nycbullymama

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Dec 22, 2012
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Reading Riikka's ( [MENTION=3354]RiiSi[/MENTION]) post earlier about Usko was an eye opener for me. She articulated exactly how I feel about my former vet.
How she treated every issue my boys had as a breed issue, not as a condition specific to their health.

For instance, her treatment of choice for Blue and Wellie always came down to steroids. They could have been steroids with antibiotics, steroids with an antihistamine, steroids in conjunction with a topical ointment, but always steroids.

When I mentioned why always the steroids, her response was ā€œwhat do you have against steroids? At a low dosage and used sparingly, they shouldnā€™t pose any problemsā€. Ok, maybe. But Blue was on them every 4 months, thatā€™s not sparingly.

Then about 4-5 months ago, I took Wellie in because he had what looked like a very inflamed cyst. It was round and looked almost raw. It didnā€™t hurt him, but within a week, it went from something small, to about 1/2ā€ large in diameter.
When she saw it, she barely took a second look. Right away assumed it was allergy related (because heā€™s a bulldog) and put him on steroids.

Came home, and something didnā€™t sit right with me. I spoke with Chris and mentioned how each and every single time I take either one in, the treatment is ALWAYS the same, he said find another vet.

So I did.
Dr. Mclaughlen looked him over, aspirated the cyst, checked it said she believes itā€™s a Histiocytoma and sent it off for cytology to make sure itā€™s benign.

Meanwhile she put him on antibiotics, oral and topical. She said Histiocytomas are not that uncommon in dogs under two, and the body should reabsorb it.
She was right, it was a Histiocytoma. Wellieā€™s body reabsorbed it with a month.

She treated his condition and not his breed. For now, Iā€™m sticking with her. I donā€™t love that office, as itā€™s part of a larger vet practice, but I do like her.

I bet what happened with me and Riikka is not that uncommon.
So, does your vet treat your bullies health issues as a breed problem, or does your vet treat each dog individually and provide treatment plans specific to their condition?

I think this is a very important topic, something we all need to be aware of.
 

Biogirl71

Moderator
Nov 5, 2010
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Cedar Rapids, IA
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Frank
This is such an important issue that many people might not realize is happening to them. Absolutely too many vets just will assign an issue to the breed because of the reputation bulldogs have, rather than listening to us who know our babies better than anyone. Over the course of five years with Frank, we have gone to seven vets and only three I have felt happy with.
 

cali baker

Worlds Greatest Chef
Feb 25, 2011
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The Crown City (Pasadena)
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Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
Basically, I'm not very happy with the vet (Dr.Garcia), I currently have. She does listen, i think, but she's not very thorough in my opinion, and I would like it if she did more follow-up with me. The follow up is usually via the office staff and not her personally. I know i can ask to speak to her but sometimes it takes all day to hear back or i don't hear back at all. Yesterday when i brought Finn in for his hip, I saw another vet in the practice and I liked her very much. She was thorough, explained everything, and it all made sense to me.

Prednisone seems to be the "go-to" drug b/c it works very well (in many cases), and works fairly quickly. I don't always like that Dr.Garcia puts mine on this drug either though but if it's a short course which it has been in the past, then that's usually okay. Yesterday Finn was put on a high dose of prednisone but the dr. explained to me her reason of using this vs. an NSAID.

Ideally, it would be great to find a vet who knew the bulldog breed well and their particular conditions AND listened AND treated our bullies like the individuals that they are.
 

natski282

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May 27, 2013
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Barrys Bay Ont Canada
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Canada
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Megan = Meg,
We are so lucky to have our Vet she is truly amazing
Diva at the time 7 years old developed Breast cancer , Anne (our Vet ) not only caught it yet Diva was in for other issues but dealt with it right away , yes a operation but not only used normal drugs but Holistic meds also .
I am the type that if it squeaks I fix it I do not wait as is My vet she listens to what I have noticed and or when I feel a change in the dog, We have never ever felt were on a time limit with her as I have found with other vets, so this is your 15 minutes use it and leave here is your $300. bill . That vet would not last long with us .
Anne spent off time hours tying to find the best way to Treat Tilly and her cancer even to the point of contacting scientists that were looking for dogs with certain types of cancer that wanted to try `new drugs `which we did not go with we knew we had limited time with her and wanted to take full advantage of that time .
When I first retired and was moving out of the big city I spent time calling the vets up here to ask what experience they had with our breed the Bulldog and not text book experience real time experience I found Anne and have never looked back we consider ourselves very lucky to have her and her staff.
When Tilly was ready to go , they closed the office a half hr early booted everyone except the staff , they were all in the room either sitting down on the floor or similar positions as the drugs took effect not one had a dry eye all were talking to her and Me Tilly could see all in the room and hear them it was truly a wonderful love filled experience for Me ,Tilly and also the staff . We all related stories and some I had never heard when Tilly had to stay over at the office for a minor elbow operation for a couple of days , seems there was a line up to tend to her and walk her as she progressed with her treatment . To Me that is what you are looking for in a Vet and Staff , unless you have no choice as it is a emergency keep looking until you find a Vet and there staff that want to listen to YOU because You know that dog better then anyone in the building even stop the vet and say as you do not feel comfortable with the offered treatment period what else can be done ! If you do not get a proper answer run out the door till you do find the answers you are looking for . Just My thoughts
 
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nycbullymama

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Dec 22, 2012
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I'm all for steroids for certain things, but in our case- it was an overkill.

I also had allergy testing done with her initially and the results came back saying Blue wasn't allergic to anything.
We both knew it was wrong, but she had nothing to say about it. She never questioned the results, never recommended what else to do, nothing. I winded up taking him to a dermatologist.

Also, she promised to let me know as soon as she got Apoquel in. Well according to someone I know who takes their dog to her, she did get in, his dog is on it.
So knowing how bad Blues allergies are, knowing full well how she kept putting him on steroids, saying over and over how Apoquel would benefit him, her office never called.
Bleh, I'm done with her.
 

brutus77

Skinny-Dippin' Smokin' Tidy Bowl Bionic Woman
Jul 18, 2013
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Brutus, Frankie, and Jack
My vet is thorough with the boys, but I do feel like he gets impatient with me. I am the type of person who comes loaded with information if I have a problem. Take for instance when Brutus was showing aggression toward my other dogs. I researched and researched why this could be happening and then made an appt and discussed my concerns with the vet. He immediately tried to tell me Brutus was having Focal Seizures. I said I did not think so. I then reminded him that Brutus has always been Food Aggressive and a very anxious dog and I thought It was spilling over into his personality. He is very nervous and anxious and I believed he did not know how to calm himself down and aggression was his outlet. The vet continued to tell me he didn't agree and we should start Brutus on a low dose of phenobarbitol and see how it goes. This would require blood work every three months and could cause other issues to his internal organs. I absolutely refused because I knew in my heart he was not having seizures and insisted on starting a course of Prozac instead. Well let me tell you, about 2 months in, I had a new dog on my hands, and he is still an absolute pleasure. Absolutely no signs of aggression and his anxiety level is way way down. I think the moral of this thread is, never let anyone dictate to you what is best for your dog. I don't care how long you went to school or what your qualifications are, If what you are telling me doesn't make sense, I am not doing it. I was 100% correct in knowing what was wrong and I followed my instincts and Brutus is better for it. I will never let any vet talk over me or not listen to my concerns just because he has a degree and I do not.
 

cali baker

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Feb 25, 2011
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Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
Also, she promised to let me know as soon as she got Apoquel in. Well according to someone I know who takes their dog to her, she did get in, his dog is on it.
So knowing how bad Blues allergies are, knowing full well how she kept putting him on steroids, saying over and over how Apoquel would benefit him, her office never called.
Bleh, I'm done with her.

oh my goodness, yes, that is so WRONG. I absolutely hate it when someone tells me they will do something (like a simple phone call), and not follow thru.

When you get a new vet how does it work...does the new vet's office call the old vet's office to get the records transferred? or do you call the old vet's office to get the records transferred to the new vet's office? just curious.
 
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nycbullymama

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[MENTION=1904]cali baker[/MENTION]

We had to fill out a form and sign it, then they fax it to the old vets office. It's basically HIPAA for dogs and an information release form.

But I think each office has it's own procedures.
 

Marine91

The New Casper
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May 15, 2013
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Blips and Chitz
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Harlea 5/4/13 - 8/25/22
I consider Harlea lucky. She loves her vet as much as we do. We feel she listens very well and doesn't just treat the breed. When Harlea had MRSA she openly explored other treatments as she didn't want to do the constant steroid treatments and even when it came to her food allergies that developed later she didn't push the prescription stuff and left that as a last resort if the other options we were trying didn't work.
 

Texas Carol

Texas Carol....put the heart in EBN
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Jul 4, 2012
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Brutus & Cami live in Heaven
This thread is timely as I just switched Cami to a different Vet and was very pleased.
He was very though in his exam (something most of the others weren't) even tho we
were in there for a growth on her foot pad (dx *overgrowth of keratin). Come to find
out, he has lots of bulldog clients (he specializes in horses/cows). Cami's former Vet
seemed more interested in selling specialized foods, etc and pushed me to have TPLO
on her when I thought she just needed rest & recovery, sure enough, it was injury that
mended. He didn't seem to understand as a disabled widow, it was going to be difficult
for me to come up w/ 6K (wanted to do other leg at same time) and I was very worried
about recovery. He almost pushed me into doing it out of fear & guilt, am so glad it was
injury that healed & Cami didn't have to go thru surgery & long recovery.
[MENTION=8958]natski282[/MENTION]...account of his Vet's office at time of Tilly's passing made my eyes wet...now
that's what EVERY person & their beloveds DESERVE to have!
 

TyTysmom

Moderator
Nov 4, 2014
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392
Katy, TX
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Tyson aka "Ty-Ty"
I think it's rare to find a good vet. Luckily for us, we see the same vet/practice that Todd & David both see, along with a few other members here!. We absolutely love them, and Tyson does great with them too. I can't complain & I love that we've been seen by more than one doc there at one point & all have been so helpful & very patient with me. Not to mention their techs are amazing & so comforting. I could imagine being so frustrated if I didn't have a vet I trusted... I hope those that are still searching find a great vet. And the fact that we KNOW our breed so well through all our experiences is something most people can't say they have. Love our EBN family!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Jul 28, 2011
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Gilbertsville, PA
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Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
We are very lucky -- our vet and many of the other vets in his practice treat each animal individually. Of the six vets at the practice there are two I will NOT go to because they do not do that - the one referred to Cheli as a Pug so, to me, if you don't know the breed (more common at that) then how do you know how to treat?

Our main vet actually will ask me to explain what is going on, what I think and then suggests a treatment. He knows I prefer to not use steroids where possible and will work with me based on each pup -- over the years I have seen him treat all four of our babies differently ever if the symptom was the same, he based it on the dog not the breed, even though all I have are bullies... I have taken my sisters cats, GSD and Pug to him and he listens.

The other 3 vets we go to are the same way as Joe.... listen first and then treat.

I really do consider us very lucky
 

Texas Carol

Texas Carol....put the heart in EBN
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Jul 4, 2012
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Brutus & Cami live in Heaven
Right Christine!...moving one time & our Golden had an issue so we
went to my sister's Vet who referred to our Golden as an Irish Setter.
Now, Chief was a gorgeous red color & very large BUT...come on!
 

cali baker

Worlds Greatest Chef
Feb 25, 2011
8,925
851
The Crown City (Pasadena)
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
One thing about my vet office that I do like are the support staff: the vet assistants, the office manager and the vet techs have always been GREAT! and very accommodating when i need to bring one of the boys in last minute. The last office i went to, the front desk was more blasƩ, and seemed disinterested and cold. Maybe I will explore the other two vets who are in this office I go to; like i said, I did like the dr. i saw yesterday but she's there only sporadically b/c she works elsewhere, but there's another one who i saw before a couple yrs ago that i liked so i might need to try her out too before changing offices completely. Finding the right vet is a work in progress...
 

natski282

Dog Hoarder
May 27, 2013
2,399
151
Barrys Bay Ont Canada
Country
Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Megan = Meg,
My vet is thorough with the boys, but I do feel like he gets impatient with me. I am the type of person who comes loaded with information if I have a problem. Take for instance when Brutus was showing aggression toward my other dogs. I researched and researched why this could be happening and then made an appt and discussed my concerns with the vet. He immediately tried to tell me Brutus was having Focal Seizures. I said I did not think so. I then reminded him that Brutus has always been Food Aggressive and a very anxious dog and I thought It was spilling over into his personality. He is very nervous and anxious and I believed he did not know how to calm himself down and aggression was his outlet. The vet continued to tell me he didn't agree and we should start Brutus on a low dose of phenobarbitol and see how it goes. This would require blood work every three months and could cause other issues to his internal organs. I absolutely refused because I knew in my heart he was not having seizures and insisted on starting a course of Prozac instead. Well let me tell you, about 2 months in, I had a new dog on my hands, and he is still an absolute pleasure. Absolutely no signs of aggression and his anxiety level is way way down. I think the moral of this thread is, never let anyone dictate to you what is best for your dog. I don't care how long you went to school or what your qualifications are, If what you are telling me doesn't make sense, I am not doing it. I was 100% correct in knowing what was wrong and I followed my instincts and Brutus is better for it. I will never let any vet talk over me or not listen to my concerns just because he has a degree and I do not.


Well said ! agree fully , You know your dog better then any Vet ever will !
 

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