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Desexing Reminder In The Mail


Dewclaws
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So I get a reminder letter by the vet saying to bring in my 4 month Labrador puppy to be desexed . Last time I clearly told her that I would prefer him to mature first , and perhaps desex between 12- 18 months ( if I feel he needs it ) . Of course she scoffed at my reasons and said he perfectly fine to desex at 16 wks with his c5 vax. And I said I have read research that it might be better for bone growth to finish and him to be mentally more mature and once again scoffed at it .

Now I know there is big debate on it . Many vets say sooner the better , others trying for a more conservative approach , others who are advising against desexing full stop and recommending vasectomy or hormone treatment .

I though I was doing a more conservative approach , probably will desex but no rush ( especially in a male dog ) .

Yet for her to ignore all that and send reminder letter anyway is insulting .

I am not a sheep , I will not follow the flock mindlessly .

There is a couple of other good vets in the area . I know were my business is going now .

Anyone come across this bull headed approach to animal health care in vets ?

It's like the god complex on steroids , there should be room for opinions in it without being ignored .

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I think I've been asked every time I take Nitro to the vet :laugh:

From vaccinations, to when I had his retained baby tooth removed ( I was asked multiple times then, by more than one person!), and I got a reminder in the mail. They just assume you will get it done. Nitro is still entire :)

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I think this just annoys me because while we were talking she was typing away in his medical history . Surely she could have made a note that I was not desexing at 4 months . If they can make a note to send a reminder surely they can tick a box not to send a reminder .

I find it insulting in that she was thinking blah blah blah blah send a reminder anyway .

We are not all ignorant , we can make informed choices . There are many highly qualified vets out there who are against routine desexing .

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Yep the vets can waffle on as much as they want...at the end of the day my dog = my decision. I did all the research and waited till my rottweiler was 18 months.

Actually I wanted to wait longer but I wanted to trial him and the rules were unless he was a registered breeding dog he had to be de-sexed before i was allowed to trial. It was worth it btw, he passed and titled :)

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We keep getting letters saying our two need vaccinations. Last time we were there we asked the vet why they insist on yearly vaccs when the AVA recommend three yearly...they didn't have an answer. Does my head in.

Just do what you know is best for your dog :)

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Yeah it was probably was a automated letter, but surely if they are going to be a professional practice with personalised care they could have a system in which they actually listen to me and do the automated letter sent out at 12 months when I said I would consider desexing .

Some hairdressers even send out reminders to get your hair cut in a time frame suitable for your hair style and colour . If a hairdresser can personalised care surely a vet practice can ?

If vets want to build a good relationship with clients and their pets then listen to us .

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Yes i too would suggest it just automated. The program we use at work is very annoying to remove reminders from, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened at our clinic.

Though two of the three vets would definitely not scoff at someone who does their own research and is wanting to take a conservative approach. The other may try to convince for the typical 6 months.

We often have to gauge how committed an owner is, and love it when owners research themselves and bring in things :) If your vet doesn't, I'd say find a new one who does appreciate that :)

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The yearly vaccination reminders really annoy me because it goes completely against AVA recommended guidelines and all current science. My vet doesn't do it as she's a breeding specialist and knows better but gosh it annoys me when I have had it happen elsewhere.

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The yearly vaccination reminders really annoy me because it goes completely against AVA recommended guidelines and all current science. My vet doesn't do it as she's a breeding specialist and knows better but gosh it annoys me when I have had it happen elsewhere.

We don't get annual vac reminders, we get annual health check reminders!!

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The yearly vaccination reminders really annoy me because it goes completely against AVA recommended guidelines and all current science. My vet doesn't do it as she's a breeding specialist and knows better but gosh it annoys me when I have had it happen elsewhere.

A bit OT, but on the opposite side of that, we had a client who came in, her dog had the kennel couch vac. then she went home, called us back and pretty much abused us for not giving her dog the whole vaccine like we had done in previous years.

i had to explain that the AVA policy has changed (changed much later than it should might i add) and that your dog doesn't need a vaccine every year.

But to bring her back if you wanted to pointlessly spend $100 to overload your dogs system :laugh:

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The desexing reminder is likely to be automated. Reminders for a set time in the future, like a health check or vaccination (say for 4 week, or 12 months from 'now') are generally set manually, or at least in an automated way where the user has the choice to select or cancel the reminder. In the practices I have worked desexing reminders have either been manually set (as a phone call) or have been done monthly by selecting a particular data range (to determine age).

I would just accept the reminder as nothing more than the practice letting you know that your dog has reached an age where many pets are desexed. There are most likely to be notes in your dogs file documenting your wishes. Mention it to your vet or the staff when you see them next, and if they follow up simply tell them that you do not wish to do it at this time.

Edited by Rappie
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