Pet Health

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Shayna, it sounds like you had a really bad experience. Stories like that make me shudder, because there really are wonderful veterinarians out there, but they can be hard to find!

One thing I would like to stress to everyone who has a pet: Don’t take everything your vet tells you as the God given truth. Vets can and do make mistakes. If your vet advises something you are not comfortable with, get a second opinion! A GOOD vet should not mind this. Also, I advise being an INFORMED client. If your vet talks to you about something you don’t understand, ask questions. Ask for handouts. You can research on your own, but this can be a sticky situation, since you may find poor advice. (I really hate it when a client says, “Well, I read on this webiste, and it says…” and then the info they repeat back to me is totally wrong, but since the client read it on the net it must be true!)

If you are currently unhappy with your choice of vet, do some research before getting a new one. Look for a hospital that is AAHA (American Animal Hospital Assoc) certified. Certified hospitals have certain standards that must be met, standards that put them (usually) above a non certified hospital. If you don’t have any certified hospitals in your area, look for board certified vets. Board certified vets have to do more schooling and have to do continuing education constantly, so they have the most modern, up to date information. consider the pros and cons of having a young vet vs an older one. I know most people would want an older vet, but the vet profession is expanding at an alarming rate, and many old vets cling to old ways. While young vets have less hands on experience, they have the newest ideas and knowledge. Please keep in mind that this information is not carved in stone. You may find a young, certified doctor in a certified hospital, and he or she may still really suck at being a doctor. The info provided here is to give the layperson some basic information that can get them on the right track to finding a good vet.
It also helps if you go to several vets in the area just to check out the hospital and to ask questions about how the practice is run. Any good hospital should allow you a complete tour of the facility, except for dangerous areas like x-ray. If they don’t, beware.

AAHA has a website where you can find a nationwide listing of all currently certified hospitals. They might also be able to direct you to a board certified doctor.

I hope this info has been helpful.

22

Oh yeah, one more thing, in regards to teeth cleaning:

Most dogs and cats will need to start having their teeth cleaned by age 5. Usually dentals should be performed once a year, but some animals don’t need it that often, others may need it done every 6 months. You can examine your pet’s teeth at home to see if they need to have them cleaned. First look at the gums. They should be healthy and pink. If they seem red, irritated, or if they are bleeding, your pet may have gum disease. If your pet has really bad breath this is a signal that it could be time for a cleaning. The actual teeth should be nice and white, with no hard build up covering them.

If your vet advises a dental, this is what will happen: The pet will be put under anesthesia and the mouth will be flushed with an antiseptic solution. Then the teeth will be scaled to remove plaque. After scaling, a puprle stain will be applied to the teeth, to make sure all the plaque has been removed (Kinda like those pills you chewed up as a kid so you could see how well you brushed). Teeth will be scaled again if needed. If not, they are polished with prophy paste. The mouth will again be flushed, and a flouride treatment will be applied. One more flushing and you are all done. The tech will also examine the gums to check for pockets or teeth that need to be removed. Difficult extractions are done by the vet.

If you have an older pet, or a pet with previous health problems, the vet will advise pre-anesthetic bloodwork. This is very important and NOT a ploy to get more money out of you. It would not be good to have a pet with clean teeth if it dies under anesthesia! Usually, vets will use isoflourane, a gas anesthetic, which is very safe and is used in humans. Still, older or sick pets have special needs and bloodwork will help make sure there aren’t going to be any problems.

If there are extractions, pain medications may be administered. Antibiotics may also be sent home, since the gums are raw after a dental. Sometimes a vet may put your pet on medicine one week before a dental as well.

Dental health is very important. When gum disease becomes severe, it allows bacteria into the bloodstream and can conceivably cause damage to all other organs.

After a pet’s teeth have been cleaned,there are things you can do at home to help keep them clean. You can buy tooth brushing kits from your vet. Do not use human toothpaste on animals. Cutting down on canned foods helps. Science Diet puts out special dental diets.

February, if I remember correctly, is Pet Dental Health Month. Many vets will offer discounts on dentals at this time. Ask! Even if they aren’t participating in Dental Month activities, they might give you a discount anyway, because you asked about it. It’s worth a try!

23

I hope you find some less expensive way to treat your pet Jois.

Michelle, thanks for responding, it is Heartguard, heartworm medication that I was referring to earlier. With two dogs, they are both at 50 pounds a piece, it’s always $150 to get one package for each dog. Add that with the flea applications that start in March, and I’m at $300 real quick. But, I also don’t want to endanger their health either. I didn’t really want to ask the vet, he’s a great guy, really sensitive to both animals. They are also older dogs, and he’s treated them since they were puppies, but since I need a prescription, that ends that query!!
Thanks for the help,
Judy

“Consider it a challenge…”

24

150 per package? Are we talking a six month supply or a year? Either way, that sounds OUTRAGEOUS. I’d look into getting it through a web site. Ask your vet for a scrip.

25

Michelle, they are for six months, but I do buy two packages, if that makes a difference. I also have to buy for ‘large breeds’ which I guess is part of the reason it costs more. But, you know, these are the first dogs I’ve ever owned, and Dr.Craine is the only vet I’ve ever dealt with too, how would one go about knowing what was a good price or not?
But as for asking for the prescription, I’m just too much of a chicken…which works well…since he’s a vet, huh?

Judy

“Consider it a challenge…”

26

I have two dogs that weight 20-25 lbs so I can use the same RX for both. I buy the expensive combination of heartworm and flea protection and use the same package for both but once the first hard frost comes I use just the heartworm - again one package for both and then back to the combination once fleas come into season again.

This way I only have to buy one package at a time–it seems to budget better this way.

27

Anti, compared to prices in my area, that is still high. The only way you will know if what you are being charged is reasonable for your area, is to “shop” other clinics. If you don’t want to do that, and are too chicken to ask for a scrip, that I guess you just gotta pay whatever your vet says!

28

What web sites have you all used to buy pet prescriptions? My vet wants us to feed our dogs Canine I/D and he only had 5 cans, so he gave us a prescription for the rest.

29

I don’t think those web sites sell food, but I could be wrong. EVERY vet in the world should sell I/D though, so you can just take the scrip to any clinic and get some. In fact, I am surprised he even wrote a scrip for it.