Many Vets Don't Deserve Your Respect or Your Business
Cindy and I have a veterinarian (Dr. Rice - The Stillwater Vet Clinic in Stillwater, MN) who in our opinion can walk on water. There is no doubt in our mind that we could not find a better veterinarian anywhere in the country. Dr. Rice truly loves and cares about animals. I could write an article praising this man. His ethics, his professionalism, the way he cares about the welfare of animals is simply amazing. One only has to be around him for a few minutes to trust and like him. All I can say is he that he inspires me.
It is unfortunate that Dr. Rice is not the model to be used by all vets. In fact the sad thing is that he is a rare gem of a person.
It is my opinion the majority of Vets are financially motivated and morally corrupt. This is based on my experience with over the past 50 years of owning, breeding and training dogs.
I have little doubt that every person who enters Vet school does so with good intentions. I would guess that every young person who chooses a career in Veterinary medicine loves animals and wants to spend their life working with animals. A few maintain this compassion throughout their career. We happen to know and trust several people like this. They have our trust, they have our respect and we like to think of them as friends.
After all these years I have come to the conclusion that a Vet must earn our trust and respect. They are not anointed with it the day they hang a DVM behind their name. We no longer automatically anoint a person just because we walk into their office and they have a diploma on the wall that's says DMV.
Unfortunately our experience is that the majority people who become Vets don't deserve any respect at all. In fact far to many of them are incompetent prostitutes who should have their licenses revoked.
The fact is something happens to these people after they graduate from Vet school.
Many Vet school graduates turn into arrogant asses. They develop the GOD SYNDROM with egos the size of automobiles (you see this with human doctors too). Whatever happens don't question their diagnosis or their experience. They have Doctors of Veterinary Medicine (DMV) behind their name and you dam well better respect that fact.
The perfect example of this is seen when you ask a Vet about the all-natural diet. 98% of them will belittle the concept. A recent Vet conference in Las Vegas had a meeting on the all-natural diet. It focused on how to sell customers off of the concept. I.E. Pet owners are not qualified to understand the nutritional needs their dogs. Hmmmmm !! Most people do a pretty good job of feeding themselves, their children and their family. When Vets make comments like this in my book it's the same as calling their client stupid. Give me a break.
Many Vets become cynical because they graduate from Vet school and quickly find out that they will never get rich in this profession. So they try and prove that theory wrong by selling services that the pet owners don't need. They in effect become what I call a Veterinary prostitute.
There is a link on our web board from a TV station in Southern CA. that just did an investigation into Vets. They took the same animal to 10 different Vet clinic. It is Unbelievable what all of these vets recommended. No two were the same and a number of them were outright criminal in what they recommended. Maybe you should recommend your local TV station do a similar investigation.
Many Vets walk away from Vet school and never look back. They think there is little else to learn. When in fact they may have had 6 hours of training on canine nutrition and 4 hours of instruction on behavioral problems and dog training. Give me a break!! People who graduate from a 10 week basic dog obedience course at their local animal shelter know moore about training dogs than most Vets.
In most Vets mind the solution to most behavioral problems in dogs is found in a prescription bottle full of tranquilizers. The wouldn't understand the concept of pack structure and leadership is their practice depended on it.
Lets also point out the subject of vaccinations or I should say TOO MANY VACCINATIONS. In recent years it has become more and more apparent as more and more studies are proving that yearly vaccinations are not only not needed they are detrimental to the health of your pet. Read the article I wrote on Vaccinosis (reactions dogs have from being vaccinated).
Study after study can come out and major Veterinary Medical Universities have recommended new protocols (less vaccinations) yet ask your Vet what he thinks about yearly vaccinations. When they say this is all hog wash what you are seeing is a Vet that's more interested in your wallet than the health of your dog.
While we are on the topic of education lets point out that the majority of additional training most Vets get is provided by the drug companies or the dog food companies. Boy those are sure two respectable groups of people in my book. Once only needs to look at the recent dog food recall to verify their credibility.
Next time you walk into your Vets office look around. Do you see piles of Science Diet or Eucanuba? Two of the companies listed in the pet food recall. Do some research on these two brands of dogs foods. You may find out exactly what kind of garbage really goes into the bag. When you see this crap in a Vets office you know he gave up the ghost and cares more about your wallet than your dogs nutritional needs.
We get a lot of emails here at Leerburg. Cindy and I try and answer them all. On a regular basis we get emails from people who have had terrible experiences with incompetent Vets. I have included some of those emails at the end of this article. I am going to make a point of adding more of them.
Dear Ed,
My name is Trevor and I'm in Biloxi, MS at Kessler, AFB. My wife and I recently purchased a GSD puppy from a local breeder. Unfortunately we did not realize the proper age to take him home and trusted the judgment of the breeder; he was just shy of 5 weeks, he is now going on 9 weeks. He is a great dog and we love him to death, but since we got him so young I want to make sure we go about training him the right way. He sits for us and comes when called most of the time but we are unsure of the best way to proceed in his training. I'm mostly concerned with staying and down, some of the basic stuff at the moment. I'm also concerned with his socialization, he is already showing some small signs of aggression (well I believe he is anyway) in the form of some random growling or barking when he doesn't want to do something and he seems to me, to be much more mouthy than normal for a GSD. I've grown up with the breed and don't remember them being this mouthy (it has however, been over 10 years since I've had a puppy). My vet had us leave him at her kennel for a day to have him around some other dogs and her techs said he picked a few fights (I felt like that Dad with the Juvenile delinquent son). Anyway my wife and I hope to have a family one day so I want to establish a good foundation as soon as possible and we want him to be as well adjusted as possible. Do you have any DVD sets? Or do can you recommend one or two videos to start out with? Or do you possibly know of any local trainers you would recommend? We have found a few and one is very nice but honestly it can get a little expensive very fast and I want to learn myself.
Sincerely yours,
Trevor
First of all, do NOT leave your dog somewhere to socialize with other dogs especially when you are not present, this is really bad advice! This is a sure fire way to promote dog aggression in a puppy! Most vets know basic medicine but they are not the right people to get training and socialization advice from.
What this Vet did was drop dead stupid. Actually amazingly stupid. Just about the time I think I have heard of a really stupid thing that Vets tell a customer to do I get an email like this.
Here's the set I would recommend for you. https://leerburg.com/combos.htm The puppy one on the page would be suitable for your age pup.
I would recommend reading this article, https://leerburg.com/puppygroundwork.htm and looking over this directory of information.
I hope this helps.
Ed
Send us your emails
If you have horror stories about your local Vet - send us an email and we will add your email to this web page. We don't need to include your name or email address or the name of the Vet. The purpose of this web page is to make people do a little research about who they choose as a health care provider for their dog. New dog owners should not be sheep where the blind leads the blind.
Read the emails bekiw and PLEASE CHOOSE A VET CAREFULLY!!! When you find a good Vet - covet him like a best friend. Recommend his to your friends and neighbors. Spread the news that you have found a gem and everyone should support this person.
Sue the Bastards
But if you have experiences like those below - my recommendation is the sue the Vet. Take him or her to small claims court or hire an attorney and let him do the work for you. In the state of Wisconsin you can spend $50.00 and sue in small claims for up to $5,000.00. Often times this does not cover the emotional or monitory loss involved but it will sure give the fool some unwanted advertising.
Ed,
I had two 11 week old Chihuahua puppies. I just lost his sister to Parvo. I purchased the pups together from a breeder so they would have each other when I am not around. Unfortunately one of the puppies died from Parvo. Of course I am concerned about the other puppy getting Parvo. I am keeping a close watch on him and getting his vaccinations in a few days. My training issue is this: Both pups were great about not using the crate for peeing and pooping when they were together. Now that I only have one pup, he is peeing and pooping in his crate. Can this behavior be stress related?
Thanks in advance... it's been an emotional week.
Before I address the training issue, I would caution you about getting a puppy vaccinated after it's already been exposed to parvo. Being exposed to a disease and not becoming ill, is in effect a vaccination.
Giving a vaccine to a puppy whose immune system is dealing with a recent parvo exposure may be deadly. If your pup never becomes sick, he will likely be immune to parvo as he has received “nature's vaccine” which is the best way to build immunity. Read our vaccinosis article.
Your pup may be suffering from a bit of separation anxiety, so I would offer him love, firm leadership and structure.
I recently finished a project I have been working on for years titled COMMON SENSE SOULTION TO HOUSE TRAINING PROBLEMS.
This is a 160 page e-book that that is based on how we house train pups in our home (I have bred over 360 litters in the last 45 years). It is also based on 10 years of emails on house training problems from people like yourself.
In my opinion this eBook is the best collection of information on how to house train a dog that's ever been put together.
I have reviewed your email and this ebook along with my DVD titled YOUR PUPPY 8 WEEKS to 8 MONTHS will guide you through the issues you will face in solving your problems.
Ed
Thanks for getting back to me. I got your e-mail after that fact. I did take my puppy Buddy to the vet yesterday and he got his Canine Bord Vacc #Nasal and DHPP-C.
I hope this does not hurt him. Now I am worried more than ever.
This Vet who is either AN IDIOT or a PROSTITUE or BOTH !!!! This is incompetence at its best. Without a doubt this person should not be a vet. He or she is exactly the type of person I am writing this article about. They are an insult to their profession.
Do I sound negative here? Yes because I am disgusted with the Veterinary industry. They don't police themselves.
Nothing is more valuable than a good relationship with your vet. This article is not about all those great vets we use to help with the healthcare needs of our dogs. This article is about those less than ethical vets who are more interested in making money than practicing good medicine. It's also about those arrogant vets who think they know something about dog training and dog behavior when in fact they know little to nothing.
This is not to say that ALL vets are bad. My personal vet is not good, she is GREAT. She is honest about things that she does not know and she works with Cindy and I to help keep our dogs healthy. Unlike most vets, she is also open minded about the raw diet and alternative medicine. We are also lucky enough to have access to one of the most professional breeding specialists in the UNited States. I cannot tell you how lucky we are to have found this man and to be able to take our dogs to his clinic.
Ed
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