Vets are a minefield, and on every other thread it seems that someone has been unsatisfied with their vet, or someone here with knowledge picks up on things that perhaps the vet in question should have investigated.
Sadly not everyone can get to the good vets located miles away, and public transport is not ideal when you have a sick and stressed pig, or one who has just come out of surgery.
It seems to me that luck plays a huge part, being lucky in where you live and if you own a car.
When I first joined I suggested that if the vet is not knowlegable it could be worth seeking the opinion of a rodentologist. Vedra's course is mainly on guinea pigs, and Vedra, I understand, was the one who pioneered 'awake' dental treatment. For me, seeking out a rodentologist for an opinion is like asking very experienced members here for their opinions. Often more knowledge than the average vet. However I was told in no uncertain terms that this idea is a no-no, and that vets now-a-days are actually trained more extensively on guinea pigs. This contradicts everything that I have read on here since, with people who know new vets, and vets in training, that guinea pigs hardly get a mention.
And so we really do have a minefield. Do we traumatise out pigs by going miles to a recommended vet? Do we pay up huge fees in travel? Do we trust our local vets? Do we go to Pets@Home, as much as they are slated the vets there do deal with guinea pigs perhaps more often than your average vet perhaps? People have had bad experiences with their vets too.
The standard and legally acceptable advice from the forum is sound, no one can deny that, and I see over and over again how helpful members here are with regards medical issues, but not everyone can do as is suggested, and perhaps people should be able to explore other options without feeling they are wrong to do so.
Vets are a minefield. Advice is only that, whether from yourselves or from a rodentologist, but I find the advice is often better than the vets advice and this advice has saved the life of many pigs on the forum, so I truly applaud it and seek it when necessary.... we see that over and over again here. In my view, a good rodentologist can be treated in a similar view.
As for new members feeling uncomfortable about their pet shop piggies I would hope that I have never made anyone uncomfortable with this. I do see some very good points raised by many people who have contributed to this thread, and the legal issue stands out to me as something to take on board.
Now with regards the staff - I see very much that there that quality of advice varies, as does knowledge, as it does from staff in any chain store, no matter what they are selling. I have no doubt there are many there who care deeply about the animals they house. However it seems to be quite common for people to get poor advice. Perhaps we should all keep this to ourselves for legal issues, and to be fair to the staff who are doing a great job, but like any service anywhere on any subject, people will grumble when they receive bad service, and where animal welfare comes into it, should it really be kept under our hats? It's a tough one, as I do see what people are saying with regards not generalising etc.
The big issue for me is not the staff, but where this chain sources their animals. Most will no-doubt end up healthy even if they have come from bad conditions, but where do they source their animals? Nice local small-scale breeders who let their sows have roomy clean hutches and only two or three litters in their life-times? Nice breeders who keep ex-breeding 'stock' as pets, or sell them to people who will provide them with loving homes? Breeders who jump at the first sign of issues and take their animals straight to the vets? I know breeders like this, and I have got some of my pigs from such, and I make no secret of it but don't go on about it either, but do you think a major chain is going to go down this route for sourcing their animals?
The majority of people wouldn't consider getting their puppy from a puppy farm. It's been on the news on several occasions that places that churn out puppies cause misery to the breeding animals, the puppies and long term health issues for both. Do you think it's much different for large-scale guinea pig breeders? You can't breed guinea pigs for profit AND keep them to pet standards. Any loving hobby breeder knows that they run at quite a large loss. Those who provide pet chain stores do not run at a loss because they skimp on the care....
It's an issue that this forum has done well in avoiding, as I think perhaps (unlike another forum I could mention) and on reflection this may well be a good thing, as that other forum is a very heavy-going and hard-core place to be. But facts are facts, and chain-store pigs are unlikely to have come from anywhere nice, and this creates problems.
My suggestion is that although many healthy pigs come from such places, the proportion of unhealthy ones are going to be greater from 'mills'. Breeder mills are terrible places, people know about puppies, most people don't know or even think about where their pet shop small-animals come from.
They ALL need love, they are ALL just as worthy as the next. Once born it doesn't matter where they have come from, they all need good homes, and there is no-way that I would condemn someone's decision to buy such a guinea pig, and one point I read is an excellent one to the effects of "can't bare the thoughts of the pig going to a family to be a short-term interest - I know I can provide the pig with a good home". Not the exact wordings, but it is the gist of message of the point in that particular post.
I ramble, but should we all keep quiet? I do get it, I would hate for this forum to end up like the other, as a militant anti pet-shop ranting place. I love that all people are welcome here no matter where they buy their pigs, but I do feel that if people know that there are more issues with chain-store pigs and why, then people can make an informed choice.
Perhaps it is for Admin to have the final say on how far we can mention things in order to keep the forum to the spirit that it is intended?
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