[sancraft]

My vet was very hostile when I tok my goat to him on Tuesday morning. I told him that I thought she had bloat because I had someone feeding for me over the weekend and I think she was over-fed and there was a possiblility that she had gotten into some horse feed. Also, she wasn't giver hay and I think he didn't water them either. He asked about the white powder on her mouth. I informed him that I had given her baking soda and he sneered and chuckled, oh di that work for you? I told him yes, that she had belched loudly and passed gas after getting the baking soda and her stomach went down. I also told hm that I gave her a vitamin b shot. He was going to worm her with Ivomectin and I told him that I worm monthly during the warm months and every 6 weeks in the cold months with the same wormer. He asked how much I was giving and I told him and then he preceded to lecture me on how difficult it was to do the calculations for meds all while figuring on his calculator to come up with the same dosage that I give. He did a fecal anyway and she was worm free. He then asked that if I knew everything, then why was I there. I told him I didn't know everything, but I try to stay informed and do what I can and I use the vet when something happens that I can't handle. I told him that I have several animals and I either have to do routine care myself or they would get no care so to financial limitations. This morning he left me a voicemail that he would no longer treat my animals unless I brought them to him for all routine treatment. He doesn't even do barn visits, so he wants me to bring 6 gaots to him ever month for worming as well as do my hoof trimming, vaccines, etc. Is this man crazy!!!! Has anyone else ever had a vet refuse to treat their animals because they provide routine care themselves?

 

[SHELBY]

That's just nuts.... Our vet does come out to the barn to treat but will ask me what I have done for them first so he can eliminate the simple things he would have suggested in the first place...It works out great for us because he knows what knowledge I have and what medications I have on hand and will give out more suggestions and let me pick up the meds that I don't have at his office to save me a house call....You need to find a new vet..

 

[Farmer Don]

Sounds like that vet is learning from people doctors.... He obviously has too much business or too much money.

 

[Guest]

Sounds like this vet is a real goofus! But I can relate. Our vet is not very knowledgable on goats and he has been in the business for over 30 years. Shop around, I did and even though the vet I found is about 45 miles away, he is wonderful when it comes to the "gals in the barn lot" as he calls them. Good Luck and Keep Your Chin Up!

 

[Guest]

I get the feeling most vets prefer to stay in their office these days and work on cats and dogs...in my area it is almost impossible to find avet that makes farm calls anymore. Lost a donkey last year because nobody would come out. Now we do just about everything ourselves and resign ourselves that sometimes an animal is just going to die if it is sick beyond the care I can give it.

 

[Michael Leferink]

I know next to nothing about goats. I do know Vet's, however. I ran into a similar situation, several years ago. The man was having a hard time keeping his practice profitable, because of his nasty attitude. He was the only Vet. in the area and thought he could get away with it. People treated their own or drove +50 miles to another Vet. It got so bad, people were putting down their own animals, if they could not fix the problems themselves. Of course, he continued to loose money. Then another Vet. set up practice in the area. The new Vet. was very friendly and free with his advice. He had no problem making barn calls and was available 24/7 for emergencies. His fees were a lot lower as well! Guess who got all the business? Put the sour puss right out of business! Lesson, what comes around - goes around.

We're very lucky. Our oldest daughter is a Vet. practicing in Orange, Tx. When ever she's in south Louisiana, she comes by and examines our animals. And of course, she's only a phone call away. The only time I've ever seen her become short with a customer is when the customer was doing or wanting to do something that is/would be cruel to the animal.

Every year more people graduate from Vet. school. I recommend you talk to the other animal owners in your area. If they are ready for a new Vet., then write a letter that you all help to compose and send it to the Vet. school of your choice. That's basically what we did to get the new Vet. in the above scenario. We got him from an area with an excess of Vets.

Don't put up with bad service. It's your money and your animals!

Good luck,

Mike

 

[mpillow]

My vet is a peach! He encourages me to give him info. about goats as he deals mostly with cows and he also encourages me to learn to do things myself....we breed to have the vet come once a year for disbudding and shots to keep costs down but he has come by on Sunday and he lives 45min away and it wasnt a huge bill either considering it was Sunday.

Sounds like your vet has a goat horn shoved up his butt...

Look for a new vet!

 

[GeorgeK]

Not everyone with an education is an arrogant A**H***

Sounds like that vet is learning from people doctors.... He obviously has too much business or too much money.

 

[mawalla]

The guy is a jerk. Find another one. The vet that I work for would never treat anyone like that! A veterinarian has to deal with all types of species, including human. Your vet forgot how to deal with that one!

 

[Laura]

Find a farm vet! They expect a person to know how to treat certain things and are more than willing to educate you about the things you don't know yet. It was a farm vet that taught me to clean and stitch wounds, give vaccinations and figure antibiotic dosages for the different animals.

My past and current farm vets will give advice over the phone and tell me what problems to look out for before needing a farm or office visit.

 

[Guest]

Find a new vet, this guy's got too high of an opinion of himself and too low of an opinion of you.

I do all routine care myself, can handle wounds that don't require stitching -- including some pretty gory ones on the chickens -- and can fairly accurately diagnose and treat most ordinary illnesses, with the correct dose of the correct med administered the correct way.

The vet's for things I can't diagnose (okay, WHY is the horse lame this time?) or which I feel I need a second opinion on ("is this something contagious?" "Is this fixable or should we put the animal down?"), for meds that aren't available OTC (banamine please ...), for things requiring major surgery and spay/neuter on the cats and dogs, for rabies shots, for things that need x-rays, etc.

I've never heard of ANY vet demanding that THEY administer wormer. Good grief. THey're OTC for a reason -- most wormers are very easy medications to administer. Which reminds me ...

Leva

 

[Jim S.]

So what did he do to treat your goat? If he concurred with you about bloat, then he should have spent the time he whiled away arguing with you on tubing the goat to relieve the gas, instead. Did he tube it? Or did he take another diagnosis/course?

How is the goat doing?

I hate to see people problems get in the way of an animal's prompt treatment. The way a vet gets more biz for him or herself is to take care of acute situations and then the owner may grow more amenable to general care.

IMHO, having a vet do routine stuff like trimming goat hooves and even vaccinations is not only laughable but a huge waste of money and the vet's time.

I have the opposite problem here. I have to learn to be my own vet, because the large animal vets all do the cows first, then the goats if they have time. That can be too late in acute situations.

I learned to vet my cows, too, when I had them, simply because of the fees involved with a vet coming to do routine vacs and stuff.

You need to find another vet, for sure. I do hope your goat got some treatment that was approriate, though.

 

[Jaybird]

Well, I can be quite a bear when I get my dander up and I think I'd go a step further. If I was POSITIVE I would never use him again, I think I'd file a complaint with the AVMA(?). Not necessarily for lack of treatment, but for ethical behavior and pure human decency. Even the AVMA would agree that many practices such as worming and trimming are animal husbandry issues and do not fall SOLELY under a veterinarian's care. If that was the case then we couldn't buy wormers at the feed store, we'd have to have a script! Sounds like he's just trying to get into your checkbook by messing with your head!

I filed a complaint with the ADA on a dentist once who yanked my son's head around and told him he was being a brat during a tooth extraction due to a permanent tooth coming in on top of a baby tooth. (The kid was five years old and scared to death!). The dentist wrote an apology which I'm sure was NOT heartfelt, and wrote off part of my bill. Made me feel better anyway.

Good luck to you.

 

[Queen Bee]

You should ask him if all his other animal owners bring their cats and dogs in to be treated for heartworms, worming, nail cutting etc. IF he says yes, he is a lair.
No vet in their right mind would suggest that you bring your dogs in monthly for them to give them a heartworm tab, wormer or nail care! I would find another vet and quickly!Debbie

 

[NewlandNubians]

Don't know if your state has a better business bureau, but a complaint would be in order. I would write a nice long letter to the BBB documenting everything and see what unfolds. It may prove quite interesting. I had to set a vet straight throught the BBB before because he prescribed the wrong meds for my goat. Long story. Needless to say he does NOT get any referrals from me and unfortunately will not get any business from anyone my husbahd, the cattle and sheep farmer or me, the goat and poultry farmer has anything to do with!!!

BTW, baking soda for bloat is an appropriate treatment.

 

[Qvrfullmidwife]

Actually, haven't had a vet like you described...but more than my fair share of pediatricians and other people docs...sometimes it is just an OK guy having a really bad day. Bt all too often it is someone with a real control issue, or a huge ego.

Life is too short (and too important) to waste it on people who are this egotistical...and I have to wonder if his ego (or need for control) is this great...does it cloud his judgement?

 

[Guest]

this guy needs to get over it.... I live in a very rural area and my vet is really pleased that I don't call on him for stupid stuff like routine vac, dewormings etc. The fact that I call on him when I'm stuck and need is advice shows him that I don't misuse his time. He also respects me for what I can do. I had a goat go down paralyzed.. I worked with her and followed my instincts... all the time the vet said. she's never going to walk again... WEll, i couldn't make that decision to put her down because this gal was all heart. So I continued to work with her, and she started standing again.. Then she broke her leg... I set it and now she's walking just fine. And Guess What? When I told the vet about her wonderful news, I proved to him that I wasn't stupid and he has new found respect for me. I also got pups over parvo. He knows I'm no idiot..
Find a new vet, someone that will work with you.. and not be a P***** ant about things.
char

 

[Guest]

The goat is fine now. I did write a letter to the BBB about my experience with him and I sent him a copy. He is really cocky and has a huge ego. I only used him because he is the closest large animal vet to me. The other is 40+ miles away and doesn't make barn calls to that distance. I just hope they all stay healthy until we get moved to a new place.

 

[Bazza]

Sometimes vets forget they care for animals, but work with or for people.
Bazza

 

[bethlaf]

...........He then asked that if I knew everything, then why was I there. I told him I didn't know everything, but I try to stay informed and do what I can and I use the vet when something happens that I can't handle. I told him that I have several animals and I either have to do routine care myself or they would get no care so to financial limitations. This morning he left me a voicemail that he would no longer treat my animals unless I brought them to him for all routine treatment. He doesn't even do barn visits, so he wants me to bring 6 gaots to him ever month for worming as well as do my hoof trimming, vaccines, etc. Is this man crazy!!!! Has anyone else ever had a vet refuse to treat their animals because they provide routine care themselves?

oh my, i am so sorry !!!!
is he a large animal vet?
sounds like he might be thinking of your goats like a "pet" and not a farm animal , i mean really,
i wouldnt DREAM of taking an animal to the vet for hoof trimming, gods !, besides if i did that, what would the dog have to snack on ? ( never mind, farm humor)
this is kind of funny coming on the heels of my visit to our vet today , we have 2 house cats and one house dog, i buy frontline monthly ...i had been paying 30.00 for this, until today , i walked in and said hi to the vet, he says, hey, um , just buy the frontline for 100+ lb dog, and ill give you dosed syringe to squirt it on the kitties..
ok great ... my frontline bill from now on , $11.51 realizing im not in the same cash crunch as some, but still i like to save20.00 where i can ... and im sure everyone else feels the same

call around, there should be a large animal vet, or better yet, call neighbors with cows/horses, hey , who do you use?
and call the AVMA
and the letter to the BBB is a great idea, glad to see you acting on this !

be your own advocate!
Beth