Do you ever find yourself arguing with your vet over treatment?

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Cedars

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Firstly, i'm highly emotional as my pups is really sick, and currently in the vet. So please be kind!

But do you ever find yourself arguing with the vet over the correct choice of treatment? I often feel like I'm told that it'll "probably be fine" and to go home and come back if it gets worse. I feel like they've seen much worse so I'm overreacting even though my dog/horse is still very sick!

But then you don't want to insist on treatment because the insurance company wont cover if you insisted against vets orders.

Argh!

Hannah xxx
 
Yes, and I have recently changed vets becasue of it! Their insistance that my horse who broke his leg should not be put down cost £10.5k!!
 
Yes particularly over my dogs....they have got it wrong on 2 occasions which would have ended up with me losing 2 dogs.

My friend told me years ago that 'vets arent gods' and it really helped me find my inner voice and ask questions.

Hope your pup is ok, you must be very stressed and worried.
 
Bloody hell. Did you end up paying? I think I've just been really rude, I insisted that on the notes they wrote that "we discussed options" rather than I insisted. And sure enough shes now having xrays and blood tests cos something isnt right.

They're just totally awesome in every other way. Its hard! =[
 
Oh my god! They're not children they cant FAKE lameness! Ours ham it up when they're in pain but they dont have the brain power to just make it up! Bloody hell lol!

Finkle did you end up paying or did the insurance on the two occasions you were right?

xxxx
 
I took my dog to vets twice to be told there was nothing wrong. I tried another vets to be told the same, bloods all normal etc. I 'insisted' that they took a closer look at a lump, that came and went on her throat.

Turned out to be a mast cell tumour Grade 2 and thankfully was completely removed, probably about 6 years ago now.

I knew she wasnt right, she was quiet and slept a lot, which is the total opposite of what she really is. Dont be afraid to ask questions, you are paying for a service after all.
 
Thankfully the dog with the tumour was insured.
The other was a puppy that the vet said had liver shunt and should be euthanised.
Thankfully I spoke to a friend in the vets car park to ask advice and he said it didnt sound like liver shunt to him!

Anyway that 'puppy' is now 5 years old and doing very well! Thank goodness I made that phonecall.

I paid for the puppy consultation but my friend had her at his home for a month and pulled her through for me
 
Aww bless, thank goodness you questioned it!

Will definitely be asking lots of questions when i go back to pick her up. If I can. Eek =[ xxx
 
In the past I've used various Vet practices that I've not been too impressed with (as well as some excellent ones) and if it's got to the point where I've not been confident in their ability or I've had to twist their arms to come out to look at my horse (who is hopping on 3 legs!!) or I've had to tell a Vet how to drain a Haematoma or when I was ripped off and my horse misdiagnosed- I changed to another better practice very very quickly!

I try not to argue, just state my concerns and the facts (if there are any), and if they are not singing off the same hymn sheet so to speak, then time to change.

Have had probs with small animal vets as well, and again it's the same as above.

Very tricky situation though.
 
No but i wish i had :(
I found that i suffered from a inferior complex with vets and found it very hard to speak up. Now i know that i will ask the questions and question the answer if i need to.
 
It is difficult, and I'm all for relying on your gut instinct over things with your animals as you know them better than anyone.

I had a newly qualified vet out for a lameness issue, he did a flexion test, announced the horse had spavins and needed to be brought to the surgery for her hocks to be injected. I wasn't happy with the diagnosis, especially as there was heat in the pastern and a raised digital pulse on the lame leg, when questioned about it he waffled on about how horses can control their pulses when needed :rolleyes: No mention of WHY it would be raised on one foot only!

I left it for about a week and then got another vet from the same practice as the horse was still lame, he diagnosed a sprained deep digital tendon within about ten minutes. I did get some bute free, but had another call out to pay, but have chalked it up to experience, I suppose even vets get it wrong sometimes and I've learnt not to rely on them totally if I feel something isn't right with the treatment/diagnosis. I hate unnecessary investigations and treatments though and would be wary of pushing for something that wasn't in the animals best interests.

I'm pretty much the same with doctors too, my daughter had leukaemia and I was told that she had a virus time and time again, even after she'd collapsed and she was only two years old, I was called a neurotic mother by one doctor until they finally blood tested a week later and found her hb was only 2.3 when it should be nearer 10 -12. :mad:
 
When my foal died, the vets at the hospital were wonderful and i trusted them 100% but the day before when i suspsected she was ill i called the vet and said i'd collected the first milk and should i give it to the foal, he told me 'no, it wasn't needed' i trusted him at the time but now i wish i'd gone with my instinct and fed it to her. *sigh* I should have argued but you just trust them in the moment.

Also. the day before the foal was born i called the local vet out to check her over as she was overdue etc. his words were something like "dont know what you're worried about, she's never going to foal tonight, not for weeks" - basically looked at her over the stable door, didn't look at her udder...nothing. I didn't argue, but i was SO cross. she had her foal the next morning.

I've basically learnt that sometimes you should trust your instinct, BUT if you get a good vet they are priceless imo.
 
But do you ever find yourself arguing with the vet over the correct choice of treatment?
Click to expand...

No, never with my equine vet - I do find myself discussing it with them though.

However, I have told small practice vet how to treat my cat.....
 
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I havnt exactly argued but i have got a second opinion several times because ive disagreed with the original vets. One horse worked for 5 more years before retirement, another has had 6 more years of life and is still going strong and another has totally recovered from her problem, which could have ended her life. So if im not happy i have learnt to ask questions and make decisions that i feel happier with.
 
re. the animals faking - My dog is perfectly sound when he is running after his ball, but when he brings it to me he is very lame :p

Funny how his "lameness" is worse when I am around ;) :p
 
I had a diagreement with a newly qualified vet that came out to my horse a few months ago. He had just come back into work and was lame on off fore, I thought he was maybe 2/3 10ths and had probably just tweaked something as he had been off for months and maybe we had just pushed him a little too hard too soon but just wanted to be safe rather than sorry so got vet out. Within 5 mins she had insisted nerve blocks, xrays needed to be done. I disagreed and said I thought it was a tweak and could I maybe have some bute - she refused saying oh but I don't think he's in enough pain and it's such a subtle lameness! But she would have been quite happy to cart him off to the surgery to give unecessary treatment and at a cost of probably hundreds to me! Anyway I refused, decided to box rest him for a few days then just walk out in hand and hey presto, he came sound and has been ever since!
 
No my vet always asks me what to do! I'm like 'Tom, you're the vet, you tell me'

Plus he's Irish and I can't understand what he's saying half the time anyway!
 
IF, and that is a very big if, I feel a vet may be wrong, I will discuss my thoughts with the vet. I have only once gone against my vet, my small animal vet of the time, and I was correct.
If in doubt, question, question and question.
 
Regularly!Like the time I took little Fidget in with what I described as a Asthma attack.She was runt of the litter and had never been right but was then about 10 and her attacks had suddenly become bad.
Vet tells me she couldn't possibly have asthma,pokes prods looks down throat and said it could be some sort of blockage.Sends me home with tablets and says the usual "Brig her back if she doesn't improve"
Four vesits later with dog getting worse and having to stay in for several nights on and off along with a throat x-ray, I picked her up,got her as far as the car when the attack happened again...walked straight back,straight in and demanded that my dog had asthma and isn't it about time they started treating her for it!
She saw the state of Fidget and called the other vet who was passing the door.He takes a quick look down the throat and says "She's got Asthma,pop over to the chemist and get this...." (Some sort of human spray thing)
Unfirtunately by now things had gone too far and Fidget died the next day.
And I wo't metion the £1000 bill they managed to run up on Chance when she had a blockage in her intestine........!
 
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