Dogs failing medicals?
Jun 18th 2006, 9:36 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 71
Dogs failing medicals?
Hi All,
I was wondering whether any of you could give me advice on how in depth a dogs medical examination for the immigration process. Have any of you had a pet fail a medical? If this is the case, do you have to leave them behind?
I'm currently in the waiting game along with the 139'ers, and my male bullmastiff failing a medical is a huge worry for me. He's 3 years old and looks healthy, but we had a scare a few months back where he lost alot of weight and was poorly. When took him to the Vets, they billed us alot of money, for some antibiotics, eyedrops, bloodtests etc..and a few checkup bills added to the whole cost.
They said that his bloodtests were worrying, as the thingymajig blah blah (yes, I know my medical terms) was 8.3 whereas the normal thingymajig blah blah should be 3.4, or something along those lines.
They offered to take him in to put him on a drip and run more tests(!) and would need to keep him in at a cost of X amount (running into hundreds of pounds). - He wasn't gasping for air, or had broken leg, he was just very sad, and thin.
I declined the offer, and spent the next few months with him providing lots of TLC, good food, and watching his every move, to see if I could get him back to normal.
I felt that it was a con for my dog to be at the vets at huge cost, when I could easily have just given them updates at every visit.
A few months down the line, he seems fighting fit, and his usual self.
He's now back to his usual weight, and very happy!
I need some advice here. I'd be devastated if he fails his medicals thus not able to start his new life in Oz.
Part of me thinks that Vets are like estate agents, out to make as much money as they can, and the caring attitude towards my pet is just a cover for a money making machine, designed to make you feel guilty if you decline the offer of their science dog food or their brand of flea shampoo, or their latest vitamin drops for your dog.
However, I guess the Vets have done their studies for all these years and know whats best.
I just don't know whether my bully had a bad case of the flu, and as very poorly, and is over it, or whether there really is an underlying problem with him.
Have any of you been in a similar situation and could give some advice please?
I was wondering whether any of you could give me advice on how in depth a dogs medical examination for the immigration process. Have any of you had a pet fail a medical? If this is the case, do you have to leave them behind?
I'm currently in the waiting game along with the 139'ers, and my male bullmastiff failing a medical is a huge worry for me. He's 3 years old and looks healthy, but we had a scare a few months back where he lost alot of weight and was poorly. When took him to the Vets, they billed us alot of money, for some antibiotics, eyedrops, bloodtests etc..and a few checkup bills added to the whole cost.
They said that his bloodtests were worrying, as the thingymajig blah blah (yes, I know my medical terms) was 8.3 whereas the normal thingymajig blah blah should be 3.4, or something along those lines.
They offered to take him in to put him on a drip and run more tests(!) and would need to keep him in at a cost of X amount (running into hundreds of pounds). - He wasn't gasping for air, or had broken leg, he was just very sad, and thin.
I declined the offer, and spent the next few months with him providing lots of TLC, good food, and watching his every move, to see if I could get him back to normal.
I felt that it was a con for my dog to be at the vets at huge cost, when I could easily have just given them updates at every visit.
A few months down the line, he seems fighting fit, and his usual self.
He's now back to his usual weight, and very happy!
I need some advice here. I'd be devastated if he fails his medicals thus not able to start his new life in Oz.
Part of me thinks that Vets are like estate agents, out to make as much money as they can, and the caring attitude towards my pet is just a cover for a money making machine, designed to make you feel guilty if you decline the offer of their science dog food or their brand of flea shampoo, or their latest vitamin drops for your dog.
However, I guess the Vets have done their studies for all these years and know whats best.
I just don't know whether my bully had a bad case of the flu, and as very poorly, and is over it, or whether there really is an underlying problem with him.
Have any of you been in a similar situation and could give some advice please?
Jun 18th 2006, 10:45 pm
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Brisbane w.e.f 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 401
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Originally Posted by silversurfer
Hi All,
I was wondering whether any of you could give me advice on how in depth a dogs medical examination for the immigration process. Have any of you had a pet fail a medical? If this is the case, do you have to leave them behind?
I'm currently in the waiting game along with the 139'ers, and my male bullmastiff failing a medical is a huge worry for me. He's 3 years old and looks healthy, but we had a scare a few months back where he lost alot of weight and was poorly. When took him to the Vets, they billed us alot of money, for some antibiotics, eyedrops, bloodtests etc..and a few checkup bills added to the whole cost.
They said that his bloodtests were worrying, as the thingymajig blah blah (yes, I know my medical terms) was 8.3 whereas the normal thingymajig blah blah should be 3.4, or something along those lines.
They offered to take him in to put him on a drip and run more tests(!) and would need to keep him in at a cost of X amount (running into hundreds of pounds). - He wasn't gasping for air, or had broken leg, he was just very sad, and thin.
I declined the offer, and spent the next few months with him providing lots of TLC, good food, and watching his every move, to see if I could get him back to normal.
I felt that it was a con for my dog to be at the vets at huge cost, when I could easily have just given them updates at every visit.
A few months down the line, he seems fighting fit, and his usual self.
He's now back to his usual weight, and very happy!
I need some advice here. I'd be devastated if he fails his medicals thus not able to start his new life in Oz.
Part of me thinks that Vets are like estate agents, out to make as much money as they can, and the caring attitude towards my pet is just a cover for a money making machine, designed to make you feel guilty if you decline the offer of their science dog food or their brand of flea shampoo, or their latest vitamin drops for your dog.
However, I guess the Vets have done their studies for all these years and know whats best.
I just don't know whether my bully had a bad case of the flu, and as very poorly, and is over it, or whether there really is an underlying problem with him.
Have any of you been in a similar situation and could give some advice please?
I was wondering whether any of you could give me advice on how in depth a dogs medical examination for the immigration process. Have any of you had a pet fail a medical? If this is the case, do you have to leave them behind?
I'm currently in the waiting game along with the 139'ers, and my male bullmastiff failing a medical is a huge worry for me. He's 3 years old and looks healthy, but we had a scare a few months back where he lost alot of weight and was poorly. When took him to the Vets, they billed us alot of money, for some antibiotics, eyedrops, bloodtests etc..and a few checkup bills added to the whole cost.
They said that his bloodtests were worrying, as the thingymajig blah blah (yes, I know my medical terms) was 8.3 whereas the normal thingymajig blah blah should be 3.4, or something along those lines.
They offered to take him in to put him on a drip and run more tests(!) and would need to keep him in at a cost of X amount (running into hundreds of pounds). - He wasn't gasping for air, or had broken leg, he was just very sad, and thin.
I declined the offer, and spent the next few months with him providing lots of TLC, good food, and watching his every move, to see if I could get him back to normal.
I felt that it was a con for my dog to be at the vets at huge cost, when I could easily have just given them updates at every visit.
A few months down the line, he seems fighting fit, and his usual self.
He's now back to his usual weight, and very happy!
I need some advice here. I'd be devastated if he fails his medicals thus not able to start his new life in Oz.
Part of me thinks that Vets are like estate agents, out to make as much money as they can, and the caring attitude towards my pet is just a cover for a money making machine, designed to make you feel guilty if you decline the offer of their science dog food or their brand of flea shampoo, or their latest vitamin drops for your dog.
However, I guess the Vets have done their studies for all these years and know whats best.
I just don't know whether my bully had a bad case of the flu, and as very poorly, and is over it, or whether there really is an underlying problem with him.
Have any of you been in a similar situation and could give some advice please?
Lesleym
Jun 18th 2006, 10:53 pm
#3
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: In a house
Posts: 2,590
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Could be wrong but would say only real issue a dog could have in medical would be infectious disease or not had all it's jabs! As you'd have to pay for any problems with the dog it would not place a burden on Australia. So if dog is free of disease and had all it's jabs you should be fine 
Jun 18th 2006, 11:24 pm
#4
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Hillarys, Perth
Posts: 555
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Your dog won't have to have a 'medical' as such, just blood tests to check for a few diseases 
. If your dog seems well enough for the journey & quarantine and passes his blood tests then there shouldn't be any reason to leave him behind. I picked up my 2 cockers from quarantine on Friday and the only thing that was wrong with them was that they were hoarse from all the barking they'd been doing and their fur was stinking and matted
. I had been warned that they would lose weight but Molly put on 2.2kg and Brodie put on 3kg!!! Considering they went in at around 10kg, they're really beefy little buggers now 
. More excuse to visit the dog beach daily . They had been fed on canned pedigree so that along with the lack of excercise obviously wasn't a great combination. Their teeth have suffered as well (from only having wet food I imagine) and I have to book an appointment at the vet to have a scale and polish (they'll love that - not!). On the whole, they show no ill signs from having travelled so far. I'm sure your dog will be fine, as long as he's healthy enough to cope with the flight. Let us know how you get on.
Best of luck
Tracey
. If your dog seems well enough for the journey & quarantine and passes his blood tests then there shouldn't be any reason to leave him behind. I picked up my 2 cockers from quarantine on Friday and the only thing that was wrong with them was that they were hoarse from all the barking they'd been doing and their fur was stinking and matted . I had been warned that they would lose weight but Molly put on 2.2kg and Brodie put on 3kg!!! Considering they went in at around 10kg, they're really beefy little buggers now . More excuse to visit the dog beach daily . They had been fed on canned pedigree so that along with the lack of excercise obviously wasn't a great combination. Their teeth have suffered as well (from only having wet food I imagine) and I have to book an appointment at the vet to have a scale and polish (they'll love that - not!). On the whole, they show no ill signs from having travelled so far. I'm sure your dog will be fine, as long as he's healthy enough to cope with the flight. Let us know how you get on.Best of luck
Tracey
Jun 18th 2006, 11:36 pm
#5
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Asia Pacific
Posts: 4,922
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Actually we had an issue with our dog. Our UK vet forgot to do one of the jabs prior to export. This of course was only noted the day before he was due to fly and it wasnt easy thanks to him having to stay in the UK for another 2 weeks whilst it was all done. GBP500 later in extra boarding costs and vets fees and he finally flew out and is all happy a year later.
Not really the same sort of circumstances but I would strongly recommend anyone not to trust your own vet and double check that the jabs given are complete and you provide them with all the information they need despite them saying "we've done this before".
I'm sure everything will be fine. If your that concerned about your dog now you could always have the blood tests done now to make sure there should not be an issue. Maybe a GBP150 for peace of mind but perhaps worth it if you are that concerned or have chat to your vet about it.
Not really the same sort of circumstances but I would strongly recommend anyone not to trust your own vet and double check that the jabs given are complete and you provide them with all the information they need despite them saying "we've done this before".
I'm sure everything will be fine. If your that concerned about your dog now you could always have the blood tests done now to make sure there should not be an issue. Maybe a GBP150 for peace of mind but perhaps worth it if you are that concerned or have chat to your vet about it.
Jun 19th 2006, 9:58 am
#6
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 71
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Hi all,
Just wanted to say thankyou for replying, you've all made me feel a heck of alot better!
If anyone is doing a search on BE for exporting your dog to Oz, I found a great thread also here:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...highlight=dogs
Being new to this, and not sure whats involved, it's nice to know there are other experienced people who have done the whole process willing to offer their advice here!
Thanks once again!
Just wanted to say thankyou for replying, you've all made me feel a heck of alot better!
If anyone is doing a search on BE for exporting your dog to Oz, I found a great thread also here:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...highlight=dogs
Being new to this, and not sure whats involved, it's nice to know there are other experienced people who have done the whole process willing to offer their advice here!
Thanks once again!
Jun 19th 2006, 5:37 pm
#7
Boop Boop De Doop
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Essex England
Posts: 111
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Does anyone have any experience of what happens with a nervous dog?
We have a very nervous German Shepherd, who is not aggressive but is very nervous,and may have the potential to take a swipe at someone if she becomes worried about the whole process
I am really scared incase we get a call to say she has gone for somebody or they can't do anything with her and therefore she can't go.
Can't bear the thought of her having to stay behind
Lisa x
We have a very nervous German Shepherd, who is not aggressive but is very nervous,and may have the potential to take a swipe at someone if she becomes worried about the whole process
I am really scared incase we get a call to say she has gone for somebody or they can't do anything with her and therefore she can't go.
Can't bear the thought of her having to stay behind
Lisa x
Jun 21st 2006, 12:05 pm
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: adelaide
Posts: 63
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
2 things:
answer to question: the usual vet medical carried out by the vet within 48hrs of travelling by plane to australia or elsewhere is justto ensure that your pet is well enough to travel, you wouldn't want to get on a plane, nevermind squeeze into a small crate, if you were feeling under the weather, had a temperature or were about to get a bad case of diarrhoea would you.
However the regulations regarding exporting you dog to australia to live are not under the power of a vet in the UK and are governed by the quarantine vets board in Oz., and they do not give their information directly to every uk vet. Often the only time a vet is made aware of the needs of a particular country are when the owner turns up at the clinic and asks what they need, then they either produce a huge sheaf of paperwork from the net for a vet to read in a full evening surgery, not always practicable, or they have nothing but expect the all knowing vet to be fully informed of what each individual country in the world requires before they let a pet in to wander its walks and beaches.
For Australia specifically the dog should have had no lepto vax in the 12mths prev to flying out as they must have a blood sample tested to prove they have no anti bodies to leptospirosis, a microchip helps, rabies vaccine is also useful but may not be compulsory as the rules change. They will need to have official documents issued by the DEFRA which must be signed by an official veterinary inspector, check with your local practice if they have one, and you must ensure that they travel on the plane with a registered export agent. You need to look on the DEFRA website and check out the PETS helpline for up to date details.
whilst I'm here, just a small(not) grump, but as a vet I feel slightly miffed by the comments aboutvets, I know that just like any profession,not all vets are perfect, in fact no vet is perfect. Despite a whole 5yrs at university,learning 23 causesof vomitting in pigs, 79 possible causes of epileptic fits in dogs etc etc I can not claim to be able to tell a very worried owner why their young and apparently otherwise healthy dog has suddenly lost a whole lot of weight with no obv reason. Using my free average eyesight, hands to palpate and trusty cheap thermometer I can rule out a fair few possibilities but I can not check its gut lining for foreign material or tumours from the inside, see microscopic changes through out its liver, examine its urine for the presence of protein that shouldn't be there or his bonemarrow for the presence of energy sapping tumours with just the power of my mind.
Sadlly we vets can not foresee the future either because if we could our lives would be alot easier and I wouldn't go home with a stress headache and not sleep at night because of the possibility that I missed a possible life threatening illness cunningly disguised as a small lump that had been there for months. Ofcourse we could offer our services free but then why don't plumbers offer their services free, or why don't we get free food from the supermarket or a free car from the garage when we need one.
anyway I'll get off my my high macropodus and worry about the silkie terrier with the bloaty belly and probable gut tumour I get to try and remove tomorrow.
sorry about the long whinge, tough day at the office!
answer to question: the usual vet medical carried out by the vet within 48hrs of travelling by plane to australia or elsewhere is justto ensure that your pet is well enough to travel, you wouldn't want to get on a plane, nevermind squeeze into a small crate, if you were feeling under the weather, had a temperature or were about to get a bad case of diarrhoea would you.
However the regulations regarding exporting you dog to australia to live are not under the power of a vet in the UK and are governed by the quarantine vets board in Oz., and they do not give their information directly to every uk vet. Often the only time a vet is made aware of the needs of a particular country are when the owner turns up at the clinic and asks what they need, then they either produce a huge sheaf of paperwork from the net for a vet to read in a full evening surgery, not always practicable, or they have nothing but expect the all knowing vet to be fully informed of what each individual country in the world requires before they let a pet in to wander its walks and beaches.
For Australia specifically the dog should have had no lepto vax in the 12mths prev to flying out as they must have a blood sample tested to prove they have no anti bodies to leptospirosis, a microchip helps, rabies vaccine is also useful but may not be compulsory as the rules change. They will need to have official documents issued by the DEFRA which must be signed by an official veterinary inspector, check with your local practice if they have one, and you must ensure that they travel on the plane with a registered export agent. You need to look on the DEFRA website and check out the PETS helpline for up to date details.
whilst I'm here, just a small(not) grump, but as a vet I feel slightly miffed by the comments aboutvets, I know that just like any profession,not all vets are perfect, in fact no vet is perfect. Despite a whole 5yrs at university,learning 23 causesof vomitting in pigs, 79 possible causes of epileptic fits in dogs etc etc I can not claim to be able to tell a very worried owner why their young and apparently otherwise healthy dog has suddenly lost a whole lot of weight with no obv reason. Using my free average eyesight, hands to palpate and trusty cheap thermometer I can rule out a fair few possibilities but I can not check its gut lining for foreign material or tumours from the inside, see microscopic changes through out its liver, examine its urine for the presence of protein that shouldn't be there or his bonemarrow for the presence of energy sapping tumours with just the power of my mind.
Sadlly we vets can not foresee the future either because if we could our lives would be alot easier and I wouldn't go home with a stress headache and not sleep at night because of the possibility that I missed a possible life threatening illness cunningly disguised as a small lump that had been there for months. Ofcourse we could offer our services free but then why don't plumbers offer their services free, or why don't we get free food from the supermarket or a free car from the garage when we need one.
anyway I'll get off my my high macropodus and worry about the silkie terrier with the bloaty belly and probable gut tumour I get to try and remove tomorrow.
sorry about the long whinge, tough day at the office!
Jun 21st 2006, 12:50 pm
#9
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 71
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Hi Viccollie,
Thankyou for the excellent response, very informative indeed!
I read your post about your slight grump, and thought "good on you!", then checked back and realised it was me that made a sweeping generalisation about vets.(cringe <oh the embarrassment > cringe)
It was actually a typo on my part, it MEANT to say: All vets seem to be like estate agents, APART from the ones in Adelaide who are all brilliant.
I certainly see your point now, it must be extremely stressful!
I just get the hump sometimes when I'm offered 7 things to buy at the Vets, and get tut-tuted at when I politely decline. Hope you understand, please don't take offense.
Thankyou for the excellent response, very informative indeed!
I read your post about your slight grump, and thought "good on you!", then checked back and realised it was me that made a sweeping generalisation about vets.(cringe <oh the embarrassment > cringe)
It was actually a typo on my part, it MEANT to say: All vets seem to be like estate agents, APART from the ones in Adelaide who are all brilliant.
I certainly see your point now, it must be extremely stressful!
I just get the hump sometimes when I'm offered 7 things to buy at the Vets, and get tut-tuted at when I politely decline. Hope you understand, please don't take offense.
Jun 21st 2006, 3:01 pm
#10
On the raggedy edge
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Bishops Cleeve
Posts: 21
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Hey there i was interested to read your post from the Vets mouth (fnarf!), good to get perspective from the other side of the fence! Hope your day improved afterwards!
I'm currently in a pickle about lepto, in that i didn't realise that this would be a problem transporting our dog. He had his boosters in May at our local vets as we had no idea when we would get our visa (the never-ending wait!), we carried on as normal. Of course now we have got in! which is great, but i am concerned we will not be able to take our dog when we planned (September). We have only just started making enquiries about getting him out there so i haven't taken any advice yet - does anyone know what the general craic is? I heard of dogs having repeat blood tests after failing the first time and getting through if all stays the same, is this correct?
Any advice would be appreciated!
l8rs
x
I'm currently in a pickle about lepto, in that i didn't realise that this would be a problem transporting our dog. He had his boosters in May at our local vets as we had no idea when we would get our visa (the never-ending wait!), we carried on as normal. Of course now we have got in!
which is great, but i am concerned we will not be able to take our dog when we planned (September). We have only just started making enquiries about getting him out there so i haven't taken any advice yet - does anyone know what the general craic is? I heard of dogs having repeat blood tests after failing the first time and getting through if all stays the same, is this correct?Any advice would be appreciated!
l8rs
x
Jun 21st 2006, 3:19 pm
#11
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: South
Posts: 222
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Originally Posted by Crikey!
I heard of dogs having repeat blood tests after failing the first time and getting through if all stays the same, is this correct?
With a jab as recent as May, you should expect to need 2 tests.
Jun 21st 2006, 3:38 pm
#12
On the raggedy edge
Joined: Jun 2006
Location: Bishops Cleeve
Posts: 21
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Originally Posted by Polyphemus
Yes, as long as there is no increase in the antibody titre between the tests, the positive level is deemed to be vaccine induced.
With a jab as recent as May, you should expect to need 2 tests.
With a jab as recent as May, you should expect to need 2 tests.
Will have to put him out to stud in aus to earn all this money back, time he weighed in on the whole deal
x
Jun 21st 2006, 3:41 pm
#13
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: South
Posts: 222
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Oooh no! whole new set of tests for importing breeding animals!!!!
Jun 21st 2006, 3:57 pm
#14
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 175
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
Originally Posted by viccollie
2 things:
answer to question: the usual vet medical carried out by the vet within 48hrs of travelling by plane to australia or elsewhere is justto ensure that your pet is well enough to travel, you wouldn't want to get on a plane, nevermind squeeze into a small crate, if you were feeling under the weather, had a temperature or were about to get a bad case of diarrhoea would you.
However the regulations regarding exporting you dog to australia to live are not under the power of a vet in the UK and are governed by the quarantine vets board in Oz., and they do not give their information directly to every uk vet. Often the only time a vet is made aware of the needs of a particular country are when the owner turns up at the clinic and asks what they need, then they either produce a huge sheaf of paperwork from the net for a vet to read in a full evening surgery, not always practicable, or they have nothing but expect the all knowing vet to be fully informed of what each individual country in the world requires before they let a pet in to wander its walks and beaches.
For Australia specifically the dog should have had no lepto vax in the 12mths prev to flying out as they must have a blood sample tested to prove they have no anti bodies to leptospirosis, a microchip helps, rabies vaccine is also useful but may not be compulsory as the rules change. They will need to have official documents issued by the DEFRA which must be signed by an official veterinary inspector, check with your local practice if they have one, and you must ensure that they travel on the plane with a registered export agent. You need to look on the DEFRA website and check out the PETS helpline for up to date details.
whilst I'm here, just a small(not) grump, but as a vet I feel slightly miffed by the comments aboutvets, I know that just like any profession,not all vets are perfect, in fact no vet is perfect. Despite a whole 5yrs at university,learning 23 causesof vomitting in pigs, 79 possible causes of epileptic fits in dogs etc etc I can not claim to be able to tell a very worried owner why their young and apparently otherwise healthy dog has suddenly lost a whole lot of weight with no obv reason. Using my free average eyesight, hands to palpate and trusty cheap thermometer I can rule out a fair few possibilities but I can not check its gut lining for foreign material or tumours from the inside, see microscopic changes through out its liver, examine its urine for the presence of protein that shouldn't be there or his bonemarrow for the presence of energy sapping tumours with just the power of my mind.
Sadlly we vets can not foresee the future either because if we could our lives would be alot easier and I wouldn't go home with a stress headache and not sleep at night because of the possibility that I missed a possible life threatening illness cunningly disguised as a small lump that had been there for months. Ofcourse we could offer our services free but then why don't plumbers offer their services free, or why don't we get free food from the supermarket or a free car from the garage when we need one.
anyway I'll get off my my high macropodus and worry about the silkie terrier with the bloaty belly and probable gut tumour I get to try and remove tomorrow.
sorry about the long whinge, tough day at the office!
answer to question: the usual vet medical carried out by the vet within 48hrs of travelling by plane to australia or elsewhere is justto ensure that your pet is well enough to travel, you wouldn't want to get on a plane, nevermind squeeze into a small crate, if you were feeling under the weather, had a temperature or were about to get a bad case of diarrhoea would you.
However the regulations regarding exporting you dog to australia to live are not under the power of a vet in the UK and are governed by the quarantine vets board in Oz., and they do not give their information directly to every uk vet. Often the only time a vet is made aware of the needs of a particular country are when the owner turns up at the clinic and asks what they need, then they either produce a huge sheaf of paperwork from the net for a vet to read in a full evening surgery, not always practicable, or they have nothing but expect the all knowing vet to be fully informed of what each individual country in the world requires before they let a pet in to wander its walks and beaches.
For Australia specifically the dog should have had no lepto vax in the 12mths prev to flying out as they must have a blood sample tested to prove they have no anti bodies to leptospirosis, a microchip helps, rabies vaccine is also useful but may not be compulsory as the rules change. They will need to have official documents issued by the DEFRA which must be signed by an official veterinary inspector, check with your local practice if they have one, and you must ensure that they travel on the plane with a registered export agent. You need to look on the DEFRA website and check out the PETS helpline for up to date details.
whilst I'm here, just a small(not) grump, but as a vet I feel slightly miffed by the comments aboutvets, I know that just like any profession,not all vets are perfect, in fact no vet is perfect. Despite a whole 5yrs at university,learning 23 causesof vomitting in pigs, 79 possible causes of epileptic fits in dogs etc etc I can not claim to be able to tell a very worried owner why their young and apparently otherwise healthy dog has suddenly lost a whole lot of weight with no obv reason. Using my free average eyesight, hands to palpate and trusty cheap thermometer I can rule out a fair few possibilities but I can not check its gut lining for foreign material or tumours from the inside, see microscopic changes through out its liver, examine its urine for the presence of protein that shouldn't be there or his bonemarrow for the presence of energy sapping tumours with just the power of my mind.
Sadlly we vets can not foresee the future either because if we could our lives would be alot easier and I wouldn't go home with a stress headache and not sleep at night because of the possibility that I missed a possible life threatening illness cunningly disguised as a small lump that had been there for months. Ofcourse we could offer our services free but then why don't plumbers offer their services free, or why don't we get free food from the supermarket or a free car from the garage when we need one.
anyway I'll get off my my high macropodus and worry about the silkie terrier with the bloaty belly and probable gut tumour I get to try and remove tomorrow.
sorry about the long whinge, tough day at the office!
Just want to say its six months not twelve for the Lepto. But fine post anyway!!!
Jun 21st 2006, 4:02 pm
#15
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: South
Posts: 222
Re: Dogs failing medicals?
To the OP, beyond agreeing with my OH's 'whinge', can I add this:
Fitness to travel exams are not strenuous, nor invasive (general exam, check size for crate, and check for heart or respiratory problems). But, I shall recommend that you use an agency, and get them to check that the intended airline will fly large brachycephalic (snub-nosed) dogs - some do not fly boxers or bulldogs, nor pekes 'n' pugs.
Regarding the illness, it is impossible to say whether this was/is/could be a problem.
Fitness to travel exams are not strenuous, nor invasive (general exam, check size for crate, and check for heart or respiratory problems). But, I shall recommend that you use an agency, and get them to check that the intended airline will fly large brachycephalic (snub-nosed) dogs - some do not fly boxers or bulldogs, nor pekes 'n' pugs.
Regarding the illness, it is impossible to say whether this was/is/could be a problem.