Greyhound-savvy Vet--how Important Is It To Have One?

[Guest taylorsmom]

Hi everyone!

I was just wondering how important it is to have a really greyhound savvy vet? I am in the process (yet again!! I have gone through this at least 4 or 5 times now) of switching vets, and have just heard of a vet that has his own greyhounds, and thus obviously knows a lot about GHs! The only major drawback is that his office is about 35-40 minutes away. What I was thinking of doing is seeing a vet closer to home for regular appointments, etc. but seeing the greyhound vet for things that are specifically problematic for GHs, like surgeries/anesthesia, bloodwork values, etc.

I thought of this back when Rita had a seed wart (a thread was posted on this a few months ago) that was diagnosed by the Greytalk community! When I mentioned this to my then-vet, he looked at me like I was crazy and said "this is not a wart!" but what happened when he opened it up was exactly what GT'ers said would happen. I would just like to feel like I can trust the vet to know not to use certain meds or anesthetics if my greys ever need surgery, etc.

Just wondering if you guys would jump at the chance for a greyhound-savvy vet, even if you had to travel some?

 

[Guest momto3greys]

We only see a greyhound savy vet. Our vet is about 30 minutes away with traffic and we don't mind the drive if they are getting the very best care that they can.

 

 

[NeylasMom]

I would travel. You never know what might be missed by someone who isn't greyhound-savvy. And it's personally very important to me that I have not have to push my vet on everything - like for instance if my dog were ill and I wanted to run a tick panel, I wouldn't want to have to fight with them on it when they told me Babesia wasn't found around here so don't bother. And trust me, I hear a lot of stories from our adopters about this type of stuff happening (and see it here as well).

 

It can also be confusing to have more than one vet treating a dog - something could be missed in the back and forth. Right now I drive about a half an hour to my vet, I used to drive more like 45 minutes. It sucks, but I think it's well worth it. That's just me though.

[Sighthounds4me]

I agree - if the travel needs to happen, it's worth it. We travel about 40 minutes one way for our vet, and couldn't be happier.

 

However, I have to say, just because the vet has Greys of his own does not mean that he "knows" Greys. Our first vet was one who owned a Grey. But he was a moron, who had no idea. In addition, he was awful at hiring the "right" people. That may not mean much, but we almost lost Naples once to their negligence (she went into septic shock following a dental. Now we put her on antibiotics several days before the dental, as well as after). The vet we now see has a wonderful staff. They may not know all there is to know, but they refer to the head two guys if they have questions. Or, they ask us!

 

In addition, it's really nice to have a vet who understands what Greys are supposed to be. The last time I took Naples in, it was for a "hoo-hoo" infection. We weighed her at the start, like usual, and both of us were surprised at her weight. She looks good, but weighed more than suspected (must be muscle!). But I said the numbers don't matter, as long as she looks good. He agreed, and said she looks greyt - he can see her last couple ribs, so she looks very healthy. That means a lot to me - non-Grey savvy vets would think she was underweight...

[Guest benson]

It's OK to have a non-savvy greyhound vet as long as you are prepared to educate them and more importantly they are willing to learn. One of the vets in the practice we used in NC wasn't 'up' on the differences in blood work between greyhounds and other breeds. She did not mind me bringing the packets of information I've collected from Dr Feeman and others.

[turbotaina]

I don't think that 35 minutes is too far to travel for the vet, provided it's not an emergency. I switched to a vet that's about 20 miles away from me as opposed to my former vet who was about 10 miles away. I totally agree with Neylasmom - I had to fight for everything for my dog with my last vets and they work regularly on greyhounds. Now I have a wonderful vet who is very greyhound savvy and who is willing to have a discussion with me. It's totally worth the extra 15 minutes it takes me to drive over there (30 minutes door to door with no traffic).

 

I think Benson's right on about having a receptive vet - if you do get one who doesn't know greyhounds well, be sure that they are receptive to learning about them.

[Burpdog]

Ask how many greyhounds they have in their practice. Also, the college the vet graduated from may tell you how familar he/she is with greys.

 

A vet not familar with greyhounds can cost you a ton of money. EKGs, blood work, etc because they are not used to listening to greyhound hearts, not familar with greyhound blood values, etc. I had one vet tell me SieSie was in congestive heart failure and she was fine. I've had vets look at blood work and think the dog is fine when in fact there is a problem.

 

If you have a vet willing to work with you and learn, it's worth training him/her. I have one that is great with greys and quite experienced treating them, and I still took the article on hulling corns to him. He read it and did Mahogany's corns

[Guest Greensleeves]

I think it depends. It depends on how healthy your dogs are, just in general, for one thing. I know there's no way to predict what's going to happen... but the problems that Whistler had were DOG-specific, not breed-specific. Any dog with the same conditions would have required the same treatment. And the occasional grey-common thing he did present with (like LSS), our vets were very willing to do research and learn new techniques.

 

For me, the most important thing is a vet I'm comfortable with, and that my dogs are comfortable with. We went to the "grey savvy" clinic recommended by our adoption group ONCE. It was a very traumatic trip for Whistler (about 30 minutes away through heavy traffic, with a dog who gets carsick), and I thought the office staff was rude, and the vets were not very personable or attentive. We never went back, and I NEVER regretted it. Our vets are literally a five-minute walk from our house.

 

I would NOT have a 'sometimes only' vet for the big stuff like surgeries... I'd want ONE practitioner who KNEW MY DOGS. When we were weighing the options of having our vets or the specialists operate on Whistler... we came down to deciding it was best to have a vet who knew our boy.

[Guest DorianGreyhound]

I go to a cheapie clinic for silly things that don't matter like rabies shot every three years... I dont do DHLPPs past puppyhood personaly... The only time I go to the vet except rabies is for a problem. In those cases I ABSOLUTELY go to my sighthound savvy vet... an hour away

[Guest taylorsmom]

This is so helpful, I really appreciate hearing other people's experiences with this. I agree that the most important thing is a vet that you can talk to and who is willing to learn and hear about things that I may know about greyhounds because I do a lot of research and have all the articles on bloodwork, etc. For example, I had to fight to figure out what was happening with Taylor's thyroid, and had to go to several different vets before we could get a good bloodtest result and get her on Soloxine, and not a generic medication. I just hate to have to fight about every little thing, and make sure I bring my copy of "Care of the Racing and Retired Greyhound" to every vet visit, ya know?

So I have an appointment to take Taylor to the greyhound-savvy vet next week. If I like him, and he seems good and knowledgeable, and the office staff is not rude (that is one of the reasons I am leaving my current vet!!) then I will have this vet as the main one for both my greyhounds, and take my Lab to a closer one perhaps.

[Sighthounds4me]

I think it depends. It depends on how healthy your dogs are, just in general, for one thing. I know there's no way to predict what's going to happen... but the problems that Whistler had were DOG-specific, not breed-specific. Any dog with the same conditions would have required the same treatment.

 

I agree with this too. Generally, my dogs are very healthy, so I don't have major concerns with general health, outside of prevention. So, in that case, a non-Grey savvy vet would be fine.

 

But, I have a sighthound who needed emergency foot surgery. Since it was emergent, our vet could not do it, so we took him to a different vet. They gave him drugs that should not be given to a sighthound. They let him wake up on the surgical table, and he thrashed and threw himself off. They are LUCKY that he did not cause himself injury, or they'd have had an ANGRY owner, and an ANGRIER breeder (who is a vet) up their noses!

 

ALl I'm saying is that for "normal" stuff, non-Grey savvy vets are fine, but for anything that requires a little know-how, it's best to do a little research.

Edited September 6, 2007 by Sighthounds4me

[Hubcitypam]

I think grey savvy is very overrated, especially if you do your homework on blood values, etc and are an informed owner. When I first started the adoption group in Lubbock I very seriously grilled all the vets that agreed to do spay/neuters at a discounted rate if they were aware of sight hounds and anesthesia. They were all very polite until one said "M'am anyone that doesn't know that has been under a rock for QUITE some time".

 

My vet was NOT grey savvy when we started seeing him 5 years ago, but he was open and certainly willing to learn and do homework. He was recommended by GALTS main vet as the excellent vet he has proven to be. He does some work for GALT now.

If I had to choose between greyhound savvy and an excellent vet with an open mind and not much GH experience I'd choose (and did choose at the time) the latter. One could see a ton of greys and still be a crummy vet with a crummy bedside manner.

 

I do go to another vet with a shot clinic for my guys. My "real" vet charges $55 for an office call, $22 for DHPP, $22 for Lepto (he gives it separate) $22 for rabies and $38 for HW test. That is $159 plus the "waste disposal fee". At the shot clinic those shots are $17 and HW test is $20 for a total of $37....A difference of over $120 per dog for the exact same thing.

[RobinM]

Nancy, I had a vet who I loved. I still love him and he still takes care of my 3 kitties BUT he is not greyhound savvy. Because of this, I will travel an extra 25 minutes to get to the grey savvy one. Nancy, on LI travels close to an hour to get to him.

 

Another friend of mine brought her GH to the evet over the holiday weekend becasue of the big D and blood in stool. They gave this dog a million tests, told her he needed to have a MRI ($7500.00) and that his lab showed he was in kidney failure.

 

SHE FREAKED AND CALLED ME! I told her no way. I have seen this dog, there is no way this dog was in kidney failure. She took him to HER vet when he reopened on Tuesday and the dog is fine.

 

I feel a grey savvy vet is the only way to go.

[zimsmom]

Both times I've had 2 greys into the vets for a problem visit I pretty much had to tell them what I thought it was. 1 had an abnormal Xray which I brought to a greyhound experience vet for a 2nd opinion over 1 hour away (in a blizzard) & was told the dog had OS. The 2nd problem I came to greytalk & the people here were able to diagnose what the problem was just based on the description. My vet had no clue. Unless it is an emergency I come here first before going to the vet.

[Greytlady94]

Absolutely yes I would drive whatever was needed to take my greyhounds to a greyhound savvy vet! Had I known this 13 years ago my first greyhound may not have died at the age of 8.

 

Where we live driving 35-40 minutes is nothing.

[tammystroops]

Unfortunately,

there are none in my area.

the nearest is Harrisburg..over an hour away.

 

It is very important.

esp. since the incident with Tessa and her foot.

 

I am more than Po'd

 

 

[Batmom]

Hard for me to say. One of my vets has some experience with greyhounds, one is a sponge -- young man who just soaks up knowledge from everyone around him, and the others have proven willing to answer questions, read, consult, and learn. They're close by, and they seem to pretty much know when they don't know , and that's worth its weight in gold.

[robinw]

my vet is very greyhound savvy, which is one of the reasons why we see her. having said that, i think it's ok to have vet that is open minded and willing to take your concerns seriously, as well as do research when necessary.

[Saffron]

A good grey savvy vet is wonderful, if you can find one in your area.

 

Grey-savvy or not, find a really good vet who will work with you and listen to your input. IMO these vets are beyond rubies and diamonds!! Just saying: My previous vet was very grey-savvy. A perfectly good vet, and one who "knew" grey things. So grey-savy that he was not willing to think outside his box.

 

But then I moved. And worried about finding a new grey-savvy vet. So, I just found the best vet in my area. She would not claim to be a grey expert even today, although she has several grey patients and is grey-savvy enough now to qualify, IMO.

 

Why is she so amazing? She always listens to what I say, is sweet with the dogs, and consults and researchs on her own time if we have issues. She has no problem with receiving input! I actually much prefer her to my previous "grey-savvy" vet. I think we have had far better treatment from her, because she has been willing to learn the basics and also go the extra mile for us.

 

Bottom line: Find a vet who is willing to work with you and learn. Yes, they are out there!

 

Gillian

[MarcR]

A good grey savvy vet is wonderful, if you can find one in your area.

 

Grey-savvy or not, find a really good vet who will work with you and listen to your input. IMO these vets are beyond rubies and diamonds!! Just saying: My previous vet was very grey-savvy. A perfectly good vet, and one who "knew" grey things. So grey-savy that he was not willing to think outside his box.

 

But then I moved. And worried about finding a new grey-savvy vet. So, I just found the best vet in my area. She would not claim to be a grey expert even today, although she has several grey patients and is grey-savvy enough now to qualify, IMO.

 

Why is she so amazing? She always listens to what I say, is sweet with the dogs, and consults and researchs on her own time if we have issues. She has no problem with receiving input! I actually much prefer her to my previous "grey-savvy" vet. I think we have had far better treatment from her, because she has been willing to learn the basics and also go the extra mile for us.

 

Bottom line: Find a vet who is willing to work with you and learn. Yes, they are out there!

 

Gillian

 

Your new vet sounds a lot like mine. She knows that greys can be different from other breeds and clearly does her research when she needs to. She's great with my hounds and is very fond of them. I think the 25 minute drive is well worth it.

[2hounds]

For me personally it is essential. We drive 45 minutes to our vet's office because we know, love, and trust them.

[heartdogs]

I just took in a return last week that the girl said had bad kidneys, couldn't walk more than a block, had breaks in the hocks all at 3 yrs old. I asked her if the vet she'd used knew the difference between greys & other dogs for her blood levels ets. She said oh yest he's greally great. I had our vet's office get all of Iruska's records & she doesn't have any of these problems. She is a normal pup and really likes regular food & play time. I've given our vet all the info from Dr Stack's website so all the techs know the differences as well as the vet herself. Sure makes us feel more comfortable.