Would you go back to this vet?

[sylvie]

I took my Golden Retriever in for her annual a few months ago a bit early because I needed confirmation on her false pregnancy. She has a history of them.
Lexie's sire is a Canadian grand champion, dam from England and I have every intention of breeding her once, keeping 2 pups. The false pregnancy would figure into time arrangements with the availability of the stud.

Her original vet left for another facility quite a distance away, so we were assigned another vet. The assistant (tech?) proceeds before the vet with paperwork. She began pressuring me to spay Lexie. I told her no and that I didn't want to discuss it further. She brings it up 2 more times. Finally I informed her that I had discussed this with her prior vet at length, that we decided on a testing program to assure that she would not pass on physical problems and that this conversation should be between the dog owner and vet. It should be in the chart. Really pushing the spay services and not listening was disrespectful and not what I expected from that facility given my conversation with her previous vet.

The new (ie; recent graduate )vet comes in, examines Lexie and pronounces no false pregnancy.
She thinks Lexie is carrying too much weight. I asked if she was certain because Lexie puts on weight with her FPs. She affirms and suggests a pricey diet program that the clinic offers. This vet doesn't really have credibility in that department in more ways than one.

The blood draw was a nightmare. It took several teams of 3 to draw from my girl who wasn't having any of it. Just moments before the tech had made a comment that you could do anything to her, she was so amiable.
I couldn't believe that they had ever done draws before, it was so amateurish. I got down, cradled her head and no problem.

So, long story short- she was in false pregnancy, and after the false labor she trimmed down within days. I am furious because I had to cancel the stud and will have to find another or travel/ pay for travel for him.

There is no way on earth that this vet will ever touch my dog again.
I am debating whether to request a different vet within that clinic or find a new facility. I'm wondering if their policies have changed in direction that isn't compatible with my view. I was told of a show dog vet that could arrange another stud or has insemination services.
I know this isn't really SS, but it frosts me and I don't usually rant on here.
Would like your imput on keeping or ditching this veterinary clinic.

 

[Dace]

Well I think as with any professional you have to deal with, if you are not completely comfortable, then you should listen to your gut and find someone else.

 

[lupinfarm]

Move your dog to another vet. That was extremely unprofessional of them. Would this happen to be a city vet? When we lived in the GTA we bred Labrador Retrievers and the vet was always pressuring us to spay Mari and Hwin but we never did. Mari had one litter and in the end had to be euthanized because she turned into a fear biter after a bad vet experience, but Hwin ended up finding a great home on a farm where she got to catch ducks all day long lol.

Now we live in the country we have 2 vets for the dogs, one vet that does our shots and vet checks.. he offers a huge discount for breeders (he obviously knows where his money comes from lol) and always loves to see our guys, never pressures us to spay, etc. Our other vet is the one I use for the horses as well and we get our basic meds there, wormers, etc. They LOVE the puppies when I bring photos, never pressure us to spay, etc.

I think a lot of the time small town vets and country vets understand, and they know exactly that their money comes more from breeders than simple pet owners because the country is where breeders for the most part reside. Its hard to breed in the city and not annoy people (and thats if you can get the proper zoning)!

 

[big brown horse]

I agree. Find another vet. (Though, you should try to discuss the issues first, to be fair.)

My big girl St. Bernard is very sensitive and I am very picky when it comes to vets. Heck, lets face it, it is NOT cheap, especially for us big dog owners. For all the money you are paying (and loosing in your case) I would definitely find a vet that is qualified and listens you.

 

[SKR8PN]

Switch and never look back.

We just switched Vets last fall because of ongoing, repeated urinary tract infections in our oldest Chocolate Lab. Every 6 months to a year, she was back for antibiotics and whatnot. Long story short, after 4 years of this nonsense, we took her to another Vet who discovered that she has an inverted vulva. THAT was the problem all along! We were shown how to keep her clean and she has been infection free ever since. She had been seeing the first Vet since she was a puppy and he or his daughter who is also in the practice, NEVER ever found that little detail, so we were NEVER informed. I really start boiling when I think of how much my poor dog had to go through AND how much money we threw away.

 

[ksalvagno]

I would find another vet. It is not professional for the vet tech to do that and if the vet can't draw blood fairly easily, then that's a problem too.

 

[patandchickens]

If it were me I would probably give the clinic another chance but make sure next time that my appointment was going to be with the other vet (the one you've done well with in the past). And see how it goes. It is possible that there is an overall shift in the clinic's policies or staff quality, but it is also possible that you just hit a couple new (and possibly not pemanent) folks on a bad day and that as time goes by they will conform better to how the clinic has run in the past.

OTOH if you had another bad experience with them, I'd say it for sure would be time to look for another clinic -- or if you KNOW another clinci that you're pretty sure you'd get along well with, you could just switch now.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[sylvie]

Would this happen to be a city vet?

It is a rural area that is quickly becoming suburbia. It has an average income of $151,000 (not me). I suspect this clinic is a city wannabe, catering to those with $$$ moving to the country.

 

[sylvie]

Switch and never look back.

We just switched Vets last fall because of ongoing, repeated urinary tract infections in our oldest Chocolate Lab. Every 6 months to a year, she was back for antibiotics and whatnot. Long story short, after 4 years of this nonsense, we took her to another Vet who discovered that she has an inverted vulva. THAT was the problem all along! We were shown how to keep her clean and she has been infection free ever since. She had been seeing the first Vet since she was a puppy and he or his daughter who is also in the practice, NEVER ever found that little detail, so we were NEVER informed. I really start boiling when I think of how much my poor dog had to go through AND how much money we threw away.

OMG, poor girl! 4 years of suffering with UTI is very painful and bad news for the rest of the system. And I do know how much you care about your dogs. Boy, we sure are at the vet's mercy until we learn more, I think. Thank goodness you found a better vet.
Can I ask how you found a good one?

 

[sylvie]

I agree. Find another vet. (Though, you should try to discuss the issues first, to be fair.)

My big girl St. Bernard is very sensitive and I am very picky when it comes to vets. Heck, lets face it, it is NOT cheap, especially for us big dog owners. For all the money you are paying (and loosing in your case) I would definitely find a vet that is qualified and listens you.

Thanks, BBH. I think that is what I will do.
I am currently crafting a letter of complaint.

I'm fairly hardy to blood draws, but their fumbling still turns my stomach.
You are right about big dogs, tho mine isn't as large as yours by a long shot, they they are more expensive; more med dosage, more food.
I considered asking for a refund on the vet examination portion of the visit.
You should have heard the conversation when I asked about feeding raw. Very predictable especially when she was trying to sell me on their "special weight loss diet "plan. Sheesh!