Hi
Have had problems with my puppy for the past few weeks( i posted 11 week puppy leaking urine and an update) been back and forth to the vets who said it was an infection gave her antibiotics which didn't stop her wetting in her sleep and then said it may be ectopic ureter or another major problem with her kidneys and wanted to do tests which cost around £400.Found info on the net thanks to a response to post but this didnt sound like her problem as she was getting toilet trained and was dry and the info said it was obviose from birth as they were never dry.Vet didn't seem to be listening to me when i tried to tell her symptoms on monday and seemed hell bent on doing these tests so i took holly to another vets for a second apinion(bad spelling i know)as the test is expensive and not covered by insurance.The second vet said he had never seen a case in his life 30 years in practice asked if antibiotics had helped at all i said yes think infection has gone but still wet at night and sometimes drips a little he got the case notes sent over and checked holly over(she loved him but fell asleep on the table!)the result is holly is now on .25ml of propalin twice a day for the next 3 weeks as he thinks that her uretha sphincter has been aggrevated and is still sore because of the infection and just needs to have a little bit of help.Holly has been dry in her sleep last night and today and im now a little bit angry with the other vet as this has gone on for nearly a month and i had nearly given her back to the breeder.
Sorry for the long post needed to get that out im off to let my pup explore the house without fear now! :) :) :)

OHHH don't start me on this one....am in the proccess of writing a letter of complaint to a vet and thinking of taking matters further.Don't know where some of these people get off...he slandered my pups breeder,diagnosed a condition which has all the wrong symptons and sent my shiba bitch home after a spey when she couldn't even stand and was unable to for almost 24 hrs after.Aswell as that he refused to listen to me...everytime I opened my mouth he spoke over the top of me and said I don't care what you say I know etc....I have never met such a jumped up little ###in all my life.
I have had Frankies first vacc.done by him and have decided to take him elsewhere for the second...took the vacc card to a new vet yesterday and and the vet said we would have to start the vacc over again as the first one he'd been given was only against 2 instead of 7 viruses.I had also tried to change his 2nd jab to when he was 12 weeks old on the advice of pups breeder and was told NO!! .SAID THE BREEDER WAS TALKING RUBBISH!!
Just think he saw me as an easy £££....boy I'm not a happy bunny!!
Archer

VETS should be shot (only some of them!)

Had a boxer with problems, two LARGE vet practises with many vets said "artheritus give him medcation, give us money"

One vet, owns one small practises and is the only vet there, with i think its 2 nurses saw this boxer walk 2 steps and said "thyroid, I shall take some tests"  These came back positive and after about 3 years he is now getting his coat back, moving faster etc etc!!!

Rox

Hey Archer that was going to be my starting line! :D  The thing is with vet's is that you just dont challenge them, I love my dog soooo much that if the vet suggests I do something then I do it!  Without going off on one I had an incident where Lana bumped her pelvic bone (very prominent in an afghan) and it bruised to form a haematoma.  The vet said "we'll leave it be for now" - Next day it was drained, two days later GA   Just to confirm it was in fact a bruise. £300 later and an argument with the insurance company and all is well with Lana :rolleyes: I feel we put her through too much and she was 16 weeks old at the time :(  The most annoying thing was the vet said "oh, my first afghan" and clearly wasn't that familiar with her anatomy!  I moved to another vet who just lectured me because I wasn't having Lana spayed!  Next time she needs to see a vet I will take her to the other side of Bristol to a vet I have known for years and totally trust :)  When I moved house I thought she was just to far to travel too but now I will be making the journey just to see her...I feel it's worth it!  If you find a good vet you can trust they are like gold dust.  It also seems to me no matter how intelligent they may be, some have no people skills at all!
Sarah

I have a lovely one man vet.  He listens to you and acceptys that in some things regarding your dogs we are the expersts, and that his line of expertise is treating and diagnosing ilness!

He is from New Zealand, has always time to talk to the sogs and to the owner, and often tells you if he thinks ssomething often given routinely will not6 be of benefit.

I was put on to him by some GSD owners that I know, as he gets on so well with the dogs (a serious consideration to have a confident vet that dogs like with the bigger dogs).

I had benn messed about over one of mine by my old vet, they ignored my requests to check something, and the problem persisted, and when I went to him, and asked him to ahve a look for what I thopught it might be, he found it!

He is also very good at diagnosing pregnancy by palpatiuon, so I hardly ever need the booked scan.

He is Mike Goudsward of Victoria Vet centre in Staple Hill.

Rozzer

Unfortunately its not how intelligent the vet is that counts, its what they DO with that intelligence ;) -  A vet can have qualified 25 years ago and still only have a years experience :rolleyes: and some of the young vets seem to think that as they're qualified they have nothing more to learn   They should be told the same as a new driver "Ok you've qualified, now you'll really start learning" :)

Brainless
Your vet sounds like a real gem - wish I lived near you!! :)

Hi Sarah
Was interested that you said we never challenge our vets. I most certainly do, and question them and ask for details explanations, copies of tests etc and referral to specialists if I think it's appropriate! I must be a vets worst nightmare! Having said that, my vets are absolutely wonderful and together we have got through some very difficult times.
I think we must all remember that this is Private Health Care, that we are paying full whack for (or our insurance companies are) and so we do have rights to challenge. My pet hate is a vet that talks over me or doesn't listen to what I say, mainly because I think they are missing out on the most important information there is - the owner. The times that my gut instinct over something has been proved right is quite uncanny, even though my vet has given me very sideways looks at the time! No one knows a dog like its owner and any vet that doesnt take time to gather that invaluable information is an idiot, and an expensive idiot at that.
Kat

Our Vet practice is fantastic too!  They always listen to what we have to say and are interested in the particular things associated with our breed, ours being the only examples of them they've had at the practice.  They never order unneccessary tests, even though the boys are insured, and their prices are always very reasonable.  They don't have fancy premises, but the care and interest all the staff show are second to none.  I love our vets :)

Lesley

Hi Kat, what I meant was that if a vet gives you his own personal opinion to aid a decision then you trust it.  I do question often and at times speak my mind quite blatently, but the situation with my pup was that she had a 'lump' - which is of course a very worrying thing for any owner.  In our case I was fairly sure that she had bumped her 'afghan pin bone' and that the bump would go down in due course but the vet suggested a biopsy which I wouldn't have the ball's to challenge quite frankly, and that is where they've got us...and they know it!  So I think I should have meant emotional challenge rather than factual?
Sarah :)

Our vet's practice is great too! Unfortunately the chief vet, whose judgement I trusted implicitly, and he was very forthcoming and informative about available treatments and updates, has retired, so I'm training up the 'new boy'! Geoff never minded owners saying "I don't know what's wrong, but he's just not himself" because they were the owners who spent enough time with their animals to recognise the difference from their normal behaviour!

When I first moved here and went to my new vets I made the mistake of doing what I had been used to doing at my old vets in Bedfordshire, that is walk in and ask for the medication that I needed. It did not go down well and it took a lot of talking to persuade the affronted vet that although she may not normally give that medication in the condition presented I had had care of the bitch of 12 years and had found it the only way to control it. We got there in the end but should the situation arise again I would have to do it different, however frustrating. When my hounds records caught up with us and the vet could see the history things were ok but till then my bitch could have suffered unnecessarily because my word could not be accepted. I have sympathy with the vet I could have made the whole thing up but I felt a small amount of the requested drug would not have been too difficult.

Sorry Rozzer, yes I know what you mean!

I once told my vet I would dance around a tree naked in the moonlight if I thought it would work - that one got me a really strange look!

Kat

I have a wonderful vet too.  We used to have his dad and now we have David.  He phones me if I ever have any queries and never seems to be unhappy if I ever phone.

We've had tears together and laughter.  Unfortunately he's the only one that I like at the practice and that's why I've had to wait a week to take Dilita tomorrow regaring her old timers disease, but he's such a warm friendly man.  He's only young and I hope that I'll be taking my dogs, which I very rarely need to, to him for at least another 20 years!!