# Help! Taking Blue into the vet tomorrw.



## Bluey (Nov 16, 2011)

I'm taking Blue to the vet tomorrow morning and I have to bring in a fecal sample. I intend to to lie and say that I feed him high quality kibble. What will they think about his poop with the bones and how it looks. That typical raw fed dog poop.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Personally, I would be honest. As raw feeders, we should not have to be afraid of someone who works for US. We feed our dogs a natural food and, if your vet really has a huge problem with it, it might be time to find a new vet. I am lucky enough to have a vet who feeds raw herself but when we move, I will be willing to take my dogs to a vet who is at least accepting of it or won't lecture me for it. If my chosen vet tries to lecture me about how bad it is... Well, time to find a new one. 

I don't feel that lying about a dog's nutrition is in the best interest for the dog. While vets may not know much about it, nutrition is usually the root of any issues the dog may be having. If the truth about what the dog is eating is going to be helpful for the vet, then why lie?

I would just brush up on what you know and be armed and ready for any questions your vet may have about the raw diet. If your vet tries to argue with you about it simply say, "I am happy with the way I am feeding my dog and a species appropriate diet is what I feel is best for him" and leave it at that.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

It is not fair to your vet to not give him/her accurate information. 

I know some people on another yahoo group say they only feed their dogs boneless a day or so before the vet visit to fool them. I just don't ascribe to that philosophy. If I had vet I thought I needed to hide the truth from, I'd look for another vet.

Maybe it won't come up. But remember, you know it's best for your dog to feed raw. You should be working WITH your vet for your dog's health. Anything less than that is not in the best interest of Blue.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Why lie? The vet works for you. He can state his opinion but you should have yours too and you know your your reasons for feeding your dog a species appropriate diet. Your dog is being fed the best - there is no reason not to tell people. Your vet should know what your dog eats to adequately care for him and assess his needs. JMHO


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## Bluey (Nov 16, 2011)

Ok Ok you guys convinced me, but I still hope it doesn't come up. Thanks for the pep talk


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

So what happened?

I myself can't seem to shut up to EVERYBODY about raw. I am almost combative in my defense of it and by that I mean overly prepared with knowledge. Like others have said, they work for you. Its like customer service but with medical jargon. I left a vet that gave me an attitude about raw. Why should I pay someone who makes me feel bad about what I feel is a good thing to do when there are so many vets in the phone book?

Hope BLUE is healthy!


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I think if enough people tell their vets the truth about what they are feeding the vets will start seeing what everyone is moving to. Even my parents, who are in there 80's started feeding their dog raw. 

And my parents didn't think twice when I told them to feed the dog better feed them raw.


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

I was in the same boat. I was hesatant about telling my vets I feed raw. But I did and they did try to find somethign wrong and finallly just told me keep doing it, it's working for your pets.  

When my BF took our foster cat lala to adoptions on her first day -and there after- everyone was amazed. OMG that is skinny lala? Soft gourgous fur ect. When James told them we fed raw I had about 3 emails asking for more information for their cats.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I love telling my vet that I feed raw! And I like to bring in boney poop for him, LOL. Another raw feeder I know has brought in poop samples to her vet with fur in them, lol....


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

It took me two years to pluck up the guts to tell my vet too. Although, I never worried about the poop thing and no-one ever mentioned anything about it anyway. I had been hinting about it for a while but was always given the lectures about bones and unbalanced diets and such and would walk out of there carrying a sample bag of Science Diet. (they detest Orijen too).
So, this past January I thought screw it, I've had nothing but positive feedback on Mollies looks and condition by friends and people on the street so we're obviously doing something right.
So, I told them, but at the same time I also said that I wanted to have full bloodwork, fecal and urinalysis done every year to make sure the diet is balanced and make sure there wasn't anything I needed to tweak. That way they know I'm being responsible about it, they have the scientific proof I'm not killing her and, hopefully, as they take care of Mol over her lifetime and see how great (touch wood) she continues to do, they may just change their minds. I want Mol to be their guinea pig.
I had the perfect lead in too "Oh, look, she has such a lovely coat, what do you feed her?".


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

i agree with everyone ,you pay the vet for his service not the other way round,im lucky my vet agrees with raw but if he didnt then its tough,the breeder was not at all happy when i told her i had put annie on raw,her first question was what fibre dog she get?,she said dogs need kibble for the fibre!!,ive even been told that bulldogs should never have hard poop!!many bulldog owners are way over the top soooo protective,a dog is a dog and dogs do better on raw ,karen


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I admit, I got a little gunshy because of the ER vet in Indiana pounding on me for so long. Because Snorkels was constantly ill I really couldn't tell him I was doing things right. He was totally committed to Science Diet and if I didn't feed it to her she would never get better.

It was actually the first time in my life I didn't blindly do what a vet told me to do. It's not my nature, and it was difficult - but I never put her on Science Diet even though I DID buy a bag. The squirrels loved all that corn, but it was a pricey thing for me to do because I had no guts - they told me a small bag wasn't in stock so i bought a 30 pound bag. If I had fed it to her, it would have lasted two years.

I wanted so badly to go back to him after she started on raw food but she never went to the ER again while we lived in Indiana.

I understand the difficulty. However, we shouldn't be like chastized children, hiding our secrets from the teacher so we won't get in trouble. We are adults and we pay them a bunch of money to take care of our dogs.

Because it's hard for me to do it, I try to force myself to say it to every new vet and vet tech right away. "this is Snorkels and she eats raw food." Then it's out and I don't have to worry about it coming up later on where it puts me on the spot.


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## Roo (Oct 17, 2010)

My old vet said he was ok with raw, but told me he preferred that I feed Lola RX food for her colitis, he was concerned about balance etc., I stayed with him till my mom's 13 yr old lab got CRF, and he told her if she fed raw she would kill the dog etc. etc., Once I saw his attitude and how quick he was to blame raw and freak out if something was wrong with a raw fed dog health wise, I went looking for a new vet. 

My mom and I called several vets in our area, and finally through her holistic vet, we found a regular vet that is pro raw. It's so nice to be able to have conversations about diet and nutrition with him and not have to be defensive or feel nervous or afraid I'm going to hear a lecture. It's nice to get complements from him and have him ask questions and show a real positive interest in what I'm feeding my dogs. After I took Ronny in for his bloodwork last month, he told me that raw fed dogs have some interesting bloodwork and he was thinking about writing a paper on the positive differences with the bloodwork of raw dogs compared to kibble fed dogs. He sells Nature's Variety including their commercial raw in his office, not far from the RX foods and Wellness brand of foods he also sells, which I think is an improvement over just caring the RX foods.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Don't lie to your dog's vet. Tell him what you feed him. If he has a problem with it find another vet that agrees with you. I guess I was lucky, the new doctor that came to our hospital, now Aspen's current doctor, is pro-raw.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Roo said:


> It's nice to get complements from him and have him ask questions and show a real positive interest in what I'm feeding my dogs.


you hit the nail on the head! Even though my vet knows I feed raw, I am still hesitant to take my dogs in if it could be something he could blame on raw food. i just don't know him well enough.

And his (giant) waiting room is chock full of three different Rx foods, stacked floor to ceiling. Although if he ever suggests i buy them, I will not bring my dogs to him again. So far he's been smart enough to not do that! I guess it might have something to do with the day he was bringing a giant bag of Science Diet to the counter and I said "you do know that's the worst dog food in the world, don't you?" I was actually quite proud of myself for saying that.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Please tell us how you got on! As per my post yesterday when I went for my dog's yearly check up, I made sure I mentioned the raw diet he was on with all the things listed on a piece of paper that he gets fed in a month. The vet wasn't interested, I was prepared and waiting for the negatives, but they never came and as others have said, the vet is WORKING FOR YOU, you are PAYING for their service, don't feel ashamed or scared or any of those things. It is your right to feed your dog what you think is the best diet. I get cross when I read these posts because we shouldn't be made to feel guilty in any way that we are feeding a species appropiate diet to our companion animals.
Even my father in law who is a retired vet lecturer and doesn't agree with raw and thinks we should leave it to 'scientists' to formulate dogfood, is impressed with the variety my dog gets.
You've probably already been by now, so hope it went well.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Bluey what I really wanted to say was: "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, DON'T BE A WIMP" and then give you a big hug!! (bossy cow that I am)


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I don't feed raw but i'd always be honest. I get raised eyebrows when i tell them I feed dehydrated, that I don't us Front line et al on a monthly basis (I did use Advantage twice last year for lead, on the advice of my holistic vet) and that I choose to titer after puppy vaccinations, not automatically re-vaccinate. How did the appointment go?


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i don't get it. why are you raw feeders afraid to tell your Vet
you feed raw? i use 2 Vets a Holistic Vet and a Traditional Vet.
my Holistic Vet feeds raw and she knows i don't, there's no problem.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I think some people are afraid if their vets know and are really against it, no matter what they bring their dog in for the vet will say it's the raw food that caused it.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> i don't get it. why are you raw feeders afraid to tell your Vet
> you feed raw? i use 2 Vets a Holistic Vet and a Traditional Vet.
> my Holistic Vet feeds raw and she knows i don't, there's no problem.


For a few different reasons. 

We, human kind, have put doctors up on a pedestal only fit for a god...they are only humans with too much schooling, yet we treat them as gods in white coats. 

And well doctors(all, for humans and for animals) also have them selfs up on such a pedestal. Thus making them (for the most part) bossy, overbearing, pushy and bullying people into doing exactly as directed. It's not just about food/nutrition, but also medication, vaccines, over all care, etc. 

We all need to realize that I wouldn't go to my Mum's eye doctor, or my Dad's hearing specialist and get good nutritional advise any more then I would go to the doctor who saw me in the er after my accident for it. 

So it is, over all, less about people being "afraid" and more about the lack of wanting to be treated like an idiot because you(we) aren't sheep following the masses. (Not just raw feeders, but also good kibble feeders, holistic health protocol followers, anti/low vaccine people, etc.)


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

Scarlett - very well put!!!!!!!!!


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