Some General Advice on Worries about the Cause of my Dog's Health Problems
by Ms. K.
(Barnwell, SC. USA)
I tried calling the Vet but of course, it was after hours and I got no answer. I called the Vet early the next morning from work and was told that they didn’t know what could have happened to him while boarding but to give him a baby aspirin or 1/4 of a regular Aspirin and see if it helps. I had neither in the house so didn’t give it to him. The Vet told me to bring him in so I made an appointment to take him to the Vet on Saturday morning to have his leg checked out. The Vet examined him and said he found nothing but gave a prescription of Remidal for six days. If this doesn’t help, the vet said we would take X-rays to see what we find. After the prescription was finished, my puppy was limping even more, it seemed. I called the vet again and another appointment, ten days later. Well, he didn’t do the x-ray as he said, instead he gave my puppy a shot. Don’t remember the name of the shot. He then said that puppy could be getting hip dysplasia. He said the shot should help but if not, bring him back in ten days and we’ll take X-rays. Vet said puppy could be showing early signs of Hip Dysplasia.
This made me suspicious because there was no sign of my puppy being hurt prior to my leaving him for boarding. I read up on hip dysplasia and learned that it might attack puppies around 6 months old but mostly older dogs. My puppy was 3 months old at the time. Yes, he is a big puppy – almost 30 lbs at 4 months old. Someone, please share your thoughts with me.
This is my first puppy and I’m so concerned that he was injured at the vet. I feel that if this is the case, it would be easy enough, as well as convenient enough for the Vet to say that it is Hip Dysplasia, rather than admitting to my puppy getting hurt in his office while boarding.
I’m scheduled to go to a different Vet on Monday for examination and/or X-rays to see if I can find out what is wrong with my puppy.
Can anyone give me some solid advice? I sure would appreciate it.
Thanks for reading.
Our Response
Hi and thanks so much for your question. If I was in your situation I would take your puppy to another Vet (or even two more Vets) and get an accurate diagnosis to get their opinion. I would not visit the other Vet under any circumstances (I am in no way saying that anything untoward has happened but your confidence has been lost and there is no reason to continue using this Vet). Explain your situation and get their advice – it might be worth driving to a Vet practice a few miles away from your current Vet – only because you don’t want to get caught up with professional relationships (where one vet might not want to get involved as it might upset the other Vet). If you are still not happy get legal advice. I have provided a couple of useful links below.
