A 'Pets & Vets' forum?

[The Chez]

There's one for the NHS, so why not one for issues concerning pet and vetanary issues? I know a lot of people have big problems with vets fees and pet stores too.

 

The forum could cover issues like entitlement to PDSA pet care, issues with vets fees, pets mistreated by vets or owners being overcharged for treatments etc.

 

I've also read a lot of reports online concerning the big chain petstores or 'pet superstores' often found on retail parks (no names given of course but you can probably guess the few I'm talking about) one sold us a pregnant guinea pig years ago & refused to take the offspring back.

 

Taking our pets to a vet can be expensive and is not without some consumer issues, just like the ones that concern human heath.

[Undercover-Elsa]

Sounds like a good idea to me The Chez

 

Don't get me started on Vet Fees!!!!!!!!!

 

I bred, trained, showed & judged dogs over 20 years.. I always know what's wrong with my dogs before I go to the vet, they look clueless, I tell them the diagnosis and ask them for the specific treatment I want..

then they charge me a "consultation fee"

[banker_rhymes_with]

Vets and Dentists!

 

Who can afford to treat their Pets or have their teeth fixed these days?

 

I know I can't.

 

Cheers,

BRW

[Undercover-Elsa]

Dentists too!!

I think I'd rather wait for them to fall out. How can they charge for causing pain??? We should be paid to go. Definitely.

[callumsgran]

Good idea Chez, vets and pets and pet insurance issues are rife all over the net if you look

 

 

 

Wouldnt dentists come under NHS?

Who among us can afford to go private?

[sequenci]

Hi guys, will raise this!

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi Sequenci,

Thanks for that

Could it include discussion/advice on training, behavioural problems, general care & health too?..used to run a dog training club so would be well up for that

Elsa x

[Rooster-UK]

This sounds like an excellent idea.

Even better if we could find, among our users, a few qualified vets or vetinary nurses.

 

IT GETS MY SUPPORT.

[callumsgran]

This sounds like an excellent idea.

Even better if we could find, among our users, a few qualified vets or vetinary nurses.

 

IT GETS MY SUPPORT.

I know how to put Frontline on me cat and how to give worming tablets, is that any good? lol

[Morning Air]

Vets have now (after a 3 year respite) returned to charging for prescriptions if you want to purchase a product online (far cheaper than in the surgery).

Example local vets charging £70+ for Frontline Spray which can be bought online from reputable companies for less than half the price and this includes the companies profit and adding in the price of postage etc….. EXTREME GREED. To treat my pets for fleas – using logic and knowing they are in good health other than the fleas - I am forced to distress the animal with a trip to the vets – ( I don’t have a car so have to pay for a taxi) to pay to for a consultation - to be told that the animal is in good health but has fleas and needs a product to kill the fleas. Then choose pay twice the price for a product which an online company is selling at a profit for half the price. Or pay the penalty of a prescription for not buying from the vet.

Truly Disgusting Greed.

[callumsgran]

Dont know where you're going for your frontline but i get mine off the net and dont go near the vet

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi,

Me too...Frontline is available without prescription now from sites such as Petmed. The other main contender, Stronghold, is still prescription only though. I managed to wheedle a prescription without a consultation last time.

However, I've recently had great success on a Shepherd with awful skin problems..he was allergic to flea bites, ear mites (demodex) and had terrible loss of hair and thick flaky itchy skin. After loads of research,finally got it sorted (touch wood!) using a combination of Naeem Shampoo (clears nits in kids too!! LOL) and a homeopathic remedy of Arsenica and Sulphur I got from Derbyshire Fox Rescue Centre. 12 drops on his food each day. First time he's had a full coat for 2 years. (Having bred and shown shepherds for a zillion years I tend to treat them myself whenever possible, but unless you're sure about what you're doing I'd always advise going to the vet first.)

I do agree with Morning Air about consultation fees and hiked meds prices at Vets though. Obviously they have to earn a living so some charge needs to be made for consultations but it should be realistically set at a nominal fee for quick visits when the pet owner simply needs meds for a known condition.

Elsa x

[ploddertom]

To have a forum as outlined would be a wonderful addition.

Having been involved with "Rescue" work for over 25 years it has always been of great concern to me (especially when vetting a home for a potential adoption) that people understand the enormity of the costs involved in caring for a new pet.

 

Vets fees eat away at all animal charities resources and quite often a remedy costing a few pence at the local pet store or chemists end up costing £££££££ from the vet.

 

I agree they have to make a living but I recently had one lady who gave the tale she had phoned her vet to enquire if a small solution of optrex could be used to bath the eyes of her dog (it suffers from hayfever) she was advised this would be perfectly ok and two days later she received a bill containing charges of £21 for consultation fees.

[callumsgran]

To have a forum as outlined would be a wonderful addition.

Having been involved with "Rescue" work for over 25 years it has always been of great concern to me (especially when vetting a home for a potential adoption) that people understand the enormity of the costs involved in caring for a new pet.

 

Vets fees eat away at all animal charities resources and quite often a remedy costing a few pence at the local pet store or chemists end up costing £££££££ from the vet.

 

I agree they have to make a living but I recently had one lady who gave the tale she had phoned her vet to enquire if a small solution of optrex could be used to bath the eyes of her dog (it suffers from hayfever) she was advised this would be perfectly ok and two days later she received a bill containing charges of £21 for consultation fees.

That is disgusting, it's daylight robbery!

There are plenty of pet forums on the web which give great advice on many pet keeping problems too

[jackieandwayne]

Oh yes please! What a good idea!

 

I'm just starting out training with a dog whisperer. I'd love to talk to other trainers on here for tips and tricks. I have some experience too as I've trained dogs for agility and obedience for years.

 

I never wanted to get involved with aggressive dogs though, til I rescued my boy last year from the Border Collie rescue. He is dog aggressive. Other than that he is adorable. Anyone else might have taken him back, but I just thought he and I had better get on with understanding each other a bit better. Found this dog whisperer who turns out to be a KC judge and a breeder of champion afghans - and I've never looked back! Me and the boy can now communicate.

 

I now want to help others. I've already started and have a leg like a bloody road map right now! But hey, my legs have served me well for 47 years now, they've done all the pulling they were ever going to do - so I shall sacrifice my legs to retraining the bad boys now! Its so rewarding.

 

Please set up a section just for us animal nuts!

 

I just hope it don't turn out to be like Rainbow Bridge or something - I don't cry at social housing problems, but I will if I read about lost pets, dead pets and so on!

[cassie2006]

Has this forum been set up? I'm in need of some urgent advice concerning a dog I have just adopted from an animal sanctuary:cry:

 

thanks

 

Cassie

[kiptower]

whats the problem

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi Cassie,

Nothing to stop us discussing it here .. fire away

[cassie2006]

Here goes:cry:

(apologies for such a long post)

 

Lost my beautiful dog, Cassie, in june. Home seems so lonely. Decided to adopt an older dog. Some of these dogs are overlooked because of nothing more than their age. Looked on Golden Oldies Dog website and found a beautiful GSD. There was a link to the website of the sanctuary where she was. I looked on that and liked what I was reading. She had been seriously overweight with breathing problems and no leg muscle due to her size and lack of exercise. They had her with a foster carer and she was back to her normal weight with a slight arthritic problem in her legs. "All she's looking for is a home where she can potter about and gets lots of loving".

 

I spoke to the lady who runs the sanctuary and also the foster carer. Everything seemed just what I wanted. Anyway, went on a 7 hour round trip (got lost) to get her. I did think she was a little bit older (or more out of condition) than I was expecting. I thought with a lot of gentle exercise and good diet she would be fine. I was told that she went for 1.5 mile walk every evening.

That was 11 days ago. Last Saturday I noticed she was swaying in the garden - she then slowly lay down as if in a daze (like a semi-conscious faint).It happened again on sunday and has progressively got worse ever since. She can hardly stand to eat her food before this swaying happens and "faints". I was also told she would be alright with a few steps as my garden has 4 steps down to it. She Isn't - it's a real struggle, so much so that I now just let her out the front garden to do her business.Tried to take her for a walk sunday morning (just down the road). We had only gone 200 yards when the same thing happened. I had to sit on the pavement with her until she was able to get back home.

 

I took her to see my vet last Wed and she thought her didn't sound too bad. She is on heart tablets which I was told wouldn't be forever. I've spoken to my vet this week explaining the "faints" and she has been in touch with the sanctuary. I have also spoken to the Foster lady and when I asked her if the dog had these "episodes" with her she said "Oh yeah, a couple of times" WHY wasn't I told this!!!!

I've got an appointment for tomorrow morning with the vet. I don't know if she's going to take some bloods to see what her blood count is - when she has these episodes her gums go grey - I know from experience that is a low blood count - but when she's lying down her gums go pink again. All this poor dog can do is sleep and eat - anything else is so much effort for her. I'm heartbroken, as I've already fallen in love with her, but I do wonder sometimes if it's worth putting some dogs through a lot of stress just to "save" them. I'm a dog lover and once spent over 6K trying to keep my dog alive so I wouldn't condone putting a dog to sleep without very good reason.

 

Also, she has a cataract in one eye and she is about 80% deaf. I wasn't told this. They called me to see how things were and I told them she was deaf they just said she had "selective hearing". I don't think so........... the postman delivered a heavy book and she didn't move, blink or flinch, even though she was laying in the hall.

 

Im sorry, I just needed to tell someone:cry:

[kiptower]

as hard as it may seem, if you have the time etc to care for the dog thats good, but it will be hard work , one of ours has a heart problem, ours in the breed are prone to heart problems so we have been there a few times,

 

I would ask the vet for an honest opinion , the dog may be better living its days out with the sanctury etc, very hard decision to make I know,

[cassie2006]

The only problem is that the sanctuary haven't got kennels - so it would mean her going to another foster home - I couldn't live with that, she's not well enough to be passed around. I'm the 3rd person she's been with since they rescued her in June.

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi Cassie,

That's a really sad story. Well done you for being prepared to take on an oldie like this.

I've had GSD's for many years, and the first thing that struck me when you mentioned the swaying was hip dysplasia, which affects a lot of bloodlines. The fainting doesn't quite fit that though, and if you say her gums go grey but return to pink after she goes down, then that sounds more like a sudden drop in blood pressure. Response to pain eg from the hips could contribute to this, but I think in view of her breathing problems it could be more related to her circulation. Anaemia would obviously also contribute so yes, I think you're right and she does need further tests.

The "heart tablets" may also have side effects which include hypotension so if you can tell me what the tablets are I'll check for you

Elsa x

[cassie2006]

Thanks Elsa.

 

The heart tablets are FORTEKOR 20mg. she has half a tablet once a day. It seems she's been on these since june but these symptoms are getting worse.She has a cough (very whistly) and her breaths are 42 per minute (I know in a healthy dog it is 20 per min.)

 

xx

[KnellyK]

Hi Cassie

 

I agree with Kip.

 

If you wanted a dog that could go out walking then you've clearly been sent home with the wrong one.

 

You've got a hard decision to make, you either keep her and look after her with limited walks and the possibility of a big vets bill, or take her back to the sanctuary or one nearer you so you can keep in touch. Then you could try to find a dog that will fit in with your lifestyle.

 

It's difficult, so good luck.

 

KK

[Undercover-Elsa]

Hi,

Ok, that's the way I was thinking..it's given as treatment for Congestive heart failure (the wheezing/coughing are a symptom of this). Basically because the heart is working hard to pump blood into congested lungs, you get a backlog and the blood pressure generally gets raised.

Fortekor reduces blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels.

It could be that her dose needs adjusting. (If she's recently lost weight maybe it was originally calculated on a higher weight?)

Also - if the cough, wheeze are getting worse, have they told you she needs to be on a low salt diet? Sounds as if she's retaining fluids.

Is she passing urine OK? Might be that diuretics would help the wheezing, by getting rid of excess fluid.

Just my opinion, as an ex breeder/nurse you understand