Both Dr. Dodds and Michigan State are incredibly helpful on the phone. Last year when Billy was on SO many drugs,
my vet was on the phone for a LONG time (like over an hour I think) with my vet (my regular vet) because he was on so many meds (including prednisone) that it took quite a while to sort out how the drugs might affect his testing.
The difference is in the entire protocol – Michigan State follows Dr. Dodds protocols but she also set up their lab. But it#%92s obvious that they have continued to expand on those theories because I know last summer MS had done a huge study on the effects of steroids on thyroid testing. (not a small study, in fact)
Ottoluv, I have no information regarding Dr. Dodd#%92s dissemination of information – and frankly, I#%92m not going to debate with you. I disagree with you incredibly strongly on all you say – and I have dealt with both holistic and regular vets for many, many years. In honesty, the reason I have ***HAD*** to learn so much about dog medicine is simply because I have had to dig out of so many problems inferior vets landed me in.
One vet#%92s incompetence cost my cocker his ears and hearing simply because he never ... in two year#%92s time ... suggested a test called a "culture and senstivity" be done to find out what bacteria was in his ears and how to treat it. By the time I realized this guy was just plain a joke and switched vets, they suggested the test right off ... but it was too late and the damage was done to Muffin#%92s ears.
That#%92s only ONE example.
Please don#%92t try to mix human medicine and veterinary medicine. Vets are independent business people. They buy their own equipment. They aren#%92t underwritten by some large hospital in the vast majority of cases.
They also realize that not every client who comes in the door can afford the same thing. Far far too often, I have had vets not suggest testing simply because they *assumed* I couldn#%92t pay for a test or wouldn#%92t want to. My vet has admitted to me on many occasions that I am unusual in the fact that he knows he can suggest a test and not make me feel ‘bad#%92 because of money matters.
But I have known far far too may vets who simply don#%92t suggest extra testing because they are trying to be cautious of a client#%92s wallet – and on the other hand, I have seen many many vets suggest a ton of things routinely just because they are profitable. I had a vet#%92s wife say plainly to me one day that they had all their patients on a twice a year vax schedule because "at least that way we make some money".
But I#%92m not going to debate with you the ‘whys#%92 of how Dr. Dodds conducts her business. But I think that it is far more than just her willingness to "publish". That would have to be an incredibly involved process and would involve a lot of liability on whether or not the entire protocols were properly followed. And I know the protocols are precise and involved.
For example – the amount of time that has elapsed between when the dog ate (and WHAT they ate and how much calcium was in it) and when the dog took it#%92s medicine **and** how that affects the test and exactly what time it was done – all these things make an enormous difference in how the test results come out.
I#%92ve seen this with my own eyes. In all the MANY MANY thyroid tests I#%92ve had run on various dogs over the years, no one has ever asked me when or what the dog ate prior to the test.
However never before having Michigan State run the test have I had the incredible results that I#%92ve seen with their help and with Dr. Dodd#%92s help.
But the fact that Dr. Dodds#%92 protocols are more specific – that ALONE makes me feel pretty confident that one of her reasons for being reluctant to release her material beyond her control is very likely that she doesn#%92t feel, thus far, it will be used accurately.
Dr. Dodds certain isn#%92t in it for the money. I#%92ve seen how incredibly free she is with her time and helpfulness – and without her the idea of a national blood donor organization for dogs wouldn#%92t be a reality either.
As far as a "mixed breed" -- that#%92s not usually a problem for her. She apparently has a formula of how to combine or ‘average#%92 those results – that#%92s MY guess. I will ask my vet the next time I see her.
