Mocha aka Conehead is home....interesting vet experience

[sharona1973]

Well, Mocha is home!



He has to wear the e-collar because he has stitches and he was nipping at them. But he still can manage a smile...



I opted for the laser surgery for Mocha because the vet said it was the better than the old fashion way. However, Mocha now has stitches and is on heavy restrictions for no jumping, no playing outside and basically (as the vet put it), no acting like a dog for 2 weeks. I'm puzzled because I thought this was the better procedure and would have faster healing. I was then told by the tech that if I had opted for the old fashion way, then Mocha would have no restrictions and no external sutures...now I'm really puzzled and quite miffed that I am putting Mocha through all of this inconvenience. I didn't expect that neutering would be that complicated. Also he had to stay overnight....from what others have said, this may not be the norm? I'm beginning to wonder if I need to change vets. This vet clinic is a very nice clinic but they do seem to charge a lot for things that appear unnecessary....well, they were pushing for me to have all of Mocha's baby teeth to be extracted by this time if he still had them...luckily he has all of his adult teeth in. Also, they charged me for flea treating him even though he is already being flea treated...they said that this was standard procedure of all animals that stay overnight. Don't get me wrong, they are all very nice but I wonder if another vet may be different about their "policies". Besides, the vet that has been assigned to all my pets seem rather rough with them. He was not very sympathetic when Mocha was resisting during the ear exam (they have this fancy schmancy ear scope thing where you can watch it on tv) and thumped Mocha on the nose when Mocha struggled a little while having his nails clipped.

But Mocha is a little trooper. He is acting very normal and aside from the e-collar is doing fine. He can't drink too well or lick me too well with that collar on but he still tries to do what he can with it. And Mishka is being a good big sister (most of the time!)



Oh and this one is for you, Jami....Mocha sitting by the patio door and the infamous bell he won't ring....

[Novel]

I'm not familiar with the laser procedure, but it doesn't make much sense to me. Laser should equate faster recovery time, less bruising, and less pain...

Is Mocha on any prescribed medication?? If he is, that would be yet another red flag to me.

I'll pray for a speedy recovery for Mocha. And hopefully he can have that e-collar off soon!

[calgal]

The first time a Vet. or Vet. tec. thumped my dog on the nose is when he/she would find out just how that felt. They are not supposed to to anything or give anything prior to your written approval. I'd be finding another Vet. Ask everyone you know that has pets where they go and how they like the Vet. then call the Better Business Bureau to check on him/her.
She's such a little doll and I hope there won't be any complications.

[sharona1973]

Mocha is doing fine...he acts like normal except that he's got that e-collar blocking him from doing things. And yes, he is on Rimadyl for pain.....they said to give it to him twice a day.

This vet is a reputable vet...or so I thought. They were named the best small business of the year last year. The staff is very friendly, but I've just begun to wonder about their practices. They seem to always be pushing for all kinds of procedures.

Also, I usually buy my pet flea products and heartworm preventatives on the net because it's cheaper and when the vet found out, he was very upset and said that it was illegal to do so and that should I needed a vet prescription to buy it.

Off that topic for a minute: Mocha has a rub burn on the edge of his nose...they said that Mocha didn't eat while at the vet and hid his food under his towel while in the cage by nosing it under the towel. Wonder what that was all about? I have seen him nose the piddle pad before when I had him use it. Anyone familiar with this?

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

I'd find another vet in less than a heartbeat. Neutering does not require an overnight stay unless they run into problems such as swelling and things of that nature. I'm with Cal as well, if my vet ever raised a hand to one of my dogs I'd go off the deep end!

Why on earth we still have vets giving Rimadyl is beyond me, especially for something as simple as a neuter when asprin can handle it and has FAR few side effects in comparision. Flea treating a dog without asking?!? Yeah, wonderful idea for any dog that may have been dipped just prior to going in! What is this guy thinking?!?

I'm sorry but this guy sounds like he's only interested in the mighty dollar instead of the dog's health and welfare. I am glad that Mocha is doing well and hope his recovery goes quickly. Oh, and the burn to the nose.....we usually see that from a dog who is rubbing it raw on the kennel bars not from a towel.

[Schwe]

If vet is hitting your dog, I would run out of that door in a heartbeat!! I don't care if it is a light tap, I did not consent to him taking it into his own hands to correct my dog.

As for staying overnight, I believe that is a normal procedure. When my girl was spayed she stayed overnight at our vet's office. Although it is SO tough to leave them, it left me at ease knowing that during the time when the most complications arise (24 hrs after surgery) she is in the immediate presence of a qualified staff who can help her at the first sign of distress.

[sharona1973]

Should I not give Mocha his Rimadyl. He is running around like a regular pup and doesn't appear to be in pain. I am very disappointed with this vet. I blame myself in a way, but it's hard to know what is the right thing because it's a different territory. And this vet has also been taking care of my cat who had gastric surgery and now I'm wondering if maybe my cat doesn't have to be restrained as much either...oh, the vet didn't do the surgery, it was done at the emergency animal hospital.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Originally Posted by sharona1973

Should I not give Mocha his Rimadyl. He is running around like a regular pup and doesn't appear to be in pain. I am very disappointed with this vet. I blame myself in a way, but it's hard to know what is the right thing because it's a different territory. And this vet has also been taking care of my cat who had gastric surgery and now I'm wondering if maybe my cat doesn't have to be restrained as much either...oh, the vet didn't do the surgery, it was done at the emergency animal hospital.

I personally am not comfortable with telling you to take your dog off of any prescribed medication but I am 100% against Rimadyl. ( Thats just me. ) If your not comfortable with the medication you can always make contact with the emergency clinic and ask them if asprin or something else would be appropriate.

I'm with Schwe on spays staying overnight or at least a good 6 hours after a spay but don't have an issue with a dog going home after a neuter if recovery has gone well and after being evaluated 3-4 hours after surgery is doing wonderfully. jmo

[Shadowkins]

I hope Mocha heals without incident.
I would change vet in a heartbeat. It happened to me when my boy was small and the vet we saw was down right mean. He was trying to show me how to teach Shadow to open his mouth without resistance, well his manner was shocking...Shadow was very terrified( he actually peed on the table), so I picked up my dog and left. How can you teach an animal to do something for you when you are hurting him. It was my fault for being so naive but I can assure you it never happened again.
Another thing I don't understand how the vet can "deflea" your dog without asking your permission first or checking to see if it had already been done. In my experience here, the vet tells me ahead of time what he will do,why he will do it and that if something else comes up that he will give me a call.
Anyhow, don't feel bad...how on earth can we know .
As for the rimadyl... did the insist that you give it or is was it " as needed"?
Sometimes when you give pain medicine, the pup feels fine and may do things he shouldn't. You don't want him to hurt but a little bit of discomfort may make him realise he needs to take it easy after all it is surgery. JMO

[Boxermom]

We just had our youngest Boxer little white baby boy neutered yesterday, Houston did wonderfully, and came home the same night. He has what look like two stitches that will dissolve, they said to keep him low key as best as we could ( yah....right, Iv'e got three Boxers) Other than that, he isn't on any medication. Ive never heard of a laser surgery taking longer to heal, it's supposed to beless in-vasive, could you call him and have him let you know exactly whats going on. We had a vet once about 12 years ago when Roxie ( one of our white Boxer babies, she's now almost 13yrs) was a baby, he grabbed her brother Dylan ( at the bridge) and siad " I SAID SIT-DOWN" ohhhhhhhhh, nooooooooooo you don't , I grabbed my Dylan and told him he had no business being a vet abd that I would never return, we never have, we travel about 40 mins away to our vet but he's awesome and it's so worth it. I wish you well with this and hope you come to find the answers you need.

[doberkim]

a few things:

first, it is still commonplace to have dogs stay overnight after surgery - most places prefer it, to watch for any problems as well as keep the animals quiet.

in a busy practice, surgery can go on all day, and if your dog is last to go (neuters being optional procedures often get bumped by more important, urgent things), your dog could still be recovering from anesthesia at 6 pm, and in NO state to go home.

second, the flea thing - if any animal came into the practices i worked at, and had fleas, we treated it, no questions asked. fleas are too easy to spread all over the place, and its too difficult to treat an entire hospital full of animals. its a simple treatment and most of the treatments vets would use are safe for the animals. i dont know anything about this vets policies and overnight, but if the animal still had evidence of fleas when it was there, i would have treated him again.

third, the rimadyl - its a personal choice. when it first came out, it was greatly overused and prescribed to animals it should have NEVER been given to, and the proper bloodwork was not done to monitor the animals. that being said, it IS still a useful drug and when the patients are properly screened and monitored, it can do a LOT of good. my own dog has it on hand for any signs of pain from his neck, and i know many dogs that cannot move without it. yes, it can affect the liver, but we know that you need to screen and monitor for that, and if you do, then you are doing it correctly.

rimadyl is also approved for post-operative pain management. its a personal choice that you make with your veterinarian, and ive seen thousands upon thousands of animals use the drug with no side effects whatsoever. yes, it can be misused, but that does not mean it has no place in veterinary medicine. every single drug has a side effect that could be fatal.

[sharona1973]

To clarify, the vet did tell me that Mocha would be flea treated before it was done. They did do a pre-op meeting where they went over all the charges (except for the Rimadyl).

I did tell them that Mocha was currently being flea treated and their response was that it didn't matter and that it was their standard practice to flea treat all the animals that come into the vet clinic for a procedure (maybe she said if they were staying overnight, but I don't remember). This vet clinic also runs a kennel and they flea treat if you board your animal there, no exceptions.

My biggest concern and question is why Mocha is under such heavy restrictions when I chose to go with the laser surgery. I swore the vet tech told me that if i had gone with the old fashion surgery that Mocha would have had dissolveable stitches. As of now he has 3 stitches that have to be removed in 2 weeks, terrible razor burn on his lower sac, taking the Rimadyl for 10 days and supposed to be on restrictions of no jumping or running, no outdoor activity (has to be on a leash to potty outside).

But I tell you what, the little guy is feisty and playful as ever.....despite that e-collar.



I'm just disappointed with this recent experience with this vet. (They have 3 vets in this clinic with the vet assigned to me as the newest one of the bunch. I had another one before this but they switched me when the new vet came onboard).

[Tiffany0204]

Even though it's been said numourous amounts of time, I'd look for a vet that doesn't believe in thumping your dog on the nose. I don't hit my pets and the person that does will rue the day he touches my babies!!!!

There are vets who only care about the dollar, and it just seems a little odd that he's always pushing for stuff. THe beauty of vets is that you don't sign a contract in blood with them, so you're free to shop around until you find one that's best for you.

I'd look around, you have nothing to lose, and lots to gain

Mocha is a doll! What type of dog is he? Those e-collars are hilarous! my old dog had one because he'd always chew his foot out of boredom, and we'd throw a ball for him and he'd drop the top down so he'd catch it in teh sides of his collar lmao.

It was too funny!

[Pugdawg1]

Ahhh well for starters, any vet thumps one of my pugs on the nose, will, immediately, lose my business. I'd be outta there in half a second. I have zero tolerance for that.. I take my pugs to a vet to be healthy, not to be rough handled.

Nah.. I see no good reason to keep a dog overnight after a neuter that had no complications. Half the time anyways, there is no one even there at the clinic.. dog is alone all night, no one to check in on him.

I agree on most everything said. I'd be shopping for a new vet.

I have GOT to say though.. what an utterly ADORABLE little dog !!!!!!!

[sharona1973]

Originally Posted by Tiffany0204

Mocha is a doll! What type of dog is he? Those e-collars are hilarous! my old dog had one because he'd always chew his foot out of boredom, and we'd throw a ball for him and he'd drop the top down so he'd catch it in teh sides of his collar lmao.

It was too funny!

Mocha is a true Heinz 57. I don't even know when his birthday is. I got him from a lady who got him from her daughter-in-law who apparently has lots of dogs and don't bother to spay or neuter. This lady had gotten Mocha for her granddaughter who decided she didn't want him. The vet thought that Mocha looks like a PBGV.....I think Mocha is a mix of poodle, JRT, maltese maybe? All I know is that he has squatty front legs and longer back legs which I think allows him to be a tremendous jumper. I've never had a mutt before...Mishka is a purebred Sheltie, but I have to say that Mocha has been the most fun I've had with a dog in a long time. Oh and his original name was Milk Dud.