeks visit but like i say im prepared in as much as i am aware that ill have these feelings and it is now time to start dealing with them first and formost for my dogs and secondly for my self.
so thank you all so much again for your help and suggestions, and in trying to guide me into the right direction i guess i just needed to have that extra push.  It was also good to be able to  talk toother people who had been in similar cicumstances and also lost such beloved freind,s thank you all so much...
emma

Take it slowly, and don't rush, Emma. These things take time. But you'll do it, because you want to. That's half the battle won already!
:)

Hi Emma,
Just a thought- how about doing a correspondence course with the Animal Care College- I know they do a course on general dog care, which goes into health, nutrition etc. Then at least you could 'go over' your dogs regularly yourself at home, and hopefully get some reassurance that you would know what to look for, as well as the fact that you live with your dogs and are the best person to pick up on any change in behaviour or health.

I'm so sorry you lost your two collies so young.
But please don't think you could have done anything to prevent your dogs getting cancer- I doubt even your vet could have spotted it until it was too late.
Good luck,
Liz

Well done Emma.  Jeangenie is right, you have made a huge step forward.   Don't forget that you can discuss any worries here.  There's always plenty of help and advice on offer!

quick update for you guys.
Well this morning has been and gone and i have successfully stayed away from the vets, it wasn't easy and i was feeling really anxious so poped the dogs in the car and took them to a local beauty spot where you can walk dogs, we dont go there that often as its a 35 min drive away. I spent about an hour with them there then came back this really helped me to not concentrate on the vets and passed the time quickly as well.
i feel great for not giving in to temptation and sticking to my guns, so the first step on the ladder has been done keep your fingers crossed for me guys, and once again thankyou to all, ill keep you posted on developments
kindest regards
emma.

Congratulations Emma.  You've made a positive step.  I'm glad you enjoyed your walk.  How is the training coming on?

Well, done Emma. And wasnt it a nicer experience then sitting in a vets surgery waiting to be seen :D
Bet the dogs liked it alot more as well :)
Let us know how you get on :D
Lea :)

Well done Emma Bet you all enjoyed the outing

Jean

Well done Emma! And what an excellent way to take your mind off it. I'm sure you all had a thoroughly enjoyable (though cold, if the weather's the same with you as it is here) time. Good for you!
:)