[Closed] Vets.

Ernie, Ernie, you're not reading my posts properly are you?

I have stated that I have had years of great treatment and advice for various animals but that in the case of Missy and the Propalin, sadly, things have gone amiss. Read.My.Posts.

I have also stated that I am happy to pay the consultation fees. Just to repeat that: I AM HAPPY TO PAY THE CONSULTATION FEES, I am not complaining about the level of fees.

I have stated I find the drug prices are a great deal higher than the internet. I expect drug prices to be higher in a vet's practice, but some vets charge DOUBLE for a bottle of Propalin - that is hard to swallow. At one bottle every 44 days it is also expensive.

Yours sincerely,

Nightmare Client 🙄 😆

P.S. So you put your vet out of business by poncing free advice off him on the phone? Not got a leg to stand on have you? 😆

You're right, it can be a nightmare trying to interpret animal behaviour/signs. In the nicest possible way, it can also be difficult interpreting client behaviour/signs too 😉 . And you make a good point re stress at the surgery - it's often the worst place to examine behaviour/blood pressure/heart rate - hence the importance of good communication with the client. I honestly wouldn't worry though - it sounds like your dog is coping fine.

And I wouldn't worry about stealing time - as mentioned above, vets are one of very few Professions that don't charge time for advice, be it discussions over the counter or telephone conversations. Again, this is something that may have to change but I hope it doesn't.

I am not complaining about the level of fees.

Where's the bit I say that you were complaining about the fees ? .....tell me.

I'm basing my claim that you sound like a nightmare client on, for example, the fact that you appear to expect the veterinary practice to arrange a pre-consultation staff meeting to discuss your Missy's problems.

I can't see anything wrong at all, with the vet saying [i]""Yes, how can I help you today?"[/i] .....can't you make the effort and repeat what you told the receptionist ?

And also this :

[i]I look at my dog and think "Is she ok? Isn't she ok? Is her heart ok? Is she listless, or is she calm, what is listless anyway? Does she bark too much? Does barking at noises constitute over excitement? What is over excitement, is she stressed? Does she drink too much? What is too much? Has she got high blood pressure, is it too high, is it because we are at the vet and she is stressed? am I doing the right thing(s)" and so on, [/i]

At first I thought you weren't being serious, but I now realise that you probably were.

Good comment re client behaviour signs, will try to be aware of what I am saying/doing on Saturday. I may well be giving off the wrong signals - I have had a number of much-loved pets put to sleep over the years and I find the vet's surgery distressing (that smell, and, sometimes, seeing the faces of the ones who aren't going home) - perhaps this is misinterpreted. And I'm so afraid that one day I'll go there and the vet will say, "Sorry Miss Kof9, Missy is one of the Dobes who will develop DCM, (or some other life-limiting disease)" and I'm going to have to make the call, again, on the quality of life/quantity of life question.

Ernie,
Whatever.

vets are one of very few Professions that don't charge time for advice

Another thing vets will do free/at cost to themselves, is treat wild animals.....even if it's only to put them down. The time and cost for the drugs has to come from somewhere. Which I guess in the final analysis, must be the fee-paying clients. And quite right too.

no, im not a vet
im a dobe owner who has experienced incontinence and DCM amongst other things.

I'm too a Dobe owener (16 mths old) and am now worried!

soobalias, sorry about the DCM 🙁
Jase, best chat with your vet if you have concerns re DCM, remember that it doesn't happen to all Dobes.

Jase - don't worry. Dobermans are pretty hardy on the whole. Yes they have a few genetic issues & are prone to some problems but then so are most pedigree pets.

As with any pet (or purchase for that matter) do your homework before buying one, get it checked regularly (by a competant vet 😉 ) and if your's seems fine, it probably is.

I think sometimes we all expect our vets to be Dr. Doolittle and of course, they're not. Animals can't explain how they're feeling. Vets have to rely on a combination of their own intuition and the owner's.

I have also been in consultation rooms with one or two that patently didn't have a clue what was going on. Our first cat died in their care. They never really explained properly how he died. And their fees are a few orders of magnitude away from ernie's. Being a big practice, the whole "different vet every time" thing just leads to a feeling that there's no continuity of care.

It's simple really...I'm just going to use a different vet for Molly. And our cats will be going there too if we prefer it. Where you choose to spend the pound in your pocket is the best way to change behaviour.

Can I suggest that you get insurance? I'm insured with Animal Friends (I like that they give their profits to animal charities), but there are other good ones too, PetPlan is well thought of. Just make sure you buy a policy with 'lifetime cover'. Without it, if your animal gets a long-term illness, at the end of the policy year when you come to renew, the company will view that illness as pre-existing and exclude it from cover. With lifetime cover, the cover continues until the animal is better, or you go to a different company.

I've explained to the cat that medical bills aren't part of the hotel's terms and conditions and it should make it's own provisions.

Kof9. If you don't mind me asking, are your animals insured. Not a criticism but why do you not just get your medication from the vets then? It's a serious question - I'm always fascinated by why owners are keen to save the insurance company money. I realise some policies are limited to a certain amount but, in most cases, this isn't really an issue.

Oh, and I do travel around a bit as a locum but, given that I have no idea where that post code is, I'm guessing I've never worked round there 🙂

LOL at IanMunro. What did the cat say to that?

What did the cat say to that?

Cats come pre-installed with the killfile plug-in.

IamMunro - you joke but I had senior partner in a large GP practice bring his dog in for me to examine. When I pointed out a list of quite serious and concerning symptoms the dog was showing, he looked me in the eye and said he didn't believe in an "NHS for pets". He provided food and housing for the dog and that was all he was prepared to do. He never came back for a follow up.
I came very close to reporting him to someone in authority!

FBK, yes she is insured but she was one (probably) when I got her and the condition was pre-existing. Honest Karin didn't lie to the insurance company, so the condition (and all urinary tract problems) is excluded from cover, and I pick up all the bills.

he looked me in the eye and said he didn't believe in an "NHS for pets"

Typical GP 🙄

They google stuff in the consultation room too. Useless overpaid eejits.

My partner looked into all the known illnesses (she works at a vet) but I left that side of things to her. Although as above, do recall her saying that most pedigree's have some kind of Hereditary issues.

Just reading the above makes you think.............

Insured with Pet Plan but he does seem like a hardy character, especially compared to our greyhound 🙂