Thanks for all the replies, I was thinking it might have just been my own vet who was doing this, as it has never, ever happened before, and the receptionist and the nurse were adamant that it was a "new law" and they must abide by it!

In the case of Georgie on his Prednisolone's for his skin problem, the vet would have seen him on a very regular basis, i.e. twice a week before I got him, but then I went almost a whole year without a visit, but also without a repeat prescription either coz I took him off them. It's just this past year I've been unlucky with him for some reason.

You mention blood work for these Soloxine tablets? Are they are type of steroid please? In which case, why hasn't my vet ever done blood tests on my dog when he's spent most of his life on them? I really must enquire about that one if they are steroids.

Sorry to hear about your sad losses there Scooter, but just to point out my current vet is an absolute gem, I wouldn't think of changing him, he has a brilliant bedside manner, but trouble is, he's so blooming busy now, it's very difficult for me to arrange a time/day when he's on duty so I just seem to be going over there and getting more of Georgie's prescriptions each time and bringing him home unchecked. I just didn't like the way the nurse spoke to me about it all, nor the new receptionist come to that, and reluctantly handed me a new bottle to last me only a week. It gave me great pleasure when I got home and checked up on my previous invoices to find that my vet had actually seen them BOTH last May, so I rang them up and told them so!!!!

'suppose I can kiss goodbye to this week's wages now then!

they must be helena because when benson was on them for tyroids he had blood checks for the levels and up or down the dose.

This has been the policy of vets in California for as long as I was working there, in part its to cover the vets liablity but mainly its in the best interest of the pet. For example theyre pretty strict on Rimadyl....if a dog has arthritis then in some cases Rimadyl would be the best option....however it can be tough on the liver and if there are underlying heart problems that may not come to light initially and the vet continues to script it out year after year then the dog has a heart attack or goes into liver failure, could have been prevented had the dog had a check up, blood tests etc every 6 months....end result is the dog dies prematurely and the vet gets sued for not following policy.

Different drugs there though have different time limits, like with the Soloxine, most vets I know are happy with a once a year check up and tests for that....if the dog is over 6 years old it should be getting a thorough check up anyway once a year.

The yearly vaccines I look at as a scam but not for things like this, I would have no problem taking my own dog back for regular check ups with most meds if theyre long term....also in US the laws state that a vet cannot script out any meds to a pet he has not personally examined within a certain amount of time...we got that a lot at the emergency hospital, someone would run out of anti seizure medication at the weekend or something and then expect the emergency vet to refill the script....its illegal over there.

I do agree with you, and so does my vet I`m happy to say [ generally I mean, not re your Rocky cos he doesnt know him ].

I did natter with him about it after it came up before [ when I emailed the RCVS and all that ]. He see`s peoples pets on an individual basis, some he needs to see often [ early onset of a condition which needs monitoring while getting med levels right for whatever condition for instance ], and if he feels it beneficial *for the animal* to do regular monitoring or anything like that depending on the ailment, but otherwise no, and he certainly does`nt try enforcing `a legislation` which so many vets have misinterpreted for reasons known only to themselves [ or which most people can see through easily enough ].

People who make sure their pets get the regular meds they need tend not to be the sort to let it slide or not notice if anything has changed which needs checking out, so are imo, the least likely to need pushing unnecessarily by any vets abusing the legislation by pretending its some actual law applying in all cases when that is not the case at all as is very clear in the response from the RCVS.

I find it interesting that I emailed them generally but its the Professional Conduct Department which responded - perhaps worth mentioning if anyone quotes the response to their own vet if they are having the same problem...:smt002

That's just what I'm getting at. I don't begrudge taking my dogs in for a check over at all, and it's only afterall, been 4 months since he last saw them both, but what I DO begrudge is the fact that I've got to pay £29 per dog, for him to have a quick feel over them, give me my prescription, or sign it if I've printed one off, ask me if they've been ok, and then get presented with a bill for £58 when I walk out the door!!! What's the point in me saving myself half the cost of medication, when I lose it anyway paying my vet! I'm talking Metacam here at £57 per bottle from the vet and £24 from the internet!

You have indeed enlightened me this evening, as I will now insist that they both have blood tests done on my next visit. One because Georgie has been on Steroids and NEVER ever had a blood test to check that he's ok and 2. because Cassie has been on Metacam for 6months now and should also be checked out I think? This I don't mind in the slightest, but what I DO mind is him spending 5 minutes with each dog, seeing that they're both fit and hopefully healthy anyway, and me getting hit where it hurts! They do inhouse bloodwork at my vets, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to ask him to do this.

Thanks everyone, as I have learned something from all of your posts!

Hi Helena54

Soloxine is a thyroid replacement medication and the blood tests are to make sure that the thyroid level is right

Couldn't agree more Azz! I missed your post whilst typing mine, and I'm glad to see you also agree with me then about the quick heartbeat check, mouth and ears!!

We are responsible dog owners, who would phone and ask advice/rush our dogs in to our vets should there be the slightest problem, so why are they ripping us off like this when we spend so much of our hard earned cash with them anyway! Grrrrrrrr!

I hate it when someone gets one over on me in a totally unfair way! If I was getting real value for money with this necessary 6 monthly visit then fair enough, but I don't feel I am.

My vet has always done this with my previous animals.. for things like frontline & panacure.. you cannot buy them from reception if you haven't seen them for an Appt within 6 mnths
Rachel

Thanks for that Sue! Haven't been there yet with that one thank goodness!

Seriously ??? Thats outrageous !!!!!!

My vet sends a reminder card when wormers are due [ Drontal for my crew ].
I [ and presumably every client of theirs ! ], go in, without needing an appointment, I let them know I had a card, they check it on their client database, then they [ the receptionists ], give me the tablets, enter it on the system, and off I toddle.

What the practice is saying to you, it seems, is that *they* wont let you have those things if your pets have not been seen by them for 6 months - that is NOT a legal thing they have to abide by for wormers and flea treatments, thats them playing you imho.

[ No libel there I dont think as I dont know the name of your vets and havent called them by name ].