@DVMCellini I was impressed by your list and as far as I am aware you covered all the issues that would concern me. We are all different so maybe some of us would beg to differ. I am a retired RN so am used to "annoying" people, but I do think 🤔 that most people who enter any caring profession have wishes for the best outcome for person or animal. Just keep 💯 on doing what you do. Just one last thing, I am writing ✍️ this at 0230 in the morning so I'm really sorry 😞 if l sound a bit weird 😅 😕 😔
My biggest gripe is the vet not listening to me as a client. I had a senior three legged pound hound. He was picked up as a stray so we didn't have any history on him. He was very set in his ways and don't even think of asking him to start his day before the crack of noon. I don't recall the issue, but we needed to take him to the vet and the only opening was 8am. Gus was not impressed. The vet took has attitude (super droopy, not wanting to cooperate) to be that he certainly wasn't enjoying life anymore and it was time to put him to sleep. She didn't want to hear that he wasn't a morning dog, but any other time when he heard the leash closet open he was game for a walk. Gus lived for another year, living to be about 14yo. I got him when he was estimated to be about 7yo, so I had him for those 7 years.
Right now, nothing but love for you all in the Veterinary community. We just euthanized my dog on the 3rd after an Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) diagnosis. We did everything the Vets asked. He was on all the meds at home after an ER visit and stay at the specialized hospital months ago. He was doing okay and then over a couple weeks despire labs being okay and other testing being okay he got lethargic, just seemed uncomfortable and like he wasn't doing well or enjoying life anymore. Hard decision to make but we didn't want him to live uncomfortable or not enjoying life. Our Vet practice was amazing from diagnosis until his last day. So was the referral hospital. I regret nothing we did financially or otherwise for our guy.
@DVMCellini thank you. I got him the summer after my Dad and Grandma died (they both died in February 2017) so the loss is especially difficult as he helped me get through those losses, working the ICU and ED during COVID-19, a painful divorce, and my own illness. A lot has happened to me in 8 years. Having him and my cat really helped the lonely days and nights. Cat is just walking around the house wondering what happened. I feel bad and wonder if things should have been handled differently for his sake. Like should we have brought him with us or something. Idk grief us just confusing as fuck. I work human med as an ICU and ED attending so to a degree I get things cost money for medical care regardless of who it is for. I just wish human med and vet med could do better cost wise for everyone and could reform some things for providers to make things easier for us all.
I’m a small animal general practitioner in Oklahoma. I approach the weight issue by asking the owner, “Are you concerned about Fluffy’s weight? If they say no, I drop it. Usually they say yes, but blame the other spouse, kids, or grandma, etc. I then ask if they would like some tips on addressing it. If they say no to the first question, a few will then say, “wait, SHOULD I be concerned?” I HAVE had a handful object to seeing a Diagnosis of overweight or obesity on their pet’s medical record, but I just tell them I am required by law to keep complete and accurate records. Now that I’m in my 60s and somewhat overweight myself, I can always defuse by saying Fluffy’s starting to look like her doctor!
With the rise of specialists vets, and teaching in universities geared towards that, I'm finding that younger vets often push for specialist treatments or surgeries. For instance, my cat is an aging man (10ish), and he has cataracts from diabetes (currently in remission). I had a young vet tell me I should get him cataract surgery, and I very adamantly told them I'm not going to do that, he gets around perfectly fine and I don't have a lot of money. And she just looked at me like I had done something terrible, and told me it would be better for his welfare. And that irked me really bad - I specialised in animal welfare for my masters degree - she didn't know that, but what she should have known is that I know my cat. I think vets have forgotten a bit, or aren't being taught, to work within their clients means and that not every procedure is neccessary. Anyway, I'm back in the country, and I love the country vets - they bump off the price when they can and really do work with me to figure things out, plus in mixed practice they're used to working with limitations. Also vets aren't taught enough about behaviour!!! I'm in bet school now and we've barely touched on it.
You had me going for a quarter of a second with the chiropractor bit. For me, my big gripe is vets treating dog attitudes like one size fits all. My vet wanted my dog to see a behavioral specialist because she doesn't immediately trust people and doesn't like being touched by people she doesn't trust. Since she doesn't see a vet more than twice a year generally, she isn't a fan of being in there. But I say ok. Behavorialists visit my home and see she's just fine and confident in her own space where she has confidence. They say some dogs are just more aloof than others and unless she is being super submissive or aggressive, just be her advocate and let her go at her own pace. So it does annoy me that my dog gets the bad behavior tag just because she doesn't trust someone 100% right away.
1000% on the treatment plans! Just give me a general ballpark on how much something is going to cost. As someone who works in the vet field, I understand I can't get an exact price, but give me a general idea. Also, if you are increasing prices, give me a heads up! It's bad business to not say something before the visit. Example: I made the yearly appointment with my dog's specialist and planned for it to be around x amount of money like it always was. When I questioned the new and outrageous price, I was told that corporate had raised the prices, and this was the new normal. Even though my dog was being seen with the same specialist for an ongoing issue, we now will have to pay a “new consult” fee every time we see this specialist.
My worst experience with a vet was when my terrier started limping, brought her to the vet and he couldn't figure out what was wrong said I needed to come back for X-rays, asked him why not do it now, said it would take to much time to set up and charged me 250€ to tell me "I don't know", brought her to a different vet just by looking she said it was a broken cruciate ligament and did the surgery same day 120€ meds included.
I'll tell you what our vet did that annoyed me. Not treating my dog's pain when he had cancer and acting like humans are Gods who must decide when their "pet" dies. I told her we don't jump to euthanasia just because we got a bad diagnosis and that my father wanted to fight until the end when he had cancer. We said that as long as our dog wanted to live, we wanted to make him comfortable. This wasn't a dog we had for years. We adopted him as an old man and knew he wouldn't be with us long...but we respected his right to live. She also treated his need for healthcare differently saying things like "why would you want to do xyz for him, you just got him, he's old". His symptoms were runny stools.After making it clear we did want to keep looking to see what was wrong with him, we found out it was indeed cancer. We asked about pain relief and she snapped at us "euthanasia". You'd think this was a dog on his last legs. He wasn't, not yet. Still wanted several walks a day, still played with his toys, still happy a lot of the time! This vet had the nerve to tell me not to humanize my dog because animals can't plan for the future. Total idiot...has she never seen a squirrel bury a nut to eat later? The other thing...giving my dog Pupperoni treats without asking. Both my parent's dogs had Pancreatitis and their vets (different vets)said Pupperoni treats are terrible for dogs. I know she meant well but as a vet, she should know better and he was at the vet because of stomach related issues! We did find a much better vet who gave us a second opinion, confirmed the cancer, treated his pain and when the cancer was too painful euthanized him in the most loving humane way possible.
#1 has JUST happened to me. I had told techs, primary Vet, and specialists that her bark had changed. Granted, the main focus had been on her spleen, why it was riddled with blood clots, and getting it out. Now, post splenectomy (zero cancer) she's still not 100%. They are now thinking that she has myasthenia gravis, and we are waiting on the achr test. Now that I've read about MG, I see voice changes as a symptom everywhere! Feeling like I am talking to a wall sometimes. If this test is negative then we get to see a neurologist.
Calling a vet practice for something minor, but get told "we cannot fit you in, you will have to go to the emergency vet". Moral of story, pet does not get treated because owner cannot afford taking it to the emergency vet. Another point on ER vets - my cat suffered a urinary blockage. I looked at the website for the closest ER vet (it was a Sunday on a holiday weekend), and they "told me what was wrong" but could not keep him because it was urgent care and sent me to the emergency vet. This was also the first time I had been asked if I wanted a DNR if he stopped breathing. The problem with the pricing is the sticker shock and then the decision of surrendering the pet or paying for the care - while some would argue that someone who could not pay the bill should not have a pet, but if your cat is lying on the floor not moving but growling in pain you want to find out what is wrong. He was never "right" after that experience and neither was I.
I’ve been really fortunate in having mostly good vets. The only time I was really annoyed was when bringing my senior dog to the vet and seeing a different vet than I had been seeing for years and she didn’t know very basic things about her history. It seemed like she didn’t look in the chart before the visit. I never saw her again because she was a new vet in the practice where it had only been one vet prior and we had been going there for years. He always knew my dog and what we were checking on for example kidney CHF. So to have someone who came in blank was just annoying.
In WNY the vets in my area have waiting lists to become a client. I'm talking atleast a year. Their advice, in the meantime, is to go to the ER. At one, if your pet dies, they're "not accepting new clients" if you adopt/purchase another pet. It's just crazy to have to go to the ER (an hours drive) or drive over an hour to a veterinarian that is accepting new clients.
Read the comments on this video and you’ll see why there’s no enough veterinarians very quickly. Who would want to do that as a job and get paid a third of what an equivalent human doctor makes and get constantly ragged on by social media, in person by clients and literally everyone else with a pulse? It’s an unforgiving, thankless, underpaid job. :(
@birdgey I worked in veterinary offices for 14yrs. It was few and far between that we had nasty or fed up clients. The offices were very busy and the veterinarians were definitely driving nice cars, lived in very nice houses, and were vacationing at least twice a year. So I don't believe it's an unforgiving, thankless, underpaid job. People don't go into veterinary medicine unless they deeply care about animals. Less than a human doctor? That depends.
@ that’s only true in North America (mostly the US), in every other country I know vets in, they get paid much less. My friends in Australia are currently making slightly more than they would if they worked at one of big grocery store chains. We also have Medicare (subsidised healthcare) so people are much more abusive about costs.
@@juliestrong1947I make way less than any human doctor I have met and I’m 12 years out, I have a nice car that is 9 years old, and I live in a house worth about 200k, maybe, only because we added 6 ft privacy fencing to nearly an acre out of necessity due to neighbor issues. I haven’t been on a vacation in 5-6 years. And I deal with multiple “nasty or fed up” clients a year, and typically one really bad one that tries to ruin my career every couple years (and no not because I did something wrong, they just didn’t like the outcome). Having done the job, I can easily see why people would choose something else.
For estimates it's really smart to have a range and give yourself some wiggle room. At the my clinic we make sure to spell it out that we hope it will be the low end (nothing goes wrong, issue found on first test), but if there's complications or more tests are needed then it will cost more. If you're straight forward and sympathetic most people seem to accept that.
@@DorcasLandry Depends on how bad the infection is, a more severe infection will require stronger/more medication. I agree though prices are high right now, things like that are based off what the pharma companies charge
@@DorcasLandry Sympathy is in our nature. It doesn’t ave to be taught. But my school taught communication through classroom work, mock client scenarios, and then reinforced that learning through direct client interactions during my clinical year. So yes, it’s taught. It’s people like you who make the job harder.
New vets (right out of school) tend to see zebras and want to throw everything at a patient. It’s a fact of life. I (a nurse) constantly have to advocate for my patient in a way that kind of rubs the vet wrong which causes tension. Some vets get incentives to earn more money and literally compete with each other in a practice. Girl, I’ve seen it all. I’m known for asking the uncomfortable questions and really defending my patients / clients even tho I’m also the nurse that is blunt and will tell an owner their cat is fat.
one thing that frustrated me with my vet was them doing things that would just drain my wallet for little to no benefit, and just hear me out for a second.. im not usually one to accuse vets of this, but just read all of this. I had a doberman with an auto-immune disorder, so she needed medication to prevent her nose from effectively eating itself and causing open wounds on her snout. she needed to be on this medication for the rest of her life, and there was no alternative that would work for her. even with knowing this, the vet was trying to get me to do blood tests every month to see if it was damaging her liver. the tests wouldve been $200 on top of her medication every month.... what the hell am i gonna do if that happened? theres no other medication, the only other option is euthanasia, and so if she started going downhill i would've made that decision.. until then though it was just a money sink. I managed to convince them to not force me to take my terrified dog to the vet every month for unactionable information. She ended up being euthanized because of something unrelated multiple years later.
Don't even get me started... I moved to Germany a couple years ago and am still dumbfounded about some differences in vet health care I've encountered. After the same experiences with a few different vet practices, I don't know what to think anymore. First things done when going to the vet in the US were to weigh the pet, take their temp, do a fecal test (if necessary), and an examination and go from there. I worked at a vet office myself for a while, and that was a standard procedure at every vet practice I went to. This wasn't the case here. I just recently learned that vets here have to charge for an examination whather it's performed or not, so they skip it since they're getting paid for it anyway. Not cool. I had concerns about my cat suffering an early onset of dementia, and possibly diabetes. The blood tests came back OK, and when I asked for other possible causes for the sympoms he exhibits, I got a shrug. I mean, serously?! You're not going to suggest any other tests or refer me to a specialist or something?! I miss my vets in the US. Lol
Our cockapoo scamp absolutely loves going to the vets. He pulls me in the waiting room and it's like a cartoon the way he says hello to all the staff. I listen to all the advice our vet offers as my only concern is to keep scamp as healthy and happy as I can. My thoughts are always bow to superior knowledge and you can't go far wrong. Love your channel, and would love ❤️ for you to be scamps vet. We live in the UK 🇬🇧 so a consultation would be rather expensive ❤❤❤
I’m in Australia and are pet insurance has just started to do a gap pay so it takes a little longer but say your consult is $300 the reception staff uses your pet insurance card and say they pay $150 the client then pays $150. Might not seem so much at $300 but if it was $5,000 emergency hip surgery! Makes a difference!
Ps my 4 year old dog was told to have a MRI only if we would do surgery. Our dog has an issue near her neck we didn’t want to do surgery so we only have the X-rays and 3 vets and a specialist all gave us a different result. Go figure!
I've generally had nothing but good experiences at vet hospitals....both at general practices and specialists. Only once was there a vet I did not have that great an experience with. I think it was mainly though that her personality and mine did not mesh too well. She was a bit too high strung and pushy. In the end though the diagnostics she wanted to do that I had declined (because I felt too pushed) were in fact legit. All other veterinarians I've encounter had all been great. I love how my current vet clinic gives the run down of the costs before anything is done. I have to approve the cost first (but I pay at the end of the appointment). That way it's less of s sticker shock. I too am also a human RN working at a VERY busy hospital. I understand how busy vet hospitals and clinics can be as well, so I try to be as patient as I can.
Thanks for the video very informative. I have some things that bother me but I do understand why they happen. Mostly involving cost which isn't always within the vet's control. First I don't like that most vets will not offer a payment plan even to clients with great credit and a very long history of paying their bills at that practice. They used to but not lately. I also think some vets book so heavily that there are no spots open for acute issues - the last 3 or 4 times I've needed to bring my pet in for something that just occured and needed to be seen I ended up calling 3 or 4 practices I've never been to before to find an open same day appointment. It feels just like a human GP who has to schedule their appointments at a max of 15 minutes to satisfy their corporate bosses. Which brings up the issue of corporate ownership, I want to go to a vet who owns their own practice and maintains their independence. Most of the websites don't mention when the practice is corporate owned and I think that should be a requirement. And lastly, I wish that, just because my cat is 18 vets woudn't out of hand refuse general anesthesia based on her age, her labs are perfect and I am completely happy signing any kind of waiver acknowledging the risks and possible outcomes. This sounds like a lot of complaining but overall I am very happy with my vets and think they are great people who really do care.
The reason most clinics do not offer payment plans is because hospitals have gotten burned by clients one too many times. A compromise seems to be care credit and scratchpay for clients who can't afford everything up front.
What irks me about vets is overpriced dental cleaning. I can clean my pet’s teeth myself for the most part. I just need a little extra help and I don’t have $200-300 dollars in my pocket for a tiny dog. I’m in a rough spot and would appreciate if I could get help for under $100.
Edit: I didn’t even finish your video before asking my question. 😅 Idk if you can relate bc you’re a specialist, but can you shed light? Im not one to complain about vet costs rising. Inflation, VC companies… etc. Why do vets recommend literally all the tests for diagnosing? It can’t be about the money, can it? Are they being lazy and wanting zero liability? Shouldnt a vet be able to suggest minimal tests and make an educated diagnosis with the bare minimum info? If I don’t do all the tests, I feel like the vet immediately blows our case off and secretly shames me. Example: my puppy had diarrhea with a little mucus-y blood. Why doesn’t a blood and fecal tests suffice? Why did they recommend an xray, a comprehensive blood test, and an ultrasound? This is my 3rd dog so now I know how to move up in tests if results are inconclusive. He had coccidia. I had an old Pomeranian with funny breathing noises. I followed the vet’s recommendation and saw a cardiologist, who suggested a neurologist and an internist. We got an ultrasound and multiple X-rays and multiple blood tests. She had a collapsing trachea 😒
Not everyone wants their regular vet to have an MRI. The normal vet practice should be set up just like a human GP. They should have basic lab equipment and maybe X-ray capabilities.
GP clinics are set up this way, but they also have a surgical suite, recovery areas, treatment areas, and a staff to run all of this. Arguably they are better equipped than a human GP and can offer a broader range of care.
When a pet is kept for tests etc how does the owner know what was used or done to validate that huge bill. Vets need to make a profit but are they secretly milking us
The number one thing vets are still doing right now that is terribly annoying and disrespectful is keeping people in the parking lot and not letting them interact with the vet at all. Part of the service is explaining what's wrong, the treatment, possible results, and side effects. The person who comes out to the car to get the pet doesn't know all this information, even though they're often very nice and try to be helpful. I think some vets just decided they didn't want to deal with people anymore and after covid never started again.
My biggest gripes are three things. Not accepting treatment provided by another veterinarian or me as something that occurred. I have run into multiple practices here who will not accept even with records that my dog has gotten vaccinated at a shot clinic or by me where allowed. They insist they must re vaccinate the dog in order for the dog to be seen for completely unrelated things. The other is insisting that an otherwise perfectly healthy animal must stay overnight in their unmanned clinic because of something routine like a neuter or a dental cleaning. The last is that they insist on heartworm snap tests when my area does not and never has borne heartworm and my dogs have never left the region. When I say no they try to concern push this on me. They usually stop after I ask if they've ever seen a clinical case in their practice that wasn't a rescue from a warmer climate.
The first two are very valid to be upset by; however, heartworm is in every single state. I live in high elevation where it’s not ever seen, but we’ve been getting positive cases recently. All it takes is people bringing their hw + dog to the area, a mosquito bites them and becomes infected with the larvae, and then that same mosquito biting another dog in the area and infecting them with the larvae. Wherever there are mosquitoes, there’s the risk of heartworm and annual testing and prevention is a whole lot cheaper than having to treat heartworm.
@@sierratorres4695 Heartworm may be in every state but it is not in every region. The temperatures here are too low year round for heartworm to turn up. Most heartworm here turns up from the rescue pipeline shipping in dogs from southern states. Even if a mosquito here bit one of those dogs the temperatures here are too low for the bug to pass it on even in summer.
My frustration is when veterinarians miss lead the true out come. We had a dog who was in liver failure. I was relying on my vet to to be honest and what was best for her. Instead they made her suffer longer than needed and when I took her to a different veterinarian only to discover how cruel I was being to her. We ended her suffering. The first vet charged us several thousands only to let her suffer for their greed.
Another irritation is when vets gossip or complain about previous treatments during a consultation. Please focus on treating the animal and maintaining professionalism. There's time for coffee break conversations later. While past misdiagnoses can understandably frustrate owners, gossiping about it does nothing to resolve the issue.
@DVMCellini Unfortunately, we had far too many vet visits last year. Some handled it professionally, offering a sympathetic look when we mentioned our dog had been struggling for six months. Others, however, seemed more focused on nitpicking-criticizing everything, even how the previous vet placed the vaccination sticker in her passport.
75% of all emergency and specialty clinics are now corporate owned. 25% of veterinary practices are corporate owned. They exist for profit, not your pet's health. When my cat got sick, the vet wanted to do $1600 worth of tests. I said no. He never asked me what I was feeding my cat, even though she was throwing up. I spent $650 for the vet to tell me my cat was probably going to die. I fed her nothing but raw ground beef for five weeks. Two years later, both cats are fine on a homemade diet. Happy Caturday!
Saying my dog is overweight and needs to go on a diet all while giving him an over abundance of treats during the appointment. I understand that going to the vet can be stressful for many animals and that most (dogs atleast) are food motivated so it makes sense that they would give them treats to help their stress but my problem is the amount given during the visit. Perhaps instead of a handful give them one or two or instead of processed treats have fresh fruit or vegetable options. Yes i understand this creates more work for the clinic but to me it's like going to your doctor and them saying you need to lose weight and then handing you coupons to mcdonalds. That being said i do love my dog's vet.
This is in a way similar to humans in that one instance occasionally of increased treats (calories) isn't making the difference in your pet being overweight in general. The biggest difference is made in day to day feeding and exercising. I understand your argument and concern. Mostly, clinics are trying to acclimate your pet so it isn't as stressed resulting in more accurate tests and fewer staff bites. The easiest way to accomplish this is with standard treats. Having fresh vegetables on hand that significantly fewer animals will like and is another item they have to stock regularly adds a workload onto likely already overtaxed staff members. It simply isn't realistic for many clinics to do that. You as the client however, are welcome to bring your own treats that your pet likes and have the staff give them. This is honestly the best and easiest solution for everyone on this comment.
*Just as an add-on to this, clinics have fridges for drugs and blood storage. They cannot use them for food storage (to be consumed) any perishable foods would need the purchase of a separate fridge (another overhead cost). Most people (unless they are part-time) aren't just working 8 hrs days. It's more like 10+. Standard treats for use in the clinic aren't an extra workload because it's just an add-on cost for treats they already might sell at the clinic. Plus, a higher percentage of pets will like them. Not just Labs 😂 iykyk.
The vet practice I used for 30+ years was sold to a big company a few years ago. I brought my dog in to be euthanized after months of hospice care. I brought the wrong credit card with me, so was only able to pay for the procedure. I wanted him cremated but needed to go home for the other card to pay the other charge. The new office manager refused to hold him for me until I got back. I didn't have anywhere to bury him, and only wanted him held for a couple of hours until I could come back with the money for the cremation. It was 10 am, they closed at six. I was sobbing after just having my dog die in my arms begging for them to give me two hours. They refused and I didn't get him back.
Did I miss anything? Let me know!
@DVMCellini I was impressed by your list and as far as I am aware you covered all the issues that would concern me. We are all different so maybe some of us would beg to differ. I am a retired RN so am used to "annoying" people, but I do think 🤔 that most people who enter any caring profession have wishes for the best outcome for person or animal. Just keep 💯 on doing what you do. Just one last thing, I am writing ✍️ this at 0230 in the morning so I'm really sorry 😞 if l sound a bit weird 😅 😕 😔
My biggest gripe is the vet not listening to me as a client. I had a senior three legged pound hound. He was picked up as a stray so we didn't have any history on him. He was very set in his ways and don't even think of asking him to start his day before the crack of noon. I don't recall the issue, but we needed to take him to the vet and the only opening was 8am. Gus was not impressed. The vet took has attitude (super droopy, not wanting to cooperate) to be that he certainly wasn't enjoying life anymore and it was time to put him to sleep. She didn't want to hear that he wasn't a morning dog, but any other time when he heard the leash closet open he was game for a walk. Gus lived for another year, living to be about 14yo. I got him when he was estimated to be about 7yo, so I had him for those 7 years.
Right now, nothing but love for you all in the Veterinary community.
We just euthanized my dog on the 3rd after an Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) diagnosis. We did everything the Vets asked. He was on all the meds at home after an ER visit and stay at the specialized hospital months ago. He was doing okay and then over a couple weeks despire labs being okay and other testing being okay he got lethargic, just seemed uncomfortable and like he wasn't doing well or enjoying life anymore. Hard decision to make but we didn't want him to live uncomfortable or not enjoying life.
Our Vet practice was amazing from diagnosis until his last day.
So was the referral hospital.
I regret nothing we did financially or otherwise for our guy.
I am sorry for your loss! Thanks for the kind words.
@DVMCellini thank you. I got him the summer after my Dad and Grandma died (they both died in February 2017) so the loss is especially difficult as he helped me get through those losses, working the ICU and ED during COVID-19, a painful divorce, and my own illness. A lot has happened to me in 8 years. Having him and my cat really helped the lonely days and nights. Cat is just walking around the house wondering what happened. I feel bad and wonder if things should have been handled differently for his sake. Like should we have brought him with us or something. Idk grief us just confusing as fuck.
I work human med as an ICU and ED attending so to a degree I get things cost money for medical care regardless of who it is for.
I just wish human med and vet med could do better cost wise for everyone and could reform some things for providers to make things easier for us all.
I’m a small animal general practitioner in Oklahoma. I approach the weight issue by asking the owner, “Are you concerned about Fluffy’s weight? If they say no, I drop it. Usually they say yes, but blame the other spouse, kids, or grandma, etc. I then ask if they would like some tips on addressing it. If they say no to the first question, a few will then say, “wait, SHOULD I be concerned?” I HAVE had a handful object to seeing a Diagnosis of overweight or obesity on their pet’s medical record, but I just tell them I am required by law to keep complete and accurate records. Now that I’m in my 60s and somewhat overweight myself, I can always defuse by saying Fluffy’s starting to look like her doctor!
With the rise of specialists vets, and teaching in universities geared towards that, I'm finding that younger vets often push for specialist treatments or surgeries.
For instance, my cat is an aging man (10ish), and he has cataracts from diabetes (currently in remission). I had a young vet tell me I should get him cataract surgery, and I very adamantly told them I'm not going to do that, he gets around perfectly fine and I don't have a lot of money.
And she just looked at me like I had done something terrible, and told me it would be better for his welfare.
And that irked me really bad - I specialised in animal welfare for my masters degree - she didn't know that, but what she should have known is that I know my cat.
I think vets have forgotten a bit, or aren't being taught, to work within their clients means and that not every procedure is neccessary.
Anyway, I'm back in the country, and I love the country vets - they bump off the price when they can and really do work with me to figure things out, plus in mixed practice they're used to working with limitations.
Also vets aren't taught enough about behaviour!!! I'm in bet school now and we've barely touched on it.
You had me going for a quarter of a second with the chiropractor bit.
For me, my big gripe is vets treating dog attitudes like one size fits all. My vet wanted my dog to see a behavioral specialist because she doesn't immediately trust people and doesn't like being touched by people she doesn't trust. Since she doesn't see a vet more than twice a year generally, she isn't a fan of being in there. But I say ok. Behavorialists visit my home and see she's just fine and confident in her own space where she has confidence. They say some dogs are just more aloof than others and unless she is being super submissive or aggressive, just be her advocate and let her go at her own pace. So it does annoy me that my dog gets the bad behavior tag just because she doesn't trust someone 100% right away.
1000% on the treatment plans! Just give me a general ballpark on how much something is going to cost. As someone who works in the vet field, I understand I can't get an exact price, but give me a general idea. Also, if you are increasing prices, give me a heads up! It's bad business to not say something before the visit. Example: I made the yearly appointment with my dog's specialist and planned for it to be around x amount of money like it always was. When I questioned the new and outrageous price, I was told that corporate had raised the prices, and this was the new normal. Even though my dog was being seen with the same specialist for an ongoing issue, we now will have to pay a “new consult” fee every time we see this specialist.
Seems to me there are RICO ISSUES RAGING IN VET MEDICINE
My worst experience with a vet was when my terrier started limping, brought her to the vet and he couldn't figure out what was wrong said I needed to come back for X-rays, asked him why not do it now, said it would take to much time to set up and charged me 250€ to tell me "I don't know", brought her to a different vet just by looking she said it was a broken cruciate ligament and did the surgery same day 120€ meds included.
I'll tell you what our vet did that annoyed me. Not treating my dog's pain when he had cancer and acting like humans are Gods who must decide when their "pet" dies. I told her we don't jump to euthanasia just because we got a bad diagnosis and that my father wanted to fight until the end when he had cancer. We said that as long as our dog wanted to live, we wanted to make him comfortable. This wasn't a dog we had for years. We adopted him as an old man and knew he wouldn't be with us long...but we respected his right to live. She also treated his need for healthcare differently saying things like "why would you want to do xyz for him, you just got him, he's old". His symptoms were runny stools.After making it clear we did want to keep looking to see what was wrong with him, we found out it was indeed cancer. We asked about pain relief and she snapped at us "euthanasia". You'd think this was a dog on his last legs. He wasn't, not yet. Still wanted several walks a day, still played with his toys, still happy a lot of the time! This vet had the nerve to tell me not to humanize my dog because animals can't plan for the future. Total idiot...has she never seen a squirrel bury a nut to eat later? The other thing...giving my dog Pupperoni treats without asking. Both my parent's dogs had Pancreatitis and their vets (different vets)said Pupperoni treats are terrible for dogs. I know she meant well but as a vet, she should know better and he was at the vet because of stomach related issues! We did find a much better vet who gave us a second opinion, confirmed the cancer, treated his pain and when the cancer was too painful euthanized him in the most loving humane way possible.
If she has such beliefs, why the heck did she decide to become a vet?
#1 has JUST happened to me. I had told techs, primary Vet, and specialists that her bark had changed. Granted, the main focus had been on her spleen, why it was riddled with blood clots, and getting it out. Now, post splenectomy (zero cancer) she's still not 100%. They are now thinking that she has myasthenia gravis, and we are waiting on the achr test. Now that I've read about MG, I see voice changes as a symptom everywhere! Feeling like I am talking to a wall sometimes. If this test is negative then we get to see a neurologist.
Could be low thyroid or GOLPP (laryngeal paralysis - the LP part of GOLPP) too. Def see a neurologist.
Calling a vet practice for something minor, but get told "we cannot fit you in, you will have to go to the emergency vet". Moral of story, pet does not get treated because owner cannot afford taking it to the emergency vet. Another point on ER vets - my cat suffered a urinary blockage. I looked at the website for the closest ER vet (it was a Sunday on a holiday weekend), and they "told me what was wrong" but could not keep him because it was urgent care and sent me to the emergency vet. This was also the first time I had been asked if I wanted a DNR if he stopped breathing. The problem with the pricing is the sticker shock and then the decision of surrendering the pet or paying for the care - while some would argue that someone who could not pay the bill should not have a pet, but if your cat is lying on the floor not moving but growling in pain you want to find out what is wrong. He was never "right" after that experience and neither was I.
Vet clinics have become greedy assed places
I’ve been really fortunate in having mostly good vets. The only time I was really annoyed was when bringing my senior dog to the vet and seeing a different vet than I had been seeing for years and she didn’t know very basic things about her history. It seemed like she didn’t look in the chart before the visit. I never saw her again because she was a new vet in the practice where it had only been one vet prior and we had been going there for years. He always knew my dog and what we were checking on for example kidney CHF. So to have someone who came in blank was just annoying.
In WNY the vets in my area have waiting lists to become a client. I'm talking atleast a year. Their advice, in the meantime, is to go to the ER. At one, if your pet dies, they're "not accepting new clients" if you adopt/purchase another pet. It's just crazy to have to go to the ER (an hours drive) or drive over an hour to a veterinarian that is accepting new clients.
Read the comments on this video and you’ll see why there’s no enough veterinarians very quickly. Who would want to do that as a job and get paid a third of what an equivalent human doctor makes and get constantly ragged on by social media, in person by clients and literally everyone else with a pulse? It’s an unforgiving, thankless, underpaid job. :(
@birdgey I worked in veterinary offices for 14yrs. It was few and far between that we had nasty or fed up clients. The offices were very busy and the veterinarians were definitely driving nice cars, lived in very nice houses, and were vacationing at least twice a year. So I don't believe it's an unforgiving, thankless, underpaid job. People don't go into veterinary medicine unless they deeply care about animals. Less than a human doctor? That depends.
@ that’s only true in North America (mostly the US), in every other country I know vets in, they get paid much less. My friends in Australia are currently making slightly more than they would if they worked at one of big grocery store chains. We also have Medicare (subsidised healthcare) so people are much more abusive about costs.
@@birdgey Then we're both correct for our countries.
@@juliestrong1947I make way less than any human doctor I have met and I’m 12 years out, I have a nice car that is 9 years old, and I live in a house worth about 200k, maybe, only because we added 6 ft privacy fencing to nearly an acre out of necessity due to neighbor issues. I haven’t been on a vacation in 5-6 years. And I deal with multiple “nasty or fed up” clients a year, and typically one really bad one that tries to ruin my career every couple years (and no not because I did something wrong, they just didn’t like the outcome). Having done the job, I can easily see why people would choose something else.
For estimates it's really smart to have a range and give yourself some wiggle room. At the my clinic we make sure to spell it out that we hope it will be the low end (nothing goes wrong, issue found on first test), but if there's complications or more tests are needed then it will cost more. If you're straight forward and sympathetic most people seem to accept that.
Sympathy is not included in the Vet School..
Eye infection & bottle of drops should not cost $250
@@DorcasLandry Depends on how bad the infection is, a more severe infection will require stronger/more medication. I agree though prices are high right now, things like that are based off what the pharma companies charge
@@DorcasLandry Sympathy is in our nature. It doesn’t ave to be taught. But my school taught communication through classroom work, mock client scenarios, and then reinforced that learning through direct client interactions during my clinical year. So yes, it’s taught. It’s people like you who make the job harder.
New vets (right out of school) tend to see zebras and want to throw everything at a patient. It’s a fact of life. I (a nurse) constantly have to advocate for my patient in a way that kind of rubs the vet wrong which causes tension. Some vets get incentives to earn more money and literally compete with each other in a practice. Girl, I’ve seen it all. I’m known for asking the uncomfortable questions and really defending my patients / clients even tho I’m also the nurse that is blunt and will tell an owner their cat is fat.
Naturally, I turn on a vet med video and my cat brings me his feather wand and wants play time.
one thing that frustrated me with my vet was them doing things that would just drain my wallet for little to no benefit, and just hear me out for a second.. im not usually one to accuse vets of this, but just read all of this. I had a doberman with an auto-immune disorder, so she needed medication to prevent her nose from effectively eating itself and causing open wounds on her snout. she needed to be on this medication for the rest of her life, and there was no alternative that would work for her. even with knowing this, the vet was trying to get me to do blood tests every month to see if it was damaging her liver. the tests wouldve been $200 on top of her medication every month.... what the hell am i gonna do if that happened? theres no other medication, the only other option is euthanasia, and so if she started going downhill i would've made that decision.. until then though it was just a money sink. I managed to convince them to not force me to take my terrified dog to the vet every month for unactionable information. She ended up being euthanized because of something unrelated multiple years later.
Don't even get me started... I moved to Germany a couple years ago and am still dumbfounded about some differences in vet health care I've encountered.
After the same experiences with a few different vet practices, I don't know what to think anymore.
First things done when going to the vet in the US were to weigh the pet, take their temp, do a fecal test (if necessary), and an examination and go from there. I worked at a vet office myself for a while, and that was a standard procedure at every vet practice I went to. This wasn't the case here. I just recently learned that vets here have to charge for an examination whather it's performed or not, so they skip it since they're getting paid for it anyway. Not cool.
I had concerns about my cat suffering an early onset of dementia, and possibly diabetes. The blood tests came back OK, and when I asked for other possible causes for the sympoms he exhibits, I got a shrug. I mean, serously?!
You're not going to suggest any other tests or refer me to a specialist or something?!
I miss my vets in the US. Lol
Our cockapoo scamp absolutely loves going to the vets. He pulls me in the waiting room and it's like a cartoon the way he says hello to all the staff. I listen to all the advice our vet offers as my only concern is to keep scamp as healthy and happy as I can. My thoughts are always bow to superior knowledge and you can't go far wrong. Love your channel, and would love ❤️ for you to be scamps vet. We live in the UK 🇬🇧 so a consultation would be rather expensive ❤❤❤
I’m in Australia and are pet insurance has just started to do a gap pay so it takes a little longer but say your consult is $300 the reception staff uses your pet insurance card and say they pay $150 the client then pays $150. Might not seem so much at $300 but if it was $5,000 emergency hip surgery! Makes a difference!
Ps my 4 year old dog was told to have a MRI only if we would do surgery. Our dog has an issue near her neck we didn’t want to do surgery so we only have the X-rays and 3 vets and a specialist all gave us a different result. Go figure!
I've generally had nothing but good experiences at vet hospitals....both at general practices and specialists. Only once was there a vet I did not have that great an experience with. I think it was mainly though that her personality and mine did not mesh too well. She was a bit too high strung and pushy. In the end though the diagnostics she wanted to do that I had declined (because I felt too pushed) were in fact legit. All other veterinarians I've encounter had all been great. I love how my current vet clinic gives the run down of the costs before anything is done. I have to approve the cost first (but I pay at the end of the appointment). That way it's less of s sticker shock. I too am also a human RN working at a VERY busy hospital. I understand how busy vet hospitals and clinics can be as well, so I try to be as patient as I can.
Thanks for the video very informative. I have some things that bother me but I do understand why they happen. Mostly involving cost which isn't always within the vet's control. First I don't like that most vets will not offer a payment plan even to clients with great credit and a very long history of paying their bills at that practice. They used to but not lately. I also think some vets book so heavily that there are no spots open for acute issues - the last 3 or 4 times I've needed to bring my pet in for something that just occured and needed to be seen I ended up calling 3 or 4 practices I've never been to before to find an open same day appointment. It feels just like a human GP who has to schedule their appointments at a max of 15 minutes to satisfy their corporate bosses. Which brings up the issue of corporate ownership, I want to go to a vet who owns their own practice and maintains their independence. Most of the websites don't mention when the practice is corporate owned and I think that should be a requirement. And lastly, I wish that, just because my cat is 18 vets woudn't out of hand refuse general anesthesia based on her age, her labs are perfect and I am completely happy signing any kind of waiver acknowledging the risks and possible outcomes. This sounds like a lot of complaining but overall I am very happy with my vets and think they are great people who really do care.
The reason most clinics do not offer payment plans is because hospitals have gotten burned by clients one too many times. A compromise seems to be care credit and scratchpay for clients who can't afford everything up front.
What irks me about vets is overpriced dental cleaning. I can clean my pet’s teeth myself for the most part. I just need a little extra help and I don’t have $200-300 dollars in my pocket for a tiny dog. I’m in a rough spot and would appreciate if I could get help for under $100.
Edit: I didn’t even finish your video before asking my question. 😅 Idk if you can relate bc you’re a specialist, but can you shed light? Im not one to complain about vet costs rising. Inflation, VC companies… etc. Why do vets recommend literally all the tests for diagnosing? It can’t be about the money, can it? Are they being lazy and wanting zero liability? Shouldnt a vet be able to suggest minimal tests and make an educated diagnosis with the bare minimum info? If I don’t do all the tests, I feel like the vet immediately blows our case off and secretly shames me. Example: my puppy had diarrhea with a little mucus-y blood. Why doesn’t a blood and fecal tests suffice? Why did they recommend an xray, a comprehensive blood test, and an ultrasound? This is my 3rd dog so now I know how to move up in tests if results are inconclusive. He had coccidia. I had an old Pomeranian with funny breathing noises. I followed the vet’s recommendation and saw a cardiologist, who suggested a neurologist and an internist. We got an ultrasound and multiple X-rays and multiple blood tests. She had a collapsing trachea 😒
Not everyone wants their regular vet to have an MRI. The normal vet practice should be set up just like a human GP. They should have basic lab equipment and maybe X-ray capabilities.
GP clinics are set up this way, but they also have a surgical suite, recovery areas, treatment areas, and a staff to run all of this. Arguably they are better equipped than a human GP and can offer a broader range of care.
When a pet is kept for tests etc how does the owner know what was used or done to validate that huge bill. Vets need to make a profit but are they secretly milking us
Well I mean, you should have the results of the test at least mentioned to you.
The number one thing vets are still doing right now that is terribly annoying and disrespectful is keeping people in the parking lot and not letting them interact with the vet at all. Part of the service is explaining what's wrong, the treatment, possible results, and side effects. The person who comes out to the car to get the pet doesn't know all this information, even though they're often very nice and try to be helpful. I think some vets just decided they didn't want to deal with people anymore and after covid never started again.
That still happens???
As only client myself I am not shocked by that at all (seeing and hearing stories involving some pet parents)
@ Yes!
@@DVMCelliniDefinitely happens here in Texas especially at corporate vets like Banfield
@@DVMCelliniWOW, never heard of that where I live post-covid
My biggest gripes are three things. Not accepting treatment provided by another veterinarian or me as something that occurred. I have run into multiple practices here who will not accept even with records that my dog has gotten vaccinated at a shot clinic or by me where allowed. They insist they must re vaccinate the dog in order for the dog to be seen for completely unrelated things.
The other is insisting that an otherwise perfectly healthy animal must stay overnight in their unmanned clinic because of something routine like a neuter or a dental cleaning.
The last is that they insist on heartworm snap tests when my area does not and never has borne heartworm and my dogs have never left the region. When I say no they try to concern push this on me. They usually stop after I ask if they've ever seen a clinical case in their practice that wasn't a rescue from a warmer climate.
The first two are very valid to be upset by; however, heartworm is in every single state. I live in high elevation where it’s not ever seen, but we’ve been getting positive cases recently. All it takes is people bringing their hw + dog to the area, a mosquito bites them and becomes infected with the larvae, and then that same mosquito biting another dog in the area and infecting them with the larvae. Wherever there are mosquitoes, there’s the risk of heartworm and annual testing and prevention is a whole lot cheaper than having to treat heartworm.
@@sierratorres4695 Heartworm may be in every state but it is not in every region. The temperatures here are too low year round for heartworm to turn up. Most heartworm here turns up from the rescue pipeline shipping in dogs from southern states. Even if a mosquito here bit one of those dogs the temperatures here are too low for the bug to pass it on even in summer.
My frustration is when veterinarians miss lead the true out come. We had a dog who was in liver failure. I was relying on my vet to to be honest and what was best for her. Instead they made her suffer longer than needed and when I took her to a different veterinarian only to discover how cruel I was being to her. We ended her suffering. The first vet charged us several thousands only to let her suffer for their greed.
Another irritation is when vets gossip or complain about previous treatments during a consultation. Please focus on treating the animal and maintaining professionalism. There's time for coffee break conversations later. While past misdiagnoses can understandably frustrate owners, gossiping about it does nothing to resolve the issue.
My experience is I usually have to tell clients to stop doing that.
@DVMCellini Unfortunately, we had far too many vet visits last year. Some handled it professionally, offering a sympathetic look when we mentioned our dog had been struggling for six months. Others, however, seemed more focused on nitpicking-criticizing everything, even how the previous vet placed the vaccination sticker in her passport.
75% of all emergency and specialty clinics are now corporate owned. 25% of veterinary practices are corporate owned. They exist for profit, not your pet's health. When my cat got sick, the vet wanted to do $1600 worth of tests. I said no. He never asked me what I was feeding my cat, even though she was throwing up. I spent $650 for the vet to tell me my cat was probably going to die. I fed her nothing but raw ground beef for five weeks. Two years later, both cats are fine on a homemade diet. Happy Caturday!
Corporate vet clinics are absolute shit
Saying my dog is overweight and needs to go on a diet all while giving him an over abundance of treats during the appointment. I understand that going to the vet can be stressful for many animals and that most (dogs atleast) are food motivated so it makes sense that they would give them treats to help their stress but my problem is the amount given during the visit. Perhaps instead of a handful give them one or two or instead of processed treats have fresh fruit or vegetable options. Yes i understand this creates more work for the clinic but to me it's like going to your doctor and them saying you need to lose weight and then handing you coupons to mcdonalds.
That being said i do love my dog's vet.
This is in a way similar to humans in that one instance occasionally of increased treats (calories) isn't making the difference in your pet being overweight in general. The biggest difference is made in day to day feeding and exercising. I understand your argument and concern. Mostly, clinics are trying to acclimate your pet so it isn't as stressed resulting in more accurate tests and fewer staff bites. The easiest way to accomplish this is with standard treats. Having fresh vegetables on hand that significantly fewer animals will like and is another item they have to stock regularly adds a workload onto likely already overtaxed staff members. It simply isn't realistic for many clinics to do that. You as the client however, are welcome to bring your own treats that your pet likes and have the staff give them. This is honestly the best and easiest solution for everyone on this comment.
*Just as an add-on to this, clinics have fridges for drugs and blood storage. They cannot use them for food storage (to be consumed) any perishable foods would need the purchase of a separate fridge (another overhead cost). Most people (unless they are part-time) aren't just working 8 hrs days. It's more like 10+. Standard treats for use in the clinic aren't an extra workload because it's just an add-on cost for treats they already might sell at the clinic. Plus, a higher percentage of pets will like them. Not just Labs 😂 iykyk.
The vet practice I used for 30+ years was sold to a big company a few years ago. I brought my dog in to be euthanized after months of hospice care. I brought the wrong credit card with me, so was only able to pay for the procedure. I wanted him cremated but needed to go home for the other card to pay the other charge. The new office manager refused to hold him for me until I got back. I didn't have anywhere to bury him, and only wanted him held for a couple of hours until I could come back with the money for the cremation. It was 10 am, they closed at six. I was sobbing after just having my dog die in my arms begging for them to give me two hours. They refused and I didn't get him back.