You're quite right, John. My dogs have, in the past, been prescribed Rimadyl, and all has been well, and my vet has, during the consultation, verbally advised me of the possible side-effects. Luckily I'm the sort of person who absorbs information to study at a later date, if you understand, so I can remember what I've heard. However many people don't have that ability, and even I would like written information to refresh my memory.

But as the vets, like GPs in many cases, buy in bulk to dispense in smaller quantities (it's much cheaper that way, for the client as well as the vet), only get the one leaflet with the drugs, they would need a photocopier to get enough copies of the document to issue to every client, which would drive up costs ...

Most vets these days would have a photocopier I would have thought but even then, I have a packet of Drontal Plus which was given to me last week. Drontal give the vets printed packets to supply the tablets in. Now we all know that some dogs have trouble with some wormers and this is an official packageing supplied by the company concerned WITHOUT ANY FORM OF WARNING!! This really is not good enough!

Best wishes, John

I don't think my vet's surgery has a photocopier (but I've never been 'backstage' so can't say what's out there). I now buy my wormers through Vetmedic, and always get an official leaflet (I now have a drawerful of leaflets). When I was buying epilepsy medicine, I remember the transition from when the vet had told me the contra-indications (after 10 years he knew I was intelligent enough to take in info) as he counted out the tablets from his big pot, to when it had to be dispensed in blister-packs, every pack with a leaflet, and the price went up tremendously. Not through my vets choice, I might add. It's the law.

If you buy medication in bulk you get the pack of pills and a load of leaflets and or packs to put the stuff in if you were dispensing. Think that it is likely that the manufactures do send out a quantity of leaflets with their products but the dispenser is not passing them to the end user. Agree it needs sorting, as I said earlier in this thread it is important that both doctors, vets and chemists hand on the information supplied by the manufacture, the doctors, well my doctors, do and so do chemists but vets in general do not seem to bother, time someone rattled their cage.

Yes i agree totally that we should be given as much info as possible on what our pets are being pescribed, but then it is also the owners responsibility to ask too.   I am sure if all owners asked then vets would get into the habit of telling people.
Unfortunatly there are no drugs that are not capable of giving side effects, i mean just read some of the leaflets we get given with our own simple run of the mill medicenes like antibiotics.   Enough to scare you from taking them.  But without them you could become very ill and most people do take them and never see any of these effects.
So i think vets are in a difficult situation and must find a way of calmly telling people what to look for without scaring people off any of these drugs if they really are needed.
I must say though if any of my dogs displayed anything i wasn't sure about when on any drug  I would speak to my vet immeadiatly about it as i hope everyone would.
Also it must be taken into consideration that 10 dogs reacting to the same drug could all show thier reaction in a different way.   So perhaps it would be best for vets to just explain with any medication that if the owner is worried in any way to ring the surgery immeadiatly as lists of possible side effects can get very confusing.
As i said before Rimadyl is a fantastic drug and has helped my dogs no end.  i would hate to see someone let thier dog suffer rather than try it.  But i would also say discuss any fears and worries you have with your vet and as with any medication anything slightly not right speak to your vet immeadiatly.

Bev

I gave my dog rimadyl.He had athritis.
I only gave it him when he was really bad.The days when I nursed him in my arms all day.
Chang died at the early age of seven.
My oppinion Rimadyl contributed to his death.
I would never give any of my dogs Rimadyl again.
Chow