Dental decisions

[Eskielvr]

Amadeus is due for a dental, but I'm torn about the pre anesthetic blood work. I only had this done on him once, last year, and it was very hard to get just the bare minimum needed. And, it had to be taken from the jugular with a syringe. I was also the one holding him. I was so freaked out about not holding him good enough and him jerking, that I accidentally locked my knees and almost passed out. That never happened to me before and felt very strange. Like a weight was slowly pushing down on me making it hard for me to breathe.

Anyway, I really, really don't want to have to put him through that again. I know any time anesthesia is involved there's always a risk. I'm pretty sure he'd be fine though without, and I was thinking about having a regular profile done once he's already out. I don't know....I'm just not sure what to do right now.

[eskilady]

If he needs dental work, you need to get it done.  Bad teeth can affect his whole body and can cause more problems than you think.   

[BanaerEskies]

The vet should have his assisstant holding if it makes you uncomfortable. I know that is not normally how you do things, but in your distress being read by Amadeus may be making the situation more stressful for him too.

so is the question whether or not to do the dental or the pre-work?  I think you should get the dental done if he needs it, and have the pre-work done but with a vet tech holding him.   If you feel you need to be there, stand at his head and talk to him. 

[Saint Mom]

Personnally, I would get the blood panel done before because if they detect something before, they will adjust the anesthesia accordingly too.

I'd blame myself for the rest of my life if something went wrong and it could have been seen beforehand. It is always a risk to be put under whether you are humans or animals. But if I can limit the risk, there is no doubt in my mind I would do whatever it takes.

If you are not comfy with the situation, you can either send Eric or stay in another room and let the tech help the vet. And like Nancy said, if you are stressed out, chances are so will your dog.

But you have to do what you have to do no matter how it gets done.

Good luck.

[Eskielvr]

The dental is going to be done regardless. His teeth aren't bad though. I have them done yearly so it's just a routine cleaning. It's just the blood work I'm leaning against not doing. I know I can have an assistant hold him, but I just feel if I do it, he's my dog, I need to be the one holding him. He's going to be stressed whether I'm there or not, and probably more so if a stranger is holding him. I just don't really want to put him through it again.

The only reason why I had it done last year, was because it had been a year or two since his last one and I know my vet recommends it after around 7 or 8.

His dental isn't for another 2 weeks anyway, so I still have time to think about it. His profile came back perfect last year and I'm pretty certain he'll be fine, but then again things could change, too. If he were just an easy giver like Meli and Tristen it wouldn't be a problem or issue at all, and I really don't want him to have to be shaved in several places again, although that probably won't happen since he'll probably have to take it from the jugular again. (And to think I considered having them be blood donors once! Thank goodness they're all too small!)

I'll probably end up having the blood work done. I'd never be able to forgive myself if something did go wrong, and I couldn't imagine a little girl would go through. He's "her" dog (though he thinks otherwise most of the time, lol!). She loves him sooooo much. That's her little buddy.

[BanaerEskies]

Sorry, but if you nearly blacked out, you have not business holding him....Most vets don't allow owner holds because they lack skill and add to that the faint of heart so to speak, he would be better off with a vet tech holding.  Besides, as long as you have been going to that vet, I wouldn't expect the staff to be strangers anyway unless they have super high turnover.    reality is, the problem really lies with you, not Amadeus and you are not helping the situation.  Blood draws are harder on some individuals than others, but they still have to be done sometimes.  Be sure he drinks plenty of water before hand....add something to make it tasty if you need to....yogurt, Go-Dog, gatorade. 

[Eskielvr]

I didn't nearly black out because of the blood draw or because I'm faint of heart, it happened because I didn't realize I had my knees locked. I was watching him do the entire procedure and was fine with it. I've assisted with blood draws before, just not involving the jugular. If I had really felt that uncomfortable about it then I wouldn't have even held him to begin with.

My vet also does not have "vet techs". He has the receptionist, his wife, and once in a while, another helper. None of my dogs ever see them in the room. It's just me and the vet, so yes, they are strangers to them. Every now and then he has a vet student "shadow" him, in the case of when Amadeus was examined for his cough, and he then allowed the student to listen and learn, but they do not assist.

I don't feel I should have to be defending myself. I know my dogs, myself, and my vet clinic better than any of you. One thing I love about my vet is the fact that he does allow me to assist and to learn, unlike most vets who only allow you to participate in paying the bill and leaving the owners clueless in what was done and how it was done.

[BanaerEskies]

I don't feel I should have to be defending myself. I know my dogs, myself, and my vet clinic better than any of you. One thing I love about my vet is the fact that he does allow me to assist and to learn, unlike most vets who only allow you to participate in paying the bill and leaving the owners clueless in what was done and how it was done.

No, you don't have to defend yourself, you can ignore responses that dont' suite you.

Yes, ONLY you know your vet, your dogs and yourself.  But you ASKED the question on a discussion board of people who are not privvy to this info and you wanted their insight/suggestions.  If you don't like things, either don't ask or ignore answers that are not on point.

[eskilady]

I need to get Molly in and have her teeth done too.  Her little muzzle is a bit swollen because of bad teeth but I just haven't had the money to do it.  I am going to schedule her for next week sometime and get it taken care of.  I will have to hold her too because she is a nasty little dog.  she is one of those nasty spitz dogs that you hear about and I admit that it is all my fault.  So I will have to hold her or my vet will see her teeth very up close.  She is 11 years old so I just hope that things go well for her.

[Saint Mom]

My vet also will let me help out because he knows I love this stuff, etc. He loves explaining this or that while doing things. But if for any reason we can't get to the vein in one try, etc, then I will move over and let the tech do the job (especially on cats as it is a bit trickier - always the jugular). But that is because I'm a regular there. I could never do this is the big hospital I go as they take the animal in another room when it gets to those things. So that is a nice things about smaller clinics.

Question out of this topic: Why would locking knees would make someone faint? Is there a "chemical" reaction to it or is it just because a person is scared due to the locking? Never had a locked body part before and I can't figure how I could "lock" my knees (smiley with head scratching!)

[snowballsmom]

Question out of this topic: Why would locking knees would make someone faint? Is there a "chemical" reaction to it or is it just because a person is scared due to the locking? Never had a locked body part before and I can't figure how I could "lock" my knees (smiley with head scratching!)

snoopy locks his knees when he doesnt want to do something. he's like marmaduke from the comic strip, all four legs locked and had to be dragged...kind of funny, b.c he's 20#. not funny if he were marmaduke

[Eskielvr]

What I had asked was whether or not to have the blood work done, not to be told it was none of my business to hold my own dog because I don't have skills or because you accused me of being "faint of heart", when that wasn't even the reason at all.

Helene, if you stand with your legs completely straight and don't bend your knees, that's called locking them, and apparently that can cause fainting. I have never fainted or blacked out in my life (and note I said "never", which means it did not happen at the vet). I can only assume that was what was happening to me as I've never actually experienced it, but came close. It has nothing to do with being scared. It's like on those funniest video shows where there's a wedding and the groom or bride suddenly falls over and faints, because they stood straight without bending their knees. If the blood draw hadn't have taken so long, I wouldn't have noticed it.