Vets and BS - Page 2

I am lucky as my vet understands working/competion dogs & understands me & therefore treats me differently than most of his pet clients. I am the one who handles the dog for exam/treatment, not the techs. The subject of neutering doesn't come up with me. He also does not have a problem with RAW diet, & doens't reccomend annual vaccinations. He also is always going to semeinars to keep up with new techniques, etc. I think he is brilliant & am comfortable trusting his abilities. He never hesitates to suggest a specialist if he feels at all out of his realm. I looked long & hard to find him. The good ones are out there, but you have to do your homework to find them.

GSDKid, I think that you can discern from the responses here that you must obtain a new veterinarian. A good doctor who (1) has extensive knowledge of canines, and (2) has some knowledge of the GSD is difficult to find. For five (5) years we had the most wonderful veterinarian and staff for that one could ask. An expert on canine reproduction and health. We miss them a lot, as I am working with local veterinarians one (1) at a time before I make a decision as to who will obtain our business. This is just an idea, but perhaps you can inquire who treats the K9 dogs employed by your local police and/or sheriff's department. Bob-O

Disclaimer: I don't know you, GSDKid, and I don't know your dog, so I'm not trying to do any bashing. Here's another point that ought be considered: perhaps the vet actually *does* have a clue as to what a good show "prospect" looks like, and the dog he/she is looking at isn't it. Perhaps the vet has been dealing with a particular client long enough to know that the person isn't really likely to be an ethical, responsible breeder. Or perhaps the vet knows the person well enough to know that that individual doesn't have a strong enough presence to properly handle an adult, intact male GSD--maybe the person has even had other adult, intact male dogs in the past that the vet has cared for, and those dogs were out of hand and unacceptably aggressive. Now, given those possible situations, would the vet likely have *any* chance of convincing the owner that he/she wouldn't make a good breeder, or had already demonstrated that they couldn't be relied upon to train and handle an intact, adult male dog so that other people and creatures are safe around it? What chance would the vet likely have of getting the owner to wipe the veil of kennel-blindness from his/her eyes, if the dog isn't suited for showing/breeding? So another angle gets tried...maybe the owner will neuter the dog if he/she is told about the potential risks that can be faced if a male dog is left intact. Are the risks real? Yes, they do exist. Are the risks high? Not really. The vet isn't lying...he/she is being selective as to which information he/she is directing the focus toward. It happens. Sometimes it's the only way to keep a disaster-in-the-making from becoming a reality.

I can't stand vets most of the time. Vets who don't know how to take a proper hip x-ray, position crooked then scare the puppy owner to death saying the hips are bad, when the hips are fine it's only crooked positioning. GRRR. Others who tell the new puppy owner that the pup has HD because it's "bunny hopping" (at 8 weeks). Tonight my mother called me all upset because her dog, one of my retired females, who is 10.5 years old and had a growth removed from one of her legs (growth on the outside of her leg) - sent to be biopsied, results came back no problem - vet told her that it will probably come back, and if it does her leg will have to be amputated. WHAT?????? Now mom is upset and I'm pissed at that vet - her superior (who is my vet) will hear about it. GRRRRRR. molly

My first vet was a GSD owner, but her office manager was a lush who wouldn't answer the phone after she drank her lunch, so it was a challenge to schedule things. Lucked out in finding my "lifetime vet" immediately after deciding the first vet wasn't going to work out for me, and I've been going to him ever since. He was in a 15-vet animal hospital for several years, then bought out a small animal hospital, and I followed him there. Big guy who isn't the slightest bit intimidated by a GSD even when the dog is pissed off, and his staff isn't either. Knows his stuff and, equally important, knows who knows the stuff he doesn't and provides excellent referrals. I also like the fact that there are only three vets there, so the waiting area usually isn't crowded with nitwits who have their spazzed-out dogs on Flexis with the thumb lock off and their bratty kids completely unsecured. He knows I'm a responsible owner and doesn't press me on neutering. With the latest pup, he told me that I'd receive a reminder card with all the great reasons for neutering when he reached a year of age, but to just ignore it.

Hexe...I don't think so, his pup rated VP, his vet don't know shit about GSD's! My old vet tried to sell me something my dogs "needed" everytime I walked in the door, just so they could make more money. They were pushy like car salesmen...I found a new vet, a good one that knows and owns GSD's himself. GSDKid has a dog he plans on/is showing, titling, his vet shouldn't give him ANY grief. You can't show a dog with no nuts! The first few years of an intact dog may be a handful, but once they mature and pass puberty it shouldn't be an issue for the most part.

My boyfriend and I were going to different vets when we met. We took our dog to his vet for an exam and while I was there I decided to ask them the cost of X-rays there as a comparison because I am considering breeding... they asked me why bother with X-rays! Needless to say... we go to my vet now... who let me handle my dogs while we are there instead of taking them in the back room like his vet did. I think some vets are used to dealing exclusively with pet owners and therefore don't do exams in front of them, or trust them to control their pets, or think they would be anything but BYBers. Good luck with your search.

The thing I can't stand about vets is that when they have in mind of wanting to do an xray on the dog (from my personal experience) at least they can tell the dog owners that they should not feed the animal the night before the vet visit... so they can tranquilize the animal so they can get the good xrays besides traumatizing the poor thing and having the dog pant so heavily that you would mistake the dog as if it was finish running! This happen to my poor Zambi when she was getting xrayed near the hock area without any kind of sedation! She was perfectly normal until after the xrays... she was breathing very heavy. Vets often wonder why some dogs behave so poorly in their offices... maybe the dog just don't like them and like being hassled so much as you may get away with it to some breeds but not the GSD. I just love it how they proclaim themselves as dog behavioral experts and gives such advise on temperament, like what the garbage that DARGO/OSObear placed up stating how bad temperament Taron vom Haus Fokwulfe was at the vet office while being examined. Molly, If a vet ever told me that if a growth (on the outside) re came back on the area would have to be amputated... I would first laugh at the vet and then tell her or him "over my dead body" and remind her/him that since they would charge me an arm and a leg... It would be my decision if the leg goes or stays. We often do have to remind our vets whos the boss and whos running the show since we pay them.

I love my VET, He and his wife operate an office in a small town 45 minutes away from here, There are 3 local clinics I don't use for MY dogs, simply put they don't know me, they don't care to know my dogs, and they hate it when I want to go with my dogs. At MY vet, I am asked to participate in every procedure and my daughter will be assisting with spays for some of our girls this next summer. She asked about it and they said they would welcome an owner helping/participating with spaying of they're own dogs. At MY vet, they know me, my kids, and every single one of my dogs, BY NAME !! That's alot of dogs, considering we have 13 now. My vet is an older gent, Mostly works on cows, but does alot of small animal work as well, and takes super X-rays with an ancient machine, So far he has graded exactly what OFA has turned in. I love them love them love them !! They never try to "pull one over" on anyone, They are honest, heartfelt, caring, compashionate people and often when I'm there for my dogs xrays,checkups,vaccines, whatever they will donate things for the shelter for me to come home with. Very very lucky I am to have them, gonna DIE When he says Retire !!!!!!!!

I also have a wonderful vet that introduced me to this breed and to the man that got me started, He too is a large breed vet cows and lots of livestock and he takes my ofa on an old machine and knows immed what they are.....He tells me secret remedies or should I say old time , natural remedies and calls me sometimes after a period to see if im still alive as i dont use vets often I also have another vet closer to my place and he loves my breed, lets me run the show, help in the exam room even go to the back to weigh or anything else we are doing He tells me how to save money and watch for certain things and he doesnt charge me an arm and a leg. I cant say the same about a lot of the others in my town, Ive had knock down word battles with about 3/4 of them when they tell my new pup owner his gsd will have bad hips at 6 mos old cause he sits sideways on his butt. Ive had every misdiagnosis on pups with nothing wrong with them and scared more clients half to death about the breed with stupid statement about temperament and hips and what is gonna be wrong with this pup Then I have had some vets in the Dallas area immediately say Oh I can tell this is a well=bred german dog , thrills me to death I get on a high horse when I get a phone call from the vet that a pup is at and they start this u need this and this and this because ifu dont u will get this and this and I tell my people call me first before u let any vet fill my dogs full of revolution or any of the money making crap vets sell people that are new to this. I love both my vets and the one I left behind in Galveston , Tex