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Mrs. Mik
Abbotsford, Wisconsin
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Joined: 04/01/2002
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Sorry, this is long . . .
I took Maddie to the vet today for her heartworm and some booster shots (I know, I'm VERY late on the heartworm, so please, forgive me). I've been to this vet before and been quite happy with them. They took great care of Murphy (our cat) when she got squished by the patio french doors. Anyway, the tech told me that one thing they recommend is de-worming Maddie. They said that it's something that should be done on a regular basis, and that we should be doing this monthly.
I questioned her on this and said that in 20 years of owning dogs, no one has ever said I need to de-worm my dogs. Maddie is a very healthy 6 year old Shepherd/Greyhound mix.
I told her that I would have to research this, because I've never heard of a dog her age being "de-wormed" when there is nothing apparently wrong with her.
They then took Maddie from the room to take her in back to give her her shots and trim her nails and draw blood for the heartworm test. All of a sudden, I heard a horrible howling, crying, in pain-type sound that was Maddie! When they brought her back in, I asked about the howling. They said that they "hug" the dogs when giving them shots, taking blood, etc., and that sometimes a dog with separation anxiety (like Maddie) will howl and yowl like that. The only time I EVER heard howling and yowling like that is when I ran over our previous dog and broke her leg! (That's a whole 'nother story!)
The vet also then recommended de-worming Maddie and said that she de-worms her dogs once per year. OK, wait a minute here . . . I've never heard of this being done on older dogs without a problem, but then I'm told every MONTH and she only does it once per YEAR?
So, are they just trying to make money off me? They didn't even want a stool sample to check for anything. They just wanted me to buy the medicine . . .
I'm not comfortable with this, at all! Add to all the above, the fact that there was no one in the parking lot OR in the office, and after waiting 30 minutes, I finally asked how much longer, and was led into a room.
Your thoughts? Anyone routinely de-worm a VERY spoiled house-dog? What about the howling and the vet taking her away to give her the shots? I've always had the vet do that in the room in front of me in the past . . .
Thanks!
Julie
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Leaddogvt
Hewitt, NJ
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Joined: 03/22/2004
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Without a doubt, find a new vet. Our dogs recently had some trouble with intermittent loose movements. We took a stool sample down and sure enough all 3 had worms. The medicine was in 2 parts, to be given 3 weeks apart, and they were all fine. I have never heard of de-worming regularly aside from the once a month heartworm pill, which I think is supposed to cover other types of worms.
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DSR
AZ
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Joined: 02/21/2004
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Quack..Quack..Quack...!!!.... Run, don't walk to another vet...!!!
We've never DeWormed unless there was a problem... As far as the dog yelping... What a BS story... find another Vet..!
Quote:Your thoughts? Anyone routinely de-worm a VERY spoiled house-dog? What about the howling and the vet taking her away to give her the shots? I've always had the vet do that in the room in front of me in the past . . .
Our vet does the shots with us in the room too...
As far as howling...??? That's Me when I see the bill...![[emoticon]](http://www.rv.net/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
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Finally Time
Western Washington
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Joined: 05/17/2005
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Never have wormed any of my dogs unless they tested positive for worms. Could they be referring to the monthly Heartgard which basically "worms" the dog? As for the howling, I had a German Shepherd that would shriek and howl like you were pulling out his toenails when the vet would put a stethoscope against his chest, and the noises were unbelievable when he would get a shot. The second they took their hands off him he was his normal happy-go-lucky self. Some dogs just seem to be drama queens.
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Horseplay
NC
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Joined: 01/03/2004
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Worming schedules are mostly geographic, and what your animal is exposed to environmentally. Some require more than others. It is a personal call too. I only worm my dog when needed. My horses used to be wormed every other month and wormers rotated....they feed off the ground so they will pick them up. Is the parasitic cycle.
As for the howling, it is often very hard to keep an animal still to draw blood, especially if in a strange environment and is amazing the sounds they can make when scared or uncomfortable. I wouldn't be too overly concerned about that unless they seem like a gruff group.
Many vets and tech's prefer that the owner isn't there because often it turns into another patient to deal with! An owners excitement can make the animal even more anxious. Some procedures may cause pain (drawing blood) because some animals veins are tough to get at, just like people. An inevitable yelp sometimes can't be avoided. Some animals are drama queens too.
If you aren't comfortable with this group, find another one.
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Horseplay
NC
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Hey, I swear I didn't copy from your post! The drama queen thing! hehehe
Finally Time wrote:Never have wormed any of my dogs unless they tested positive for worms. Could they be referring to the monthly Heartgard which basically "worms" the dog? As for the howling, I had a German Shepherd that would shriek and howl like you were pulling out his toenails when the vet would put a stethoscope against his chest, and the noises were unbelievable when he would get a shot. The second they took their hands off him he was his normal happy-go-lucky self. Some dogs just seem to be drama queens.
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Horseplay
NC
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Heartworm medicine is Ivermectin. It is a broadcast wormer, and pretty potent stuff. Comes in pill, paste and injectable.
Leaddogvt wrote:Without a doubt, find a new vet. Our dogs recently had some trouble with intermittent loose movements. We took a stool sample down and sure enough all 3 had worms. The medicine was in 2 parts, to be given 3 weeks apart, and they were all fine. I have never heard of de-worming regularly aside from the once a month heartworm pill, which I think is supposed to cover other types of worms.
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Mrs. Mik
Abbotsford, Wisconsin
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Joined: 04/01/2002
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Thanks for the responses so far!
Sorry, I should have made this more clear, but they were not talking about the normal monthly Heartgard. They said that the Heartgard helps with most worms, but not all, so we need to do this in addition to the Heartgard, and that worms can be transferred from dog to human, and especially since we have kids, we should do this on a regular basis, because the worms can even end up in the kids' spinal column!
As for the howling, every other time, they've taken care of her in the room with me and I've helped to hold her. She has NEVER made a sound like that before. Truth be told, now that I looked at her toenails, I think they cut one too short (to the quick), and that is what caused the howling. Why didn't they just tell me that instead of making up some cockamamie story?
Julie
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Code2High
One hour past Nowhere, CA
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Joined: 12/21/2004
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You should never de-worm a dog without a fecal exam. There are several different things they can have, and they need different kinds of meds for each different type of parasite. Once a month is not necessary, but once or twice a year its good to run a fecal and be sure there's nothing brewing. More of course if you think there's an issue.
However, you may be confusing some of what you were told. The heartworm meds, which ARE given monthly, also take care of several different species of worms, depending on the specific heartworm preventative you choose. Is this possibly what the tech was talking about?
Now, whether or not you should be giving Maddie heartworm meds every month all year is another question. Many vets are trying to go in that direction, and with changing weather patterns, it may be appropriate in certain places. If its appropriate where you are depends on whether you get a good solid freeze that lasts the winter, or periods of thawing on and off when mosquitoes might breed. If the former, then you are feeding a pretty nasty chemical unnecessarily in the winter months. If the latter, then heartworm bearing mosquitoes might be a real risk in the winter months.
susan
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a wabbit, Fuzzy Wuzzy had a dandelion habit! RIP little Wuz... don't go far.
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critter 02
Oregon
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well after 25 years of being a vet tech I would say this is both normal and abnormal. It depends on the dog and staff. I would say most dogs do better when mommy or daddy are not there. Some do better with thier owners there offering stability. I have seen dogs scream when you touch them and others not say a word while you do painful things to them. i have never seen a vet say you could not be with a pet if you ask to. I would make a call to the vet and let them know why you are unhappy and why. There is a chance the vet was not even there and that the techs did the whole thing. As far as the worming, I agree with others that it depends on dogs activities. I would say most dogs have worms at some time or another. You could also do a worming once a year just to make sure or a test first so you are not putting unneeded meds in your dog. since my dog is on heartgurad with wormers I do not add any others. However if I suspected something I would have a stool check done. if you are not comfortable with this vet then find a new one. I have always said a vet is only as good as their staff. Most pople do not realize how much the staff does rather then the vet.
good luck,
Brenda
Dan & Brenda
Sophie the spolied k-9
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