Comprehensive Appointment

[AngelaA6]

So this Friday I have my 9 month old's first comprehensive check and they told me to drop him off at the vet between 7-10 AM and pick him up in the afternoon. Is this normal for a comprehensive? We go to Banfield because it was the more affordable option (we got our pup not even 2 months after my husband and I got married).
This is what the comprehensive consists of:
Ear exam
Eye exam, including eye pressure
Rectal exam
Dental exam
Neurologic evaluation
Cardiovascular evaluation
Weight & nutrition counseling
Coat & skin evaluation
Abdominal palpation
Urogenital evaluation
Musculoskeletal evaluation
Pulmonary/lung evaluation

Any information about your vet's comprehensive checks vs Banfields "Early Care Puppy" one would be great! I'll be going to school to be a vet assistant in the up coming year hopefully and when I get through my externship I hope to get my puppy in to the vet office I do it at if I like it

[KZoppa]

I wouldn't leave my dog unattended like that with strangers for anything but surgery to be honest. I also don't trust Banfield vet practices as a whole. Nothing but bad experiences there that resulted in a vet aggressive dog who prior had been perfectly fine at the vets office.

That all seems pretty extensive too.

[AngelaA6]

That's what I though. I'm really uncomfortable taking him there and leaving him. My husband just is like "My mom's dog goes there and is fine." I mean getting that stuff check out I guess isn't a bad thing, but the one thing I'm worried about they don't check out. They don't x-ray for hip dysplasia

They made us redo his bordetella vaccine because they "forgot" to tell us his booster was needed a week after our first visit after we got the pup. Not to mention the only way I could afford their ridiculous pricing is with their stupid wellness package. I really just wanted a brief check up and a lyme vaccine so we can go camping

Thanks KZoppa.

[blehmannwa]

Our Banfield offers an in office consult. We just ask for an appointment rather than the drop off. Call your local Banfield and ask. I really love the Banfield program as it includes twice yearly comp. checks. I think that the drop off option sort of assumes that it is more convenient for people but our local office is glad to accommodate us as I'm not keen on leaving my dog for the day.

[AngelaA6]

Thanks blehmannwa. The Puyallup, WA Banfield's customer service is rubbish :/ I'll talk to the front desk tomorrow.

[sjackson310]

Hi
As someone who worked at a Banfield for a year, I can tell you your customer service and professionalism experience will vary by location.
The drop off option is if you'd like. I actually have an appt with my Banfiled in 3 hours, where I will be there with my dog
They WILL check for hip dysplasia. They diagnose it ALL the time. In fact, when my dog was 9 months old he got his foot stuck in the kennel and had some nerve damage, but since we were doing x-rays already, I had them look at his hips (all clear ^_^).

Anywho, the comp exam normally takes under 15-20 minutes so long as everything is normal. They check everything extremely quickly because they do several of them per day. Also, the first year of the wellness plan is great. Any year after that is a waste of money, unless maybe you want the teeth cleaning package.

Oh, and I am confused about why your dog would need a bordetella booster right away?? They give it intranasally, then it is good for 6 months. Unless they have another way to do it now, but Bender (my almost 4 month old shepherd) just got his intranasally 4 weeks ago and he's good for 5 more months.

[AngelaA6]

there was some issue where the humane society gave it to him at one point and he needed a booster at a certain time and the vet didn't tell us and we missed it so we had to restart. I'm not bashing on all Banfields, my sister goes to one for her cats and its great for her. I'm just a little frustrated with them at the moment and how they basically pushed us into the plan. They spent at least 10-15 minutes trying to sell us on the the plan every visit. We had to do it because they sprang a whole bunch of vaccines on us without telling me they needed to do it before the visit and it was going to be out of our budget and that was only our second visit to them so it kinda gave a bad representation of how they do business. It felt more like I wasn't being told the whole truth when it came down to costs and what needed to be done.

[AngelaA6]

Either way as long as my dog is cared for correctly that's all it really comes down to. I was just nervous about my pup getting stressed out from being dropped off at the vets. I rescheduled and I'll be going with him on Monday plus 30 minutes seems a lot better than having to stay out waiting for a phone call. I don't get cell service at home haha. Granted I forgot to tell them I also needed a lyme vaccine haha -.-' that would be my fault entirely. Thanks for all the feedback everyone

[AngelaA6]

Oh and it wasn't his bordetella I just rechecked his record. It was his distemper parvo DAPP which makes more sense. His bordetella was given intranasally at the humane society. It'll be nice when I get into schooling to be a VA and can understand all this without having to google everything haha x.x'

[martemchik]

Bordetella isn't necessary unless you're boarding or taking to a day care...its extremely optional and is a great way for many vets to make money. Mine charges $20 for the shot and $30 for the appointment. So in 5 minutes he makes $50.

Most of the stuff isn't necessary in my opinion. Your dog is 9 months old and should've been checked over for a lot of that stuff at the humane society. And many of their tests...you'd notice if there were issues. Like coat/skin...if your dog is itching there's a problem, but if its nice and shiny, why do you need a vet to tell you its good? Same with eyes and ears...they're just going to visually see if anything is up...not like you can ask the dog to read a chart or play noises and see what they hear.

Muskoskeletal evaluation? Just feel him over and make sure his bones/muscles are alright? And they're going to charge you for that? They'll end up just feeling his hips...and tell you if they think there's an issue. The truth is, a feel test will only tell you if something is wrong if its REALLY REALLY wrong. Mild HD can only be diagnosed with an x-ray. An x-ray takes time, usually anesthesia, and runs anywhere from 200-300 dollars depending on the vet. Some can do it without anesthetic, but at your dog's age all you'll get is a preliminary. You have to wait until 2 for a true evaluation.

Tell you the truth...that whole list looks like the 50 point inspection a car dealership offers "free" with any oil change. It can most likely be done in 30 minutes with you standing right there. For most of those things...if there was an issue...you'd know about it or be worried about it by now.