Hey Woofa’s,

I’ve been speaking with a few customers recently (and in the past) where for whatever reason they’ve had to take their dogs to the Vet.

Nothing wrong with this, this is what you do when something is up with your dog.  Or if it’s for vaccinations etc.

What I’m finding a bit disconcerting is when they are at the Vets with their dog and they don’t ask any further questions.

What I mean is, when the customer is talking to me about what happened with their dog at the Vet and I ask my them questions I would’ve asked the Vet and they don’t have answers.

All they say is, oh I didn’t ask that I don’t know!

I just did it because the Vet said so!!!

No disrespect to Veterinarians at all, they have a tough job!

However as a dog owner you do have a right to ask any questions you need answers to.

If something doesn’t make sense to you, ask further questions until you do understand it.

I ask my Vet to dumb it down for me to understand.

This way I know my decision regarding my dog is based on MY understanding of the situation.

 

EXAMPLE ONE –

I was speaking with a customer who was telling me about her dog having it’s teeth cleaned at the Vet.

I was surprised and I asked if the teeth actually needed cleaning!

She said, ‘I don’t know, the Vet just recommended I get them cleaned.’

I then asked, to confirm for myself, how old her dog was and she said TWO.

Now this was a little red flag to me because generally a 2 year old dog should not really need their teeth cleaned yet.

Their teeth are baby – adult teeth and should still be nice and clean.

I said this to my customer and again she said, ‘Well the Vet recommended it.’

Then she went on to say the dog had had a tooth pulled as well!!

Again I asked why that was necessary, was it a baby tooth that hadn’t fallen out???  Were their signs that the tooth was bothering the dog etc?

She said, ‘No, the Vet told her there was some food there so it was advised that it be pulled.’

Again, another red flag because a dog still so young and healthy should not need teeth cleaned yet let alone pulled.

Obviously there are dire circumstances where this may need to happen but this dog in question was in great health.

So I asked her why she didn’t question any of this, mainly how young the dog was to be having all this done, and all she said was, ‘The Vet said to do it so I did.’

No questions asked.

 

 

EXAMPLE TWO –

Another customer of mine has a lovely dog who she rescued.

I’ve groomed him a few times now and never had a problem with him.

He’s a Kelpie x Retriever we think.

The last time I groomed her dog, when she got him out of the car I noticed he had a muzzle on around his mouth.

I thought this was strange because he’s never shown any aggression while being groomed or towards me.

So I asked why she had a muzzle on her dog.

She said, ‘The Vet told me to use it to stop him pulling on the lead when we go walking’.

Now my observation from when the dog first got out of the car with it on was that it was distressing him to have it on.

I asked how was a muzzle meant to help with him not pulling on the lead? (He’s not a Horse!!)

She mentioned it was to have more control.

This dog’s behaviour was different with the muzzle on and I could tell it made him uncomfortable.

I asked her to remove it as it wasn’t needed in our situation.

I told her that the only way to stop a dog from pulling on the lead while out walking was to train the dog.

She admitted it was a little strange but she did it anyway because the Vet said it would work.

I asked if the Vet had trained dogs and she said not that she knew.

I advised that we took Billy to training to learn what to do for us and for him, in order for him to stop pulling on the lead.

Training takes time, patience and repetition……………..it doesn’t happen over night.

There’s no quick fix to stop your dog from pulling on the lead.

Training is the answer.

 

EXAMPLE THREE –

My neighbour and I were chatting out the front one day and she mentioned that her dog was limping on her leg.

I asked if she’d taken her to the Vet.

She said yes and they wanted thousands of dollars to operate on her.

Firstly, her dog is older 13 so my neighbour was worried about her going under.

Secondly, they didn’t have that kind of money.

I queried what the Vet said was wrong with the leg.  She said her ACL – Acute Cruciate Ligament.

I have LOTS of experience with this because a year ago Billy had done both of his within a week of each other.

We had taken him to the Vet for examination and found he had torn it.  Then a week to the day he did the other one.

Dean and I took Billy to a Holistic healer who I trust and she said it would take her 16 weeks and she would have him healed.

We did what she told us to the tee and he healed within that time.

I gave my neighbour this Holistic Healer’s number and she healed her dog as well.

So again, not EVERY DOG needs an operation.

I trust this Holistic Healer and I know if she couldn’t do anything for him she would’ve said so and told us to go back to the Vet.

However, she’s extremely experienced and knows her stuff.

Also, if i didn’t see any improvements in Billy I would’ve gone back to the Vet.

I trusted my instinct.

I also questioned the Holistic Healer as I would a Vet.

When it’s your dog’s health you have every right to ask as many questions as you want BEFORE anything is done to your dog.

 

SIDE NOTE –

It’s not that I do not trust Veterinarians!

It’s that I don’t trust ALL of them.

I also listen to what they are saying and see how it sits with relation to my dog and then I asked questions if I’m not understanding what they mean.

A trusted Vet will answer ALL of your questions.

Also, it’s OKAY to ask all the questions you need to (take notes if you have to) AND to get a second opinion if you feel the need.

We went to a talk by Dr Harry from Harry’s Practice who is a Veterinarian from way back.

I remember him saying to trust your instinct when it comes to your pet, you know your pet better than anyone, including the Vet.

 

 

 

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?

If your dog requires a Veterinarian it’s okay to ask all the questions you need until you really understand what is going on with your dog.

It’s also okay to get a second opinion regarding the diagnosis.

You are the voice for your dog, you make the decisions for them.

If what the Vet is saying to you doesn’t seem right regarding your dog then listen to that instinct.

Ask as many questions as you need to, be the voice for your dog.

 

IN THE COMMENTS BELOW – BILLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW – WHAT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH VETERINARIANS HAS BEEN LIKE?