i feel pretty lucky that if i ever have to go away for a few days, which is rare, I can leave Toki at his breeder's house since they're only an hour away. His favorite dog (zuma, his sister) and his mother are there, so its like vacation for him if anything.
@slkblaze@lindsayt I worked at a Banfield for several months. The machinery, hospital, and procedures were all very high quality. When the doctor puts a treatment plan into the computer they need to select a preset template which already includes some treatment for whatever the disease/issue is, as well as the small "fees" like medical waste etc. Some of the clinics are partner owned (lead doctor shares ownership of the practice with corporate) and some are corporate owned. So your mileage varies on a clinic-by-clinic basis.
I would go to them for basic things like vaccines, hot spots, ear infections (yes the test is necessary, to determine whether yeast or bacterial for corresponding medicines), as well as demodectic mange. I do recommend the demodex treatment because they use the better, more efficient, and safer oral ivermectin treatment. The ivermectin is mixed with a syrup to avoid stomach upset and chemical irritation from skin/delicate tissue contact, whereas most vets as far as I know are still using the "dips" aka medicated shampoos which are costly and much less effective. Their "Wellness Plans" are very cost effective for puppies and standard low-urgency things.
I would not recommend them for surgeries, simply because of the templates add so many additional small fees that add up, even if the material listed isn't used and remains in package. The one major thing that I would ABSOLUTELY NOT go there for is anything that could be further defined via ultrasound. One of our doctors had to sneak in his personal ultrasound and then have us wheel it out the back whenever a district supervisor or corporate guy came in. Wasn't allowed for some excuse reason, but the reality is there isn't a charge in the computer for it. So corporate won't make money for it so they won't do it. So no pregnancies, urinary stones, things like that.
As for boarding, I haven't had to deal with the issue yet. But I did some landscaping work for a lady who runs her own in-home dog sitting business and she mentioned that she does take intact animals. I would think private pet sitters would be the way to go. Interesting to read all this since I'll most likely be needing a sitter at some point
@lindsayt Ha, I may have to take you up on that boarding offer when I get my Hokkaido (if I ever need to board). And "special forum family" sounds exciting. Hope we get to hear about it soon.
I like boarding for forum people I would be thrilled to meet your future Hokkaido!
I have worked for various Vets in several states and I just got to the point where hearing so many horror stories from clients about Banfield, and us fixing their botched work, having to deal with them on the phone, having staff who started working there and go running away to other clinics after sentinel events, and then trying to make sense of their ridiculous fees, just ruined it for me.
@lindsayt Fair enough, I did work for a doctor/partner owned clinic so she got to run it the way she wanted. That most likely played a major part in why work there was satisfactory on scale of proficiency. I did quit after 4 months though because of the bs corporate stupidity that encouraged unnecessary fees that didn't go to the hospital whatsoever and went straight to corporate's wallet. The doctor's pay also was altered to a "production" value, where they made a sub-decent salary supplemented by a monthly bonus based on dollar amounts of testing, treatment, and product sold. They also sponsor employees to go to veterinary school, so the corporate-run clinics have a majority of fresh-out-of-school veterinarians. Hence why I would only go there for checking off the annual stuff that fits into their reasonably priced basic wellness plan
Well after a month and a half of being swollen my little girl finally decided to become a woman while we were driving up to Tahoe. Thankfully I packed fancy pants. Shell be done by the time I leave for vacation.
Comments
I would go to them for basic things like vaccines, hot spots, ear infections (yes the test is necessary, to determine whether yeast or bacterial for corresponding medicines), as well as demodectic mange. I do recommend the demodex treatment because they use the better, more efficient, and safer oral ivermectin treatment. The ivermectin is mixed with a syrup to avoid stomach upset and chemical irritation from skin/delicate tissue contact, whereas most vets as far as I know are still using the "dips" aka medicated shampoos which are costly and much less effective. Their "Wellness Plans" are very cost effective for puppies and standard low-urgency things.
I would not recommend them for surgeries, simply because of the templates add so many additional small fees that add up, even if the material listed isn't used and remains in package. The one major thing that I would ABSOLUTELY NOT go there for is anything that could be further defined via ultrasound. One of our doctors had to sneak in his personal ultrasound and then have us wheel it out the back whenever a district supervisor or corporate guy came in. Wasn't allowed for some excuse reason, but the reality is there isn't a charge in the computer for it. So corporate won't make money for it so they won't do it. So no pregnancies, urinary stones, things like that.
As for boarding, I haven't had to deal with the issue yet. But I did some landscaping work for a lady who runs her own in-home dog sitting business and she mentioned that she does take intact animals. I would think private pet sitters would be the way to go. Interesting to read all this since I'll most likely be needing a sitter at some point
I have worked for various Vets in several states and I just got to the point where hearing so many horror stories from clients about Banfield, and us fixing their botched work, having to deal with them on the phone, having staff who started working there and go running away to other clinics after sentinel events, and then trying to make sense of their ridiculous fees, just ruined it for me.