nycbullymama
Well-known member
- Dec 22, 2012
- 5,182
- 476
- Country
- usa
- Bulldog(s) Names
- b and w
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 āwhat do you have against steroids? At a low dosage and used sparingly, they shouldnāt pose any problemsā. Ok, maybe. But Blue was on them every 4 months, thatās 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 didnāt 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 heās a bulldog) and put him on steroids.
Came home, and something didnāt 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 itās a Histiocytoma and sent it off for cytology to make sure itās 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. Wellieās body reabsorbed it with a month.
She treated his condition and not his breed. For now, Iām sticking with her. I donāt love that office, as itās 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.
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 āwhat do you have against steroids? At a low dosage and used sparingly, they shouldnāt pose any problemsā. Ok, maybe. But Blue was on them every 4 months, thatās 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 didnāt 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 heās a bulldog) and put him on steroids.
Came home, and something didnāt 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 itās a Histiocytoma and sent it off for cytology to make sure itās 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. Wellieās body reabsorbed it with a month.
She treated his condition and not his breed. For now, Iām sticking with her. I donāt love that office, as itās 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.