Now I'm barking mad

So I'm sitting here watching "Barking Mad" on Marketplace. Well, here are some of my issues: 1. What was the context of the examination? 2. Why are they asking Dr. Jean Dodds who has not published any papers in recognized journals in over 10 years for information? 3.Why do they have to paint all veterinarians in Canada based on ten vets in one city?

Yes, I still recommend vaccinating many of our pets on a yearly basis and I will explain why. The research that has been done has, on average, 20 to 50 dogs. On the human side, you would need thousands upon thousands of people for the research to be valid. Another important thing is that, except for Rabies, we do not know what titres are actually protective. Simple reason, the research that would be required would never be approved. Hypothetically, if we could actually do the research, a group of say 2000 dogs would be used. 1000 would be unvaccinated and the other half vaccinated. Then all the dogs would be exposed to the virus........yes, possibly upwards of 80% to 90% of the unvaccinated dogs would become sick or die. It would depend on the virus used in the study. We all know how devastating the parvo virus is to our dogs. This is not a humane research project.

Another point from my soapbox. The prevalence of heartworm determines the testing done. In the areas of the States where there is heartworm everywhere, they recommend testing yearly even when the dogs/cats are on heartworm prevention. This is because some of the medications are not completely protective. Undetected, this is a life threatening disease. Typically, I recommend the dog be tested once every four years if the owners are regularly taking them to heartworm endemic areas and will keep them on medication during the mosquito season. If the person is taking the dog to the an endemic area but are only staying a few weeks or couple months, we only dispense the amount of medication required after doing a test. Here's something to think about. If the dog does come down with the heartworm disease and has been properly tested, the drug company will help pay for the treatment.

The food, omg, are you kidding me? The metabolic diet by Hill's is an excellent diet for obese dogs. OBESE!!! There is no way on earth this dog was obese. Sure, it could loose a few pounds but, wow!!! I was embarrassed during that section.

Okay, the medication prices. Yes, they are cheaper down in the States. We have no control over our cost price in any way shape or form - the distributing companies control that. Our mark up depends on many things such as rent, staff salaries, supplies we order from our distributing companies, equipment and the list goes on. Plus, the majority of our clients appreciate the convenience of picking up the medications at the time of their appointment. I also think the animal's prefer the animal flavoured medications as well!!!