Kinkdogg Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 My parents and sister just got back from our vet for her second to last vaccinations. It was just a few things he said that have pricked my ears. Firstly, he said after 2 weeks we can give her short walks, not letting her sniff anything and didn't recommend taking her anywhere with other dogs. She is 12 weeks old now, and we still haven't taken her for a walk out of our property yet. We have to wait another 6 weeks until the final vaccination to do that. We only have a small backyard and we want to give her a good walk. Plus my sister works at the RSPCA and he said that she shouldn't work, or if so to leave all clothes and shoes she wears at work there. So my sister doesn't want to work for 6 weeks just in case she carries something home. Which makes sense. Secondly. Feeding wise, he said, we should just feed her dry food because everything she needs is in there. Hmm, breeder said to feed her mince with the dry food. Vet says you could freeze mince as a treat, but not for the meal. Interesting. Also, no bones. Um really? If we have to give her bones, they must be big so she can't swallow it, and take all the marrow out as it is too fatty. Really? Bones help clean teeth, but he said we can brush them as she matures... I'm not criticising the vet as it does make sense in a way what he said (I'm sure he has more of an idea then me). I'm just wondering what people have experienced with vets, or if they have any opinions themselves on what I have said. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I'd be going to a new vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Many vets know bugger all about raising puppies other than what the pet food companies brain wash them into thinking. Ask your breeder exactly what to do and follow their advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petri Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Dry food and mince sounds like a horrible diet!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 The vet is correct about her not being fully protected against disease until a while after her final vacc. The vet is correct in saying marrow from bones is VERY fatty - it can make some dogs ill. The vet is right in being worried that viruses may travel home with your sister's clothing from the RSPCA however .. parvo virus can be anywhere on the footpath/ vet's carpark... anywhere. Depending on the quality of the dry food , the vet is correct in saying that it contains all the nutrients. BUT... meaty bones which can be chewed and eaten are a good source of calcium and other things . Depending on teh size/breed of your pups , she may enjou whole RAW chicken wings/chicken frames.. lamb ribs,oxtails,roo tails ,turkey necks .... If your breeder suggested mince/kibble then that's what puppy is used to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Well to be fair, everything your vet said was correct. A good dry food IS a complete diet. Although it may not be the best for the dog (compared to raw etc) it will be adequate and meet the nutritional requirements. So he is right that you don't need to also feed the mince. Many people feed a dry only diet successfully. In fact most people would probably feed mainly dry (and some scraps etc. Unless he specifically said not to feed raw then I don't see a problem? Lots of vets do not recommend bones because they have seen lots of obstructions due to bone eating. Personally I think it depends on the dog. My dog is on a raw diet and gets bones each day. About the vaccinations- 2 weeks after the second vaccination the pup should have some immunity. I guess it depends on what level of risk you are willing to take and what the parvo incidnece in the area is. My puppy was out walking and being socialised at 14 weeks. If your sister works with parvo dogs at the pound, then it is a very wise idea not to let any of her clothes in contact with the pup etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinkdogg Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Yea, I wasn't disagreeing with our vet, just getting other opinions. Thank you to all who have replied so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisymina Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 My vet would crack up laughing at the idea of brushing my dog's teeth. Really - raw meaty bones - and when I lost her last week, she was nearly 12 years old and perfect teeth. Vet always commented on how good her teeth were. Never a clean. Never lost one tooth. Ok - so there is a slight risk of a dog choking or getting a bone stuck. We have had dogs here for 30 years. And I had another one before that. A lot of that time I was even feeding cooked bones - in ignorance - and not once have we had a problem. So the risk is actually rather small if you take that limited sample. And feed appropriate bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Ok - so there is a slight risk of a dog choking or getting a bone stuck. We have had dogs here for 30 years. And I had another one before that. A lot of that time I was even feeding cooked bones - in ignorance - and not once have we had a problem. So the risk is actually rather small if you take that limited sample. And feed appropriate bones. *nods* In over 50 years of multiple dog ownership .. we have never had a bone related problem. Our dogs eat any sort of (raw) meaty bone ..from beef to rabbit . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I brush my dogs teeth as do many other people i now,bones don't work for every dog so brushing there teeth is the next best thing. Many vets do suggest this but owners think its funny or to lazy to give it a go or place it in the too hard basket . My dogs just stand there like its normal & no issues at all & yes they do get bones & things to chew. I also find with brushing you get to pay alot of attention to what is normal & what isn't. As a groomer we have tell so many clients there dogs teeth are crap & need tending to as they never look & presume the bones/chews are doing there job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) I cant see what's wrong with what your vet said. Most vets will give that same advice. But if you are unhappy with your vet, then you should change vet. I've been taking both my pups out as soon as I got them, but I carry them everywhere. They get short walks up and down my street too just for exercise (as well as a lot of running around in the backyard) and they are socialise through other friend dogs who I know are healthy. Also puppy school etc. I do not take them to public dog parks, beaches etc though till they had their 3 vacs though. As for food, my dogs are on raw diet from the time they get home. When they do get kibbles.. there is usually mince mixed in it or else they won't eat their kibbles. My dogs frequently have bones and neither one of them ever had issues with it either Edited June 14, 2011 by CW EW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 My little guy had his second vaccination at 11 & 1/2 weeks & vet said he would be fine after 1 week & the 3rd vaccination was not necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Dry food and mince sounds like a horrible diet!! Sounds like a real good diet to me. I have bred, reared and shown my dogs to Best In Show on a mince and dry food diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I would suggest that you get yourself another vet. Vaccine works the same way on dogs as it does on you. It starts working the minute it enters the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dju Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 My little guy had his second vaccination at 11 & 1/2 weeks & vet said he would be fine after 1 week & the 3rd vaccination was not necessary. This is what my breeder told me as well Wait a bit for the second vacc to take effect and the third one isn't needed at all. And he's right about dry food diets--it may sound boring for the owner, but... what Aussielover said (won't repeat for brevity's sake) :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussielover Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I would suggest that you get yourself another vet. Vaccine works the same way on dogs as it does on you. It starts working the minute it enters the body. It may start working right away but you don't get peak/protective antibody levels until around 1-2 weeks after. My last dog got mince and dry food for most of her life and did well on it so it is defintely not a "terrible diet" I feed Mindy raw because she is allergic and I know more about nutrition etc now than I previously did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 If you trust random people on a message board more than your vet, it's time to find a vet that you trust more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 If you trust random people on a message board more than your vet, it's time to find a vet that you trust more. Whilst it might be true about finding another vet, some of the people on this board know more about canines than plenty of vets and the combined knowledge is astounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 If you trust random people on a message board more than your vet, it's time to find a vet that you trust more. Whilst it might be true about finding another vet, some of the people on this board know more about canines than plenty of vets and the combined knowledge is astounding. The challenge of course, with both vets and DOLers, is figuring out which of either group has advice you can safely rely on. Frankly I've read advice here over the years that has been downright unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 If you trust random people on a message board more than your vet, it's time to find a vet that you trust more. Whilst it might be true about finding another vet, some of the people on this board know more about canines than plenty of vets and the combined knowledge is astounding. The challenge of course, with both vets and DOLers, is figuring out which of either group has advice you can safely rely on. Frankly I've read advice here over the years that has been downright unsafe. Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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