Frequency of health checks on LT medication

[Wolveryeti]

My (new) vet will only prescribe 3 months at a time of Prednisolone - a steroid and says I need a health check each time - so 4 per year. The dog is large (35kg) and the daily dose small (10mg) and well-tolerated.

I am not very happy about this as my last vet was happy with 2 health checks per year, and each one is £50. Just seems like an excuse to milk me for more cash - or am I being unreasonable?

Any one else whose dog is on steroids or other LT meds willing to give the frequency of health checks they are tied to?

One of my dogs is on long term medication (spaniel eye issues…) and she has quarterly check ins. Ditto with my previous spaniel who was on different meds for another issue.

Most responsible vets want to review dogs on long term medication frequently - that’s my experience at least. £50 every four months isn’t that extortionate to ensure you dog is responding well and there’s been no further decline IMO. If anything I’d have thought your previous vet was a bit too blasé! But I operate a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach and would merrily pay £50 a month to ensure my dogs got 100% the best medication - even if it was meds they’d been on for years!

The prescribing protocols were fairly recently changed by the RCVS. If your vet is picked out for clinical audit he/she could be sanctioned for not complying.