VIP Pet Care @ Tractor Supply Co

[RollTide]

I'm new to the forum and my wife and I drive 3 hours away to pick up our new Dane puppy next week. He'll be exactly 8 weeks when we get him and I couldn't be more excited! My question is with using VIP Health Care when they show up at our local Tractor Supply Co's. Anyone have any experience using them for shots, vaccines, microchips, etc?

[kahluadanes]

I would not recommend it. Get yourself established with a good vet, one that has experience with Danes. It is not a good idea to use shortcuts by using these type of services.

[21softballstar]

Same. Use a "real" vet. Especially since what if your Dane has a medical problem? And you have to take him to the vet? It would be better get a relationship with your vet than to just go there when he has a problem.

[DeaconBlues]

I agree that having a regular vet is the way to go. It's important that having a vet that knows your Dane, and understands you as an owner. Having a high level of rapport and trust is extremely important.

It looks like VIP Health Care only does shots, de-worming, microchips, and some diagnostic testing?

[RollTide]

Yes, VIP only does vaccines and microchip.

[SuzanneRM82]

Personally I would prefer to do that at my vet clinic, or at least the vaccines. That way the clinic will have a record of his shots even if something should happen to your copy.

[Hiraeth]

I see no point in having insurance for vaccines and microchips. Vaccines are probably the single cheapest part of vet care you will ever need for a Dane.

Insurance for Danes should cover the biggies - cancer, cruciate tears, bloat, etc. The bills that could run into the thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars are the ones you will want your insurance to help you with.

As others have said, a traveling vet clinic isn't a great idea with Danes, either. You want to establish a good reputation with a regular vet so that if your Dane bloats, you can call and say "I'm on my way with _______". Not "hello, my dog is bloating, you've seen him once in the last three years, I'll be there soon".

I'd recommend that you find a local (within 30-45 minutes of your home) vet who is open 24/7/365 and has large breed experience. If you can't find that, find a regular vet who is further away, but you definitely need to know where the closest 24 hour clinic is. Odds are, if bloat hits, it's going to hit at the most inconvenient time possible, not during regular business hours.

[RollTide]

I see no point in having insurance for vaccines and microchips. Vaccines are probably the single cheapest part of vet care you will ever need for a Dane.

Insurance for Danes should cover the biggies - cancer, cruciate tears, bloat, etc. The bills that could run into the thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars are the ones you will want your insurance to help you with.

As others have said, a traveling vet clinic isn't a great idea with Danes, either. You want to establish a good reputation with a regular vet so that if your Dane bloats, you can call and say "I'm on my way with _______". Not "hello, my dog is bloating, you've seen him once in the last three years, I'll be there soon".

I'd recommend that you find a local (within 30-45 minutes of your home) vet who is open 24/7/365 and has large breed experience. If you can't find that, find a regular vet who is further away, but you definitely need to know where the closest 24 hour clinic is. Odds are, if bloat hits, it's going to hit at the most inconvenient time possible, not during regular business hours.

To be honest, I'm having a very difficult time finding a quality vet around where I live. Which is astonishing to me since I live in the greater Kansas City area. I take user reviews very seriously and I can't find a vet that has good experience with Danes or large breeds that also has excellent reviews.

[cbmerle]

It might be a little bit of a drive, depending on where you live, but when we lived in Liberty we used Veterinary Center of Liberty. They have a wonderful practice. They are a block east of 291 and 152, just past Walgreens and Lamar's donuts. They offer doggie daycare, grooming and on site boarding as well. We had two danes while we lived there, and both of them got excellent care. Dr. Lori Rohling was our vet; she spayed and pexied our female at the age of 3, right after we got her. No issues with anything, and that was 6 years ago. Good Luck.

[SuzanneRM82]

To be honest, I'm having a very difficult time finding a quality vet around where I live. Which is astonishing to me since I live in the greater Kansas City area. I take user reviews very seriously and I can't find a vet that has good experience with Danes or large breeds that also has excellent reviews.

You might consider checking for breeders in your area on the GDCA website. If there is one close, contact him or her for a vet recommendation. I don't know if all would answer and be helpful, but I know my breeders would, and it can't hurt to try.

[kahluadanes]

These type of places also tend to over vaccinate and to use the lower quality vaccines. I would not use any of these places even for routine things for my dogs.