Do you think i m overreacting???????

[marinafb]

I took Bryce to the vet the girls were trying to get him on the scale and he is having none of it! It took 4 vet techs to get him on it a scale, which was about 3 inches off the ground. Well they finally got him on it and he sat still for them and then he didn’t want to get off it.(He was 170 pounds at 8 months old!) Well all the girls and the other people were petting him and asking me? About him I m use to it mostly to the uninformed people and others that feel it’s there job to say stupid things such as why would you want a dog that is that big don’t they only live for about 7 years? The woman at the vet behind the desk said I have never seen an English mastiff brindle, are you sure he is an English mastiff? All right this is some one who works at the animal hospital I think it’s time for a new vet granted my husband has been going there since he was 8.Well I know exactly where he came from and who the breeder was. I think I need to take him somewhere else do you think I m overreacting?        

[chaos270]

Hmm if it's just the assistants being ignorant and the vet is knowledgable I'd stay there.  But you can look around and see if there's anyone in your area with mastiff experience, or anything that looks better for you go for the switch.

[roxygirl]

It is so hard to find a good vet these days. If you trust the vet I would not leave but if you are not thrilled with him'her then I would not hesitate to switch.
Kim

[ZooCrew]

I can tell you that at alot of vets the people behind the desk are merely receptionists with no tech experience at all.  Therefore, they aren't the most knowledgeable when it comes to animals.

Even techs can't know everything.  Until about 2 or 3 years ago, I never knew mastiffs came in brindle either.  Unless you've seen them before, or researched it, you're not going to know all the details.  I've gotten asked the same thing about my brindle dane.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  In my experience, pay no attention to the people behind the desk.  It's the vet that makes all the difference, and that is what matters.

[Senghe]

The woman behind the counter is qualified to answer the phone, not qualified to give her opinion on dog breeds and their acceptable colours. A lot of vet's assistants are paid peanuts... and you pay peanuts, you expect monkeys.

If the vet is good with the dogs, don't let a supid receptionist put you off.

[longshadowfarms]

The problem is that you need to go through the techs to get at the vet.  When we had the Diamond Dog food poisonings going on here, I called my vet's office and talked to one of the techs.  My breeder friend and SIL's dog were all being poisoned (all eating Diamond Premium - I called before they had actually figured out exactly what the problem was but they KNEW it was the food) so I was really in the middle of it.  The tech blew me off and never gave the message to the vet.  I didn't find that out until later but I told him what had happened later.  He too had dogs there dying and couldn't figure out what was going on.  The techs DO matter IMO.  You have to get through them to get to the vet.  Same thing with Eider when he got into the poison here (still have not figured out what, where, how).  Vet tech said I could come in at 5 pm (this was at 10 am).  I said, "I'm coming NOW."  Good thing I did.  If you like your vet, talk to him/her about the techs.  They are usually the ones who hire.

[cricket36580]

I don't think I would change vets if this one knows you well because of the techs.  I would consider it my mission to educate the ignorant...as I do anytime I go out with my 3.  I don't think they are being stupid or actually insensitive, they're being ignorant and they can learn.  If you leave, when and how are they going to learn?  As long as they are caring and compassionate, they're ok.  Even in offices where the techs and the vets are all wonderful, you still have to have a relationship with the vet and really good communication with all concerned.  If after they learn, they are still biased then it's not your fault...you tried.

[GR8DAME]

I tend to agree with everyone else, the vet is the important one, the techs are merely a nuisance. I would have issue though, with the difficulty getting to the vet, and the techs not giving messages. I am a fairly agressive person, and if I don't get some sort of answer in a timely manner, I will not hesitate to show up at the office and confront the staff. I have actually done so twice now. Rather than have me appear, they have decided to make sure the vet (or the one fairly intelligent tech) calls me back. I am sure the staff wishes that I would change vets, LOL, but now I have finally got them trained....
Stella