Nice, they are about in a few different adverts, I spot them every now and again.
Do I not understand correctly?
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I've heard some of you talk about it on here before…in 2006 the MA board of veterinary medicine passed a policy that vets are required to provide a prescription at the request of a consumer...then why is it my vet is refusing to provide an antibiotic for Oakley per my request so his puncture wound doesn't get infected? On sat. I took Oakley for a playdate and in the midst of the fun Oakley was bitten on his foot...now I've cleaned it with peroxide and polysporin....it is swollen and tender but getting better....my concern is I just wanted to make sure it didnt get infected and figures my vet wouldn't mind just calling it in...now they are requiring to see him, hitch I can live with but they are giving me a really hard time because I refuse to tell them whose dog it was that bit him...this wasn't an attack, it was an accident and I undertand protocol forces them to call animal control but really people? Give me a break... All this is doing is causing a disturbance for both me ( have to leave work to take him) and Oakley ( who I'm sure isn't up for going to the vets!)
Ps- no issues of rabies or lack of vaccinations so that's not a concern
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Chealsie, what that ruling means is that if the vet wants your dog to have a medication, they must provide a prescription for you to fill at an outside pharmacy if you ask for it (rather than selling you the pills straight out, which most vets do to increase their earnings) It does not mean that the vet must provide you with drugs or a prescription just because you think you need it, that would be medically unsound. They are trained to make that decision, as to when drugs are indicated and when they are not. Prophylactic antibiotic use (prescribing an antibiotic when there is no infection, as a "just in case" measure) has come under a lot of fire recently, since improper and overly enthusiastic antibiotic use is thought to be contributing to the rise in antibiotic resistant infections.
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That's good to know!! Thank you
I should state, I wasn tying to self diagnose, I just figured since he was already seen by a vet the day it happened that I wasn't crazy to think that if he's still favoring it by not walking on it and it's still swollen that my vet wouldn't be opposed to the safety measure
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In the state of California, Vets are required to provide the prescription if the consumer asks and get it filled where they want (or order it through the internet)… But that is with a visit. I don't think any of these laws/requirements state that you can just call and ask for medication without a visit to the Vet. I don't know of any Vet that will just give a new medication without seeing the animal. No different then humans.... Obviously if it is something that had been treated for before, maybe... but usually will always require a visit.
I do find it a bit pushy that they are even asking... especially if you know that rabies is not an issue....
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They are definitely giving attitude because I won't cooperate….trying to bully me saying animal control will then have to contact me...the whole situations just annoying. It happened over the weekend so I took oak to a vet that has weekend hours, I've been treating it as directed but he still wont walk on it ( two puncture bites on both sides of where his top heel pad is, which also happens to be his tiniest part). It looks like I have a little hop a long in my house...which could also be him being a male basenji (drama queen) but it is still swollen. Just annoyed that this is two vet visits now for something that isn't a big deal ( but I also don't want it to get infected because I've seen it happen before with past dogs) and will assuredly take time out of work and Oakley will be PO'd he has to hop around rather than laying in a fluffy down comforter..all while getting bullied by our vets office that I NEED to tell them the whole story. Oh, happy Monday!
Ugh, glad I got to vent -
I didn't realize that he had already been seen by a Vet that day?…. Even if it was a different Vet, I suppose most Vets would require a second look... however, you could call the Vet that you went to Saturday, explain what is going on now, maybe they would prescribe something if they think it is necessary.
As far as getting bullied... I would never put up with that and would be looking for a new Vet...
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Yes, later than evening he started screeching in pain and realizing he's a drama queen I took that into consideration but still decided to take him thinking that maybe the vet would better be able to tell me how to take care of it so I had future knowledge in case something ever happened again. No biggie, a bit of a drive but still was fine with it as it was a learning experience. I thought about calling but the vet I saw was a weekend on call vet and doesnt work mondays….so that's why I just figured I'd give it a shot and try to get something called it to help with swelling and discomfort...wasn't expecting a huge hassle, my vet knows I'm educated about my breed and my dog...really wasn't thinking it was a big deal..
I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to him so I guess I'll have to suck it up and just do it
Definitely looking for a new vet, the other practice wasn't nearly as rude about the whole "dog bite" part...
On the upside- it was still a good lesson in possibly owning two basenjis...and we sill had a great time despite the cranky ending..lol
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Dogs get hurt…. they play, they rough house... body parts get in the way of mouths and teeth...ggg.
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Words to live by! Lmao
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Just a 'my opinion' on the swollen foot. I find the feet sometimes take time for the swelling to come down. When Rose had half her pad ripped off it took the better part of about two weeks before she would even put it down on the ground. Took about a month to heal pretty good. When Sugar and Damisi had a tussle and Sug got her leg bit, that was also the better part of a week before I started to notice any improvement. I think the legs/feet just take a bit of time because of the lack of fat on them.
I, too would be looking for another vet. Accidents can and do happen and not always are the aggressive dog accidents.
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Arlene, thanks for the input…feet/legs do seem different...he does however seem pleased with the special treatment and with getting to sleep on the couch snuggled in a down comforter watching animal planet ( I am a sucker I know!)
Definitely finding a new vet, it all so silly to make a play accident into such a dramatic deal...
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I should add that Oakley was an absolute gem when it came to interacting with the other basenjis. His playdate was actually a test to see if he would accept another basenjis presence around his mom. Not only did he, but I am sad to admit I didn't exist…lol..
So now that I know better how he is around them that will likely play a big role in possibly getting a pup this season...along with mentally preparing myself and of course financially accepting another BIG responsibility..
I must be crazy! -
I will say that I was told (by an ER MD doc and my vet) NOT to use ointment (neosporin, etc.) in a puncture wound. I've used both witch hazel (which is a pain free natural astringent - an alternative to betadine) and hydrogen peroxide for the puncture itself and then around the wound use neosporin. Once the wound has closed and the healing has started, then I use neosporin on the actual wound. The doctor told me that punctures can get infected if ointment is put in it.
Is the wound on his foot hot to the touch?
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I didn't know about the witch hazel…I used hydrogen peroxide and was told I could also use saline would wash...and I too was told not to put anything into the wound itself...he has two punctures, one on each side of his hock...to my surprise I got home to take him to the vt an he is walking and running just fine and the swelling has subsided a good deal. I actually cancelled the vet, there's no odor, the wounds are starting to close already an I've been checking for heat and there is none...looks like I'm going to keep a good eye on and assess if we should need a vet should something change...I'm a happy momma
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I use hydrogen peroxide all the time for puncture wounds, on horses, dogs, or cats. And I put it right into the wound with a syringe. They don't like it much, but it bubbles out any debris from the wound and cleans it out thoroughly. I had to do this with a horse that had an abscess once, and I can tell you by the second day he sure saw me coming! Had to use a lip chain to get it done, but it healed up nicely and he didn't hate me forever. You want a puncture to heal from the inside out, you do not want it closing up prematurely. More likely to get infection that way.
I have also used this method on a dog with an anal gland abscess. It also healed well, without incident.
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Okay, as explained, they don't have to just give you an Rx… in fact, it's probably against all sorts of ethics to do so. The wound might need flushing, it might need a drain, whatever. For a vet to just call it in would be far more of a sign of a bad vet to me than one who did unless they truly know you for many years and have experienced your competency. The threat to call animal control however, yeah not a vet I would use again.
That said, the 2nd vet who actually SAW the bite, wth? Puncture wounds should almost always go with prophylactic antibiotics. I really WOULD complain they didn't give you a script at the time and insist on one now.
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Because of the over prescripting of anti-bacterias, doctors and vets are refraining from the 'shotgun' treatments of wounds, or prescribing the antibiotics that used to be good for almost anything. MRSA, or antibacteria resistant staf infections are all too common now. Don't fault the vet for not simply giving you the antibiotic without a visit.
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There might be a possibility that if a vet feels the dog bite your pet suffered was severe enough, they might feel the need to report it. Also the possibility of complications, including rabies, could be at the root of any vet's concern. While we are not saying your vet was correct in their statement or behavior, we are saying there might have been underlying reasons for it. Vets get sued just like anyone else. It stands to reason they want to minimize any possibility of that happening. One would think, a good vet would want to know any and all information about the other animal and its current health that was involved.
We are think its very possible that your vet was attempting to be careful. In addition, unless you spoke with your vet directly, the statement made in regard to animal control could have come from his front office staff. We have experienced this ourselves, when someone who was in the front office felt they had the authority and without their knowledge spoke for the Vet and their opinion.
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It was the office staff, while I've had some issues with the vets most always it the staff that are "too big for their britches"…I don't fault them for not prescribing the antibiotic...I'm just more frustrated about the situation as a whole, from the weekend vet visit to having to leave work, the persistence/bullying about the incident...just "over it"...and luckily for me Oakleys doing wonderful, swelling is almost gone, he's running around, and I've been able to get a better look at the depth of the punctures and they are fairly superficial...little depth, and are healing...I think he is past the point of infection but I'm still cleaning it...I have started looking for another vet...anyone's whose followed posts from me knows I've had issues with this practice, I thought if I just exclusively saw one vet from it that issues would stop but it hasn't....the benefits of them seeing a lot of basenji's really isn't compensating for the care....
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As far as getting bullied… I would never put up with that and would be looking for a new Vet...
Yup, me too. There needs to be a communicative and overall good relationship with your animals and your vet(s).