I work in a vets AMA

[Howdoipickaname]

Have seen quite a few of these posts and have found them quite fun to read, so as it says AMA about working in a vets. Have been a lurker up until now and this is my first post. 😊

I was too surprised to see Royal Canin being touted as good when it’s just cheap Mars product in different packaging. I would expect vet clinic to promote higher quality animal diets and not some marketing rubbish and a ton of biscuits that barely have any meant content left from its original form.

Hi OP! I have a lovely almost 3yo black lab who is the apple of my eye 😍😍 when he was a tiny puppy he would bound into the vets (associating it with cuddles, free biscuits, plenty of attention and being told he is a good boy). However we have discovered he has a grain intolerance which gave him 4 nasty ear infections (this has finally been discovered after ruling out lots of other causes and he is doing great on a grain free diet), so he has had a few trips to our lovely kind vet that he has hated because he had to swab his sore ears, dig deep inside them. It was so sore it made him cry and bark. Now he is absolutely fine, but if we take him to the vet for something routine (a jab, worming, check up etc) he is frightened. Plants his feet on the ground, pants, tail down. He must think they are about to hurt his ears again. Never ever aggressive but he is scared. What can I do to help him get over this and learn to feel comfortable at the vets again? I feel so sorry for him as he is usually such a happy go lucky lad.

Our first dog was pts at home by a vet, and a vet nurse was present. Our second dog was pts when we took her to Liverpool Veterinary University Hospital, but she'd been anaesthetised and we made a decision, based on diagnosis and prognosis, not to wake her up to say goodbye. We'd already said our good-byes I suppose.

I'm getting to my point, I promise. Our third dog was recently pts by a vet nurse. She treated us, and our beloved pet, with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect. She asked us if we had any questions, answered them all, she gave him treats and kisses, and then she went to the far side of the consultation room, administered the meds via a long distance IV, checked his heart, and told us we could be with him for as long as we wanted. Obviously it was heartbreaking, but her kindness softened it somewhat.

Is nurse led euthanasia a relatively new thing?

Also, I know you have thoughts about going into human nursing, but thank you for everything you've done for all the animals that needed your kindness and compassion.

Bitch how? By asking a genuine question? Isn’t that the point of the thread?

What's your favourite species to take care of that's not a dog or a cat?

We're new pet owners and I've been so impressed with our lovely vets helping us with DCat's ongoing health issues. We really feel they want to help and they've been so reassuring when we've been worried-including when we've been a bit PFB about minor things!

Every time we take DCat to the vet they tell us how friendly and lovely he is (different vets and nurses said this). Are they just being polite/do they say this to everyone?

Also if they need to leave the room to go get something or check info, we let him get out the carrier and roam around as he much prefers it. Would this secretly drive you mad? He did jump on the keyboard the other day and change what was on the computer screen...

I like a Guinea pig! They are typically friendlier than rabbits but we do see them less often nowadays.

@Mangolist there are more routes into vet med these days. There are more universities too. Most have an access course so speak to admissions specifically because they all seem to have different criteria.

I think the most cost effective route would be to take another year to do the 2 other science a levels and apply the following year. It is very competitive and vet school is very full on so if she's not into putting the effort in now it's probably not the degree for her.

I say this all the time. "Owner to monitor at home for further signs"

If an owner is worried enough to bring an animal to me then I take their concerns very seriously. Owners don't just make up problems. I say to clients that either it'a either not immediately obvious what the cause of the problem is and offer either further work up or advise monitoring at home for further signs. I'm never dismissive of clients concerns.

Sometimes I get to reassure a client that their concern is nothing to worry about and that's great. For example a pet in season (although usually reception can address these over the phone).

I do feel sometimes that people are annoyed to pay a consult fee to be told nothing is wrong with their pet. I'm not sure how I'd avoid that.

Maybe because your pet has problems that are concerning and require investigation or treatment. Most people would want problems picked up on and treated appropriately.

I suggest you find a vet you trust rather than continue to feel this way.

Guinea pigs are great! I never understand people who have rabbits when they could have guinea pigs

Sorry to hijack OP,
Great thread

The vet world is treating me fine at the moment but it's up and down isn't it?! Not for the Feint hearted and all that :(

@mumoffourminimes I would happily pay the consultation fee and be told it's nothing serious or just to watch and wait. My vet im with now are a family run practice not a big corporation and they are lovely, but this has happened with literally every vet ive ever been to with all the pets ive ever owned over the years. Although i must admit I would pay whatever i had to to make sure my dogs were healthy and not suffering in any way.

I think vets are generally fairly decent types, aren't they? It's hardly the highest-paying field you could go into with the kind of brain you have to have to get into vet school.

And I had one sound audibly and believably emotional when I had to call her to say that my rats had had terrifying neurological symptoms from the spot-on she'd recommended (started showing in the first rat I treated pretty much as soon as I'd treated the last rat; I've never thrown half a dozen rats in a bathtub so quickly).

@bloodyplanes we ultimately just want happy clients and healthy pets. Your experience does sound unusual.

The only thing I can think is that you have a breed of pet that is at high risk of poor health, for example some of the brachycephalic dogs I worry about a lot and have a lower threshold for investigation. Also boxers, they are at high risk for a whole load of cancers so I have a lower threshold for investigating problems with those. It would be absolutely awful and tragic to miss something that could be treated.

Also sadly in the litigation culture we live in now you have to be a very confident vet to say "just keep an eye on it" if there is any doubt about what's in front of you. If you miss something you could be sued and that's financial ruin for your family and career ending.

The younger vets are leaving in droves because of it.

Sounds scary, you sound like the best rat owner. I do love them, second to the Guinea pig of course. Drug reactions can be completely random and unpredictable and scary.

I agree with your assertion. Vets and nurses and the animal care assistants are generally the most caring people you will ever meet. Unfortunately we are trapped working in a private healthcare system, it's expensive for you but it's very damaging for our mental health. There is a thing called moral injury. It's why so many leave the profession.

@mumoffourminimes thank you for your answers. I completely get what you are saying about litigation culture and I hadn't thought about it like that. Yes you are correct i own English Bulldogs and although they are very well bred and raised and generally very healthy I understand why the vet would be more cautious with a breed like this. Makes sense now that you have explained it to me. Thank you.

Ah you're welcome, I'm glad to have helped

Very scary! Thankfully only the first three or so ended up showing any symptoms, and the rest must've been washed clean in time. It's odd, because my partner was watching to make sure they weren't grooming too much and ingesting it, which was how he noticed the weird paw shaking. All rats recovered fully, but not sure I'll ever trust spot-on again 😂 (and that vet might not either). Wish I could remember which drug it was. Funny thing is, owning rats you can usually assume that things were tested on rats in the first place so it'll be known whether it's safe.

It must be very difficult for all veterinary staff, with so many pressures pushing in different directions — pet owners of different types and their preferences and finances and behaviour, insurance companies, financial and business pressures, people management, the best interests of the animals… they've usually been good with my various rodents, though. Very tolerant of their sleeve being cast as the drainpipe in a rat-up-a-drainpipe reenactment.

I thought the same @JarByTheDoor, just like rabbits - nothing is officially licensed for use on them but everything is tested on them.

I've met the cutest rats at work. The ones that like to ride around in your scrubs pocket are the funniest, just hanging out there whilst you type up your notes 😍

Yes lots of pressures in all directions. The animals welfare comes first, that's the easy bit then it's sorting out all the human elements. It's not for the faint hearted like I've said. You'll never win and there's little appreciation.

Thank you OK for taking the time to do this. I know how hard gets work. My vets are often still working at 7pm.

What's the lowest Animal care qualification that can get employed by a vets practice?

I’m fairly new to pet ownership - my question is about pet insurance. We have this but haven’t claimed despite a recent trip to the vet that cost around £100. In your experience is pet insurance more like home insurance that you claim on in the last resort, when there’s a massive issue (to keep premiums low) or is it more like what I think dental insurance is - you just claim to cover standard vet costs and see it as a way of spreading costs? Thanks!

My cat has a heart murmur and the tests etc he went through came to 900 pounds. He then had a tear in his cornea and that came to about 500 pounds overall and that was only 2022. I pay 360 pounds a year for life cover of conditions. Well worth it.