Annoyed w/ my vet (long vent!)

[mancin]

Flash back to my first vet appt w/ Tyson. He was having his second set of shots. Vet looked him over, said he looked great, gave the shots, sent me home. 2 hours later Tyson's face starts puffing up, his eyes get swollen etc. I call the vet and they tell me to come in right away (side note... vet is less than a mile from my house). I get there and they give him a shot of benadryl and ask me to stick around for 20 mins. 20 mins later they say the swelling has started going down and send me home. They say in the future that Tyson may have to get a shot of benadryl before he gets his shots and they may need to keep him there for a couple hours.
Second vet appt w/ Tyson. I have a different vet. I warned him about the vaccinations, which he also saw on Tyson's chart. He gives a shot of benadryl, gives the vaccines, sends me home and tells me to give Tyson some benadryl at bed time. Tyson has no reaction.
Fast forward to the most recent appt. I'm now back to vet # 1. I now have another puppy and wanted to bring them both at the same time (saves me some time). Vet checks out Crash (the new one). They find worms in his stool. They give him worming medication and tell me to give him more medication in 10 days. My thought is the breeder didn't worm him twice, thus the eggs hatched, but that's beside the point. Meanwhile Crash sneezes green shot on the examination table. The vet asks if he has had any problems sneezing. This is the first time I've seen him sneeze, so I said no. He says to watch it and if it gets worse, he may have to go on antibiotics. He's worried that he could end up getting an upper respiratory infection if it's not treated, even though his lungs sound clear. OK, fair enough. I get some Advantage as both dogs now have fleas (I'm assuming courtesy of Crash). Tyson is also due for his fourth set of vaccinations. The vet refuses to give the vaccines. He says it's too late in the day (it was 2:30 PM) and they want to watch him for 2 hours so I need to reschedule my appt. I remind the vet that I'm less than a mile away and I am fully capable of watching after my own dog. He still refuses. I remind the vet that his last visit he had no reaction as a shot of benadryl was given before. He insists that I'm the one to give Tyson benadryl before the appt. $150 later and only getting half of what needed to be done done, I leave. I reschedule the appt for Monday at 12:40 PM. My husband has to get off work to bring Tyson to the vet as I'm at work until 1:00 PM.
Today was Tyson's appt. They give him a shot of benadryl, give him shots, and send him home. EXCUSE ME?!?! You make this big fuss about leaving him there and just send him home?!!??!?!?!?! I had asked DH to ask about Crash's green snot as he has been sneezing more frequently and has problems breathing through the night (sounds like he has a stuffy nose). Also had Tyson checked for worms. Thankfully, he doesn't have them.
DH gets home and gives me some ointment. "The vet said you are to put this in Crash's eyes 3 times a day for 10 days". I say "What? What for?" The vet notes that Crash had eye problems, yet I see nothing wrong w/ his eyes (not even any eye boogers) and nothing was mentioned to me during the examination. "He says this will clear up his problem" DH says. "So eye ointment is supposed to take care of a runny nose?!??!?!?!" I'm pissed at this point. $50 later, I feel like I've been betrayed by my vet.
Am I just being dumb, or does this vet/vets sound fishy?!?! Meanwhile I have poor Crash snotting up all sorts of green stuff and I'm supposed to put stuff in his eyes?!?!??!?!!??!

*SIGH*

 

[l8krgirl08]

I would be pissed too. I just picked Bugzy up from kennel after boarding last Wednesday and ever since he's had nasal discharge kinda yellow and sometimes gagging like a cough. Do dogs really get colds? Should he see the vet? He acts normal other than the runny nose.

 

[Erica&Riley]

I'd say its time to find a new vet. The one you're going to now sounds fishy...like you're being dragged in circles unnecessarily! Finding a good vet that you are also happy with is not that easy to do...the 1st vet Riley went to didn't answer any of the questions that I asked and didn't have any good advice to offer a brand-new puppy owner. At Riley's 2nd appt (12 weeks), I told the vet that she was eating about 3 1/2 cups of food a day and wanted to know if that sounded like a normal amount. She laughed at me and said that "her 120 lbs. Rotti only ate 4 cups a day." Nothing else, no other comments. I was ticked off and found another vet.

Good luckwith whatever you decide to do!

 

[Kenosmom]

I would be PO'd too if I were you...I agree, sounds like they're running you in circles and not really taking care of your babies needs....I would think the green snot is a sign of some type of infection and should be treated asap...Both of our babies are sick right now with colds and congestion and that's the first thing our vet asked us when we called him at home yesterday was what color the discharge is that's coming from their nose (clear)...I would definatly call them back tomorrow and demand to know why it is your dh was sent home with something for Crash's eye problem (which he doesn't have to your knowledge) when he should be treated for the green discharge problem from his nose!
I can tell you that we had both of our babies to the vet today(tonsilitis) and they each got a shot of antibiotic and were both sent home with their own antibiotics to take for 10 days and it only cost us $58...we are fortunate that we have a very reasonable and experienced vet who doesn't feel the need to run expensive tests everytime we take either of our puppies in when they're sick...we used to have a vet that was like that and it seemed like everytime we took our puppy in (even for rountine shots) we left with an outrageous bill ...we would've gone broke had we not found a different vet, I'll tell ya! It's just crazy :rolleyes:

Good Luck & let us know how your babies are doing...

 

[myrocky]

If he has such a reaction to the vaccines then why keep giving them? Many people do not vaccinate and their dogs are healthy. You might want to research that option.

l8krgirl08,
Green or yellow discharge from the nose means there is some sort of infection. It's possible it is the beginning of kennel cough. Dogs really do get colds just like humans do. KC is a very common virus that many dogs get after being boarded or being exposed to other dogs that have it. It is just like the common cold in humans.

 

[mancin]

He only had a reaction the one time. I don't know if he'd still have the reaction or not now, the vet seems content just giving benadryl before hand. The breeder said that Tyson had no reaction during the first set of shots. I do know that they gave the entire series in one shot, and the vet said it's common for certain breeds to react when they are given that way because it's too much at once, however they've never tried giving the shots separately.
But nevertheless, that's a good point. I do know others as well that do not vaccinate as frequently and have perfectly healthy animals. It's something I'll have to research.

 

[Julie P.]

Vets and the loss of my best friend

I completely understand your frustration regarding your vet. I really went through a bad deal with vets recently. I have gone to my vet for years and sent a lot of people and their pets to him. In June 2004, I took my boxer Magic in for a day surgery. She did not get the care that she needed; he got sloppy with her. It turned into a nightmare and I no longer have her.

When I went back to him asking for help about what to do with Magic he became defensive and shrugged me off. I felt so hopeless and his behavior made me suspicious of him. I ended up going to a different vet who ran a million tests on Magic.

$2500 later and the loss of my very best friend Magic, I get a sick pit in my stomach when I think about going to another vet. I’ve been told that things sometime just happen. This is hard for me to understand right now, as I am still feeling bruised. Magic was a healthy happy dog prior to her vet apt. Sometimes it is so hard for me to believe as she would still be with me today if I had not taken her to the vet that day.

I guess why I am writing this is because our babies are so special and deserve special attention. If you have any doubts about your vet, I'd move on and find another. It so important to trust the person you are taking your pet to. I learned this lesson the hard way.