Oh, Betty, you are right!

You are right, AND the people who want to feed a carefully devised raw diet are right.

And I guess we all step lightly around the people who do feed either sick-making crap to clean out the fridge or a random raw "diet" tragedy of boneless beef .... and the vets who see too much of that and not enough educated "health partners."

Dr. Betty, I didn't see your post as a rant but insight from the other side so to speak.

It made me think about my expectations from a vet which is pretty much how you described, BUT other people may have different expectations and want more of partnership type thing.

And when I thought about it more, my major vet and I have a different relationship when involved with xrays or breeding, I think one that is similar to what the op is looking for in a vet with raw feeding.

And we do forget about the raw feeders that do not do their homework. I know a man that refused to feed chicken because raw chicken was slimy and gross and his dog was missing vital components of the raw diet. As a pup he did pretty much end up shattering a bone.

Wow I missed a lot overnight lol. I too took your post as a good insight from the other side. I am not going into raw feeding lightly. It will probably be weeks before I start simply because it will take me that long to read enough that I feel comfortable with it. I have decided that the bacteria that I was warned about by the local vets I talked to, is more of a danger to me than my dog. From what I've gathered so far, the biggest concern from Ziva's standpoint is making sure she gets the proper balance and nutrition.

My reason for looking for a supportive vet was simply me not knowing anyone personally that's ever fed this way. I would of liked to have been able to call someone if I had a problem. Several of my friends have recommended a vet that they like, but she is not open on Saturday, which is the only time I am able to take my dog. So I'll be trying the one I liked the best and hope it works.

Thank you both for your input. I've never owned a dog in my adult life, so looking for a vet is new to me. I've basically been treating it as if I were looking for a doctor for myself.

Sorry James, I kind of took your original thought and ran around with it......

I hope I didn't offend you at all!

No ma'am, no offense at all. Any information I can pick up is a plus. I appreciate your input.

Both of my vets(regualr & holistic chiro/accupuncture are onboard with raw feeding as long as they KNOW that you are doing it correctly(but do not promote it to clients for many of the negative reasons stated). They both do also have clients that feed a cooked homemade diet to their pets & again, as with raw feeders, are onboard if done & supplimented correctly. I discussed with them the foods that I feed & how I rotate foods etc. so that they completely understood my knowledge of raw feeding.

I think that with most vets the proof 'in the pudding' as they say. It is VERY hard to disagree with an owners feeding protocal when the dog is healthy.

All animals get sick at one time or another, even if it is very rare...& to have a vet blame diet on an otherwise 99% of the time healthy dog save for a very occasional problem is STUPID!

When you find a vet that you think will be a match for you...take the time to ask the vet to spend time speaking with you either in person or phone (obviously offering to pay for their time) to discuss ALL your concerns. (diet, vaccinations protocals (minimal or none) titers, being with your dogs during any normal proceedures, x-rays, etc) A good vet will be happy to take the time to do this with you. It will avoid problems late on when you both know where you stand on certain issues.

As a cooperative effort to keep with my dog's diet....
my 8 year old female had sugery a few weeks ago (spay due to a bad false pregnancy)& at my vets request, I bring in some meat only (he didn't want her to have RMBs for 24 -48 hrs after surgery)for her to have a little bit to eat before I picked her up....I brought some beef for them to feed her. THAT to me is a vet that is interested in supporting me in my educated choices for my dogs.

That's the kind of relationship that you aim for. I am VERY lucky that I have been able to seek out these kids of vets for my dogs & I am NOT easy to please when it comes to my animals. Believe me it didn't happen easily...it took a good deal of effort to find them.

Keep up your search....they are out there. You are being a strong advocate for your dog & their health.

Another thing that I would suggest is to just tell the receptionist that you want to speak directly with the vet regarding coming on as a new client & to not discuss any of your concerns with the staff...just with the vet only. Tell the staff only that you wish to discuss your dogs personal history & vaccination protocal, diet etc. Don't get into any particulars with the staff. If the vet is not accessible to you even for that...then keep looking. Hang in there & good luck.

Thanks Anne for the advice. I called quite a few vets, and have decided to try one of them simply for the reason you stated at the end. Not only did she spend 15 minutes or so on the phone with me, she asked me to come in and we could talk more at length about it. While she didn't recommend feeding raw, she did say it's my dog and my decision. She at least had some minor knowledge on it even if it was skewed from seminars she'd been to which I'm sure were sponsored by major dog food companies.

That's great news. Let us know how it all works out. Good luck.

I think that most vets are skeptical if not outright against raw feeding basically because they have seen the end results of it done badly. And yes, most have a limited nutrition education. So I don't hold that against them. As long as they agree to accept my choice & I can demonstate thu healthy dogs that I can do it correctly & answer any question they may present me about my raw feeding diet...then that is ok.

You don't have to agree on EVEWRYTHING..although it's nice..but agreeing to disagree & respecting eachothers opinions & decisions is ok too.

My regular vet would most likely like to see me vaccinate more...(my dogs get nothing other then rabies every 3 years) but that is it. But they know that I will not budge on that so they just don't even ask me.

Funny thing was that...when I signed the release for her surgery, I Xed out all the blocks asking for date of different vaccs(Lyme, Bord, etc) & wrote across the top...NO VACCINATIONS OF ANY KIND & wrote it again at the bottom next to my signature. (Plus it is in both my dogs hard copy charts & their on line charts.) I intend to make sure that NO ONE on their staff screws up on this, since their paperwork says dogs have to be up to date on all vaccs before entering the hospital or having surgery & will be updated if needed. SERIOUSLY?... vacc just before surgery? NO WAY! The receptionist had a hissy fit telling me that I can't do that only the doctor can...I just looked at her & kept on Xing things out. When I was done I told her that my position on vaccs is well known & has been discussed with both vets at length & that I want to be sure the staff doesn't take it into their hands to make ANY decisions.

They are my dogs & I decide what I feel is in their best interest in 'conjunction' with my vets. They don't make that decision on their own & I won't sign anything releasing that control.

ETA....

Make a list of what you want to discuss with the vet before hand (& bring it with you along with a pen) so that you can tick off each item as it's discussed & jot down notes that you might want to make.

I really need to read the no vaccine area here. Most people, or rather most posts I've read from people raw feeding, also don't vaccinate. So far I'm only giving her turkey necks occasionally. I still have more reading to do before I'm comfortable. I definitely want to be up to speed if the vet starts asking me questions.

Please don't confuse all vaccination with over-vaccination.

I don't believe in giving multiple vacs at one time, or vaccinating routinely when a titer test will do. But some vaccinations are still very important and necessary, IMO--and the opinion of my very conservative holistic vet.