Well the vet called me back and was more cooperative, he must have thought about it and realized he was kind of a shmuck! The good news is no heartworm issues and the even better news is no Valley Fever. The bad news is, he still has something funky going on with that right front foot. Sandy Moore and our trainer, Uschi both thought it was just a weird trot or a funny gait but I have seen him actually limp on that leg. It's rare but it happens on occasion. The vet wants to "lightly sedate" him and get an xray of the leg. First of all, if the dog has Pano is it possible that he won't yelp or react extreme if it is manipulated. My breeder told me she's had several dogs over the years that have had it but never reacted with manipulation so I'd like to know the forums thought on this. The vet flat out said if it was Pano he would react. Second of all, is there anything I need to know/ask when I get these xrays done?

With the few cases of Pano that I have seen and been around, the dogs did not react by vocalizing at all.

They may have gaurded a bit, like tensing up when you touched the leg, but in no way did the dogs pull away or "fight" the leg(s) being touched.

If your dog reacts vocally then I would tend to think that the vet, or whoever, is manipulating in a way to cause the dog undue pain and that it is not the Pano making them react that way.

It may depend on the dog, but I do not think that they should be vocalizing with Pano unless they are an extreme WOOS!!

LOL! Well Levi isn't a wuss! He did tense up when the dr. did his thing but the doc acted like he should have been yelping for deal life, if it was Pano. Well I guess I'll be a good owner and get the stupid xray, probably to see nothing. The dr. says he has an ortho surgeon that will evaluate the rays for no charge so hopefully between the two of them we will be able to figure this thing out. However, if nothing comes from this I'm going to chalk it up to Pano and hope it runs it's course.

I'm just curious- do people on these boards demand the same thing and regularly question the knowledge of their medical doctors? It seems to me that people ask their vets a lot of question and question their knowledge overall in a lot of cases. I'm not saying that we put vets on a pedestal. As education board members, we recognize their shortcomings, for example with nutrition. But at what point do we acknowledge that they have far more animal medical knowledge that you or I do?

Would you ask your medical doctor if you can sit in on the surgery for a human? Or that you read on the internet that it is not necessary for him/her to use a dye when performing an MRI?

If you were smart you'd question your vet, MD whomever, make sure you get answers that satisfy you. If you've read something on the internet and the MD or vet doesn't want to answer you move on.

If you're asking totally off the wall questions, they might just tell you to go somewhere else. Some people might have legit concerns, and he/she'll explain the reasoning. If the Dr. or vet doesn't appreciate your concerns, move on.

You're damn right I question them, they need to satisfy ME before I let them give meds, or cut someone or some animal open under my watch. Patients and Pet owners are entitled to have concerns and question just like someone putting up a new house questions the contractor, people question their mechanic, etc. If you don't trust the answers your getting, why would you allow them to work on you? You don't have to like the answers all the time, but if they have good reasoning behind things, you'll know, and trust they'll do their best.

I don't think we are questioning their knowledge at all but rather questioning their "bedside manner" so to speak.

I would not keep going to a Dr. if he treated me like an idiot and I also will not tolerate a vet that does that either. I want to know "why" my animals need whatever the vet thinks they need and I also want to know what is going on and have it explained to me so that I can understand it and make the proper decisions.

I also think that verifying information is harmless as I have seen several vets tell you absolute BS, just to make a buck. I am lucky enough to have a vet that I trust and I know he will not do anything more than what is needed.

To tell someone their dog should be yelping in pain due to Pano is absolutely incorrect and misleading.


Yep, I do ask my Doctor why things are needed and I do discuss other info on procedures with her.
And as a matter of fact, I have asked to sit in on a surgery.....

My GP sends me to a specialist when something is beyond or outside her own area of expertise.

With vets, we are often dealing with one vet for all kinds of ailments and questions.

In addition, I have serious concerns about the fact that Hills has so much power over vet med school "nutrition" courses by virtue of being a substantial donor to the programs..... and that this power is carried through when they become "corporate partners" with vet organizations, as well as the supplier of the glossy bags of crap food in the waiting room at many vets' offices.

But even the absence of all those concerns, I could not expect my GP vet to keep up with every single area of canine (and all the other species she treats, let's not forget) health and still manage a practice.

I accept that in many ways, my vet is there for us for intervention when necessary, and I am there to keep my dogs as healthy as I can. We are partners.

 Quote: Steve Behnam

Would you ask your medical doctor .... that you read on the internet that it is not necessary for him/her to use a dye when performing an MRI?

Heck yeah, if what my doctor said was conflicting with what research I had done (and yes, I DO research any health challenge I face), I would ask, respectfully.

So far, she has always presented her POV and completely satisfied any misgivings I may have had. Respectfully.

I always question Drs and vets. If someone wants to do a "procedure" on me or one of my animals, I will damn well know EVERY STEP involved. If I don't like what I hear, well, there are plenty of other docs and vets out there.

I had a doc once prescribe Amoxicillin to me even though I told him SEVERAL times that I am deathly allergic to Penicillin. I also went to the ER once for an injured knee after falling from my horse. I was told to go home and walk on it because it was just stiff. 2 days later I went to an Orthopedic specialist and he told me that it was a Tibial Plateau FRACTURE (which was plain as day on the Xray but the first Doc told me it was just a "shadow"). Just because they have a MD or DVM after their name, it does not mean they know everything.

In my opinion, everyone should question Drs and vets. Make them accountable for what they do to you. If you read something that goes against what they say, they should be prepared to explain it to you.

You should know EXACTLY what is going to happen to you (or your animals). It should be explained to you in lay terms.

I LOVE my vet. She is patient with me and if I have questions or concerns, she explains her side and respects mine.

ALWAYS question your vet!!

i work in a major veterinary teaching hospital pharmacy, and i spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week filling and correcting the prescriptions of not only the up-and-coming DVMs and interns, but also the established resident vets... and oh, the things i see !

i'm correcting math errors (minor to huge errors). Antibiotic dosages are constantly a huge issue. For some reason, a lot of the docs never want to stay in the standard range and like to dip below, which of course can really screw things up for the animal as well as become overly costly for the clients. The other day I had to refuse to fill a script for a resident vet who wanted to compound a medication in an unapproved fashion (for which we have no stability data, etc.) and inject intravenously into an animal, and he continued to argue with me when i told him that we couldn't do that because it was not safe! and the list goes on and on and on.......

and to think, this is just what goes on in the Pharmacy! After 2 years working here, one thing that has been beaten into my brain is to ALWAYS question your vet if you are unsure or uncomfortable with something they are doing with YOUR animal.

now i must go and tell a particular DVM (for at least the 2nd time) that, NO, you cannot inject 100mg/mL enrofloxacin (to be used in large animals only) into a DOG's leg unless you wish said dog's leg to require amputation... and why does he want to use 100mg/mL? because it's cheaper