Should Diagnostics Hurt? Invasive Diagnostics and Painful Examinations—When What You Should Do Might Not Be What You Should Do for Your Dog

Is pain a fair price to pay to obtain a diagnosis?

I like when things are clear and simple. 

I wish there was a book that contained the best way to make difficult decisions. You follow the advice. All is well.

Unfortunately, very few things are that simple. And it’s not just about medical procedures alone. Sometimes it’s just as much about WHO should do it as it is about WHAT should be done.

But whatever criteria you choose to use only work when there are reasonable options. What if you have only one reasonable option, take it or leave it but you don’t really like it so much at all?

Should Diagnostics Hurt? Invasive diagnostics and painful examinations:—When What You Should Do Might Not Be What You Should Do for Your Dog

Case in point

What if you make an appointment with a specialist because you believe you should but you’re not all that unhappy when weather and road conditions make it impossible to show up for it?

Should you take a hint?

That appointment was our only window for the next two months. Unless we are going to drive a long way to see another specialist, I felt it was the right thing to do. Maybe. The pressure of taking it or leaving it was high. I couldn’t take it.

Please, no pain

When your appointment notes start with “Please, no pain,” in big red letters, is it the best thing to do?

I understand that diagnostics are sometimes invasive and that sometimes some pain is unavoidable. But how much pain is really necessary? I believe that the specialist does have all the needed expertise. I understand that having just one appointment to diagnose things might warrant a different approach than when you can see the dog repeatedly over a short period of time. But how far does one need to push the pain to come to a diagnostic conclusion?

Jasmine’s vet has never caused her pain.

His miracle diagnostic hands could tell things without manipulating the body to the extreme. I believe it should be possible to get enough information from subtle things. I know he could.

I felt I should not pass the opportunity as it were. But should I have stood by while Cookie was made to cry during the examination? And if I stopped it, which was what I was going to do, would the whole appointment have been just a waste of time?

A sign from above

Then the weather got bad and the roads terrible.

Having tried to make the trip would have been highly unsafe. I was upset and yet I was relieved at the same time. A higher power has spoken and there was nothing we could do.

I was not all that unhappy. Rant over.

Related articles:
Figuring out What Might Be Going on with Cookie’s Legs: The Diagnosis

Further reading:
Orthopedic Examination

Categories: Dog care • Dog health advocacy • Working with Veterinarians

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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