Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO General Forum => General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws => : shangrila October 26, 2005, 09:36:29 AM
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Zoey had the worst vet visit ever today! We are both traumatized.
We wanted to try a new vet because we have been unhappy with the vet we have been seeing in our new town. Zoey has had some tummy issues the past week, and she has seems to be having more hip pain, so we wanted to get a check up. It was horrible.
First, we walk in and zoey tail is wagging, because she loves the vet. She has been to 4 different vets now and continues to love them all (except for this one). Then we meet the new doctor (very nice and knowledgable), and things were fine until zoey saw her get out the ear checker and got scared and started backing away from her. So the doctor tells us she wants to take her to a different exam room so we can put her on the table to keep her still. They have this table that they basically tie a leash to to keep the dog on it and then it lifts up. Zoey has never been on one before, and it scared her, so she was struggling to get off. Then the vet is like 'well, we might as well cut her nails first while she is already on the table'. Zoey is terrified of having her nails cut, and she always struggles to get away. So then a vet tech comes in and they are going to cut her nails - she sees the nail cutters and starts struggling and trying to get away even more. So then they decide to muzzle her. She has never been in a muzzle before so now she is even more terrified. Her eyes went completely bloodshot and gums tomato red from being so stressed, and she was breathing so hard and was so scared i thought she was going to have a heart attack. So I'm petting her and telling her its ok, the vet tech is holding her still, and the doctor is cutting her nails. I asked them to be careful because the whole reason she is afraid of her nails being cut is that her quick was cut once and it traumatized her. Well, they cut her quick, not once, but twice! one on the back paw and then one on the front. Then, they were so freaking slow stopping it, there was blood everywhere. Then zoey sat in the blood and had blood all over her backside. Then she got it on my pants and shoes. It was SO horrible seeing her blood everywhere and it was SO horrible seeing her so scared. I have never seen her even half that upset before.
We picked up some meds (heartgaurd, some frontline, some sedatives), so that was good. And the people were nice and all... But $200 later, her tummy is ok, her hips are fine, but zoey is scarred for life and now we will have to sedate her whenever we need to cut her nails.
She is not a happy camper right now. :-[
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Oh no! It sounds just awful. Poor Zoey and poor you! I hope a good snuggle and some special treats will help Zoey to recover. :) I hope her tummy feels better too.
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What an awful experince :'( Poor Zoey :'(
I hope she recovers fine. She looks really sad in the picture.
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How horrible. If the dog is that scared of the hydrolic lift, they should have examined her on the floor.
I worked at a vet that had one of those tables, and we usually only used them for smaller to medium sized dogs, b/c a scared large dog is very hard to keep from slipping off the table and choking themselves.
I hope your next visit goes more smoothly. Poor Zoey.
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Oh, poor Zoey! ::Big hugs to you both::
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We tried the sedatives with Sophie during our last visit so she would let the vet hold her down.... Just a heads up they didn't really work very well. She was just as nervous about them holding her down. And when we got home I thought hey I'll trim her toe nails while she's tired... hahaha that didn't happen. She did sleep the rest of the night and into the next day though :) So anyways just wanted to let you know that even with the sedatives she still might not let you trim her nails.
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Aww poor Zoey...Sounds like the vet lacks good judgement.
Rose
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I feel so bad for Zoey! That is awful that some vets and their staff don't know how to handle an animal and seem to have no compassion. I had a similiar but not quite as bad experience with Zion at the vet and I was so mad at the idiots that worked there. We hope Zoey feels much better and doesn't hold that against all vets.
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Poor Zoey, I hope she is better now. Where is Nicki with her bat when we need her. I hope her tummy is ok. We have Sugar Bear on slippery elm for his tummy and it is helping a lot.
Lisa
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My first reaction when I just saw the name of this thread was "OH damn!"...Then I read your post...Double damn!!!...Absolute BS!!!...PLEASE keep looking for a vet that will understand & work with Zoey!!...That place does not sound like a place suitable for such a sweet "little" girl!...Good luck in your vet search! :)
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So sorry to hear that. You know this probably is not practical, but the ADA recommends that when a person is seeking a new dentist, they drop in the office, look around the reception area, talk to the front desk staff, visit with other patients a little, and IF they like what they see and hear, then schedule a brief consultation.
I don't know why that wouldn't work in the same manner when selecting a vet. Zoey and a pocket full of dog treats could go with you... Perhaps it would ease both mom and babies anxiety regarding the selection process?
Just a thought..
Deena
P.S. If you try it..please report back, I'd love to hear about the vast difference in the offices, pet owners, staff, and Vets! (Bet everyone else here would too!)
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So sorry to hear that. You know this probably is not practical, but the ADA recommends that when a person is seeking a new dentist, they drop in the office, look around the reception area, talk to the front desk staff, visit with other patients a little, and IF they like what they see and hear, then schedule a brief consultation.
I don't know why that wouldn't work in the same manner when selecting a vet. Zoey and a pocket full of dog treats could go with you... Perhaps it would ease both mom and babies anxiety regarding the selection process?
Just a thought..
Deena
P.S. If you try it..please report back, I'd love to hear about the vast difference in the offices, pet owners, staff, and Vets! (Bet everyone else here would too!)
Deena, You are always such a smart & resonable woman!...Good words of wisdom! :)
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POOR Zoey!!! and POOR Mom to have to suffer through this with her. Bach's Rescue Remedy might be helpful for her...and Mom can take a dose too.. before her next visit. If one of my dogs had a similar experience, I would give them 3 or 4 drops...onto the fleshy part of the inside ear flap a couple of hours before the her appointment, then repeat it 2 or 3 more times 15 - 30 min. apart. Do an online search for Bach's Rescue Remedy and read about it to determine if it is something you think might be helpful for her. It's a natural and safe de-stressor. Good Luck!!!!!
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My first question is why did they need to put a dog of this size on to any type of table?
Why not just work on the dog on the ground? My vet always works on the larger dogs on the floor and my oldest V (who hates the table) is examined while she is on the human bench....why cause undue stress?
Also with time and patients there should be no need to sedate her for nails. Work on them at home at night when shes tired~ use a dremel and food and she should move right past this. Even if you at first only get one nail done a night.
Although your dog was not removed from you this post is a good place to remind people...unles s totally unavoidable (such as surgery)always think twice before allowing a vet to take your dog out of the room away from your line of sight. Not all vets have good judgment, not all vets should even be a vet....if something is not going how you think it should speak up as you would for your human child. You would be shocked at some of what goes on behind closed doors ar vet clinics.
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OMG That is horrible! :'( Poor Zoey! I don't understand how people who's careers are based on animals can have such horrible body language and interaction skills with them? Don't they realize the worse they make the experience for the animals, the harder its going to be to deal with them next time around? >:(
I loved my old vets' office and they were all great, except one of the Drs was scared of giant breed dogs. He also had many negative comments about me having deaf or deaf/blind dogs... this from a VET!?!?! One of the times he had to take blood from Tenchi, he walked up fast and Tenchi backed up. He didn't duck, hide, growl or anything, just backed up. So the vet got scared and made us muzzle him. I understand them protecting their health, but if they're frightened of large dogs why not inform the owners so that they can get them used to being muzzled or at least schedual them with one of the other vets in the practice? Luckily Tenchi was used to the halti so the muzzle wasn't that much different, but he still was very depressed about the whole thing.
I wish you good luck with finding a vet that works with Zoey. Give her lots of cookies and treats from me, ok? :)
Best wishes,
Moni
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Although your dog was not removed from you this post is a good place to remind people...unles s totally unavoidable (such as surgery)always think twice before allowing a vet to take your dog out of the room away from your line of sight. Not all vets have good judgment, not all vets should even be a vet....if something is not going how you think it should speak up as you would for your human child. You would be shocked at some of what goes on behind closed doors ar vet clinics.
This is great advice. And the reason I no longer work at any vet clinics out here. The one I was working for was a complete loon, and not good with animals. The only time an animal should be out of your sight is for surgery, and x-rays, and even for x-rays they sometimes allow you to go back with them. The only other time is maybe if the owner is way nervous and it's making the animal nervous. They may remove the animal to draw blood or give fluids. But that's only in about 20% of cases.
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sending good thoughts out to Zoey :-*'s to her!
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OH poor Zoey. I hope she feels better soon. I am sorry that you had to go through this. I hope that you next vet visit is better.
Nina
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My first reaction when I just saw the name of this thread was "OH damn!"...Then I read your post...Double damn!!!...Absolute BS!!!...PLEASE keep looking for a vet that will understand & work with Zoey!!...That place does not sound like a place suitable for such a sweet "little" girl!...Good luck in your vet search! :)
I am SOOO with Gyps on this one! Keep looking! There are good vets out there who understand the big guys! I've never, ever had a vet put one of my Newfs on a table....even when they were tiny! How awful! And I never let them take them away to another room to work on them. It is understood that if they have to go "in the back", I go in the back as well.
POOR Zoey! and poor YOU!!!!
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Zoey is much happier today. She's had some bullysticks and playtime with mamma, and she is feeling better.
Dan thinks we should give the vet another chance, but I think no way....They didn't do anything to put her at ease when we first got there, which is why she got scared, and then they barely tried to calm her down when she was freaking out. After they hurt her I had to ask them 3 times to offer her treats. And, they were going to go straight to the hip exam (also painful), but I made them wait so we could calm her down. The floor was practically covered with her blood and they didn't even think to try and help her relax until I told them to! :o
I am hoping this doesn't turn her off vets altogether. I don't want her to be one of those dogs who is petrified to go into the vets office. Before she was always so happy to be there - she's been poked, prodded, spayed, xrayed, etc, and still managed to enjoy going to the vet. But I have never seen her so scared or so happy to get out of anywhere before.
I am especially disappointed because this vet came highly recommended, and one of the people who recommended them has a bernese mt dog with lots of health problems, so I figured they would be good with my big dog. I liked my vet in my old town, but my new town only has two vets, this one, and one where I get stuck with a girl fresh out of vet school who doesn't seem to care and treats me like i a freak for caring about my dogs health. So I think I will be looking at vets in other towns.
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Heather,
I wouldn't go to that vet anymore either. What terrible people! >:( Finding a good vet is soooo hard, I know cuz we have been looking for a long time too. On a good note, I am so glad to hear that Zoey had a better day today. You are a great mom. Keep up the good owrk!
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i love my vet ive used her 3 years , she was :'( when doing a skin scrape on angel & told her "im so sorry baby"
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I'm really glad Zoey is feeling better. I hope you can find a better vet for her. :)
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The main vet I use, Dr. Mcgill is so great with my babies. When I lost Rosie she sat on the floor with us, she cryed almost as much as I did. She took off the next day because she just could not work, she call me several times that day. I know how very much she loved Rosie so I know she will do her very best with Sugar Bear and Dixie Darlin. She told me that Rosie was just one of those dogs that made her day better each time she got to see her. Sometime we would just stop by for a visit. I think it is great when you find a vet that really loves one of your babies.
Lisa
i love my vet ive used her 3 years , she was :'( when doing a skin scrape on angel & told her "im so sorry baby"
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my vet is like that with chewie he almost died when he was a puppy , each time i see my vet at walmart she asks how chewie is , kisses his head every time he goes to her and says how good hes doing.. i really like dr warden, only vet i would trust with my pets
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I am torn on vets right now - we currently have pretty good ones, but it is more of a clinic situation where the dogs see a different one each time... We are pretty happy with them, but I would like the dogs to have the stability of seeing the same person every time.
Our vets in Michigan were ok, I guess. There were pluses and minuses - they never really got all of Cabo's problems resolved or came up with a definitive diagnosis in his last sick year, and I wasn't ever really happy with that. It seemed like we just tested and tested and tried things and tried things without end... That is why I am still in debt today! But they could not have been kinder or more loving with him. They always petted and cuddled him, and when we had him sent to the bridge, the vet cried as well, and kissed my forehead and hugged Scott.
Here is a funny vet story about a bad vet - When I adopted Cabo, he got a free vet visit from a list of vets given to us by the Humane Society. I, of course, picked the vet closest to my house. I took him to this guy once, decided that he wasn't nice enough to Cabo, and never went there again. When we adopted Ranger, we got a similar list for a free vet visit. Again, I chose one close to my house. As we got to the office, I realized that this was the same office I had previously taken Cabo to. We decided just to keep the visit, cause it was only one time and the chances that it was the same actual vet after so many years had to be pretty slim. Well, it was the same guy and we never went back - BUT, the funny part is that when we checked Ranger in for his appointment, they looked me up in the system and said "Oh, how is Cabo, we haven't seen him for awhile.." Yeah, for like TEN YEARS!!! Gosh, do ya think maybe I decided to take him elsewhere, or did you just think he had no health problems or needed any shots in TEN YEARS??? I mean, good record keeping, but seriously!  ;D
I think it is worth looking around to find a vet that you really feel comfortable with and that you feels treats Zoey with love.Â
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I agree on you being with you dog at all times, and once a dog reaches a certain height, weight they should be on the floor. Tonka is 62 lbs and the vet does everything on the floor and gives her hugs and kisses when they first walk in the room. It does not hurt that she always gets a CET chewy or some type of treat there. Even when she was sick on her tummy they did not walk in and start right away they talk to her and pet her then start. I personally found my favorite vet and it is in PetsMart, I am not sure about other ones in other stores or states but the dr at the one we go to is wonderful.
For instance I had Nala fixed today, well they called and gave me exact details (like she went poopy on herself so they had to bathe her before the spay) I could have cared less about that and the dr talked to me himself! I hope you have a better visit next time.
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Perhaps it would be a good idea if you went to place where people take their dogs and talk to them about their vets and get referral from somebody who actually likes their vet and hopefully who has a giant breed. When my big boy, Otis, was diagnosed with HD, I went to talk to a woman who has seven Newfs and picked her brain :o. Once we got to the right vet, we had great referrals to all the other specialists we needed to take care of him.
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Heather I am SO sorry poor Zoey hadc to go through this (Can't beleive I missed this post). Whether or not you go back to this vet, you should call and tell them. Me being me I would tell them that they traumatized my dog and that their bedside manner sucked, (Oh yes and I did it once), but you could just say that they didn't seem to understand your dog's needs and that you've decided to pursue an office that does. Maybe they don't understand how they come off. I forget who said it on here, but many offices don't even see the giants as dogs, the vet that I flipped out about actually said Giant Breed dogs are livestock that sleep on the sofa. And she was a Dane breeder! UGH I hated her..... where was I? Ah yes, maybe they've lost alot of clients because of this and they don't know why. Even if they do nothing, it'll make you feel like you accomplished something :)
Ang
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Another thought is why not set up a meeting with a new vet before your dog ever needs to see them.
Take the big dog along and see how the vet and his/her staff reacts to the dog. Ask what their policy is during exams...will the dog be made to be on a table? Will you allow me to be present during treatments? Anything else that matters to you.....
If you don't like the answers or the people you don't need to go back. That way no harm was ever done to the dog.
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I am so sorry to hear about Zoey’s bad vet visit. It really is hard to find a good vet (believe me, I’ve been to lots). Not with Kate, but with my dear Slater (Rotti) who has since gone on to the Rainbow Bridge. We had to go to 4 different vets with him before one would give him the gentleness and understanding he deserved. Slater would ‘growl’ when saying hello, excited (etc) – his whole bum would shake at the same time (so) it wasn’t ‘aggressive’ at all. We had some vets say ‘you are bad owners for letting him do that’ or ‘that is unacceptable behaviour’ (etc) and they wouldn’t touch him. Until we found a vet that actually ‘talked-back’ to him and laughed along with the growling. It is hard to find a good vet.
Regarding her ‘nail-cutting’ issues, I have a suggestion. Might not work, but you never know. We did it with Slater (and) are now doing it with Kate. We cut her nails last week – not a problem at all (don’t even know if she realized what we were doing).
When we’re relaxing at night (watching TV, lounging) one of us will get on the floor with Kate and play with her paws for a few minutes. In between her toes, touching her nails, grabbing her whole paw (etc). Just gentle movements. So, when it comes time to trim the nails, she’s familiar with all the grabbing & moving. We cut her nails when she’s ‘passed-out’ (so-to-speak), just before bedtime. She doesn’t move an inch. Don’t know if it will help (or if you already play with Zoey’s paws), but it could…
I hope she is feeling better soon – poor girl! Dogs are so sensitive and some people just don’t care…
k2campbell