Lol at the slaughter man, not quite what you expect when you take your dog in!!
Interesting what you say about the vet from Utrecht- of course as I said before, we are all different, but I also met an absolutely wonderful horse vet who had trained there. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think their training is different to ours in that they only learn about certain aspect of the course, like companion animals or horses etc. Rather limiting but probably makes you better at what you do!
It is so hard to generalise but I would hope that any vets graduating these days are willing to gain knowledge from experienced dog owners. Unfortunately there are plenty of people out there who one could criticise too so I guess we have to recognise those people worth learning from as well! This may be completely wrong, but I would suspect some of those vets who are stuck in their ways and unwilling to learn are the older generations who have been in the job for umpteen years.
I would hope that most vets are compassionate about the animals and that they come before making money
without wishing to inflame this debate anymore .... I'll add my twopence
like any profession I think there are great vets and there are duds and you have find a vet who matches you and your pet, and you have to be involved in all treatment and if that means asking millions of questions and bugging the vet for all of your options.. then go for it.
I have a good reason to be sceptical of a vets ability until proven wrong, two years ago i took my rescue cat Hobie back to the RSPCA vet to be castrated. He was checked over we answered all the questions.. and when we went pick him up he had stitches in his side.. yep the vet forgot to look under his tale and decided he was a she.. and cut him open, when he realised his mistake he stitched him up and did the proper op.
So I guess that like the rest of us vets are fallible.. unlike the rest of us there mistakes can be painful and at worse tragic.
Vicky, I suppose its hard for vets because they have a broadranging job. I hope you agree the fact a newly qualified one would give a puppy as a suprise gift and couldn't see anything wrong with that is a little disturbing ;-( Not just for a vet but for any person involved with animals who have even ever read a 'Dog is for Life not for Christmas' sticker on a car!
BUt I am loathe to say all vets in any way because there are good guys. Ones who slog their guts out. Without breeders of cats, dogs etc vets would have no customers - or is it that the good ones give the vets so little custom because they do things rather better than the shoddy ones that vets aren't keen on them - cynical big grin!
But there is a disturbing trend towards vets not being animal people but book people. Not you maybe, not some of your friends, but I deal with many vets for various things and go to many lectures and seminars and its very uncomfortable to hear how little knowledge some have.
Puppies delivered by C-Section but then the vet not having the knowledge they need to be rubbed hard and worked on to bring to life in many cases... if they come out still, the vet just lays them there and sees them as 'dead'.
My very good friend last autumn who took a lab bitch to her 40 something vet because it had got at the wormer tablets and the vet went to his cupboard and gave her 'washing soda' to make her puke the wormers back up. he hadn't labelled things right, gave her CAUSTIC soda instead, my friend administered it and her bitch died a excrutiating death by way of her throat and windpipe being burnt away.
I had a bitch have a small C-Section and the vet managed to tear her uterus and she need spaying.
Bitch moan etc...BUt these are just my own first hand cases.... the professional I believe needs some kind of breeding knowledge, some kind of shake up. But who am I to say.
This wasn't to do a character assasination on vets but they lack in such huge areas in many/some cases then hide behind the BVA to deal with their errors....
;-(
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Bitches having c-sections without ever pushing; 3 diagnoses on one dog with one problem; vets pushing multiple vacs when they're not needed; the list goes on and on.
If we were farmers with coos maybe they might take us a bit more seriously After all, the money is better
When Que had her cancer on her paw, our young vet who was treating us asked for advice from the boss without hesitation. It was always given by the boss in the most professional manner. They worked as a team. I was not in the least worried that the young vet hadn't removed two toes together before. The boss made himself available on her operating day to assist if necessary. I don't know if he was needed or not. Que made a fantastic recovery and I am always asked by all the others how she is when I go with one of my other girls. I suspect they were all involved in some way or other.
The boss has put all the vet nurses through their professional training over the years. The other staff are also professional and knowledgable, and will ask for advice for you if required. I just think the whole practice is run for the benefit of their patients, and not to fatten up the vets' bank balances. I'm sure it's a pity there are some practices who are not so good.
I repeat this is NOT a debate to say 'all vets are rubbish at everything'. I deliberately put it on the breeding thread because it was matters to do with breeding that I was referring to. And Vicky hits the nail on the head when she says that vets tend to dislike breeders. Breeders tend to dislike vets because they are who we HAVE to depend on when things get hard BUT they so often haven't a clue.
BUt I agree no vet can be specialists at everything hence certain repro specialists being there. I just think a basic knowledge of breeding and delivering puppies (or kittens) is crutial for your average vet, especially emergency vets on the night shift who run into difficult whelpings now and then.
I was gobsmacked that a qualified vet didn't know not to give a puppy as a present! I rang my own vet to tell him as he put her on to me and he was seriously going to have words, even he said that is absolute bread and butter basic stuff she should know as a PERSON not just as a VET.
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Our UK vet (the Dutch trained guy) was head of the small animal section of our old practice (it was a small animal/equine practice - with a different staff of vets for each part).
The vet I got to now is a small animal practice too. On the whole they are good but fixed in their ways. For example, I asked for a declaration for my older lab regarding her hind leg (she had an accident when young which meant the legs twisted slightly as she grew and she now has an odd gait). i KNOW this is the reason for it, I saw experts in the UK, had x-rays the lot. He takes one look, without even examining her and tells me its genetic! If he had given me the certificate I could have had her confirmed in France but no, he knew best! I didn't even bother persuing it further. I KNOW its not genetic!
I re-read this thread this morning (sober ) - CAUSTIC SODA . That is pure negligence, and should never, ever, be allowed to happen. I'm utterly gobsmacked.
Said vet should be struck off, or at the very least disciplined.
That was not the way the BVA ended up dealing with this. It was extremely devestating for everyone who knew the lady in question and the bitch. her 'apology letter' from the vet contained only the word 'apologise' rather than 'sorry'. The compensation from the relevent body was levied at the price of buying a pet puppy, this was a top class dual purpose dog who hadn't even had the chance yet to have a litter...
...and so on.
One case does not maketh a roasting for a profession, but when you know enough of these sort of things it starts to bring a cloud down ;-(
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
After all, the money is better 
