Sorry this is so long, just trying to get all the info in this post.

I adopted my beagle puppy at 3 months and took her to a highly recommended vet for her first visit. This all occurred about a month ago, and I don’t know if I am being paranoid or maybe this vet just isn’t a good match. The vet was very nice, great interaction with my puppy, but the following things occurred:

While we were there, Scout scratched at her collar a few times. I explained that she was new to wearing a collar. The vet kind of ignored the piece of info, and immediately suggested that she should be treated with Frontline (there was a huge Frontline display in the examination room). I indicated that I didn’t think fleas were the problem, and I’d prefer not to have her given flea medication. She said, well you’ll be sorry when your house is infested, but let it drop. (BTW, my dog does NOT have fleas- as soon as she started to scratch at her collar I did a check- I know what to look for, and told the vet that.)

When the vet examined her ears, she mentioned that beagles often get ear infections. She then mentioned that she could preemptively prescribe an antibiotic for ear infections. I said- but her ears are clean and there isn’t any smell. She said, yes, there wasn’t really any wax, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have an ear infection.

The vet reviewed Scout’s vaccination record which I had brought and mentioned that she had not been vaccinated against kennel cough. I said that I had no plans to board her anytime soon- and so, was it necessary? She replied that she recommends vaxing all dogs against it.

Then—in reference to the vaccination record, she mentioned coming in yearly for vaccinations. I said -isn’t there new research that yearly vaccinations may not always be necessary? She rolled her eyes and stated that vaccinations need to happen on a yearly basis.

So, I left the office with nothing done to Scout other than having her examined and dropping off a stool sample (which I needed to do anyways to get a clear fecal screen in order to enroll her in puppy school). But still- if I had followed that vet’s recommendations, Scout would have been treated with flea medication, vaccinated against kennel cough and prescribed antibiotics for an ear infection (that she showed no signs of having!).

Let me also add- with my previous beagle I did everything the vet recommended- yearly vacs, including kennel cough, flea medication, anything they suggested. My dog died last summer at age 13 of cancer, and sometimes I wonder if all the medicine I dosed her with, along with the supermarket grade dog food I fed her was the cause, and I feel terribly, terribly guilty.

With my new pup I am trying to be a more informed pet owner- feeding her great food (Wellness) and trying to be more aware of the risks of vaxing and flea medications.

Am I over-reacting and going too far in the opposite direction, maybe because of my guilt about my previous dog’s death? Or is this vet really kind of “medicine happy”?

I’d love input from some experienced people. Thanks so much.

This is Just my opionion but If you are unhappy with the vet change.The main thing is you like and trust the vet.I love my vet and will continue to go to him. Maybe You could express your concerns to him or his staff.Just my opionion Hope it helped.

1. Yes you're right, puppies can insanely scratch at their new collars.
2. I myself have all of my dogs/cat on Frontline, rabbits on Advantage during the warm months because I have so many dogs and we don't have a flea problem, nor do I want one. Plus we do have a major tick problem and there's several diseases that can come from a tick. But I guess if you are sure you do not have any fleas in your home OR YARD and you don't take your dog any place where she can pick any up, then you don't need it.
3. If your dog does not exhibit any ear problems then you don't need any antibiotics. Even just to prescribe antibiotics "just in case" doesn't make any sense because different bacteria require different antibiotics, and yeast infections in the ear also something different. So the ears would need to be examined while infected.
4. No, kennel cough vaccine not needed if your dog stays home but I'm surprised her puppy class doesn't require it. That alone might make me vaccinate her for protection during puppy class because if they don't require your dog to have it then none of the others are required to have it either so perhaps someone's dog could infect yours.
5. Yes there is plenty of research concerning yearly vaccines. The new recommendations are that your dog get all of the puppy shots as normal and then a booster in one year, then boosters every three years thereafter.
Unfortunately not all vets have jumped on that band wagon yet. Perhaps do to the big dent in their wallets it would cause.

Sounds like maybe the vet is lacking in bedside manners and if that is the case you may never like her so maybe look for another vet?

I have to second using a preventative flea treatment, even if your dog doesn't currently have fleas. If your dog does encounter any fleas from contact with other dogs and eats them by biting herself, she can get tapeworms from the fleas as well.

If your dog has any contact with other dogs via puppy classes or the dog park, the bordatella (Kennel cough) vaccine is not a bad idea either. It's highly contagious.

That said, I think the ear medication thing is kind of dopey since your dog doesn't have an ear infection. And it is true that after the 3-4 initial puppy boosters and the 1 yo booster, going to a 3 year vaccinations is now what's being recommended by the AVMA.

Did the vet say she actually had an ear infection? Flopped eared dogs like the beagle has greater chance of ear infections. The ears tend to hold in moisture, which helps bacteria survive. Just watch for symptoms, shaking the head, scratching the ears, smell, etc. I don't believe in medicating dogs, just in case. The vet should have been able to look in her ears and tell if she had an infection. I do think flea protection is necessary. The flea shampoos that are over the counter had never worked for my dogs. There is nothing like your dog crawling in bed with you and finding a flea on it. Gives me the woolies (lol). Check with the person doing your obedience classes, most require you have the Bordetella. Also, some states require rabies. I live in the country so that is a big to do for me.

Absolutely find a vet that you feel confident about! This vet may be fine but if you are not comfortable it shouldn't be any different than picking your own doctors. We had a bad experience with my Mom's poodle with the newest doctor at our regular vet. She had us driving to Boston for a $5000 MRI of the spine but we moved him to the emergency clinic where a course of steroids and a hospital stay cured him. Only the owner of the clinic is somebody I would trust out of 4 doctors so it's crap shoot every time you go there.(It's a 3 week wait to see him so obviously I am not alone in my opinion) I switched my own dog to another vet who was highly recommended by several friends and then my kitties go there too. I love everybody there and I have no doubts about getting the best and most necessary care. Ask around and get some new recommendations.