Should I be pissed at my Vet? Have to take the dogs in for MORE shots!

[Wcross]

I have six dogs, as you can imagine it is quite an undertaking to get them all to the Vet not to mention uncomfortable for them to go. (They don't really like it & they get stressed out)
I took them for their "yearly shots" two weeks ago. When I made the appointment I made it clear I wanted them to get their yearly shots, I did not specify a particular shot.
Today I get a postcard in the mail saying they are due for their DA2PPC booster shots. I look at my bill from the last visit and all they got was a rabies booster. Why would they skip those shots on my last visit? Now I have to stress them out again which upsets me as well.

[JanMichael]

1. How old are the dogs?

if they are puppies they get one more distemper/parvo booster before the next year when they start getting their annual checkups.

[Wcross]

6. Five are 4+ years old (I have one pup)

I expect to have to follow a different schedual for the pup. It's just the five older dogs they screwed up on.

[JanMichael]

7. This might be a receptionist mistake

your dogs might have gotten the shots, but you weren't charged for them. If that's the case, the computer generated reminder cards would have been kicked out, printed, stamped and mailed. The record will be in their "hard copy" file---

Good luck with that.

[pitohui]

2. yes i would switch to another vet over this

talk is cheap since i'm allergic to dogs but my close friend who has many dogs, the vet comes to her and for a discount, however, she is very active in animal rescue and the vet knows it, so what comes around goes around

i don't expect every vet to do house calls -- although for six dogs it's getting where i might expect it -- but to drop the ball THIS badly

yeah you are justified in being peeved in my humble opinion

i'm too old to do a knock-down drag-out confrontation with folks about where they screwed up, these days i just go quietly away to a different vendor, in your case, i'd definitely be asking around for recs for a local vet who is at least somewhat remotely organized

stressing even ONE dog unnecessarily is not really good, stressing SIX of them plus you are probably losing another whole day to this considering the number of animals to be managed...yeah this is not a minor f-up

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. Im not sure of the relationship you have with your vet...

but I don't think that I would be too happy over this situation either. I know what it is like to get only two stressed dogs to the vet, I can't imagine six.

I would call the vet and explain to him/her the situation, and ask that a house call be made to give the shots. In my area, more and more vets are beginning to make house calls.

I do not think that this would be an unreasonable request considering the circumstances.

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Call them and ask that when you make the appointment

Do all the dogs have to get the DA2PPC booster?

It is an important one. Strange that they didn't give it at the same time as the rabies, unless there is some contraindication in doing so.

When you call to make the appointment, and if you find out that they could have received it at the same time as the rabies shot, ask to not be charged for a second visit.


Yeah...this whole thing would upset me, too. :hug:

[Flaxbee]

12. exactly - I would refuse to pay the second office visit charge...

our vets charge $37 as soon as they see the animal(s) - (thankfully it's not $37 per animal!) but if you had requested that your dogs get their shots, you didn't specify which but neither did the vet ask (that's the important part - the vet should ask what you want and if it's unclear, as in "yearly shots", then the vet needs to CLARIFY things with you) then I'd just tell them to stuff any fee they might want to charge you for seeing the dogs again.

And yes, you also might want to shop around a bit.

On edit - I read a later post that the vet is a good guy - sounds like it, if he'll do 4 neuters for under $100!!! - you'd probably be hard pressed to find someone else as good and reasonable, but perhaps just explain the mishap and say you really don't have the time/can't afford to do this kind of thing with the shots, and tell the vet that directly.

[TZ]

5. Some vets will teach owners how to give shots...

So they don't have to bring them in. My sister used to have a bunch of dogs so it was easier for her to give them the shots herself instead of trotting them all in....

[Wcross]

8. I can barely give them their dewormer!

Every time I touch them it means play time to them. They start hopping around too much for me to even THINK about trying to stick them with a needle.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

9. Don't you live in a rural area?

I grew up in a rural area, and my dad was friends with a vet there. The vet used to come out to our house to mess with our animals. We had cows, pigs, horses, dogs, and cats all over the place. Do you guys have one of them there? Also, for dogs, they can give you the syringe to give them the shots yourself, can't they?
Duckie

[Wcross]

10. Yes I do but they charge an extra fee for a farm call.

I am happy with the Vet, he is a really good guy that genuinely cares about animals. He is known for doing low cost & even free vet work for rescue dogs/cats. When I suddenly had six dogs he neutered all four males for under 100 dollars. He spayed the two females for 100 dollars. He gives discounts when he sees the need.
I will just have to take them back but mention the fact I don't want it to happen again.

[FloridaJudy]

11. Maybe they'll waive the fee

Considering it was their screw-up. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

[ThomCat]

13. That's definitely inconvenient, and poor planning on the vet's part.

Or else he's trying to maximize his income by requiring more visits.

Perhaps you should get a list from him of all annual shots, so in the future you can ask for that full list of shots in one visit.

[sleepyhead]

14. If your older dogs have been getting annual DHPP vaccines

You may not need to do it yearly any more. We give the puppy series, then a booster 1 year later, then the next year we give the DHPP and it is good for 3 years. Perhaps that is what your vet is doing. Current thinking is that the DHPP is good for at least 3 years, as is the rabies vaccine (other vaccines such as bordetella and leptospirosis have a shorter duration of immunity and need to be boostered yearly). Anyway, maybe you should discuss this with your vet - it might save you some money and trouble and is likely healthier for your dogs too.

[skygazer]

15. My vet did this with our cat

I love our vet's office and have never had an issue with them so I called up and explained it, said I'd specified that I wanted to get all his yearly stuff done and that it should have been clear from his chart what he needed (I used to work for a vet - I know what's in the chart).

They were very cool about it, admitted they'd missed it and didn't charge me for the office visit when I had to return. They also adjusted the chart and automated reminders so everything was synchronized. It doesn't hurt to just call and try to work something out.