Do you find your vet doesnt do much but overcharge you for cleaning your dogs ears?

Question

I have been to my vets quite a lot over the last 5 years and apart from the odd injection it seems when i go to see the vet the only thing they do is look in the dogs ears and give it a quick clean with a small drop and some tissue and use it as a excuse to charge for treament, ontop of that they voluntary go ahead and give me advice which is another charge not to say their advice is any good as vets do not take into account you may know anything about dogs and think your a complete dummy.

Does anyone else have the same experiences with vets? I have experienced quite a few and they are not very good with breed determination either, i have pretty much had to guide my vets in the field of checking my dogs teeth to determine age which they should know already.

I think all vets are good for is cleaning dogs ears, doing injections and the odd surgery which lets be honest it couldnt be that difficult.

I am not speaking on behalf of all vets as i am sure there are Lots of great vets out there but i am looking for answers on the bad ones we experience, As far as my vets are concerned they may as well go home and lets the girls at the desk run the place as they seem to know more than the vets do.

Answer 1

I don't waste time paying anyone to clean my dogs' ears.  It's a waste of my money to pay anyone to do this simple job.  

I do think you have an unnecessarily negative opinion of all vets.  While some vets may match your viewpoint, most do not.  You should not judge all vets on the basis of what you see in a few.  Actually, I suspect you treat vets in a very demeaning manner to begin with as you sound like you start out with the attitude that the vet is stupid, and needs you to train them to do things right as defined by you.  

You state you're not speaking on behalf of all vets, but if you've never met a vet you believed was intelligent and good, then the problem is your approach rather than the vet's competence level.

If being a vet was as simple as you claim, then it wouldn't be so hard to get into veterinary school.  It's well known that it's much harder to get into vet school than it is to get into medical school.

I have had vets of varying degrees of competence.  I've also worked in the medical profession for many years, so I tend to be more picky about doctors and vets.  

I find it to be a big red flag that you consider all the vets you have selected to go to as incompetent and less knowledgeable than their staff.  Maybe you should avoid owning an animal till you can find a vet you believe is competent.  Or maybe you just need an attitude adjustment. I don't get overcharged.  I do things I don't need the vet to do and save a lot of money that way. I'm not always dissatisfied with the vets I use, but I'm not always thrilled with them.  That's not surprising, as it's possible to disagree with the vet and the selected treatment, and the "bedside manner", but it's a red flag when you cannot find any vet you ever like!  -!-

Answer 2

Sounds like you have a bad vet!

I moved, and tried a vet closer to where I now lived.  Since my Rottweiler was there and needed a nail trim anyways, I told them to do it, figuring they would do it complimentary as part of the exam like my old vet did.  They charged me $30!  To CUT NAILS! A process that takes less than 2 minutes!

It was unbelievable.  Now, I do what I can at home (cut nails and clean ears), and take a hike up to the vet I used before I moved.  I realized that a good vet is a good vet, and is worth traveling for if I trust her and know that she is a decent and honest person.  

Keep looking, you'll find a good one!

Answer 3

Yikes!   You've had bad luck with vets.

I live in a relatively large city, and have tried many vets before I found one with which I was happy.  Ironically, as much as I love high-tech offices, I ended up with a vet who's less high-tech and more common-sense hands-on (i.e. he treats farm animals as well as dogs and cats).  He's legendary for coming up with diagnoses by just looking at the animal (and confirming with a very specific test or procedure), as opposed to giving the animal a battery of very expensive tests and procedures in the hope that one of them will "show" something that's wrong with the animal.

And, as you seem to have figured out (smile), how good a vet is is NOT determined by how much s/he charges or how many tests s/he orders.

Why don't you put a free post on craigslist.com for the largest city that's closest to where you live, and ask people for suggestions as to their thoughts on who a great vet in your area is.

Answer 4

either change vets or question them about goes not with you pet.

Answer 5

try to find another vet for your dog

Answer 6

My vet does not charge me on my dogs' ear cleaning! that is supposed to be free! look for a better vet, your dog deserves a good vet!

Answer 7

Hmmm! well my vet is great! I pay $30 for nail clip check up and yearly Vac and she talks to me for the whole time I've paid for and asks heaps of background questions. Once she was away and I had to go with her locum  and he was the same as you have described yours really. just a jab and that's it. Didn't ask me anything and just really did not seem to care.

Answer 8

Why do you keep taking your business back to a vet you're unhappy with?  This doesn't seem so much like a question as it does a rant.  Go find a different vet if you're unhappy, it's not hard.