What Vets don't know

Things we learned ...the hard way

We all grow in our dog experience. With our first dogs we are rank beginners and actually are pretty "dumb", possibly believing "boundary training" actually works, or the dog has accidents on the carpet out of spite, or that our veterinarian knows all the answers. But as time goes on, we learn from our mistakes (hopefully!) and move forward. This past litter of Holly's was a tremendous learning experience, as were other events of the past year. The first and foremost being the quality of veterinarians available. So my hope here is to pass on a little "dog knowledge" and save someone the heartache and near tragedy we almost experienced by going to local veterinarians for things that was obviously "out of their league". I'm sure many of you have vets you trust implicitly - that is fantastic. But personally, I'm tired of dealing with vets that have an "agenda" or can't admit they don't know something, which happens all too often around here.

Lessons learned...

Don't deal with your local vet for reproductive issues. Local vets deal mostly with neutered animals and have NO CLUE how to deal with life threatening issues such as pyometra, c-section, and c-sectioned puppies -- not to mention collections, frozen and fresh semen. They are also stretching when you have unusual or difficult symptoms to diagnose. Ask around and find a specialist in canine reproduction if you intend to breed your girl or collect a male, make the trip to the nearest veterinary specialist when it comes to serious disease that is not very common. It may save your dog's life - and it may save your puppies. You will more likely get a useful semen collection rather than excuses. Most local vets "play" at dog reproduction and like to dabble with the difficult cases. Most do not have the knowledge or experience to be successful and many won't admit it!

A bitch's temperature will drop one degree before labor starts. If labor doesn't start within 24 hours - don't let anyone (including your vet) tell you to "wait" -- even if she is not in distress (Holly was just lounging around). After 24 hrs. you start to lose puppies and may lose your bitch. We were told to "wait" by our local vet and almost lost Holly and the puppies. Their concern is often only that she gets a c-section in time to her life, not her puppies. Typically they have no clue how to save sectioned puppies, so they make no effort to try, and schedule the section for THEIR convenience only.

Local vets often cannot read x-rays! We had an x-ray taken by a local vet and were told the puppies are all dead. (from an x-ray?). They told me they had never seen anything like it in their 15 years of experience and that she was "reabsorbing" them. I have news for them - two of the "dead" puppies are now sleeping in my whelping box. I was a nervous wreck for 3 weeks thanks to this veterinary clinic's incompetence. I showed the same x-ray to the reproduction specialist - he said they obviously took it a little early and he could see the skeletons and they looked just fine for that stage of development. They were not reabsorbing, deformed or necessarily dead. No one can tell if the pups are dead or alive from an x-ray! A second vet could not tell us the number of fetuses 2 days after her due date passed! Even our untrained eyes could see she was wrong.

An unethical vet will attempt to influence your breeding program. We've had local vets tell us a dog is dysplastic when OFA didn't think so! She had her own agenda - she personally did not like the dog so allowed her dislike to influence her reading and positioning of the x-ray so it wouldn't "pass". The x-ray was redone and sent in to OFA - it was just fine. Just because a local vet proclaims herself to be an "expert" in orthopedics or any other specialty, doesn't make it so. Find out if they have REAL credentials. I've had a vet tell me, and I quote, (when Shadow was extremely ill and dehydrating) that "some dogs deserve to die" because she didn't want to deal with difficult dogs. I couldn't believe it! We promptly got a second opinion and Shadow, with proper treatment, recovered quickly and has made it to old age.

If your vet doesn't call you back in a life-threatening situation - find someone that will - NOW. We took Holly in to see the local vet on Saturday and was told if she didn't go into labor by Monday, call and she would do a c-section. I called several times Monday and my calls were never returned - until 4:00 pm through an intermediary - too late to do the c-section and the excuse being she was "busy"! She was too busy with regular appointments to take care of an emergency???? She finally called again at 9:00 pm (by then we had made other arrangements out of necessity) and said "I'll offer you a c-section with Dr. X." I told her I don't know anything about the qualifications of "Dr. X". Her response: "I offered you a c-section, so I'm covered". Is that all she cares about - whether I will sue her for negligence? Disappointingly, even MSU's emergency service did not return my calls either!!!. Frantically we called our dog friends for vets who might be able to do the c-section since we were becoming seriously concerned. That is how we found "Dr. S" - a remarkable man who knew just how long we could wait, knew exactly what he was doing, and saved Holly and her puppies. He took the time to personally evaluate our situation by phone and Holly wasn't even his patient! I was turned down by at least 3 vets who were "too busy" or we weren't their client. Moral of story: If they don't call you back, or are "too busy" for you when you have a life threatening situation and need them now - you NEED another vet!!!

Five years ago when Star had a c-section 2 "dead" puppies were delivered. No real effort was made to revive or save them (I now believe it's because the "local vet" had no clue how!). However, when Holly delivered 4 apparently dead and floppy puppies, our new found vet who specializes in reproductive veterinary medicine, brought his entire staff into action. They worked with these puppies relentlessly - stimulating them, warming them, doing CPR and breathing for them until miraculously one by one after an incredible amount of time they came to life! I would have sworn they were dead - every bit as "dead" as Star's 2 pups (maybe more so - they were much floppier). But knowing what to do and how long to continue, and having the right equipment and staff made a world of difference in whether the puppies lived or died. They were not gentle! They aggressively and relentlessly worked hard for that first breath and every breath after that until the pups were stable. This veterinary practice worked as a team - they knew what they were doing - and did it. They didn't just say ho-hum, I guess we can't save them.

The outcome of surgery can be influenced by many factors. The vet's experience in performing that surgery being the single most important factor, I feel, along with anesthesia, medication and facilities. Star was unconcious for 24 hours after a c-section done by our local vet (Make sure they have enough staff during office hours!) and was on heavy antibiotics, on the contrary, Holly was awake and able to bond and attempt nursing her puppies within an hour of delivery, and needed no antibiotics. An anesthesia that can exit the system quickly is obviously beneficial to the puppies who have a very small window of opportunity to master nursing, and to mom for bonding with them. Having the proper facilities means sterile conditions and less need for antibiotics afterwards. The difference in how each c-section was handled was like night and day. We wonder if the outcome would have been different for Nova had someone more experienced in doing a pyometra spay had been involved. Perhaps not, but I don't ever want to wonder "what if" again.

A puppy buyer called us with a strange situation. His pup was lethargic, vomiting and had diahrrea - she was very weak, but being a good malamute, tried to look "normal" at the vet's office. Therefore, his vet did not realize the seriousness of the situation. His vet put the pup on diretics and an antibiotic. Do you see what I see here? A dehydrating puppy put on diretics? It didn't sound right and we suggested they get a second opinion. Surprise! The pup had coccidia and the directics were dehydrating her further. On the proper medication, she made a full and fast recovery - had they continued the diretic she may have died. Another friend had a dog that had some unusual symptoms. The vet did a blood test and put the dog on heavy medication for what he guessed the condition might be. It turned out what the vet suspected was wrong, but the heavy medication caused other problems that are still not resolved. Get a second opinion if it doesn't sound "right" to you! The small cost of a second opinion is nothing compared to your pet's life or the damage improper medication can cause.

One year we discovered an unusual growth in Star's mouth - it looked like a kielbasa hanging out from under her tongue! Images of cancer and tumors running through my head, I couldn't figure out how it was not there the day before. We consulted our local vet, who admittedly had no clue, and referred us to Michigan State University because she was afraid to operate inside the mouth (bleeding fears) to remove the growth. Lo and behold, it was an impacted saliva gland. Uncommon, but diagnosed properly because the vets at MSU had dealt with this before. It was removed from the neck (not from in the mouth) and Star was fine. A dog's saliva gland goes down the throat. Since then, I have talked to others with similar mysterious growths. When they were drained or removed through the mouth they almost always recurred and suffocated the dog with no warning. If only removed from inside the mouth, it will fill with saliva again, but deep in the throat where it cannot be seen, suffocating the dog. Only if it's completely removed all the way down the throat will the dog recover. Were we glad we went to MSU on that one!

What do veterinarians learn in school? I suspect little about nutrition, nursing puppies, and most reproductive issues. They are indispensible for giving shots, stitching up cuts and routine spay/neuters, but most see only the mundane and typical health problems of dogs and cats. They are not qualified to diagnose anything except common disease and are NOT radiologists. So if you have ANYTHING unusual, ask for a referral to a veterinary school or specialist. You will not regret it.

Even specialists don't know it all...Star died from meningitis and may have survived had SOMEONE told us she needed a spinal tap to identify the bacteria and the correct antibiotic. But no one did - not even several specialists...not until she was in dire condition at the neurologist's did someone even mention it. By then it was too little, too late.

If medicines are working for your dog - speak up! Just because they have a medical degree doesn't always mean they know what works best for YOUR dog. You are your dog's avocate and if you discover something is working - by all means nag, pester, argue, change vets if necessary to get what you need for your dog! When Hoover was going downhill we gave him some thyroid in the hopes it just might help - after all - he was dying so what could it hurt? It made an AMAZING difference! When we talked to our vet they wanted some expensive tests before they would even consider prescribing even enough to hold him till the tests got back. We changed vets. Best thing we ever did. It made a huge difference in Hoover's quality of life.

And that, folks, is what we've learned....