Administering Vaccinations at home

[Pops2]

not saying the vet did anything wrong (don't know), could have been any number of reasons the dog caught the parvo after being shotted. but included in that number of reasons are vaccine mishandling by vet staff.
before i started buying my vacs i asked the local houndsmen whon they buy from and while they all bought from different people they ALL told me who NOT to buy from and it was because there were eyewitness accounts of mishandling and people that had lost several dogs (one guy even lost his whole pack) because of it. a little investigating (really just a phone call out of curiousity) & i found the business in question had stopped carrying vacs because they weren't selling.

 

[LilahRoot]

i think the key word here is "better".

Precisely.

 

[colliewog]

Back to the original poster - I wouldn't give the first vaccine to a dog/puppy in case there is going to be a reaction. I'd want to be at the vet's facility for emergency treatment if necessary.

 

[Taqroy]

I have no idea on the vacs at home thing. We used Hamlett Spay and Neuter for shots this year and they were great. Didn't charge an exam fee, only for the shots and the vet tech that gave them was FANTASTIC with the dogs. We took Murph to Bijou Animal Hospital for an exam and blood work about a month ago and the vet we had (I can try and find his name and PM it to you if you want) was utterly awesome. Murph only ever allows belly rubs from family and he fell over and let the vet rub his belly. We are so going back. It was really reasonably priced too although I don't remember exactly what the exam cost cause we had to pay for blood work and eye drops also.

 

[LilahRoot]

I have no idea on the vacs at home thing. We used Hamlett Spay and Neuter for shots this year and they were great. Didn't charge an exam fee, only for the shots and the vet tech that gave them was FANTASTIC with the dogs. We took Murph to Bijou Animal Hospital for an exam and blood work about a month ago and the vet we had (I can try and find his name and PM it to you if you want) was utterly awesome. Murph only ever allows belly rubs from family and he fell over and let the vet rub his belly. We are so going back. It was really reasonably priced too although I don't remember exactly what the exam cost cause we had to pay for blood work and eye drops also.

That would be great! It's funny that you mentioned Hamlett because I just called them today to ask about their vaccination clinic.

I'm really not happy with any of the vets that we have used thus far, obviously.

Like I said, it's not that I am whining about how much it costs so much as I am whining that I am not getting what I paid for. If I were to find a vet that actually thoroughly examined the dogs before vaccinating them I would be more than happy to pay double what I am paying now. That just isn't the case.

 

[Saeleofu]

I guess I'll look into Banfield or another vet for now.

I'd really steer clear of Banfield. Of course it varies from doctor to doctor and place to place, but we've had a LOT of people bring their pets to us after Banfied screwed up or missed something major.

AAHA vets are not inherently more expensive. ****, our prices are lower than the "low cost" traveling vet that does vax clinics at Petco. ($50 for a microchip! Seriously? And $20 for rabies...****. Our chips are $41 and rabies is $16). sure, they don't charge an exam fee and we do, but if you add up the extra you pay for a typical visit, and that covers the exam charge.

Quite honestly, after seeing how some of the non-AAHA places are run and the kind of care they give animals, I'm never going to choose a non-AAHA practice.

 

[Pam111]

I'd really steer clear of Banfield. Of course it varies from doctor to doctor and place to place, but we've had a LOT of people bring their pets to us after Banfied screwed up or missed something major.

AAHA vets are not inherently more expensive. ****, our prices are lower than the "low cost" traveling vet that does vax clinics at Petco. ($50 for a microchip! Seriously? And $20 for rabies...****. Our chips are $41 and rabies is $16). sure, they don't charge an exam fee and we do, but if you add up the extra you pay for a typical visit, and that covers the exam charge.

Quite honestly, after seeing how some of the non-AAHA places are run and the kind of care they give animals, I'm never going to choose a non-AAHA practice.

Yeah, I suppose it really depends on which Banfield Clinic you go to. I've been to two--one in Lansing, MI, and one here in Buffalo. Like I said before, I only got shots here and a heart worm test and heart worm preventative. The vets were thorough, did a complete exam, and were very nice. That said, I didn't feel comfortable taking them there for their neuters/spays/sickness visits or anything. BUt for basic shots, I liked not paying an office visit price and still getting an office visit exam that was better than some other places I've been.

 

[elegy]

Quite honestly, after seeing how some of the non-AAHA places are run and the kind of care they give animals, I'm never going to choose a non-AAHA practice.

eh, i think it depends on the practice, but how do you know as a client on the outside looking in whether it's a good practice?

i've worked for both. the AAHA practice was very good until it was bought out by corporate vetmed. the practice where i work now is not AAHA and is also very good, and not so prone to overcharging and putting "procedure" in front of "what is best for the pet". i guess a lot of that, though, is a product of being a very small husband/wife-owned clinic.