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.
You should go and look at a similar response I made to another case comment a few months ago. This kind of question should NOT be asked on the internet. There is no way that I or any other doctor can tell what is going on with your pet. Any ideas? Yes, quite a few. In fact, I can think of several dozen conditions that could cause a symptom like this, none of which I could conclusively diagnose without an exam and likely some blood tests. The bottom line is that you need to contact your vet and take your dog in for a full exam. It is impossible to make an accurate diagnosis on the internet, especially with limited information.
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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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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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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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Many times! And by many different species! Here's a list just of the top of my head....dogs, cats, bearded dragon, snakes, parakeets, cockatiels, hamsters, guinea pigs, a horse, and probably others I can't think of right now. Thankfully most of those were minor, but I do have some scars on my hands and arms from the bad ones. We try to avoid these kinds of injuries, but at some point they are inevitable.
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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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Technically yes, but it would be very difficult and likely unnecessary. Currently in the US you attend 3-4 years of undergraduate college, then 4 years of veterinary college. To specialize you typically do an internship for 1 year, and then 3-5 years of specialty training. You would need to do this for each specialty, so if you wanted to be board-certified in both opthalmology and surgery you would be looking at around 10 years AFTER vet school to achieve this goal. During that time you would be making nearly nothing and pushing off your student loans even further, which wouldn't be a good idea financially. I know do know vets who have double certifications, but usually not in such different fields. For example, I know vets who are specialized in both internal medicine and nutrition. But most specialists focus on one field.
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