Emotional Versus Rational Decision Making For Your Dog’s Health Care?
Posted on March 25th, 2010 by admin
Hello everyone, this is my first post!
I am doing some research on the psychology between pet owners and their dogs. I would love to get peoples thoughts on the questions below to gain better understanding on the decision process.
Can anyone think of situations where they had a decision about whether or not to get expensive health care for their dog? Maybe it didn’t make sense to spend all that money rationally, but you did anyway? How did you see the situation with your pet that made this the right choice?
My dog broke his knee joint when he was 12 weeks old. To get the surgery to fix his knee (he needed pins and screws because he broke his growth plates), it would cost me $2000. I had the option of splinting, which would only have costed me $700, but there was no guarantee that his leg would heal, bascially, he would end up with a stunted leg. I either had the option to allow my dog to be physically challenged with a stunted leg, or opt for a pricier option and fix his leg.
It DID make sense to me, rationally AND emotionally, because I did not want my dog to be unnecesssarily challenged, all on my part. Also, if I did have the option to give him the BEST care, why not?!
March 25th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I spent $800.00 once only to find out that my Mastiff had a "gas bubble". He had vomitted a few times that morning and I got nervous and brought him in. Naturally, the Vet wanted to make sure it wasn’t bloat or an intestinal blockage so he wanted to do x-rays. It’s pretty obvious why I chose to have the x-rays.
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March 25th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I had a 3 year old dog suddenly bloat. I rushed him to my vet who confirmed the diagnosis and the first thing he asked (because he knows I’m broke) was, "How much do you want to spend on this dog?"
Then he explained that it would require taking him to an emergency vet where they would do surgery to untwist his stomach. And that if they opened him up and found his bowels were dead they wouldn’t be able to do anything and wouldn’t wake him up from the anesthesia. But if the bowels were fine then they’d do a gastropexi to make sure he wouldn’t bloat again and he would probably be fine.
Aside from the fact that he’s my baby and my best friend, I figured he’s a young dog, we’d caught the bloat early and he had more than a 50% chance at survival. I’d figure out a way to pay the bill.
Got him to the emergency vet in time, no bowel death, no complications from the surgery, and he’s now 7 years old and has not had any stomach issues since. Granted, I still owe my sister $2,000 for his surgery, but at least she’s not going to send anyone to break my kneecaps to collect (I hope).
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March 25th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
A dog we had over 10 years ago now became very sick when he was around 8, and we didn’t know why. After a battery of tests he was foudn to have zero thyroid function. We put him on medication right away to fix this, but he also had uncontrolled vomiting, bile in his vomit, severe hair loss, no apetite, poor skin and coat quality, amongst other things.
He died within weeks, before we could pinpoint why.
Apparently cancer was rampant in his body… so all the money and testing in the world sometimes doesn’t even matter.
My last dog was diagnosed with Lymphoma after suddenly refusing to eat anything. We made the decision to put him down, instead of put him through cancer treatment… it was such a hard decision to make. However, I remember the dog before that lying in the hallway in the middle of the night, disoriented and almost screaming. We picked him up to take him to the vet to be put down, and he died in the car on the way there… I just couldn’t put another dog through that.
My current cat had a tumor on his back. I made the decision to have it removed, since it didn’t seem to be spreading aggressively and he was otherwise healthy. 2000$ and a year later, he’s happy, healthy and cancer free. No regrets.
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March 25th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
My dog broke his knee joint when he was 12 weeks old. To get the surgery to fix his knee (he needed pins and screws because he broke his growth plates), it would cost me $2000. I had the option of splinting, which would only have costed me $700, but there was no guarantee that his leg would heal, bascially, he would end up with a stunted leg. I either had the option to allow my dog to be physically challenged with a stunted leg, or opt for a pricier option and fix his leg.
It DID make sense to me, rationally AND emotionally, because I did not want my dog to be unnecesssarily challenged, all on my part. Also, if I did have the option to give him the BEST care, why not?!
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March 25th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
I spent $500 to find my dog just had an upset stomach. He had puked one morning and I just assumed he ate too fast or something. But then he started this cough, almost like he had a cold! He puked again a day later and I rushed him to the vet thinking he was sick, the vet suggested they put a camera down his throat to see if something was blocked in there, found nothing, they did x-rays thinking he ate a rock, again found nothing. They sent me home with a $500 bill and some $5 meds to calm his stomach, he has been fine ever since! I spent all that money for some meds to calm his stomach! I kinda wish I would have started with the meds and if they didn’t work, then go back in and do the exensive stuff but I was scared he was seroiusly sick and didn’t mind paying the bill, knowing we did all we could.
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March 25th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
A friend of mine’s dog was hit by a car. She wasn’t watching him for just a moment while vacuuming her car and he managed to wonder across the street. When she stopped to check on him she saw him going to "see if the neighbors were home" and called him back. He was hit by the car on his way back across the street. It was bad. When I got to the vet clinic and looked at the x-rays I didn’t think there was any way it could be repaired.
$5,000 and two years later he’s doing fantastic (though I believe his sporadic seizures every few months are caused by the brain trauma of the accident).
I know that her guilt about the accident played a part in her decision. I also know she wouldn’t change her decision to have the surgery done.
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March 25th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
I spent 10k total on surgeries for my Siberian Husky to try and fix her crooked leg. She had a condition called radial head luxation. Sadly, the surgeon could not save it because there was too much cartilage damage in the joint.
When we first got her, we thought that she was just bow-legged and did not think it was a serious condition. After x-rays got taken, and the surgeon explained to us the situation, my dog’s breeder offered to take her back. But I really wanted to give surgery a shot. After all, Sibes are active and like to run, so if we could have saved the leg it would have meant a great deal to her.
Whether that made sense rationally, or not, depends I suppose on the benefits and cost of the procedure to the person making the decision. For me, the benefits were great because I love this dog, she has a great temperament, she is young, and she deserved a chance to save the leg. The monetary cost is high but I think it is much more rational to spend money in trying to save my dog’s leg than on a new car, or new clothes, or some other not so important thing. It all comes down to which you value more.
Thanks for the really interesting question.
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March 25th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Been there done that – let me state the emotion CAN"T be separated out
1) dog with Addison’s disease a problem requiring expensive continuing care – he had just gotten the training down for the top levels of agility & obedience – since diagnosis he finished his field champ, 3 agility titles and was one of only 5 dogs in his breed to get a Rally Excellent in the first year- conventional obedience proved too stressful (Addison’s reduces ability to deal with stress) He’s retired now & I GUESS the rational thing would be put him down to save $$$ – that’s just obscene…
2) my top field champion (who challenged the top 10 dogs regularly) Major tendon cut – NEVER considered alternatives so can’t call this rational OR emotional – she could maybe be return to the field, certainly she’s good enough to be a brood female
#) bone cancer diagnosis on same dog with toe amputation recommended – sighthounds do poorly with a center toe amputated – traveled 300 miles to a breed expert orthopedic for second opinion. a foot corn was his diagnosis, and it responded to that treatment- no regrets…..partly rational but HEAVY emotional factor
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March 25th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
A few years ago, we had a cat. Not just an ordinary cat, but one I’d found when he was newly born, no hair, eyes still closed, umbilical cord still attached, etc. I brought it home and my wife and I took it to a vet. The vet said he wouldn’t live, but if we wanted to try we could. We bought cat’s milk, fed him every hour around the clock, sponged him off with a moist cotton ball to make him defecate and urinate, set up a special bed that would be warm enough, the works. We lost nights of sleep because I wanted this cat to live. We didn’t name him because we were sure he wouldn’t make it…
But he did. His name was Baby because that’s all we’d ever called him was "the baby". He never knew he was a cat, he thought he was our child. He’d come when we called him, hang his head when we’d scold him, acted more like you’d expect a dog to than a cat. He lived to be 14 years old before kidney disease killed him.
My wife is a nurse, and for the last 3 years of his life, she’d brought home supplies from the hospital to support and help him, and I guess she’s the reason he lived those last 3 years. But when he began to suffer, the vet started talking about putting him down.
Did you know they actually have kidney transplants for cats?? Neither did I, but I think I might have been willing to try it. My wife loved him every bit as much as I did, but she had to be the voice of reason. We’d gladly mortgage our home and sell everything we had for one of our children, but we couldn’t sacrifice the same things for our beloved pet.
Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children, but they are supposed to outlive their pets. We give our pets the best life possible, but in the final say, they are pets — not children. It hurts so much to lose one, but not nearly as much as it would to lose a child.
In the end, my wife had to be the one to say "enough". Perhaps dealing with patients helped her in this respect. We spent a lot on Baby, and he had 14 years of happy, healthy life that he wouldn’t have if I’d walked past instead of picking him up that day.
It’s a choice each person has to make, and a lot of factors come into play.
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March 25th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Have always had insurance for my dogs. If they get sick I only pay an excess, the insurance covers the rest of the bill. It also covers a lot of other stuff like alternative therapies and kenneling in case I’m ill.
I want the best treatment if my dogs become ill and this way I can afford to give it to them
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