I can relate to what Cheri was saying about her experience with her holistic vet.

I had been seeing a very well known vet that said he was integrative, being both traditional and holistic.

I was a bit taken aback though when he had wanted to just give the parvo booster without suggesting or asking if I wanted to perform a titer instead. I had to insist on a titer being performed.
As it turned out, she tested with really high antibodies, so no booster was needed.

I think just like any field, there are the individuals that stand out above the rest and seem to be in it for all the right reasons. And there are individuals that might just be in it for the money.

I think all of us have had those times when we spent a fortune and and seemingly there was no positive progress or desired effect. But hopefully, when our needs are not being served or met, we have the common sense to move on to someone else that will serve us and help us achieve are goals.

Currently, I have a very decent traditional vet who I like very much. He never bothers me about vaccines, never questions that I feed raw. But he has been a really caring vet who has seen us through some challenging times when Kaia had her accident and was diagnosed with FCE. He referred us to a great neurologist.
I trust him and feel that he very much cares about doing the very best for my dogs. But respects my views on health/ nutrition.
We have a nice workable relationship.

He did want to do the RAST/ ELISA blood tests, and said he thought they were very effective. But having been a member here at LB and having read the countless threads on allergies, I felt I was completely informed to know better and sought out a very good Derm Vet, for intradermal skin tests instead.
I can not say it enough, this board and the knowledge I have gotten from LB has been invaluable, and has really helped me and taught me so much, all of it, I am so grateful for.

amen. sharon

I have had a long-time general practice type vet, and I still see her for most things and am quite happy with her. She fits the criteria many of you have mentioned: Spends time with a dog to make it comfortable, not afraid to get down on the floor with the dog if it helps, conservative in treatment, not afraid to say she doesn't know what's going on, and she has both consulted other vets outside her own practice and referred me to specialists when needed.

About the only thing I don't like is the nutritional advice given, i.e., feed a good commercial food that meets AAFCO guidelines. She has made it clear that she's not a proponent of feeding raw or home-made, but she doesn't harp on it. And while the clinic does sell Hill's prescription diet, thank goodness, she has never suggested that to me.

I've spent the last year doing tons of reading and research (and soaking up the info here at Leerburg) about dog nutrition, skin conditions, allergies, etc. I was always one of those people who thought that as long as I was feeding a higher-end kibble, I was doing right by my dog. I was just fortunate that I never had a dog previously that had any real issues related to nutrition. I'm happy to say the one dog who prompted all this study on my part is doing very well (oh, please, don't let me have jinxed myself by saying that!). His skin condition was already clearing up by the time I consulted the holistic vet; after getting him off kibble, his ears cleared up amazingly; but I have to say his poops didn't become firm until I took him off all the expensive human supplements the holistic vet was having me give him.

I suppose there may come a time that something will come up that would cause me to look for a holistic vet again. Several of you mentioned having more than one vet. I'm just wondering, do each of your vets know about the others? I have never told my regular vet that I went to someone else and had the allergy testing done, etc. I guess I assumed it's like human medicine. In my own experience, at least, it seems that doctors get very upset if they find out you've been seeing any other doctors besides specialists they may have referred you to. I wonder if vets feel the same way?

"He did want to do the RAST/ ELISA blood tests, and said he thought they were very effective. But having been a member here at LB and having read the countless threads on allergies, I felt I was completely informed to know better and sought out a very good Derm Vet, for intradermal skin tests instead."

And of course, you were 100% correct.

One thing we should probably clarify, though, is that there have been some improvements in the ELISA allergy test for dogs (for non-food allergies). It's still only about half as accurate as intradermal (at best) for non-food allergies, and really should be considered only when intradermal is impossible, or maybe the IDST (intradermal) was negative but atopy is still indicated, or maybe to get some idea of the allergens to include in the IDST. (The ELISA is loaded with false positives, but you can see that it might have some limited use for helping to make up the IDST list.)

There is still no test whatsoever that accurately identifies food allergens in a dog except a strict elimination diet (which proves the existence of food allergy) followed by the systematic challenges with food items, one by one, that narrow down the allergen(s).

I really like my vets. I have a 'regular' traditional vet & a holistic/chiro/accupuncture vet.

The regular vet I have I interviewed on the phone before I ever walked into her office, after having had a bad experience with a previous vet. She was gracious enough to speak with me at length regarding my feelings about diet, vaccines, my handling my own dogs for treatment, x-rays, etc in the office. She & her husband own the practice. She is totally on board with my raw diet & basically no further vaccinations. I will titer every few years & have never had to revaccinate any of my dogs. She has lots of patience & is calm & never rushed when dealing with my dogs & knows how to handle working dogs. She has worked alot with police K9s & is very savy with how to deal with working dogs. I have referred a number of people to her.

My holistic vet came highly recomended by a friend. She is wonderful. If not for her, my female would have still be in debilitating pain or put down by now. She worked on her for over a year to have her totally pain free after a serious back injury.

I can't say enough great things about both of these vets.

"The regular vet I have I interviewed on the phone before I ever walked into her office, "

So did I. I made an appointment for the phone conversation, and I asked to be billed for it, too (although I wasn't; maybe I would have been if I had not settled on her as my choice ... worth it, though).

 Quote: connie sutherland

"The regular vet I have I interviewed on the phone before I ever walked into her office, "

So did I. I made an appointment for the phone conversation, and I asked to be billed for it, too (although I wasn't; maybe I would have been if I had not settled on her as my choice ... worth it, though).

I offered to pay also, but was never billed.