I have one of those rare cats that actually is better behaved at the vets office than at home! I have been able to hold him for shots, temp etc most of the time, but again he is EASY. I think as a kitten at Banfield they would take him in the back but I don’t remember. It really doesn’t bother me either way, I might ask why because I would think it is a little weird but if I didn’t trust them then I wouldn’t be there.
[QUOTE=Manahmanah;7169062]
Oh, man. You have been through how many vets and admit to screaming at one?
Crazy person sirens are going off already. .[/QUOTE]
That was my thought too.
We use the cat bag as well as a mask for particularly bad patients. The calming effect it has on the CAT is amazing, but the owners get pretty stressed when they see them come out. Thankfully, my boss takes the time to explain both the bag and the mask in a way that calms the owner. I can see how taking them in back and skipping the ‘calming the owner’ step might be easier.
Exactly. We have signs posted all over the clinic that state, “For the safety of yourself and your pet, only our staff is allowed to handle your pet during exams,” or something along those lines.
Good grief.
I have never once thought about taking an animal to the back as being shady.
It wasn’t the first matter of course for pets in one clinic for routine vaccinations and easy blood draws.
But sometimes yes, for putting a catheter in an old dying animal for a euthanasia or wound cleaning where we had specialized equipment or heaven forbid to take radiographs.
But we also had a window into the surgery room where we could have an owner take a peek if truly concerned and you could see partially into the main “back room” with most of the equipment.
It’s just a lot of the pets did better without their owners there, especially the aggressive type dogs. And restraining cats can be entertaining and it’s easier with more room for a couple more people if necessary.
If you don’t trust the clinic, why take your animal there? Do you feel the same way about entrusting your child to a radiologist or an MRI tech?
I prefer to restrain my own pets, but won’t protest if the clinic insists otherwise.
My current vet seems to do pretty much everything with the owner restraining, at least with me anyway, which I really like since my dogs are older and a little anxious. I hold them for vaccinations, venipuncture, and these days, a lot of fine needle aspirations of masses :/. They’re always pretty easy, so maybe that’s why they keep doing it this way? I’m no dog handling expert but I try to do a decent job. It seems to be faster than taking the animal away. I’m guessing that if they had a pet that was really acting up or the owner was making things worse, they’d take to the back.
I have to leave my dogs for surgery all the time, and I’m confident in their handling when I’m not there. It’s just that when possible, I’d prefer to do it.
I worked as a vet assistant for 20 years. I am retired now. I am totally fine with the out back method because it easier for the animal, for many reasons. First of all as previously stated everything is back there equipment wise including the sink. You can not possibly put all that stuff in an exam room as it would not fit. If they get into the middle of a procedure and need something, presto right there.
Secondly the owners alot of times set the pet off with their own anxiety. I remember this one lady’s dogs were extreamly aggressive, and very dangerous, but much better if she was not in the room. They didnt have to protect her from us if she wasnt there. That was the problem. I was super glad she was so cool about it, because quite frankly I dont like getting bit. She made my job easier and safer. The dogs were easier to work on thus requiring less restraint and less sticks for samples.
And last but not least lawsuits. I heard of a lawsuit where the owner didnt get bit but the handler did, and the client sued the vet for emotion damage or something like that, cause seeing that scared them so bad. Go figure. So as far as I am concerned you cant win here. Seriously people I never nor did the clinic I worked for, ever treated an animal badly because it was out back. And no it wasn’t just a job, it was my life. I find it a bit offensive that I may have been veiwed as shady or abusive because we took an animal out back.
Wow. After reading all of this, I realize how truly fortunate I am to have the small animal vet I use.
My small animal vet used to be my horse vet before he went to all small animals, and he knows me and how I deal with things. I am allowed to be present for any and all procedures, including surgeries, and he and his tech fully expect me to restrain as needed, and they know I’m not the least bit squeamish or fluffy about anything.
He actually offered, years ago when he was still doing strictly equine, to put me through vet school if I would go into practice with him when I graduated. I turned that one down…but I do maintain a strong interest in my animals’ health.
And on the very rare occasion that I have had to take a horse to the local equine vet clinic, I cringe at the lack of handling ability of two of the vets there and their techs. None of them are particularly good with handling horses, and when I requested that I be the one doing the handling and was given the insurance excuse, I’ve told them flat out that the lawsuit that would result from their inexperienced handling of my horse, should he be injured because of it, would be a lot worse than if I got hurt holding him for them. There is only one of the three vets there that I will let work on my horse, and he is fine with me handling my own. The other two both tend to talk in almost baby talk to owners, using that soft, little girl voice…all that’s missing is the kindly pat on the head. Drives me up the wall…it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard.
On the flip side, I absolutely do understand the need for a lot of owners to not be present for their pet’s procedures…there are a lot of people from Planet Fluffbunny living on Urth. 
[QUOTE=starrunner;7171710]
If you don’t trust the clinic, why take your animal there? Do you feel the same way about entrusting your child to a radiologist or an MRI tech?[/QUOTE]
I have a dog who does not want to leave me; I am willing to allow my other dog to be taken out back, but when I say “This one can’t be taken away from me”, I’m talking about a dog who, after living in the house with my parents for 8 years, still will not permit them to take her off our property. She doesn’t want to leave me; why wouldn’t a vet be willing to trust that I may know more about what my dog’s mental state is than someone who sees her for 8 minutes a year?
As I said, if a vet has a hard and fast policy on it, I trust they have it for a reason and I’m not going to ask them to change. But I also won’t use that vet. It’s one of the things I ask of new vets, so I know if it will be a problem. The one vet who said it wasn’t and then dragged her out back without permission, I left. None of my other vets have had an issue with it.
I was fortunate that the clinics I was in did house calls in such cases.
Way less stress all around.
Deja vu. I think we’ve had a thread like this before. I’ll repeat my unpopular response: half of the posters think they are exceptional people and owners who should be exceptions to the protocols & insurance liabilities of the vet they patronize.
Like many have suggested, find a vet with a different protocol. Seems the OP’s vet permits her presence so I don’t know why she started this thread.
In today’s society, everyone is exceptional (aka an exception from the rules).
I’m not exceptional?
Well hell, there’s goes my day.
:winkgrin: :lol: 
[QUOTE=MistyBlue;7174702]
I’m not exceptional?
Well hell, there’s goes my day.
:winkgrin: :lol: :D[/QUOTE]
Thanks for having a sense of humor!
I want to stay with my cat or be allowed to go ‘to the back’ with them. Not because it’s a trust issue with a vet or a tech but to reassure them-the fur kidz.
I don’t get squeamish or freaked out with someone restraining them, but if I can be there to keep the peace so to speak it helps to keep things from escalating. I’m familiar with basic restraining skills and keep body parts away from teeth and claws.
I feel the same way with my mare.
My cat needs blood drawn about 4 times a year. I sit in the waiting room and a tech comes out to get her in the carrier. They take her back and return her in the carrier. I have yet to experience any issues. My kitty comes back just fine and they never say that she gives them trouble. In fact, they told us that my sister’s cat is exceptionally good for getting blood drawn. Some people sound like they need to chill out and realize that their presence is not as calming to their pet as they think it is…
[QUOTE=alternate_universe;7175423]
Some people sound like they need to chill out and realize that their presence is not as calming to their pet as they think it is…[/QUOTE]
From your lips to God’s ears…
It would never even occur to me to worry about my dog going gasp TO THE BACK. The back is where the scale is. It’s also easier for them to draw her blood when she’s away from me.
Actually honestly since being in college I’ve taken her to whatever the low cost vaccine clinic is when it’s the time of year that she needs her shots again. Fantastic assembly line fashion, bring the dog, pay for the shots, lift the dog up onto a table, and the entire environment is so chaotic and distracting to her that she doesn’t really realize what’s happening and by the time she feels the needle prick, it’s done and we can go on our way. Ironically it’s way less stressful for her than actually going in to the vets office, though you would think it would be more. And they even use a little metal engraver tool thing to put my phone number on the back of her rabies tag.
[QUOTE=beowulf;7169167]
PPS- five horses… who is your NH practician?? i have 4 SC ditch-dogs (all from aiken!!) myself, and am from a town 10 minutes from the NH border - we’re practically neighbors![/QUOTE]
Beowulf - You know five…you met her in Aiken and share the same first name.
Side benefit- no negative association with owner
[QUOTE=alternate_universe;7175423]
Some people sound like they need to chill out and realize that their presence is not as calming to their pet as they think it is…[/QUOTE]
Absolutely!
Side benefit- when done ‘in the back’ without owner present, the painful and unpleasant procedure is not associated with the owner. I want to be associated with security and comfort, not needles and anesthesia.
As a former tech, I’ve had it both ways. It is nice to not be the one causing your animal pain. Restraining my dog so a stranger can shove a needle in his vein seems so deceptive and unfair. When I’ve thought about it, I would rather someone else be the bad guy who restrains or sticks (thermometers might as well be needles to dramatic Joey) so his trust in me remains in tact.
Oh the mysterious “back room”. Ask your vet for a tour or ask if you can spend time back there and observe. We often have high school/ college students who will come for a few hours to see what a vet’s work is really like. Our treatment area is quite large as we are a multi-vet practice. At any one time you will see animals getting dentals, being prepped for surgery, recovering from surgery, lab work, prescriptions being filled, getting xrayed, etc. We normally don’t let clients in back w/o prior arrangements because we are busy. The one exception is x-ray when the findings are serious and the pet is headed for surgery or euthanasia. Otherwise x-rays are viewed by computer in the exam rooms. We often note on the chart if the client is a good holder for certain procedures like nail trims. Ditto what Bicoastal said ^^^.
Remember that video recently of the woman in “back” throwing the Dachshund? There HAVE been things occasionally by some people done in the back. Surely the minority, but those people are out there. So saying, “No vet would ever, ever, EVER do anything like that, and we vets are offended professionally that you think the possibility even exists” goes against those stories of the bad apples. ANY profession has its bad apples. Who is to say that you aren’t one if I just moved to town and this is our first appointment?
Especially when I am new to a practice, I’m not going to trust blindly. I want to talk to the vet, get communication, get a sense of where he’s coming from, what he knows. I want to watch at first how he handles my animal. A sense that their clinic policy is “all owners are idiots and out of touch with reality, so don’t even waste our time pretending you’re different, because we know you aren’t” isn’t going to build much trust. Communication on both sides goes a long way.
I’m sure all the vets on COTH are awesome. I wouldn’t have any issue letting your staff be the restrainers in front of me for liability reasons. With explanations and a little bit of history with the vet, I probably would let the animal go to the back if needed, but I want as much as possible to be done in front of me, too. Anybody dealing with owners constantly should start to develop a radar and realize that not everybody flips out at a muzzle or one drop of blood. An automatic, “Hi, DT, welcome to our practice, and your pet and I will be back in a while,” followed by a closed door to the back because it’s YOUR practice, and if I don’t like that, there’s the door, is not going to win me as a client. Just as animals are individuals, so are owners.
I just returned from an appointment with a new PCP this morning. As I now have insurance, I’m catching up on some things let slip for years in the Mom crisis. No real health problems other then a few chronic injuries, just wanted to establish. This morning’s doc, whom I’d never met, was picked by starting out in network for insurance, then asking a wide variety of people I knew, plus looking up credentials and reviews on line. I went in expecting to like him but also with radar and antennae fully out. I do work in the medical field myself (and no, I don’t think at all that puts me ahead of him in knowledge or qualifies me for an MD behind my name, but it puts me ahead of a lot of total non-medical-background patients in how we will interact, and he should adjust his approach appropriately).
I liked his attitude, young but seemed quite knowledgeable and listening, but where he totally won me over was when we got to discussion of immunizations. Before I even had a chance to mention that I preferred minimal on that, he started out the topic himself by saying that while most people get flu shots, he thought that for someone my age with my basic health, that was totally a judgment call on what I felt comfortable with and that he would be comfortable either way, shot or no shot.
SOLD (the doc, not the flu shot). Not because he agreed with me; he was definitely neutral and clearly did recommend them in many cases. But because he didn’t have a widespread “every patient I see will be treated this way” assumption to practicing medicine, which many docs I’ve known (and a few Mom worked for) had. He was willing to look at the individual in front of him. I want that in my doctor.
And in my vet. And with a few appointments like that building trust and respect and demonstrating that you also have some respect for me as a patient or for the owners as individuals, too, I’m much more likely to consider what the doc DOES give as his strong recommendations for me, or to accept my animal “going to the back.”
My vet will take my pets back to the treatment area for blood draws, stitches, that sort of thing. They give the shots and do toenails, etc, in the exam room with me there. When my big dog sliced his foot open and they had to change the dressing, that was just a tech appointment and of course they just took him to the treatment room so they had space to change the dressing, with all the supplies right at hand. I can’t imagine why OP is so off the rails about this.
I’ve been going to my vet for 25 years, and they certainly let me back in the treatment room if I ask, but frankly, I don’t want to be there. I’m paying for them to use their expertise on my animal, and I see no reason for me to get in their way.
Regarding the cat “screaming”, my cat starts yelling like he’s being barbequed the instant I put him in the cat carrier, and doesn’t stop until we’ve gotten home again and I let him out. Cats howl. That’s what they do.
