Vet had the nerve to tell me she was FAT!

shellyk

New member
I took Ziva to the Vet today because she was coughing. It didn't sound like Kennel cough but that's what the Vet thought it must be. The fill in Vet had the nerve to tell me she was FAT! OMG Ziva has to go on a diet. I'm just kidding - she is already on a diet. She put on 8-10 pounds this winter after her heat confinement and then her spay confinement. I think I was just a little peeved because she called her a Newf mix and our regular Vet wasn't there and no one told us. She didn't even introduce herself either...kind of strange.
 
A long time ago, I had a Vet Tech call Snuffles over weight solely based on what the scale said, but the Vet herself as much as I do not like her said he was a good weight for his build.
 

dreamchaser456

New member
When Bella was in for her check up at about 8 months a new vet (brand new, not just to practice) actually told me she was obese! I could easily feel her ribs and she only had put on 10 pounds from her 6 month check up!
I asked him if he was familiar with Newfs at all (he wasn't) and did he check her ribs and spine (he didn't). But then continued to harp on her weighing 65 pounds at HER age! Even after explaining newfs, the rib test and how little she actually ate, he harped on weight and felt she need to lose 10 pounds. Needless to say I ignored him talked to the head vet and it was funny how fast he was gone.
 

Puppypeoplenj

New member
Ugh. We saw a new vet (new to us) on Monday and this guy had the nerve to lecture me about postponing neutering saying I was going to have an out of control dog and there wasn't enough evidence to wait to neuter! Also told me Orca needed every vaccine in creation, that there were no breed sensitivities to anesthesia at all and he would not take Orca's breed into account if he put him under (for his cherry eye surgery) and that I couldn't touch my dog while he was there (in the exam room) and that current vet recommendations not to remove the gland in cases of cherry eye were BS because he'd been doing it since the 80s with everyone fine. He told me I should just remove it because it's cheaper and why pay for a board certified ophthalmologist? When I told him I'd been reading medical journals he said "anything can be proven by a study." Condescending, rude, and totally out of touch. Thank goodness he didn't ask me what I feed.

Needless to say, I will never see that particular vet again and Orca will be going elsewhere to have his eyes addressed.
 

victoria1140

Active member
I am lucky there,my vet knows better than to ever lecture me on food,neutering or certain other things unless he wants the full spiel including medical and scientific links as well.

When Max was at the oncologists l think they were bemused at half my questions and with Jessie's specialist l knew what they were doing,why and what to expect.

If a vet ever tries to tell me l am wrong now l want factual evidence,and as l am paying them l also choose whether to tell them what they are saying is "hogwash"

Sometimes the more vets and specialists l meet ,l end up wondering how much they really know compared to me!
 

nsmarlis

New member
I would never be peeved about a vet saying a Newf was overweight. Enough of them don't say it. There are way too many overweight Newfs. It always saddens me when we have a fun day. Know the rib test & the waist test & be objective in assessing your dog.
As for Vets, I always make my appts. with the same vet who knows my dogs & knows me. Unless it's an emergency when one can't be choosy. If I need to see a doctor, I make an appt. with my doctor, not with whoever is available. Same for the vet.
 

Cutiemus Maximus

New member
Some vets don't know the first two things about Newfs. When I first got Admiral I went to Banfield and all the vets gushed about her condition and good health. I asked about her front legs splaying out, every one of them said she looks fine. Naïvely thinking they knew what they were talking about, I followed their every instruction--including spaying her at seven months. After the spay, as I was picking her up, the vet casually mentioned, "Hey, she has a recessed vulva, must be why she has so many UTI's." So I went home and did research and found all this info on why I should have waited to spay. Needless to say, I was livid.

Thanks to a nearby breeder, and several other members of Colonial Newfs, I found the amazing vet I see now. When we met him and told him we were referred he said, "Let me guess, you guys belong to Colonial Newfs." And when I asked the vet tech how many Newf patients they have she told us, "Hundreds." This made me so happy! On Admiral's first check up with him, he told us that: yes, we spayed too early and we might need to do a vulvaplasty; yes, she has bilateral carpal valgus in her front legs; and yes, she's 10 lbs. overweight. I was so relieved to have a vet tell me what I had been suspecting all this time. When I told him the story about our old vets he said he was not surprised, the science behind waiting to spay is relatively new, and most vets just don't know the needs of giant breeds because they don't bother keeping current on new information.

Long story short, sorry you had to deal with a clueless vet, I can completely relate!
 
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