I agree. I too have a conventional and holistic vet for my animals. It is my way of balancing things out. I hate when vet offices send yearly reminders in the mail saying your pet is do for vaccines. The first priority should always be a PHYSICAL! However most reminders don't even say that. My cat never got a Physical reminder after a year in the mail. I called up and asked and they said she wasn't due for any shots! I was like are you kidding me?! So I took her for her physical at my holistic vet and it cost way less and she saw me for a lot longer then my conventional vet ever would. AND she pulled out her tools and gave my cat a teeth cleaning right then for FREE. My cat was so relaxed that she allowed it. No Sadation and lots of money spent.

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Lauren, Penny, and Luna!

My yearly reminder is for a physical and a fecal sample. Shots are listed at the bottom, if any are due. (Shot are giving every 3 years)

My Vet has to be in his mid to late 60's, I have been going to him for 25+ years and he is who informed me that they do not give shot yearly any longer. He semi-retired once. His daughter has joined his practice and I hope she continues on his ways of treating people with respect as well as animals with such kindness and talk, that man can talk!

When Jorgee got sick, our bill was adding up pretty quick. I over heard him tell the the lady that was putting our bill together to give us a discount. So, no, not all Vets are in it for the money.

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I'm sure there are some unethical vets. But a blanket statement about the "almighty dollar" being vets' motivation for suggesting vaccines is totally unfair. The vast majority of vets advocate for vaccination, and that vast majority surely doesn't put profit above the health of animals.

Asking questions is great. Getting educated is great. Insulting vets is rude.

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I'm guess you are a vet? Lol. In my experience, the older, more experienced the vet, the more out for the money they are, pushing science diet, useless vaccines, etc. Nyah's first vet is the one the screwed up her spay and took no responsibility at all for it. My cats vet called me a liar giving me a crappy prescription diet for my one cats food allergy which made her way worse and I ended up figuring out myself after $$$$ of wasted money later. I refuse to see a vet unless my animals are deathly ill. I have 0 trust in them, although my latest one is a young white English guy that seems to be honest and knows what he's talking about.


To the person who said they go to a holistic vet... Where do you look for those? I am highly interested in the all natural approach and don't believe in chemicals. I haven't seen any in my area.


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I'm not a vet, but I bet you if you ever have a health problem with your dog and ask about it on the forum, our members who are highly experienced vets will overlook these nasty comments and still offer you advice because they care about helping dogs.

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I don't know anything about the holistic vets, but how can you be sure they aren't "out for the money?"

I don't automatically assume that if someone makes a profit, they are out to screw me.

Quick story....Bella had some dark spots on her belly that looked like some sort of rash. After searching around on the web, I thought it might be a bacterial infection. I took her to the vet yesterday, and was told that it was just DIRT. Apparently, they secrete sebum in that area, which attracts dirt that does not come off easily. The vet cleaned it off, weighed her, and sent me on my way without charging me a dime. I didn't even have to ask.


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I am sad for your pets because I believe they might suffer due to your prejudice against the veterinary profession - I cannot imagine not taking my animals to a vet unless they are deathly ill because many times vets can offer good preventive advice that prevents your dog from becoming deathly ill in the first place, saving you money in the long run. Instead of trashing vets and blaming them for everything why not research good well respected veterinarians in your area. I'm sure some board members in your area could steer you in the right direction.

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Meet Yogi! http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...tion-yogi.html

For those who are interested, here's a link to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association AHVMA Home Page

We found a holistic vet in Pennsylvania after Daphne's bout with breast cancer. Being faced with a poor prognosis even with chemo after her surgery, and told by our regular vet that there was nothing else we could do besides chemo (which we did not want to do), we found a holistic vet and started accupuncture along with a high-protein food and several supplements. She went into remission and lived another 4.5 years, which was nothing short of a miracle.

When I was looking after we moved, I think I just googled holistic vet and my city. I don't think conventional vets (at least the ones I've worked with) intentionally try to mislead people, they're just doing what they've been taught. Our conventional vet is actually pretty progressive (he is certified in accupuncture), but he still sells Iams prescription diets. The owner of our current conventional vet practice and our holistic vet actually went to vet school together, and know/respect each other, so it makes it a lot easier for me to get second opinions.

It's a tough web to navigate, you just have to do your homework IMO.

There are two holistic vets in Maine that I heard about from dog friends. They also have websites. There are also a few other conventional vets who do practice some holistic methods. (like acupuncture) I would ask around. And if your not happy with your current vet, ask around as well. Maybe someone can suggest someone else who they really like.

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Lauren, Penny, and Luna!

Well our current vet just called about the sarcoma results and spent a half hour on the phone thoroughly. Apparently it's a big scar tissue from her spay. He was really nice and said we could get it removed for $600 but its nothing to be concerned about unless it gets bigger. It could turn into a tumour but its fine for now. So we will probably just leave it.


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