Dr. Chris Bern
21 Years Experience
Cartersville, GA
Male, 49
I have been a practicing veterinarian since 1997, but have been in and around the profession since 1984. I am a general practitioner and see most pet species, from dogs and cats to parrots and snakes. In my job I do everything from routine vaccinations to complex surgeries and difficult medical cases. Becoming a vet takes hard work and dedication but can be very rewarding.
Great questions!
First on vaccines....Since I started practicing back in the late '90s the attitude around vaccines has changed quite a bit, as has the science behind them. What we use in the 2010s are not the same as what we used 20 years ago. Vaccines are safer and more effective, with longer accepted duration of immunity (for many of them). Most vets have also gone to more of an approach of looking at the lifestyle risks of pets in determining which vaccines are needed. Do we over-vaccinate? Personally I don't think so. However, we do need to be judicious as to which ones we give. One of the reasons why pets live longer, healthier lives is because of preventative vaccination. If we stop using this important health tool we'll start seeing greater epidemics of disease. Simply put, vaccines save lives. Don't believe me? Talk to my many clients who failed to get their dog vaccinated for parvo and watched them die.
Heartworm preventative is ABSOLUTELY essential! The medicines we give are not toxic to the dogs, and this is a 100% preventable disease. At my location alone we've had 10 dogs test positive in the first 7 months of this year alone. I've treated far too many dogs for heartworms over my career and there is no reason for this. Heartworms are deadly, extremely expensive to treat, and completely preventable.
I realize that it's easy to look at a healthy pet and wonder if vaccines and heartworm prevention are worth it. But spend some time around dogs who have died of preventable diseases and you'll change your mind.
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Most veterinary schools require specific courses, but not a specific degree. I've known people who get into a veterinary college without a Bachelor's degree, but they have all of the required classes. Each school differs slightly in their entrance requirements, so check out a few of the schools to which you might apply and see what they require.
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I've always been fascinated by animals and science and loved watching nature shows growing up. For me it was just a natural progression from an interest in biology to wanting to help the animals. That interest started very young, and I just made the decision that I would become a vet. It was such a strong desire that I never stopped trying for it.
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You won't be able to find an answer to this problem by asking on a website. You need to take your dog to your vet to have him examined.
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Start off by looking at some veterinary schools to which you would consider applying and see what their admission requirements are. If you have a business degree there is a strong possibility that you will have to go back to school to take various biology and chemistry classes that your previous major wouldn't have required. Each school is slightly different, so you'll have to check out several. Many also require some experience working in a veterinary clinic, so you'll have to seek out that kind of work. You may also find out that you really don't like the kind of work that a vet does when you spend a long time behind the scenes at a clinic. Lastly, look at your financial situation as vets have the highest debt-to-income ratio of any medical professional, and the debt load when starting as a vet is very burdensome.
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I don't know any vets who have only 8 hour days. Mine are typically 10-11 hours. Most vets work 40-50 hours per week. Also, your schedule can be very unpredictable. It's unusual for me to get to take a full hour for lunch every day. We rarely leave as soon as closing time comes around as we're typically still finishing up patients and notes. If you work for a clinic that does its own emergency work you will have times when you have to come in at odd hours during the night and weekends. So if this kind of a schedule really doesn't appeal to you, don't become a vet. Being able to work consistent 8 hour days, leaving right at closing, and never having to come in outside of this schedule isn't realistic for a vet.
As far as whether you should be a vet or a technician, that's impossible for me to answer based on this question. It is a highly variable answer dependent on numerous factors, including what kind of responsibilities you want to have, how much school you can tolerate, and what kind if debt load you can survive.
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Great question! And one that is often hotly debated even among veterinary specialists.
Let's start with the last part. Titer tests really aren't very valuable, and most immunologists that I've heard from don't advocate for them. The problem stems from the fact that we really don't know what a protective titer level is for pet diseases. And the titer level can vary from one lab to another. In one study samples from the same patient were sent to different labs, each lab giving a different result. If a titer is really high we can assume it's protective, and if it's really low we can assume that it isn't. But the middle values are a gray area and there is no consensus on what constitutes a protective level in these areas. Titers are also far more expensive than a vaccine, putting them out of reach for many pet owners.
So basically titers are expensive and unreliable in predicting whether or not a pet is protected against a disease.
How often for each vaccine? There is a lot of "it depends" in this answer. For example, we know that a rabies vaccine needs to be boostered one year after the first one. But after that it depends on which vaccine is used as well as local laws. Most rabies vaccines carry a 3 year duration of immunity after the first one, but states or local jurisdictions may require it to be given more frequently than that. We know that some manufacturers have proven a 3 year duration on vaccines for canine distemper and parvo virus, but not all have. We also know that bordetella and leptospirosis vaccines don't last more than a year, so they have to be given more frequently.
There is a lot of discussion over whether or not some vaccines may be protective for 7 years, 10 years, or longer. While some data suggests this may be the case, I haven't seen any conclusive proof of this and respected specialists still advocate for annual or tri-annual vaccines.
How does this come into my own practice? I believe in risk assessment for each pet. So an indoor-only cat doesn't need feline leukemia vaccination after kittenhood, and a dog doesn't need a lyme vaccine unless it lives in an endemic area or has a high risk lifestyle. I recommend re-vaccinating based on the manufacturer data and warranties, while choosing vaccines that have the longest duration of immunity.
Hopefully that answers your question, as there are many sides to this issue.
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