rachels.haven's Journal

[B&B Happy goats]

How normal is it for the vet to want you to pill your dog with a sedative before going in a third time for an attempted blood draw? She gave me gabapentin.

Not normal at all !
They are fearful of her, .....and why are they wanting so much blood drawn ? You are just taking her for normal stuff, not searching for a particular disease.....
The second a vet wanted to sedate my dog...we would both be out the door finding a new vet....these people sound like they are ALL about the money and not about Bailey at all....run Rachael, run

 

[farmerjan]

Find a different vet. They are scared of her, she senses it and it just goes in circles from there. Close by convenience is no excuse to take her to a vet that cannot handle her. You need to not put the closeness ahead of her welfare. I am from up north, some of them are just out for the money and convenience of "little pets". Cancel the vet appt., find another that has a large animal side to their practice. You need someone who can and WILL treat all your livestock. If she was a vicious guard/attack type dog with a known history of problems then m.a.y.b.e....... Mass is a crap state for alot of things, the gun laws being one of them and the unwillingness to "do" anything about that "coyote" which I think really is more a dog/wolf hybrid....

Get a different vet.

 

[rachels.haven]

Alrighty! Didn't think so. It didn't make me comfortable at all. If I can cut her nails front and back, shave her, clean her ears, and accidentally poke her in the eye with my finger this morning, they should be able to do a tiny blood draw for a heartworm snap test.

Plus, I need her working, not sedated. She keeps my kids safe.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Gotta love that Bailey girl , .....

 

[Baymule]

What @farmerjan said about a vet with a large animal practice. Some people have to load their LGDs in a trailer to take them to the vet. Sometimes our vet makes farm calls to treat the dogs. It doesn't sound like Bailey has a problem riding to the vet, being in the vet office, it's the vet and staff that she doesn't like. It's like being terrified of a skittish horse and trying to ride it -- recipe for disaster.

 

[CntryBoy777]

If there are any around ya with livestock...stop by and introduce yourself and ask what vet they use or recommend...and tell them why....most won't have any problem telling ya and sharing what it is they know about the ones in the area.....

 

[rachels.haven]

I contacted my horse neighbor. She says her equine vet will be coming out and can see dogs if they are part of a horse farm visit. It will be expensive, but I can probably walk Bailey up the hill and maybe the vet will not be afraid of a teeny tiny 120lbs marshmallow dog that is not a horse. I will be working on getting her seen elsewhere in the mean time if I can.

Yesterday after the vet tried to take her blood the second time and brought her back out after failing Ms. Bailey flipped on her back to me for a belly rub (her belly is pink with freckles and not much hair, btw). Yep, she is truly terrifying. She definitely wanted her belly to bite that vet right there from across the room. That was when I got handed the bottle of pills and got a talk about how my dog was stressed out which didn't make a lot of sense, but hey, smile and nod, get out of there with the dog in one piece and decide my next step.

Anyway, thanks for the validation. Giving her pills tonight just didn't feel right.

 

[Baymule]

She took the dog out of your presence to draw blood? Is she so stupid that she doesn't realize that the owner is a calming influence and knows the dog better than she EVER will?

 

[Mike CHS]

I have never had a vet try to do anything with my dogs ever that I wasn't in the room.

 

[farmerjan]

Case closed..... if the neighbors horse vet can't see her or you can't get her to walk up there, at least talk to them and see if they have any other suggestions for a vet. Some horse vets aren't well schooled in FARM animals or the associated guardian animals. If the dog is not afraid to ride in a vehicle, just drive up there with her. That way there is not stress of walking somewhere strange..... and if you are not comfortable, you can put the dog back in the car and go home. Simple.