Should I get a new vet?

[Autumn & Lola]

I've been taking my dogs to our current vet for about 8 years now. He has always been very kind and accomodating, and seemed to care very much about our dogs. He took care of my precious mini poodle mix from the time we adopted her at 6 years old until her death last August. She was a pathetic mess when we got her, and had various issues throughout her life, especially towards the end. There were a few times when I questioned his advice. After Mandy died, I learned a few things that made me question a couple other things he suggested. Mainly I learned that he knows little about nutrition and the affect it has on dogs.

I decided to continue using his services with Molly, who we got 2 months ago. I figured I did my own research on nutrition and was confident about using his services in general, as he has been practicing for 30 years, and did help Mandy many times when we thought all was lost.

When we brought Molly there, the first thing he said was, "What a beautiful Cairn!" Her exam went well and he said she was in excellent health and had a great temperment. He laughed and said, "You know she's not going to be a quiet little lapdog like old Mandy was!" We said we knew! LOL!

When I asked about flea/tick medicine, he suggested a relatively new medicine, but said it might make Molly vomit. it was only for fleas, and when I asked about the other (tick, mosquitoes, etc.) he said I could use Frontline as well. This became an expensive proposition because the flea med alone was $80. However, he said it was the best, so we tried it. He said if it didn't work out we could bring it back.

We gave it to her as directed, with a full meal. She vomited, and continued to vomit once every day for the next 6 days. Otherwise she was happy, ate well, and played normally. Still, the vomiting bothered me. I called the vet and he said not to worry and to try it again the next month and "see how she does". I was VERY skeptical and told the vet. He said, "just try one more time." So I did, and she vomited for 3 days. I called the vet and said I would no longer give her this medication. He said we could bring it back anytime.

So my husband took the med back to the vet on Friday. The vet argued with him for 15 minutes, then had my husband call me. The vet argued with me. He said we weren't giving it enough time for Molly to get used to. I said I was tired of seeing her vomit, was tired of cleaning it up, and wondered how effective it could be if she vomited it back up. He said he wouldn't give us a refund. (even though he told us twice that we could "bring it back") He said he would give us another med. I saidI bought something else after doing a lot of research. He said it was junk and would make her sick. I said, "No. THIS is making her sick!" He finally agreed to give us a credit only for the unused portion (even though he most definitely pressured me into giving Molly the second dose.)

When my husband got home, we discussed the situation and were very disappointed. We've spent thousands and thousands of dollars at that vet's office, as Mandy had various issues in her advanced years, and he argued with both of us for half an hour over $80??? We never spared one expense in Mandy's care, over anything he suggested. I hate to even think this, but it crossed my mind that he *knows* we never spared any expense, and just thought he could talk us into the most expensive med.

Neither of us want to take Molly to this vet again because of this unprofessionalism. We both liked him very much before this incident and have recommended him to many people. Still, we are uncomfortable now. I'm sorry this is so long, but I have to ask, are we making too much of this?

[pkcrossley]

odd situation. you seem to have had so many good experiences with this vet over the years, and this seems such a petty thing for him to get weird about. all that is in it for him is that he sold you this med, and that he put his reputation behind it. you want your dog to stop vomiting, which seems perfectly reasonable.

as you know from other threads, vets and meds are sometimes a very strange combination. like human doctors, vets come under a lot of pressure (inducements) from pharmaceuticals to get people on board with the medications. if your vet has let a company buy him off, he could be embarrassed or ashamed about it and expressing it by harshing on you for questioning the magic med. after all, if the medication he bought into is a turkey, he could be on the hook for either money or reputation, and angry that he's got something to lose if your dog doesn't take the medicine and get all better. he could also have been anxious about what kind of side effects he was inducing, and been resentful at having the effects demonstrated, which, again, he would have to feel guilty about. guilt does strange things to people, like making them lash out at the people who deliver the news that makes them feel guilty, rather than just dealing with the problem and getting on with things.

whatever the explanation, your vet was out of line. it sounds like you got loud too, so that gives you an avenue to explore what's going on. schedule your dog for a follow up, and when you have the chance, apologize for [insert here whatever you can think of]. if he apologizes back, you might be able to go forward. if not, you might have to consider breaking it off.

my vet of twenty-five years has made mistakes, and at least once with terrible consequences for a pet of mine. vets are human. i don't believe i could find another vet who would be overall as good (and he has treated three dogs and probably seven cats of mine). that doesn't mean i'm not aware of his mistakes. i think he does his best. every vet will make a mistake eventually. my vet's mistakes have been honest mistakes. pushing a med on somebody that has serious side effects might or might not be an honest mistake. your vet won't tell you he got jammed up over his relationship with a pharmaceutical, but he might apologize for acting like a horse's other end, and whether he tells you or not he might already have realized the error of his ways. see how he treats you, then decide. there is no point entrusting your pet to a vet you don't like AND don't trust.

as for the nutrition thing --if one vet in a hundred cares anything about nutrition or knows much about it, i'd be surprised. they are trained to operate on and medicate pets, anything else seems like it is out of their lane. their attention is on heavy intervention with sick animals, not tuning up well animals. i don't think anything can be done about that, and i wouldn't see it as a reason to change vets.

[jodi0553]

my two (or three) cents....

I feel the same way about vets as I do any other medical professional. They provide a service, and if the service is provided to the customer's satisfaction, that breeds loyalty. Your situation is difficult, because you have loyalty to this provider as a long-time consumer. However...ultimately you are a consumer and they are a service provider. In a free-market economy, it is the consumer's option to get what they consider to be the very best service for their money. If you have lost confidence or comfort with this vet and are fortunate enough to live in an area where he is not the only vet, then it is reasonable to choose to take your business elsewhere. You can always go for one or two visits to another vet and "go back" if you've decided you've made a mistake. I think that the ability for a medical professional to be able to communicate effectively with a patient (or his/her parent or owner!) is one of the most important aspects of medical care, especially when an emergency crops up. You are the one living with Molly and the effects of this medicine, not him. You gave it another try and it failed. There are many other products on the market, so it is reasonable to have one that doesn't have these awful side effects! Good luck with your decision!!!

[Kramersmom]

I agree his attitude was out of line, I agree with you, I would feel uncomfortable too. My vet took care of my parents dogs and my Missy for 17 years. He is like part of my family. He saved my Missy many many times. He adores Kramer, always tells me what a good boy he is and such in great shape and health. Now with nutrition, I do my own research. Vets get very little nutrition if any. When it comes to immunizations I do titer and I make the choice what I want to be done and given. He is the greatest vet, I would trust him with my life, but when it comes to a few thinks like shots, food, it's my call.

We don't have flea's so Kramer doesn't get for fleas. I give him heartguard chewables May threw October and thats it.

What would worry me is that Molly's throwing up could of been a reaction. When a immunization gets a pet sick or a product for fleas gets a pet sick I would stop it and never use again. To me that would signal a reaction. You just read to much about flea and tick stuff getting pets sick. Read up on flea and tick or see if there is any natural remedy's as well.

I feel the less we inject in there systems we are bettering there immunity and not suppressing there immunity.

Good luck

[kintra]

While going through schooling, many vets take nutrition classes that are sponsored by, surprise, companies like Science Diet. While I'm at school, I work at the local vet/boarding facility and we feed/the vet's recomment Science Diet. I'm not a fan of it at all but some dogs do great on it.

It is totally your choice whether or not you feel comfortable going back to this same vet. Not that it is any excuse for his behavior, but you could have easily caught him on a bad day. He's probably seen that medication given to several dogs with very few bad results, so in his mind it may be the 'best' medication for that situation, but there are always a few that will react badly to it.

[cairnrescueleague]

If it was ProMeris, I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. It can be effective against demodectic mange, but that's about it. I would never go back to that vet, in fact, I'd consider reporting him to the state vet board.

[Sam I Am]

I truly believe when the trust is gone, so is the relationship you have with your vet or any other medical provider for that matter. Yes they are the experts but as pk noted they are human and make mistakes but having said that I know I could not go to a vet that didnt respect my views and thoughts on how to treat my animal. I even question my own Dr when she gets out the perscription pad!

[Tracy A.]

You know my vet was trying to talk me into putting my two on Hills Science diet. I told him flat No. That i'll used the ID if we have upset tummys from time to time...but other than that I wanted to feed a higher quality food. Then we had the China melamine scare and he hasn't brought up my food choices since. On Flea meds, since you can buy topical over the counter i have always side stepped my vet and bought this at Fosters and Smith website....The only think I do buy directly from the vets office is the monthly heartworm pills. I learned a lesson many years ago, to only ask for advice when you really need it...and it's just that advice....

I would have been very unhappy with how your vet treated you and if it were me I would be shopping around for a new vet.

[eastofeden]

No one but you can make the descision to leave your vet. I did about a year ago(we had been using this particular practice since the late 1970's) ...and it was very hard. Since everyone else I knew also used this practice (many per my recommendation)... It was difficult to find a new one...but I did...and so far no complaints.

But here is an article written by a VET about why clients should leave a practice. So more food for thought to hopefully help you make the correct decsision for your cirmcumstances:

http://www.dolittler.com/2008/09/08/dog.ca...%20a%20vet.html

[hallswel]

For years I used the local vet and it was okay. The office got busy and the patient care suffered and I decided to change. I found a vet that knew alot about Cairns and what she didn't know she would research. I refer all my puppy buyers to her for at least the first visit because she has seen the pups. She explains every thing to me and it is like she is a part of our family, she know I bred and she takes that into consideration with any medications used on my Cairns. I can take researh articles to her and she will let me know what she thinks.

Also her staff is great! I like all the doctors in the practice and that is sooooo important

Maybe you can check with other Cairn owners in your area and see if they can recommend a vet.

I am with you if it makes them vomit, I wouldn't want to take the chance. I wish that you got a handout like we do with our scripts that tell you what the side effects are and what you should worry about.

[Xonk]

I switched vets several years ago, and have not regretted it since.

One of our chessies swallowed a stone and was in extreme distress - it was late Saturday afternoon and the vet said to leave it and call back on Monday if Seena was no better. We immediately called a 2nd practice - the vet came in immediately and took xrays which showed the stone blocking her stomach. They admitted her & did emerg surgery and saved our girl. She wouldn't have made it through the night, let alone to Monday.

We have a wonderful working realtionship with this clinic, even when the time comes to say good-bye to our dogs, they have sat and cried with us.

If they were to show the beligerant argumentative attitude you were shown by your vet, I would thank them for their past services and begin checking out other vets. I find it incredible that he had agreed to take back the product then start an arguement when you brought it back!

[Autumn & Lola]

Thank you everyone for your replies, links, and experiences.

My husband and I have both read them all and talked a lot. I think it is time to move on. We realized that this doctor was the only thing we liked about the practice. I would never board my dogs there, and the reception staff was unorganized and sometimes rude. So, I'll be asking around to friends and my husband's co-workers for recommendations.

I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't loud with the vet. I know I wrote, "No, THIS is making her sick!" but I didn't yell it, I just emphasized it. I am very soft-spoken and would never yell at the vet anyway.

I do feel kind of sad, because like I said, he took really good care of Mandy when she was so ill, but I still think it's time we found someone else to take care of Molly.

Thanks again everyone!

[pkcrossley]

got it. i'm sure you're doing the right thing.

[BetsyNoodle]

I think you are doing the right thing by looking for a new vet. I am a health professional for humans; my cousin and her husband are veterinarians. We always say once the trust is gone, the therapetic bond disappears. A good doctor/vet listens to his/her patients. Why your vet stopped listening, I cannot say, but he clearly did. You have every right to question your vet extensively about anything he prescribes for your dog. You also have the right to say no to a treatment without having to listen to an argument from him.

I hope you find a vet who listens and is a true partner with you in keeping your pup safe and healthy.

[LJCarey]

I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience. This flea product isn't anything I've heard of. Especially, to then go use it with another flea preventative (albeit a sketchy one that I really don't recommend anymore for fleas), I would be really frustrated as well.

My one thought is, after this situation, do you trust your vet to put you and your pet's best interest ahead of all else if you get into trouble? If you had an emergency tomorrow, would you be comfortable rushing your pet to this vet? If the answer is 'yes, I'm just frustrated', I would stick it out. He acted poorly, but in the future you'll question big expenses and make decisions. If the answer is no, I would move on now. It wouldn't be good to let bad feelings get in the way of focusing your attention on treating your pet.

Yes, all vets are human, and so are all clients. People change, relationships change, and we grow with some people and apart from others.

Glad your pup is feeling better. We've had pets on Doxycycline and done the fun vomiting. It was life or death, which is the only reason we stuck it out. For something like flea medicine, I would be on the same page as you. My pets get Advantix and Capstar, and if either made them sick, I'd find something different fast.