How do you tell a vet "No" politely??

[Bec]

Quote:
He's OLD! His metabolism is slowing down, his system not absorbing stuff the way it used to. It's just a part of the aging process. Just love him until his last days

That's my exact thought! We have tried everything from beet pulp to rice bran oil to weight gain supplements. Now we've had the blood work run and everything is fine and looks good so, IMO there is nothing more to test for! I'm sure there are many more tests that will run up my bill into the 100"s or thousands but I hardly think thats necessary when he, in her words again "Looks thin on the outside, looks great on the inside!" He is not 'that' old, he is almost 22 but my other vet said horses all age at different rates like people do.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
Ditto...

You would think all vets care more about animals than money... sadly, that isn't always true. I have recently convinced my parents of that and got them to use my vet (who is the best man ever!). Their vet was alot like yours... test this, test that.... money, money, money. I would call another vet. Maybe ask some friends if they have a different vet, who would maybe be more apt to listen to you, rather than just badger you into more tests.

I could hijack your thread with a somewhat long story involving my parents old vet and how the "test" approach killed their dog, but it's rather long. Trust me. Ask around. You have got to have a great vet somewhere... even if they aren't in your town... I good truely animal loving vet is worth their weight in gold!

 

[downstownlady]

Refer to this forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=385297 LOL

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
He's OLD! His metabolism is slowing down, his system not absorbing stuff the way it used to. It's just a part of the aging process. Just love him until his last days

That's my exact thought! We have tried everything from beet pulp to rice bran oil to weight gain supplements. Now we've had the blood work run and everything is fine and looks good so, IMO there is nothing more to test for! I'm sure there are many more tests that will run up my bill into the 100"s or thousands but I hardly think thats necessary when he, in her words again "Looks thin on the outside, looks great on the inside!" He is not 'that' old, he is almost 22 but my other vet said horses all age at different rates like people do.

At this point in his life, letting him live out his last days and giving him loving and a good home is the best thing you can do. My dog is 10 1/2 (11 in Dec.) and we've dealt with abcessed teeth and urinary incontinence. The vet required that I do blood tests on her before her scrip for Proin was refilled. The results were actually better this last go-round than before she began the medicine. I'm at a point that anything major, well, we'll just put her down. If she needs another tooth or two removed, no big deal, but for most other things: keep her comfy. As long as she can move, eat and do her business outside, she's fine by me.

My horse is 18. I'll probably be on here in 4 years with a similar issue.

 

[chickenzoo]

I have had this problem with my 18 year old Quarb gelding for the last 2 years. We had blood work done, came back with a small infection... but nothing else. He thought it could be cancer, but he said testing for it would run up a bill and I wouldn't be able to really treat it ( my vet is very kind & realistic). said to keep doing what I was doing, next blood work had come back fine. He started to gain weight with some triple Crown Senior and some weight gain. This year he started doing it again... then he choked ontop of that, so I really had trouble this year getting weight on him. he use to be such an easy keeper - like a cup of grain 2X a day.. or he was too fat.

 

[Tala]

If a vet won't listen to me, he/she is fired. There are a LOT of vets in the area.....

 

[Brindlebtch]

I had an old dog that needed a heart ultrasound and was referred to a specialist clinic that is very very expensive.

They did the ultrasound, I spoke with the specialist, bunch of money. He asked me to bring her back in 6 months, if she was still alive, because he really was interested in how she was managing to still be walking around and looking so normal, at this point, because her heart was incredibly bad.

I asked if he could do anything for her or did she need her medication changed? No, he was just interested in tracking her heart. How much would it cost, I asked. He said the same amount.

She lived another year and a half and I never went back to the specialist. My own reasonably priced vet did a very fine job.

The specialist vet couldn't do a thing for my dog, but was more than willing to spend LARGE amounts of my money to satisfy his curiosity.

 

[Appytaz]

Try Purina Amplify. I use it on my gelding and his weight went right back up and he is holding it great. I do not even feed the full recommended amounts.

 

[oldchickenman]

Ever try hay stretcher check your feed stores they should have it . why i ask is we have 23 year old arab who teeth have grown as far they are going to so our equine dentist said to try hay stretech soaked down good like a mash. we feed it to him 2 times a day 3 scoops each feeding and he gets good hay and pasture it helps some. the heat does seem to slow them down some though.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

Vets are crooks . . .
I liken them to the aggresive panhandlers we see on street corners . . .

"you need xrays, tests, medicine, and an exam, that will be $1,400 please, Im goin to lunch" . . .