# I think I found my vet. What do you guys think?



## GRANBYsyztem (Feb 8, 2014)

König comes home in 2 days. (yea
.. OMG!!! FINALLY!) been on the vet hunt and I think I found one. Great reviews on Yelp, seems like a friendly staff. Place is nice and clean. 

What do you think of this wellness package:
Tama Veterinary Hospital (Milpitas, CA) 
-Physical examination at 8, 12, 16
-All vaccines including rabies
-Two dewormings
-Fecal tests/all necessary tests
-Microchip (but hes already chipped from the breeder) 
-One year supply of Revolution flea and heartworm medication
-Free office visits anytime for 1 year

It's $370 - $50 Yelp discount. So $320. Not bad right? The free office visits and flea/heartworm meds for 1 year was the kicker for me.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Just a heads up:
https://www.facebook.com/TrifexisKillsDogs


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

ask them if the MDR1 gene mutation test is included in the illness er, I mean wellness package. Revolution is "mectin" as in selemectin, ivermectin etc. this could lead to seizures and or death.

Plus - spot - on treatments should NOT be used in puppies according to the AVMA and EPA - it IS a pesticide.


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/372506-avma-epa-flea-tick-products.html

Is this a Banfield franchise btw? Almost guaranteed that your 1 yr. of free visits will not be free.

Every time you take your pup/dog into the vet it is called "touch" point to sell you on something, either service (expressing anal glands), food, medication (abx. deworming, allergy tests etc. etc.)


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

you mean like this on sigh's page two of Hi...just got a rescue and he's skittish thread "Sheesh, maybe this should be in the health section at this point.

PS: The vet was a Banfield vet, which I've since discovered (I Googled it because of what I thought was an EXHORBITANT cost) is a whole other issue. But from what I can tell, while overpriced, the tests they did were not unusual and the treatment plan was pretty standard so I'll stay with them for now......especially since we were stupid enough to sign up for the wellness plan lol.......oh well, better $300 than the $800 they hit me with on a Sunday with a sick dog smh."

read this for the comments on Trifexis http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...hi-just-got-rescue-hes-skittish-advice-2.html


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

if u live in an area with heartworm 
yes that's a good deal
gsds aren't a high risk for mdr1 gene
if they were an aussie or aussie mix
i could see that being important
hw is too important to overlook 
and skip because of some wildeyed belief
-mectin is going to make your dog sick
btw the amt of -ectin in hw meds
is too small to be of significance yet
protects against hw
so is critical to your dogs health


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

my boy diesel said:


> if u live in an area with heartworm
> yes that's a good deal
> gsds aren't a high risk for mdr1 gene
> if they were an aussie or aussie mix
> ...



Then how come you have to have a HW test before using...I mean, ivermectin is used to treat HW infection, but you can't use a miniscule amount w/o putting your dog at risk if he in fact has heartworm....is this another upsell tactic?

OP, regardless if it is more a collie issue (MDR1), it is a "herding" breed issue...10% (of GSD's carry the mutation) is *recognized*, but could be more as many go unreported or suspected as such.

Read the *AVMA and EPA *links I provide....you too my boy diesel, before you go sensationalizing what your vet has you believe


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## GRANBYsyztem (Feb 8, 2014)

Hmm, i'll have to look into all of that. And nope, not a Banfield franchise. They're a pretty reputable vet in my area actually. 5 stars with 55 reviews on Yelp. That's not an easy thing to do these days on Yelp with so many people who get upset at the slightest things and decide to rage about it online. And the free office visits were just allowing me to come in and get him checked out. And if he actually needs something then I'd pay for service. But I think that's pretty much everywhere. Other vets I've called said there will be an exam fee every time I go onto the office. Even for shots. I think if anything it'd give me the peace of mind to be able to get advice from a vet anytime something was iffy. Instead of trying to determine if it's bad enough to spend that $50 exam fee. I'll look into the flea meds though. Thanks!


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

active hw infection is treated differently
than trying to prevent it
its really that simple
granby that sounds like a great deal then
i say go for it


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

my boy diesel said:


> active hw infection is treated differently
> than trying to prevent it


 
How is it different? I mean ivermectin treatment for active HW is oral? Injection?

So putting a miniscule amount on the skin behind the shoulders is "more dangerous" for active HW infection?

Please elaborate, as I am trying to wrap my head around this.


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## my boy diesel (Mar 9, 2013)

maybe this will help you 
wrap your head around things

Let me google that for you


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

GRANBYsyztem said:


> Hmm, i'll have to look into all of that. And nope, not a Banfield franchise. They're a pretty reputable vet in my area actually. 5 stars with 55 reviews on Yelp. That's not an easy thing to do these days on Yelp with so many people who get upset at the slightest things and decide to rage about it online. And the free office visits were just allowing me to come in and get him checked out. And if he actually needs something then I'd pay for service. But I think that's pretty much everywhere. Other vets I've called said there will be an exam fee every time I go onto the office. Even for shots. I think if anything it'd give me the peace of mind to be able to get advice from a vet anytime something was iffy. Instead of trying to determine if it's bad enough to spend that $50 exam fee. I'll look into the flea meds though. Thanks!


Don't know what area you are in but that is not a great price for here. $35 office visit + $12 for the shot even three times is only about /$50 a vist X 3 puppy visits would be $150. But the big thing for me would be to meet and visit the vet. My vet is awesome. Some vets are scared of big dogs, some aren't as thorough as I expect. My vet doesn't hesitate to say hey your dog is getting fat, put her on a diet or wait until 18 months to neuter. She does what is best for the dog and isn't afraid to try alternative medicines or diets if regular isn't helping. The personality of the vet is far more important than the cost in my book.


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

my boy diesel said:


> maybe this will help you
> wrap your head around things
> 
> Let me google that for you


 
Yes, sarcasm is most helpful.

Helping people understand why you propagate dangerous pesticides on growing puppies with something (link) to reasons...that would be more helpful.

Much like mine, as to why you SHOULDN'T.

Prevent mosquito bites, you prevent heartworm. Many natural solutions - non toxic.

OP, btw...it takes about 5-8 months from the time a mosquito with HW bites your pooch, before it actually makes it into the heart...I believe it's 3 months in the dermis - that's where spot-ons treat...so you could if you had to use - do every three months - less toxicity.

IF your dog is not MDR1 (this is a cheek swab - worth doing as anti-diarrhea drugs, certain anesthesia's and so on are on the mdr1 list - including the active in trifexis too)...I read somewhere that Heartguard is the safest HW prevention...


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Heartgard is ivermectin-based. The amount of ivermectin in it is identical in generic products like Petrust (Walmart) and Iverhart (online). It's labeled for pups over 6 weeks, if I remember correctly. 

Ivermectin has been given to HW+ dogs for slow kill treatment for years and years in the Deep South. People used to worry about shock from sudden microfilaria die-off in a HW+ dog--that turned out to be theoretical, I guess, and is now no longer talked about by vets as a concern. They now actually give a big dose of it sometimes as part of HW treatment at the end of the treatment to kill microfilaria, even with fast kill. 

Trifexis and Proheart though cannot be given to HW+ dogs. Advantage Multi is the product of choice for HW+ dogs in the Deep South, where we deal with this all the time. I don't know anyone who uses Revolution down here. 

There has been a lot of debate about taking HW preventatives off RX. The vet lobby has stopped it as it's a money-maker. The best argument for keeping it under RX is requiring an annual test makes sure people stay compliant. There's so much misinformation about not needing it year-round, or encouraging people to skip doses that MANY dogs end up HW+ due to failure to follow instructions. 

In the Deep South, a dog that isn't on it year-round WILL get HW -- even if an inside dog. You can play with essential oils all you want, but if a mosquito finds your dog, good luck. We have an epidemic. Anyone playing games with this down here will end up with a + dog and a BIG vet bill. Worse, the cure for HW is immiticide which is arsenic-based, requires two months of crate rest and has a mortality rate that is not insignificant. If you've never seen an untreated dog die from HW, you are lucky--it's a painful, miserable, sad way to die (and dogs with advanced HW are very common in shelters and yards here).

It's quite possible that in the far north it's not an epidemic, and less intensive prevention works for you. That's not true down here, where mosquitoes are a year-round phenomenon, and the infection rate is very, very high.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

One more thing: it takes 6 months for an *adult* HW to develop. That doesn't mean it takes that long for *infection*. 

Ivermectin only kills the microfilaria that developed in the last *30 days*. (Advantage Multi might go as long as 45 days from what I've read, but the vet advice is always to play it safe and not push past 30.) 

The stage in between where ivermectin gets them and when they are adults won't show up on a HW test, but it doesn't mean they aren't infected. It means the test isn't sensitive enough to pick up the juvenile worms. They're in there, growing (and reproducing if the dog isn't getting monthly preventative). 

The American Heartworm Society's immiticide treatment protocol requires three months on prevention before starting treatment for this reason (the adulticide immiticide treatment only kills adult worms, so the juvenile worms would other wise escape treatment, and your dog would test positive again in 6 months). The stage where they're if they're too old to kill with ivermectin but too young for immiticide is the concern. 

I read that Advantage Multi just got relabeled by the FDA for some efficacy on some stage of juvenile worm, but it's not an adulticide. 

It's all very complicated as to which products kill which stage, but the only-dose-every-three month advice will result in an infection down here.
Many, many of us down here have had the experience of adopting a HW- puppy, keeping it on preventative and having it turn HW+ at the 6-month recheck because it was already infected when adopted, but it wasn't showing up on the test yet b/c the worms were too young. That's not a failure of the preventative products (and they were used safely during this period)--it's just a function of the HW lifecycle, and the fact that that tests are designed to be sensitive to adult HW, not juveniles.


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## GRANBYsyztem (Feb 8, 2014)

Thanks for all the info. Didn't mean to start a dispute over heartworm medications and killing dogs. Just wanted to see if the vet fees sounded reasonable. For those that are curious, im in Northern california. Not a terrible place as far as heartworms go but from what I know not the safest either. And I guess it is becoming a growing concern. In any case. From all the places I've called,the prices were all about the same. Except this was the only place that gave the flea/heartworm medications and included free office visits. That plus friendly staff, clean facilities, and great reviews.. Seemed pretty good.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

How far from Chico are you? I have friends up there that have GSDs and I know they have a great vet.. but not sure if your location is near there.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Man, I only wanted to let him know about Trifexis!:crazy:


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