SHOULD I GET A 3RD OPINION??
Well one went to people we did not know. But they seemed decent and already have a sheepdog so they knew what was involved in care. Within 24 hours of getting the puppy they call me in tears from the vets office. "The puppy is sick and needs surgery" The vet said the anus wasnt completely developed and the pup had diarhea and was in lot of pain. Surgery would probably be needed as the anus is too small. I questioned the fact we had the pup for 3 months and saw NO sign of any problems. In fact we had just had the pup to the vet a few days prior for shots. He stated since they are now on dry food instead of Mothers milk they have bigger poops and his anus just isn't adequate casuing discomfort. The pup also had coccidia in the stool. The vet put him on antibiotics. He recomended the surgery for the sum of $100. I doubted the price would just be $100. I encouraged him to tell the new owners to return the pup and i would get a 2nd opinion and go from there. They returned the pup, I refunded their money. The pup seemed perfectly at ease and was happy to be back home. I gave him a meal of boiled hamburger and rice wich he gobbled up. he seemed fine.. I talked to my vet. She agreed I should monitor him and bring him in the next day since he seemed comfortable and not bloated. He had enough stress for the day. I brought to my vet the next day. Although the other vet said he could not do a rectal exam as the pup was too clenched and tight, my vet and her partner were able to examine the pup. Her partner said she could feel some fibrous tissue on the top side of the anal ring. She said it was a very small area, and should not cause the pup any issues. the rest of the anal ring was smooth and elastic as it should be. We continued with the antibiotic and stools are back to normal. He seems to have to squat a little longer to get the poop to come out but we arent noticing any discomfort ( no yelping or whining) I trust my vet, but the other vet has been around for a long time and seemed very convincing that surgery would be needed. Should I get a 3rd opinion just to make sure my vet isnt under-diagnosing? ANy thoughts on this? |
|
|
A red flag for me would be the $100 surgery  , it costs more than that for a teeth cleaning . If the puppy seems comfortable and not in pain I would have your own vet keep an eye on it. Did he have dry food prior to going to his new home? Just because a vet has been around for a long time doesn't mean he's good. |
| My rule of thumb is if it is going to cause me to lose sleep because I am worrying or I will regret not checking it out, then I will do it.
You have two conflicting opinions, so getting a 3rd or deciding opinion would not be unreasonabe. And the stress of going to a new home could account for the change in stool habits. And coming back "home" would decrease the stress. Good luck. |
| $100 surgery is ridiculous; I can hardly walk into a vets office without paying that, and that's without anything as involved as a surgical procedure. As for a vet being long-practiced and therefore knowledgeable; our original vet was highly regarded and served on the state's board of veterinary something or other. He was a very high muckety-muck. He still made a very bad diagnosis with my pups, prescribed a medicine that is completely inappropriate for their age, and then neglected to return my calls when this medicine made my dogs really, really ill. I found a new vet after that.
I think if you still plan to sell the puppy; a third opinion isn't a bad idea. When you find a good home, you can give them full disclosure; their vet said this, my vet disagreed, so a third party vet said the following. Also; as someone else stated, if it gives you peace of mind, then why not? |
Darth Snuggle wrote: $100 surgery is ridiculous; I can hardly walk into a vets office without paying that, and that's without anything as involved as a surgical procedure. ?
That is exactly what I was thinking. Maybe $100 is the magic number that anybody would just pay without question. I certainly would, if I didnt observe the pup for the last 3 months. Pup was started on moistened kibble at 3 1/2 weeks. dry kibble at 6 weeks, weened at 8 weeks. No sign of problems. Sent home a bag of food with the new owners. The did say the pup got into the other dogs food, I just don't know what to think at this point. I appreciate any thoughts or wisdom you all possess. |
| I can tell you what is happening with my cat. He had an injury to his tail when he was 6 weeks old as a stray. A dog grab him and shook him terribly, causing his tail to be amputated and injury to his back legs and sphincter. As time went on he developed a disorder called "Mega Colon". It is a disorder where the lower portion of the colon does not function properly. My vet said there are two nerves that work in the colon. One pulls out moisture and the other helps to make the colon contract and pass waste.
His colon does not function and he gets blocked. We have taken him to the vet and he showed us that there were very large chunks of stool that were unable to pass and causing the blockage, along with his nonfunctioning colon. We currently have him on a laxative three times daily and the highest fiber cat food we could find. Speak with your vet and see if this may be a condition your pup has. From what I understand, it can happen to all manner of species. I really hope you don't have this problem that I do, it's heartbreaking to see him so uncomfortable. There is a surgery that we will have performed if we have to. |
| There's no way they're operating on an animal for $100.
I'm lucky if I walk out of the vet's office and the bill is under $100. And that's just for routine stuff. Get a 3rd opinion. |
* Capt. Obvious Danger wrote: I can tell you what is happening with my cat. He had an injury to his tail when he was 6 weeks old as a stray. A dog grab him and shook him terribly, causing his tail to be amputated and injury to his back legs and sphincter. As time went on he developed a disorder called "Mega Colon". It is a disorder where the lower portion of the colon does not function properly. My vet said there are two nerves that work in the colon. One pulls out moisture and the other helps to make the colon contract and pass waste.
His colon does not function and he gets blocked. We have taken him to the vet and he showed us that there were very large chunks of stool that were unable to pass and causing the blockage, along with his nonfunctioning colon. We currently have him on a laxative three times daily and the highest fiber cat food we could find. Speak with your vet and see if this may be a condition your pup has. From what I understand, it can happen to all manner of species. I really hope you don't have this problem that I do, it's heartbreaking to see him so uncomfortable. There is a surgery that we will have performed if we have to. I had a friend that had a cat with a very similar problem. She and her vet determined that adding a small amount of pureed pumpkin to the daily diet helped a great deal, and wasn't as harsh as a laxative can be. |
| that was something else I thought about. adding pumpkin for a softer stool. Would be a lot less invasive than rectal surgery. Know way are we selling this little guy. He was hard to let go in the 1st place and now that he is back we have more of a bond. We are scheduled for another stool and rectal exam on Monday. Obviously if he shows any discomfort before that we will be going much sooner. But now he seems fine, stools seem fine, He definately seems to know he rules the roost now. He has been by my side or with someone 24/7 since we got him back for monitoring.
We are going to get a 3rd opinion, just for peace of mind. I hate to keep bringing him to the vet and getting him probed, but it is neccessary. If we go with adding pumpkin for a stool softener how much do you recommend? Do you mix with the dry kibble? thanks again |
| The nice thing about pumpkin, aside from it being "all natural" is that its a stool regulator; if poop is too soft, if firms it up. Too firm, it'll soften the stuff. Now when we used it, we used it because our girls had diarrhea; the opposite problem you have with your pup. So I don't know if the dosing we did would be appropriate for you. But we'd either give it like a treat off a spoon, or mix it with their dinner. One vet we saw recommended freezing spoonfuls and thawing them as you used them to maintain the freshness. I never did try that, but though they might make a fun icy treat as well.
Talk to your vet about dosage; and maybe see if you can find some info online. An animal dietitian or holistic vet might also be able to give you a good feeding guideline. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|