Nervous from vet visit
Submitted by kimrisa on October 1, 2011 - 6:07pmHi! It's been a while. Hope everyone at BDW is doing great.
Tuffy's been squinting one of his eyes so we took him to the vet to get it checked out. Our regular, experienced bulldog vet wasn't there and we saw someone new who recently joined the practice. She did a tear stain test that ruled out dry eye but then she started making insinuations that if the infection doesn't heal up she may have to send him to an opthamalogist for surgery because it could be an issue with the eyelid rubbing against the skin)or some such, and then when I asked if his breathing sounded normal she made some comments that Tuffy may have an Elongated Soft Palate that may require surgery...but she wsn't sure. And then she observed that tuffy has pinched nares that may require surgery as well. She asked if he gets winded after walks and I said he does get tired but requires pretty quickly and his tongue never gets blue. She seemed to be very pro surgery, the complete opposite of our regular bulldog vet so I'm thinking that I probably have nothing much to worry about but will probably follow up with our regular vet just to ease my mind.
Clearly she wasn't a bulldog vet and seemed very pro-surgery but I'm just wondering if any of you have run into this kind of alarmist talk from vets who don't specialize in bulldogs?
If there is a moment of doubt... get a SECOND Opinion -
Your first few comments were very telling
1) your regular Vet wasnt available - (it happends to everyone)
2) this is a new vet to the practice - (you are a bit leary about their experience, especially with Bullies)
3) she 'seemed' very quick to recommend surgery - (All kinds of bells and whistles are going off, as you know, surgeries are pretty major, with more complications with bullies than alot of other breeds)
my personal opinion from reading your question - Unless its an emergency, I would wait for my regular Vet (if all possible), and discuss it with them.
Stick to your 'gut instincts' you dont feel comfortable with this Vet, get a second opinion or wait for your vet to be available.
(only my thoughts, i'm not a medical professional at all!)
Rick
Last steps taken May 26, 2014 -- Been rolling along ever since . . . .
Speak with your regular vet...
who knows bulldogs & has seen Tuffy before. A second opinion is always best from a knowledgeable vet!
Cathy & Zimmer
www.midatlanticbulldogrescue.com
This is typical
and I think especially of young new vets coming out of school. They make good money doing surgeries and when they see our breed they think $$$$. See your regular vet and I don't do surgeries unless they are truly required...not a maybe and I know it is for the better of the dogs health. Believe me you will know if he needs palette surgery. If he is really noisey, so much that people look at you weird...then he has a problem.
ps .. In your face picture of him
his nares don't look tight at all. Could be because he is panting...but they don't look tight to me.
i agree, but in the vets defense
surgery has become much safer and more common over the years, so unlike the old school vets they dont see it as such a big deal. i like the less obtrusive philosophy
Silverback's Immaculate Interception, "James"
my experience
Our regular vet isn't a bully specialist per-se, but he is very knowledgeable about the breed and their quirks. One afternoon he had a family emergency and couldn't see us (it was a regular check up) and we saw the new member of their practice who is a recent vet school grad. Our appointment was very much like yours...and we were only there to get vaccinations and do the normal check up stuff. I left completely bewildered and stressed and made an appointment to see our regular guy the follow week to check on the "problems" she noted.
We were in the waiting room for about 2 seconds before he came out, with Winston's chart and her notes and said he's completely fine. He did the check up stuff again just to be sure, but he completely put my mind at rest. I think a lot of it comes from inexperience with the breed and the desire to "prove" themselves as knowledgeable and capable vets...I would talk to your regular vet when he's back, and don't stress too much in the mean time.
Shannon and Winston :)
My swimming bully buddy!
Thanks everyone for all the great advice
and moral support! Tuffy's eye was much better after the drops and his breathing seems fine. It just gets a bit labored when he gets overly excited. I will definitely follow up with our regular vet on his next visit about his nares and breathing but I think we'll be okay!