Mups, At least you are able to eliminate most of the worst ailments that Mups could have.
I was amazed at the price of the test you are getting done on Mups’s poo samples, l thought, it would be in the hundreds.
At least, you are making progress now and that must be a bit of a relief.
Yes Art, I am very pleased about the poo test price too, and as I said, if I take it to the lab myself, she will work on it Saturday, what a smashing lady.
I don’t want to upset my vet, but I would rather test and find out exactly what (if anything) she needs, than just give routine stuff and hope for the best.
So far at the vets I have spent £303, and we still don’t know what is wrong - only what is NOT wrong. So for an extra £28 it is worth doing.
Thinking of you and your little man, as you know. x
Wow! I can’t believe the difference in price.
Meg, I did some swatting up on lungworm, and it all said same as you about the persistent coughing. Mini mups doesn’t cough at all, and this is another reason I was reluctant to dose her for it without being sure she had it.
I do agree with my vet that it could easily happen because of her compost eating habit, she could easily pick up a slug or snail with the soil, but I want to be as sure as I can be first.
As for your dog that had the Leukaemia, was it only so noticeable in the latter stages can you remember?
If all else fails, I will maybe explore mineral deficiencies.
One last thought though. A sudden thought came to me last night.
When the first lot of blood was taken - and that was the lot with the worst results, then the next lot was taken with slightly better results. How come?
My brain suddenly pondered whether those first results could have been influenced by the blood loss from having just ripped that claw off an hour previously.
What do you think of that? Do you reckon that could be possible or shouldn’t that have made any difference?
I’m not saying all vets are rip off merchants but this is one way they make money.
That, and convincing you your animal “needs” x amount of treatments.
Yes, I think that can often be true with some vets Nicol.
I like to think not in this case, as I trust my chap, but I have heard many tales of what I call “the Till fillers.”
Having said that, I never buy routine wormers or flea treatments from my practice as their mark up is ridiculous. Also, if any of mine have needed repeat prescriptions he has always offered me a prescription which I can take to a place of my choice and avoid their silly mark-ups. I buy online from a reputable pharmacy.
I emailed him yesterday and explained/confessed, I had organised these poo tests elsewhere. He replied with a very nice email giving me a link to read explaining more about certain worms. He wasn’t cross with me at all.
He sent that email at 10.10pm last night. That man never seems to stop working.
I think you’re quite lucky with your vet Mups.
My practice is sort of medium size, they have 2 surgeries in this area. They employ a lot of vets. I think it depends on who you see as regards the service you get. The older vets are more “wait and see” rather than expensive tests but the younger ones are more likely to recommend what I consider unnecessary tests and procedures.
My dog (Bailie) has a repetitive strain injury on her front left leg. Last October I took her to the vets because the usual treatment of rest etc hadn’t cleared it up like it usually does. I saw a young vet who immediately wanted to x-ray it to check for arthritis and to put her on expensive painkillers. I refused the treatment as I knew damn well it wasn’t arthritis and instead I restricted her walks to 2 x 30 minutes a day and closely monitored anything she did that could possibly be aggravating it. I cut all those activities out (simple things like not letting her jump off the sofa and stopping her from going up steep hills), it took 3 months but the limp stopped. And it hasn’t come back because I’m now more aware of what triggers it.
So instead of having her on long term painkillers which would probably have caused some kind of organ damage (and would be costing a fortune) I worked out a long term solution, which is better all round.
I wish more vets were like yours, some of them seem overly eager to dish out the meds.
Glad you have been able to help Bailie, Nicol.
I don’t even know your dog of course, but I think personally, I would have let them x-ray just to be sure he hadn’t got a small fracture or injury that was aggravated by exercise, but you know your dog better than anyone else.
Yes I am lucky with my vet. Another thing important to me is, their emergency out-of-hours procedure.
My practice does not ship out-of -hours calls out to another surgery, they do 24/7 emergencies themselves on a rota, so you always see someone from your own practice, who has all your notes.
More and more vets now seem to send you sometimes miles away, to a vet you don’t know and who doesn’t know your animal from Adam. I would not like that.
Mups, if Bailie hadn’t improved I would have had the x-ray done, but the vet was pretty convinced there was no break or fracture, all she was interested in was getting her x-rayed for arthritis, and getting her on these expensive painkillers.
And out of hours vets, yes, if they don’t know your animal it’s as bad as seeing a locum Doctor who doesn’t bother reading your notes. The last time I used the emergency service was on a Sunday and one of the partners opened the surgery for us, which I thought was good. I’ve since found out that now, due to demand, they have a Sunday surgery. And because there are 2 separate surgeries they have cover til 10pm every night.
Hi Mups 
yes I agree but I surprised there aren’t more symptoms.
How long has little Mups had Pica, is it a recent thing.
As for your dog that had the Leukaemia, was it only so noticeable in the latter stages can you remember?
It was years ago but I remember it like yesterday 
Emma was one of our young champion bitches, she was due a litter of which we had high hopes. We were stunned when she produced just one very large puppy. It was a few months after this that Emma became lethargic and not her bright little self and was diagnosed with leukaemia. We wondered afterwards if there was some connection between her odd litter and her silent developing condition. There was no treatment at that time and as she rapidly lost weight and became more ill we had to let her go 
Emma remains the most perfect Mini I ever saw…
One last thought though. A sudden thought came to me last night.
When the first lot of blood was taken - and that was the lot with the worst results, then the next lot was taken with slightly better results. How come?
My brain suddenly pondered whether those first results could have been influenced by the blood loss from having just ripped that claw off an hour previously.
What do you think of that? Do you reckon that could be possible or shouldn’t that have made any difference?
I don’t know Mups, maybe and in a number of ways.
I hope you can find the cause of the problem and treat it but if little Mups is fit and well in every other way eg gums not pale/lots of energy/ eating well try not to worry if you can’t find the cause.
Hmm, I’m going to remind him about her foot bleeding when we go back next week, see if he thinks there could be a connection.
Mind you, that still can’t be anything to do with the Pica.
I agree. If you are lucky enough to build a relationship with your vet like Mups has, then that’s great but every time we go to the vets, it’s a different person so I am always wary about what treatment is ‘needed’.
Some people say that about my vets practice too, dongles, but why can’t you make your appointment with whoever you prefer to see? Won’t they let you ask for someone in particular?
The only time I book one of the other vets is if John is on holiday, or it is quite urgent and he is fully booked.
He actually said to me once that it makes their lives easier too, if clients stick with the same vet, as they get to know their patients better than when people keep swapping about seeing different people.
Makes sense to me from both sides.
GP Practices - please take note!!
Yes, would be good wouldn’t it Tabs.
I said jokingly to my vet once, that I was grateful for the time he takes and how he explains everything clearly - unlike my GP.
He grinned and said - "Ah, but the difference is … you’re PAYING me.
True aint it.
To be fair Mups, the majority of us pay for the NHS too!
True I suppose, but I expect he meant we don’t hand over our cash to the GP direct.
Not yet !:-D:-D
Off to the lab tomorrow with the samples for testing.
Hope I can find the place alright. I am not good at navigating. :roll:
We’ll keep a ‘search and rescue’ team on stand-by, Mups. Wish I lived nearer I am good at navigation/map reading - used to go orienteering. Good Luck!:-D:-D
