Interviewing A New Vet

[CaliforniaGreys]

After the experience with Ekko and the vet who did her dental, I obviously will not bring her or the boys back there.

I want to get her labs re done so I'm not waiting for the main vet to return from his vacation.

 

Friday I have an appt with another vet here without the dogs and have a list of questions for her to try to avoid any future problems.

 

Other than the obvious, anesthesia protocol etc. what would you be asking?

 

My Ca vet is not willing to come here so I'm out of luck with that

 

Thanks for your help

Edited July 2, 2010 by cbudshome

[Guest Energy11]

I'd do what I had to do here with Dr. Karen. Even though she's been practicing for over 25 years, she is NOT greyhound savvy! I gave her all the normal GH blood values and a printout of GH "oddities," for lack of a better word, as well. http://www.greyhoundadoptionofoh.org/Greyhound_Health_Packet_08.pdf

 

I'd ask if I can STAY with them while they are being examined and getting labs done. I'd also ask if I can suggest things to the vet wihout him/her feeling like I am "stepping on their toes."

 

Dr. Karen is very thorough, and does listen to me, and has been a huge help with Curfew, BUT, she STILL maintains, ..."dogs rarely get strokes!" HA! Greyhounds do!

 

Good Luck!

[Guest SusanP]

After our experience with Wizard, I'll be asking about euthanasia protocols.

[macoduck]

Ask if the vet is willing to get on the floor with your dogs rather than hoist them up on a table.

[Guest Energy11]

Ask if the vet is willing to get on the floor with your dogs rather than hoist them up on a table.

 

 

Good point! My wonderful former vet/employer, Dr. B AND my Dr. Karen, BOTH get on the floors with my dogs! Dr. Karen doesn't even have an exam table in the large dog area!

[DaisyDoodle]

Sorry to hear that you have to switch places already. I was hoping you'd just be able to use the other vet (the one you meant to do the dental), but if you can't trust the vet you ended up with or the staff, I guess it's not a difficult decision to make.

 

I've been holding my breath about the new place we've been going to. The one girl (woman) is very young and has funky-colored hair (I think I'm getting old ), but I like her, and she's competent and she's a new GH owner too. I just met the owner of the practice today and I really liked him too.

 

I was really leery about letting a new vet do a dental, but even more so given what happened to poor Ekko. I was going to have one done for Daisy in southern NE, but the vet there wanted around $1,200 for a dental. While that vet has a dental x-ray machine, I felt like I was paying for her equipment and mortgage, as that's more than double my old vet and nearly double what the new vet here wants, and the place here has a dental x-ray machine too. (The place here in PA also has two other good things that I've never seen for dentals before--there are three tiers for dentals, one basic without x-rays, one limited w a few x-rays, and a top tier with more x-rays and a few other add-ons. Then, whichever one you choose, you get 10%, 20% or 30% off next year's dental. What a deal!!)

 

What I'd ask for in looking for a new vet:

Estimated cost for a dental, what's included, do they have a dental x-ray machine. I'd ask probing questions related to how Ekko was treated to make sure they don't have similar practices.

 

How do they feel about sharing their records with Ohio State? Are they willing to consult with Ohio State?

 

Do they take emergencies, how much is the emergency fee, and/or which emergency vet's office do they work with?

 

What are her feelings about Ace? What is her procedure when giving NSAIDs? (Does she do follow-up blood work?) Ask about any other drugs or procedures you've seen yourself or on this list where dogs have had problems.

 

I'd also query potential vets about how they'd handle problems your dogs have had--eating things , thunderphobia , other medical issues.

 

What specialty things do they have/do at their practice? Do they have laser treatments, acupuncture, chiropractic, water therapy, PT? Do they have on-site lab capabilities? What kind of imaging gadgets do they have beyond x-ray machines--ultrasound, anything higher-tech?

 

Don't get me wrong, I didn't ask all these questions. I was glad to find someone who had heard of a greyhound and Addison's disease. I made my decision because a tech who I talked to on a second call knew enough about Addison's to ask what treatment Lucky was getting (there are two major treatment alternatives, and much debate about which to use). That a tech knew enough to ask that question impressed me--so it may be some little thing that helps you make your decision. In the end, one of the vet's has a GH, but I didn't know that when I chose the place.

 

Good luck--I know how much I stressed over choosing a new practice. At this point we're just going for little things, and won't ask them to do anything major until I see how they handle little stuff. You know how people say "Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff"? I feel sort of the opposite (and came to this conclusion when dealing with the nursing home for my mom). If I can't trust people with the small stuff (like what mom was wearing, if her hands were clean after dinner), how could I have possibly have trusted them with the big stuff (like medical care, keeping mom safe, etc.). Ditto working with vets.

 

You know what else? Sometimes the vet you trust the most is the one that ends up making the big mistake. I know it happened to me recently with one of our specialty vets. I asked him to give Lucky her Percorten shot so we wouldn't have to go to the other vet (in a different state), and he gave her the wrong dose--he gave her a low starting dose.

 

My only complaint about our new vet practice is that I've had to wait about an hour the last two times I've gone. That just really isn't acceptable, but I'm going to try to overlook it for now.

 

Hugs to the pups,

 

Donna

[CaliforniaGreys]

I was hoping you'd just be able to use the other vet (the one you meant to do the dental), but if you can't trust the vet you ended up with or the staff, I guess it's not a difficult decision to make.

 

This is something I'm struggling a bit with Donna. I really liked the vet I was refered to. He and I were on the same page about quite a few things.

We talked about certain things I would prefer to be sent to Jean Dodds, like thyroid testing and he knows her and was more than happy to do that.

 

We feel exactly the same way about Ace and I was happy with that as well.

 

He knows not to dismiss what I feel and think, he knows I've been around the block a few times.

 

But....

 

I just can't let go of what happened with Ekko and she's still not 100%

[dex95lucy]

Donna, I had to laugh when I read your post about your young vet. My greyhound vet looks to be in her mid twenties, is actually in her mid thirties, has multiple large tatoos, and more piercings than I can count. But her practice is named Greys and Strays and she knows her stuff about greys and has quite a few herself. But she does not do orthopedics, which is why my Bessie died last year from a toe amputation done by another vet. She is the only one in her office and is not always available for emergencies but she does her best to help. And she really tries to keep down costs. In July I am getting my two off the farm greys spayed and dentals. Today she e mailed me about the pre op antibiotics and said she will sell me the whole bottle which is considerably cheaper. So far her spay prices are ridiculously low compared to most other vets around. She doesn't always have a friendly "bedside" manner, can be sharp and critical, but she knows her stuff and I appreciate that.

 

sue

[macoduck]

Regarding xray equipment as mentioned by Donna, Digital xray equipment will not only get a better image, but if the operator doesn't get the right technique at least it can be fiddled with to get the right contrast, etc.

Plus if the dog moves or they've been positioned incorrectly, the operator will quickly able to see the mistake and repeat the image, saving a great deal of time compared to old xray/darkroom equipment.

 

A big plus would be if this vet doesn't laugh too hard at Ekko's toilet paper fetish.

[Batmom]

Hard one. I want someone who knows that sighthounds do have some blood/meds differences. Other than that .... Really what I want is someone who will listen, not brush off, and discuss stuff with me. Someone who is professionally curious and who will make adjustments if their favorite protocol doesn't work. Someone who isn't hard to get an appointment with.

 

I don't like large dogs being put up on a table for normal exams.

 

I do like proper surgical protocol -- IV fluids, monitoring, etc.

 

It is helpful to be able to do basic bloodwork in-house. Not sure if there are still vets who can't -- some we hear about on GT, it sounds like they have to send everything out.

 

Other equipment -- I want the basics, but I will say it's only been recently that my vet got digital x-ray, and some of the most beautiful x-rays I've seen, ever, were taken with their old equipment. When I first moved here, they didn't have full-time ultrasound (they do now); they referred to another nearby vet for that if need be and could get you an appointment riteawayquik.

[MandysMom]

Some of it is just a gut feeling, but some of the things I love about my current vet are:

• She is readily available via phone and email (she emails me back within a few hours, even on weekends)
  
• She is very familiar with OSU and is willing to work with them (or other practices)as necessary
  
• She readily shares her Greyhound knowledge (she has taught several other vets in the area how to hull corns)
  
• She is willing to be as conservative or radical as I wish. She'll make suggestions, but let me make the decision
  
• She understands my "worried mom" syndrome -- when she diagnosed Mandy with a very minor heart murmur, she suggested watching and waiting for a few months, but also said "if you find you can't sleep at night, I'll refer Mandy to the cardiologist" (BTW, the murmur hasn't changed in 4 years)
  
• She's willing to write prescriptions for me to fill elsewhere
  
• She has Mandy's best interests at heart -- when Mandy needed a dental, I emailed her, expressing my concern about leaving Mandy several hours before they would do the surgery, especially without anti-anxiety meds. She understood my concern, but pointed out that she really wanted Mandy to have IV fluids for at least an hour before the procedure to protect her kidneys, especially given Mandy's age. She also promised they'd keep Mandy in a room with at least one person between the time I left and the time she was sedated (to reduce Mandy's anxiety).
  
• She understands the importance of post-op monitoring and care
  

[KF_in_Georgia]

Is the vet familiar with Amicar, and is Amicar kept on the premises?

 

Is the vet familiar with malignant hypothermia?

 

 

Those aren't questions for everyday, cruisin' along, time-for-a-checkup vet visits. But those are the two questions I've heard people asking around here after their greyhound has had an emergency.

[greysmom]

I've been thinking about changing vets too, and there's several reasons. The clinic we go to does work with/for our adoption group and gives discounts for spays/neuters, meds and some other treatments. They were on our groups "Sponsor Vets" list, and were one of the closest, which is why I went with them initially.

 

BUT!

 

They are a first-come-first-serve place with no appointments except for surgeries and sometimes the wait can be quite long. I've waited over 2 hours (by the time I knew it was going to be that long, going somewhere else wasn't an option). The vets are all great, one has had greyhounds before, but you can't pick a vet and stick with that vet - they rotate through the waiting patients and you get who you get. It's basically a dog-and-cat place - very small, no after hours, only 5 1/2 days a week, no complicated treatments or surgeries. I couldn't go to them with a cancer diagnosis, or for extensive x-rays, Dude's toe amp would not have been done by them

 

The one thing I can NOT stand with any service people is that they treat me like a) somebody who doesn't know anything, and only a woman who won't understand the complicated car! These vets are all pretty good, but if I have some specific knowledge about my dogs, they are a bit reticent to accept that knowledge. There really isn't a dialogue about my dogs' care - which is the way I prefer to deal with what happens to them. I want to have a team feeling from the vet, not them telling me what I should do. I do have to say, however, that over the last 5 years they have come to trust my ability to deal with open wounds at home, and will usually give me antibiotics without seeing the dog/injury.

 

So I guess this is all to say to think about what your priorities are for your three fur kids and go with your gut feeling.

>How do you want them treated? How do you want to be treated?

>Is knowledge of specific greyhound problems more or less important than a compassionate, if less educated, vet?

>How comfortable are you with their office procedures and staff, and the physical layout of the place? Is it clean and well-kept? Is the lobby big enough to hold lots of clients?

>What procedures do they have in place for emergencies? Think about one of your dogs violently throwing up at 3 o'clock in the morning - can you call them? Can you go there or will you be referred somewhere else?

 

Just some of the things I've been thinking about.

[3DogNite]

After years of OLD doggies, I want to know my dogs are not in pain,, and I've had vets tell me,, my greyhounds aren't in pain.. when i KNOW they are, and then i can't get enough pain meds.

 

finally i have a wonderful vet who trusts ME to know when my dogs are in pain, and will give me Tramadol or Rimadyl script just about any time i want - over the phone, without a vet visit. i just call in my request. along with Metronidazole script - very important with my old ones (now gone)

 

price matching meds., on line or in a catalogue, is a good point, may practices this is a HUGE mark up area.

[DaisyDoodle]

Another thing to consider is how do you feel about the other vets in the practice? If you go to a small practice with only one vet, you'll be stuck if you have an emergency and that vet isn't available. OTOH, if you choose a large practice, you get specialty services (possibly), and a vet available when you need one, even if your chosen vet isn't available.

 

The downside of a bigger practice is that you're at the mercy of someone who you may not trust as much and who probably doesn't have as much experience. For example, our long-term regular vet had young ones who'd come through for a year or two. Some of them were brilliant (one works in Boston at Angell Memorial now), some okay, but not as good as that one. One kept missing things, and saying "woops, I'm sorry, let's do that test over" for Lucky's Cushings. Then a somewhat older, but distracted vet (w a family member who was quite ill) took over L's case and that didn't go well either. She followed the letter of the description of what the drug company said about the blood work and doubled L's drug dose of Cushing's meds and ended up causing her to become Addisonian. I blame that on the drug company as much as anything, but I thought Lucky was dying the same day that my mother died--I was sitting in the exam room waiting and saying over and over "I cannot lose two members of my pack in one day."

 

Bottom line, you've got to like the whole practice, not just the one vet, and getting that feeling of comfort and trust is going to take time.

 

DD

[Guest HersheysMom]

I haven't read all the replies, so hope these aren't repeats.

 

Two important questions I learned from a former vet clinic manager who is also a good friend of mine. I used these as my deciding factor when I was interviewing vets.

 

1.) During surgery, who administers the anesthesia? Believe it or not, some vets simply give the tech the orders for the amount, go off and do something else and when the dog is completely under they scrub up and enter the operating room. Well, what if the dog was fine with a lesser amount and didn't need the full amount? You want the vet himself monitoring their response to the anesthesia!

 

2.) During a dental if the dog needs an extraction, who does the extraction, the vet or the tech? At least in MA (no idea about elsewhere) CVTs are only allowed to extract certain teeth due to the risk of fracture of the jaw. Your dog may never need an extraction, but the answer to this question is a good indicator of how the practice operates.

 

Good luck!

[Guest MyCody]

I don't know where in RI you are located but I highly recommend Harbor Animal Hospital on Maple Avenue Barrington, they have three of the most qualified vets I have ever dealt with AND they are caring which I find important in their overall treatment.

 

Dr. Wade Cordy and Dr. Jennifer Trachtman are very greyhound savvy. Both have backgrounds in taking care of greys. Dr. Caldwell is a recent addition to the staff and I have never met her but her credentials on line are very impressive. She recently completed a certification for acupuncture in China.

 

Dr. Cordy has been on the Vet Board and is very active in keeping up with the latest treatment.

 

They also just added a large addition to their practice and are up to date on equipment .

 

When I had Cody and Leah's dentals done it was after he reassured me and was emphatic about the anesthesia he uses for greys.

 

 

If you look up Harbor Animal Hospital you can read all about them and the entire staff. The staff is outstanding.

 

 

Ocean State is wonderful in an emergency as well, Dr. Trachtman worked there before coming to Harbor.

 

I would not recommend Bay State in Swansea or Sakonnet in Tiverton.

 

Please feel free to PM me if you would like.

 

 

Terry

[greyhead]

With all the cat-and-dog problems I've had in the last 20 years, I've learned that the most important quality in a vet for me is that they be curious and willing to learn new things. I don't care if they know it all to start with; and if they think they do, that's a bad thing! What's important is that they enjoy researching what they don't know and that they be analytical enough to reason their way through a process, not just memorize the textbook and apply it without thought. And they have to respect me too, which just takes a little time. However, the one time I actually had to interview a vet in advance, I think he really respected me right away for doing that, and he was a great vet. (It was a CRF cat who was really sick, had just traveled from NO to Seattle, and wasn't in any shape to be dragged around to vets who weren't even going to try to help him.) So maybe the fact that you're interviewing will shorten the respect-garnering process! Good luck!

[PatricksMom]

A couple things--ask to meet their partner who might treat your dog in an emergency (if they have one).

 

Try your best to guage whether they will put up with you asking a lot of questions, getting a second opinion, etc.

 

Will they admit when they don't know something? Unless they're a greyhound expert, "I don't know, let me look into that and get back to you" is a good thing to hear on occasion, assuming they do it.

 

I would ask specifically about their approach to pain management--unfortunately there are still vets out there that tend to minimize pain in dogs.

 

Watch them with your dogs. Do they get on the floor, talk to the dogs before and while examining them? Unless they normally hates all vets, if the dogs seem uncomfortable with the vet, I would look elsewhere.

 

And what everyone else said.

[CaliforniaGreys]

Thank you everyone, I feel like I'm ready for tomorrow. Excellent additions here to what I had in my mind.

 

Terry, I'm in East Greenwich. The vet I'm seeing tomorrow is also a vet recommended by a GT'er so the GH savy is a non issue.

 

The one thing my Palm Springs vet has always said, listen to the clients, they know their dogs best

[Guest mountain4greys]

Good luck tomorrow Claudia! I hope you'll be happy with this one. I'll be looking for your update.

[greytlucy]

It took a few years, but I've been quite happy with the current clinic we use. We've seen most of the vets there at some point or another. They're all great with the dogs which is the first thing I look for: "bedside manner." I want my dogs to like and be comfortable around the vet as a person. All of them have got down on the floor and made friends with the dogs before starting any exam or procedure. Lots of hand-ons stroking and petting beyond the exam. Same with the techs. (I"ve never been at a clinic that tried to put one of my dogs on table?)

 

They always ask me lots of questions and want to know what i know. Most are fairly young (to me!) but I actually like that as they're up on many of the newer approaches and findings and aren't stuck in old ways. My worst experience was with an older vet that was about 30 years out of vet school. They're happy to consult with other vets. We recently lost our 14 year old hound - they had no issue working as a team with the accupuncture vet and the cardiologist. They don't take me to task for the vaccination schedules I prefer(or that I don't like to vaccinate past a certain age)and actually recommend the schedule I use(this was a first for me, i've had to fight with other vets on this). Here in AZ we often find the vets have been to Colo State for vet school due to the reciprocal agreements with arizona. I"ve had good experiences with that. Where they went to school does matter to me. I want them to have gone to one of the "biggies" (Cornell, Davis, Colorado State etc. Out here it's usually Colorado State or Davis) as they'll be up on the latest research.

 

I've been to both small and large clinics. Typically I prefer small and this one is a large - at least 6 vets I think. In this case, because I like all the vets I like the size. They can do almost everything there as they have much modern equipment. I have never not been able to get a same day appt when needed. They've always found a slot for us, even on busy days if the dogs were having some kind of crisis. The front desk staff and the techs, are all friendly to me and the dogs, and professional. Different vets have different experiences and expertise. We've just added a standard poodle to our house and one fo hte vets we haven't seen regularly in the past is a standard poodle fan, having had many herself. We saw her yesterday with him and will likely use her as the primary vett for this new dog due to her familiarity with the breed and its issues. We can still keep our greyhound's regular vet, too. I like this arrangement myself.

 

So I guess what I'm saying is beyond experience a lot for me is about attitude. And just whether or not I feel comfortable iwth the environment and the vet(s). It took us several tries to find a place we were really comfortable with.

 

Good luck!

[CaliforniaGreys]

Excellent visit this morning! We have a new vet

[Guest Energy11]

GREAT news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet your are relieved!

[Guest mountain4greys]

Great news Claudia! Now you can breathe a little.