My husband and I have an eleven year old rat terrier. We adopted him about two years ago, and he has had skin problems nearly the whole time since we've had him. Itching, dandruff, hot spots, even infections. We have tried everything that we can think of! We have a vet that is well-esteemed in our area that he has been going to since we've had him. The first time we took him for skin issues they said he just had allergies, and gave us some prescription shampoo. We used it to no avail. The next time we went, they said they thought that he was getting bit by fleas and was allergic. This was despite the fact that we have him on flea prevention and had already treated him for fleas, even though we couldn't find any, at the suggestion of a friend.
The last time we went, they said he needed stronger flea prevention, and had an infection and put him on Bravecto, because they claimed that would stop him from even getting bit. They also put him on a one-month Rx for an anti-itch pill, and an antibiotic. We were still having problems, so my husband called them a couple weeks ago and they suggested adding allergy shots once a month. It's been two weeks since his first shot, and he's up-to-date on the Bravecto, yet he still has a ton of hot spots on his belly and is still constantly scratching.
Outside of the cash we've spent upfront at the vet, we've also tried switching his food, switching his shampoo, and we even put a recovery collar on him to try to discourage the gnawing for a while. We groom him on a regular basis, as well.
My husband and I disagree on what to do about this. I feel like we need to find a new vet, because it seems to me like they're just guessing and have no real interest in a legitimate diagnosis for the problem. Which wouldn't be as much of a problem if we hadn't already spent over $1K in the last year alone on his treatment, only for him to continue having ongoing issues. I feel like we're getting the runaround. My husband feels that it's an even worse idea for us to go to a different vet, because he thinks they will also just be guessing- either that, or they will run up another couple thousand in bills for diagnostic tests that might not even be effective.
What do y'all think? I'm so frustrated I just don't know what to do.
TLDR: Multiple vet visits and over $1K in vet bills in the last year, pet health issues still ongoing with no answers. Wondering if switching vets is reasonable or pointless.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/alxpmf/should_we_get_a_different_vet/
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