Is my vet for real?

[beckysmyth92]

So I took Dakota to the vets this morning at 8.30am for her scheduled entropion surgery, I wrote a note down explaining only to use Isoflurane gas and NO injectable anaesthetic to make sure it was down in writing as all surgeries are carried out at a different location to the vets practice.

the vet told us Dakota would be back at 5.30pm if everything went to plan, i cried a little when I handed Dakota over to the vet, Dakota didn't want to go with her she threw herself on the floor using all her weight.

So when I left the surgery the panic set in, the worry - my brain going into overdrive! I had a driving lesson between 12-2pm the only 2 hours I was unavailable to take calls, I finish my driving lesson and I have 7 missed calls from my vet and a few voicemails. I immediately panic! I phoned her back straight away, I get put through to the vet and she said Hi its the vet, I told her I was Dakotas owner and I had several missed calls from her - she said oh is that the chow chow, we're not going to operate on her today the eye doesn't look so bad and our vet who specialises in ophthalmology has decided she'll do the surgery next week some time instead and well give her eyedrops today but it'll definitely go ahead next week.. and with regards to your note about anaesthetic all dogs are fine with it they get it injected into them before you go shoving any gas down their throat. I didn't even retaliate I just responded with when can I pick Dakota up - to which she replied around 5.30pm - again I don't get why I have to wait to 5.30pm if they aren't operating on her.

Is it normal practice to postpone surgery to give eyedrops at the last minute? why would the eyedrops not have been given prior to the surgery as there were days between.. :S Im so annoyed that Dakota has had nothing to eat today or yesterday evening and it was all for no reason.

Im so annoyed and upset I just want my baby back. I am going to take her to a charity vets in my area to ask for their opinion before I take her anywhere to have her operated on as these vets I put my trust in have absolutely disgusted me. I feel the charity vet may provide a proper opinion as they won't be after my money. I don't understand how one day my poor baby girl needs surgery one day and the next day the surgery isnt going ahead until a week later...

[sue]

It never does any harm to get a second opinion if you do choose another vet then make sure you give enough notice to your original vet to cancel the operation or they may charge you

[maikinda]

Sometimes drops will relieve the irritation and the eye lid will roll out. I don't understand why they say that they are doing the surgery next week though? Sounds more like they just booked too many surgeries. I would be getting a second opinion too. Some vets do prefer to let the puppy get a little older before doing surgery. In cases like this they usually have you keep ointment in them.

Laura

[Juniper]

What happened today may be a blessing in disguise. Once a vet office classifies chow-chows with ALL dogs. I would not take my chow back to them. Apparently, they don't have enough experience or knowledge about chows and anesthesias. What maikinda says is true. But it appears to me that the vet is indecisive on whether to do the surgery or not. I'd definitely take Dakota to another vet and would cancel the appt. at this vet so you are not charged. Much success on finding a good vet.

[Rory's Dad]

First off, i would definitely not use a vet that wants to ignore your VERY specific requests. I agree with you on the anethesia issues and would recommend the same. If they don't know enough to recognize the risks that chows go through with standard anesthesia or don't care enough to honor a reasonable request, look elsewhere.

Get a 2nd opinion on whether the surgery is needed. I have a 9 month old female. At 3-4 months she had a weepy left eye. We watched it and was concerned she might have an entropion issue, but i was fairly confident she would outgrow it. At 6 months the left eye completely cleared. At 7 months the right eye started to tear pretty heavily. I looked at it about 10 thousand times and couldnt see an issue (we are very experienced Chow owners, Amber is our 4th). At her AKC show this weekend some other people expressed concern so we rushed her to the vet this morning for a check up.

Turns out Amber does have an eye infection. Make sure the vet does a dye test. If there is a case of entropion, the dye will show scratching to the eye. Ask to be present and see it for yourself. Amber was prescribed an eye drop to clear the infection. Our vet is very familiar with Chows and is very comfortable with them. I know that can be an issue in some areas, as a lot of vets just dont see a lot of chows or are fearful of them and cant get proper exams.

[wokman]

I agree, get a second opinion; a dry eye test, topical eye medication or wait to see if the problem corrects itself, unless excessive yellow discharge is present. Have the cornea checked for scratches using dye as Rory's Dad has said.
I was told once by a Horse trainer that an Equestrian Veterinarian told him that in his introduction to Veterinarian school the class was told to take advantage of the ignorance of the household pet owner. Also the new Veterinarians to be were told that certain dog breeds were considered hazardous to their future career. I have certainly seen an unwillingness by some Veterinarians to administer treatment because of my dogs Breed. There is advice on this forum for finding a Chow Chow friendly Veterinarian. It is often the attending Veterinarians unwillingness to understand the personality of a Chow Chow that causes unnecessary injury to themselves.

[beckysmyth92]

Thank you very much to all of your replies I really appreciate it so much.

When I collected Dakota I was even more angry than before. I went into the practice and asked for her at the reception, the lady who greeted me took 20minutes to find Dakotas belongings and then proceeded to tell me that the vet who treated her has left two different types of eye drops and she was unsure of how many times to give them a day? I asked her how on earth was I supposed to know then and she asked another lady beside her and the lady said I THINK these are to be given twice a day 10 minutes in between each drop, ones anaesthetic and the others 'other' eye drops. She then went on to ask me to phone in and arrange booking for the surgery next monday and theyll do the op then on tuesday or wednesday - so they aren't even planning on reviewing her with these drops.

FINALLY after the longest 30 minutes she said she'll go and get Dakota, she went in and got her and brought her out, the first thing she said was 'She wasn't very happy to see me' . Dakota run over to me and I give her the biggest hug and she walked out of the practice so fast, I was so shocked at this as when people are around Dakota usually stops still and lets them pet her - she LOVES the attention but she was not interested in any of those people she just wanted to come home, I hate the thought of her spending all day in a cage - not fed and for no purpose!

I read the leaflet in one of the boxes containing drops and it explained that they are used to treat conjunctivitis and the other is in a plastic tube with a label stuck on it with a drug name that is not recognised on google search which honestly scares me - obviously they have miss spelt the drug name, how dangerous is that!! I assume it is the drops the lady said she 'thinks' is anaesthetic. by the way I have NOT given her any of these drops as I do not know what they are and judging by the vets performance I don't trust her opinion on what medication Dakota needs.

I have contacted the vet that Dakotas breeders use, I found their details from Dakotas documents as she received her microchip and first vaccination etc with them! I pray he gets back to me soon and I can get Dakota up there for his opinion on whether she needs this surgery or not or what treatment she should have, I will certainly request he does a dye test as this was NEVER explained or offered to me at all when the vet diagnosed Dakota, she just looked at her eye with her own bare eyes, no test was carried out at all! The vet that Dakotas breeders use are located quite far away from my home but I feel since he has experience treating chows as Dakotas parents are both treated there he may understand the breed more and be more familiar with how to treat them!

[Constantina]

DO NOT ever go back there! Those people are obviously just after the money and have no regard for their patients. Hope you cancelled surgery. Dakota was saved from possible permanent injury. Ask chow chow owners around your area who their vet is. Some vets have a bias against chows or do not understand their special needs.

[Rory's Dad]

Share your location. Hopefully someone close by knows a good vet for your Chow.

All vets are not created equal, and you need to find someone quickly. If there is an eye issue it should not be delayed. It could be as simple as an irritant. Middle road could be an infection. Worst case is entroption, which if not treated could cause blindness in that eye.