Hunting dogs and vets

[jet]

Today was one of the worst days I have had in a long time. It all started on Sunday when I noticed a baseball sized lump on the side of my dogs neck. By Monday morning the baseball grew into a softball.
I immediately saw the vet and he said it be a $700 surgery to be followed by a $1000 surgery and possibly more and he could not guarantee that this would cure the dog. Remember this is the dog that hunts with me and gives my children rides. At this point I'm thinking that is so much money with no guarantees and the vet really doesn't know what the problem is. So I called other buddies with dogs and started quizzing them about their relationships with their vets.

So I did what you would do when you don't like your doctor's diagnosis, you get a second opinion. This new vet is a guy that my hunting buddy uses for all his dog breeding and knows about working dogs. Right off hand the new vet explained that he has seen this sort of thing 3 times this year and it can be easily taken care of with antibiotics.

When I first heard the news from the first vet and how bleak things may be I was thinking of the option of putting my dog to sleep. Since I've gotten a second opinion I still have my hunting partner, my kids still have their horse and I only spent $129. I wish that vets don't do like MD's and jump to the worst case scenario and overtreat.

Jet~~~

[blackdog]

Jet, I am glad your dog is going to be alright. I can only imagine the thoughts that were going through your head when all of this was happening. To have something like that happen to what essentially is just another family member can be agonizing. I watched my black lab get hit by a car last winter (thankfully, he's a beast and was only awfully sore for a few days!) and know the gut-wrenching feeling these things can cause. I guess it just shows it always pays to get a second opinion, especially when something so important is concerned.

[Zen Leecher aka Bill W]

I had a dog that was put to sleep in 1994 as she finally got too old and her kidneys failed.

Before that she was diagnosed with cancer in a toe. The vet wanted to take her leg off at the shoulder and put her thru chemo.

What we eventually did was take that toe off up to the center of the paw (followed the bone up) and no chemo.

My dog lived for another 4 years before her kidneys eventually failed.

My wife and I are finally ready for another dog and am getting one of Capin' Dan's dogs on Friday.

My first one, a rough tough cocker spaniel was so smart I thought she was a 4 legged human. This one we're getting from Dan looks to be just about as smart.

[crabbait]

Glad to hear you found a new vet!! Hope everything works out for your hunting buddy. Please keep us posted.

I am tempted to ask who the first vet was so people can avoid him but maybe it was a one time thing.

I wish shotguns wore out in ten years and dogs went on forever.

[jet]

Thanks all for your responses. I know I am not the first one to have the possibility of losing your hunting partner but it does help hearing about your experiences. At this time I probably shouldn't name the vet I had a problem with but look where I am from and you might figure it out. One thing that one might consider when choosing a vet is finding out of the vet is just a city/housedog vet or does he actually deal with working dogs. I'm sure all vets will say they work with all dogs but you have a hunting dog and you know the right questions to ask. I will ask every time in the future.

Jet~~~

[Artwo]

Jet,
Glad to here the your dog is going to be fine. You should have your new vet contact your old one so he can be made aware of the actual condition and not mis-diagnose the same condition on someone elses pet. Mis-diagosis on humans happens all the time in the medical profession and doctors interact with each other to stay informed, so I would think it would/should be the same for our aminals as well. Just my $.02............Happy hunting.

[Baldpate Basher]

Jet,
I’m glad your friend and hunting partner is doing better!

The same thing happened to me. Not my dog, ME!
Yeah, I know, maybe I shouldn’t have gone to a vet for my knee problems.

But seriously, doctors aren’t so much better then their veterinary counter parts even though they can talk to their patents.

This one doctor (an ortho surgeon) took one look at my insurance and decided I needed a three-part procedure to repair my ACL (anterior cruciette ligament). According to him, my ACL had torn completely away again. He based this on the pull test on the knee and an X-ray. He wanted to schedule to OR for later that week.

When I asked him about doing a MRI to see if an operation was necessary he told me that “they really aren’t very reliable after you’ve had one operation already”.

That was when I decided to get a second opinion. I had heard a nurse were I work talk about her knee problems and asked who had fixed her knee. I set up an appointment with him for later that month.

When I got to this doctor’s office they had 3 X-ray shots taken of the knee and even had 2 of then done over at a different setting.

When I met this doctor, he listened about the first doctor’s rapid diagnosis and eagerness to operate. He performed the same pull test on my knee that the first doctor had but said that he did feel an ACL, meaning it was not torn.

He then scheduled a MRI. Now I was sold. I told him what the other doctor said about a MRI not being revealing. He said he couldn’t imagine an orhto-doctor saying this.

The MRI that wasn’t supposed to be revealing showed that the current problem with my knee was arthritis caused by the Navy doctor removing too much cartilage during my first ACL repair.

It also proved (at least to me) that the first ortho-doctor was only looking for a paycheck not to fix my knee. Just goes to show the Hippocratic oath is only as good as the hypocrite taking it!

Again, Glad your pooch is OK!

[Capin' Dan]

Jet shoot me an e:mail I'd like to know which vet is the one not to go to and which one is the go to vet for the future.

Dan!