Itchy Pets with Dr. Greer of CheckOut Veterinary

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Eight thirty seven thirteen ten WIBA and ask the experts.
Brought to you by Checkout Veterinary Online. Checkout vet dot com.
That's checkout vet dot com. Joined this morning by doctor
Marty Greer, recognized as Veterinarian of the Year by the
Westminster Kennel Club. Of course you can learn more about
doctor Greer. You can learn more about Checkout Veterinary all

(00:21):
on the website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. Don't forget that first visit that exam. It
is free again. You can learn more online. Great website,
checkout vet dot com. Very convenient to get to checkout
Veterinary there right at twenty seven to ten Prairie Lags
drive in Sun Prairie just off the interstate, right off
the highway there, very convenient. If you can hear my
voice you are near checkout vet. Their telephone number six

(00:44):
oh eight three one eight sixty seven hundred, that's six
's' eight three one eight sixty seven hundred has mentioned
joined this morning. Bye, doctor Marty Greer. Doctor Greer, how
are you doing this week?

Speaker 2 (00:53):
I'm great? Thank you. It's beautiful weather.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
It is beautiful weather. And before we get rolling on
this week's topic, talk about, of course its being allergy season.
You got a big event coming up May the fourth,
A's Sunday from three until five at the clinic, don't you.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
That's right, we've got Meet the Vet MTV. Different MTV
than you're probably used to. So Meet the Vet is
an opportunity for you to come in and meet me,
some of the other staff and doctors at check out.
That it's of course, it's all free. We'd love to
have you. You can bring your pet, but we're not
making any appointment. But if you want to bring your
dog to your cat and just thot, I'm kind of

(01:30):
experience that that'd be great. Love wine and a little beer,
a little cheese, you know, just a little reception, a
typical Wisconsin reception, and introduce you to the concept of
what it's like to be at checkout, what the doctors
are like, get to know our staff. Just an opportunity
to kind of meet and greet. So if you do
decide that we're the right kind of place for you, you

(01:50):
feel more comfortable coming in because you've been there, you
know what it's like, you know where it is. It's
right across from Woodman so it's easy to find, but
it gives you. It gives you the firsthand experience of
what it's like to drive in park your car, have
your pet in the garage bay, have yourself in the
in the pet, and the examin and just how it
works so that you don't have to interact with other
animals whire there.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
You know, it's such an important relationship, what you know,
pets and their vets and having a good communication and
really really clicking and connecting with your veterinary. And what
a great opportunity that is. And I know, doctor for you,
whether it's at this event May fourth, that's Sunday, May fourth,
the Meet the Vet, the MTV event from three until

(02:31):
five out checkout Veterinary, whether it's at that event or
just in general, I know, building relationships is really really
important for you. And we see, really there's there's a
couple of good reasons. One obviously, I know you love
love getting to know people and love spending time with
their pets, but it also improves their all overall care
and treatment. If there's a good relationship. There isn't doesn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
Oh absolutely, I mean we are the other family doctor.
So it's not just your physician, or your pediatrician or
your internest. We are the other family doctor, and it's
really important that we know each other. I know how
you think, you know how I think. We have the
opportunity to meet each other, and I kind of understand
then where you're going with something. If you say to me, yeah,
this is how I want to handle it, I understand

(03:13):
the direction you want to go. Because not all treatment
plans turn out to be the same. We have one
that's customized. We guarantee will customize a treatment plan, whether
it's vaccines or your pet is ill, if your pet
is injured, will come up with some kind of an
option for what you can do, so that you kind
of know how we think, and we can give you
the opportunity to say, well, this is planning, this is

(03:35):
plan B, this is plan C. Not because we're indecisive,
but because not everybody chooses the same level of care
for their pet, and we want to make sure that
we are customizing that pet care based on your resources,
your finances, what you have time to do, what you're
interested in doing, and what your pet really needs. Because
not everybody wants the same thing. Some people will go

(03:55):
all out. I have a doctor that just took her down,
her dog down to refer to, and she started off
with the CT. They decided to convert to an MRI.
She had insurance. Great, go for it, she can do
it all. And we have other people that are like,
you know, she's sixteen and I'm good, and so we
want to make sure that we aren't pushing pushing an
agenda on you. You have the option of how you

(04:16):
want your pet to be treated in it's the first
time we see you is when you're in a crisis.
It's a lot more difficult for us to understand you.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
It's a great data start that relationship and how refreshing
it is to hear about about how that relationship is structured.
A great data start that conversation. Make that appointment, of
course you can learn more online. Check out vet dot com.
That's checkout vet dot com. Telphon number which is up
at the website as well. Telephone number to make an
appointment at checkout veterinary six oh eight three one eight
sixty seven hundred. That's six oh eight three one eight

(04:44):
sixty seven hundred and again that first exam, that first visit,
it is free doctor. A lot of folks or some
folks may have noticed their pet this week, maybe chewing
on there on their pause or licking their pause and
chewing on their on their fur and think, oh, my goodness,
does my pet have fleas or what's going on there?
It might be something other than a critter on them. Now,

(05:07):
could be a critter on them, but it could be
also just the season of the year, couldn't it right, And.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
It can be their eyes that are running in lottery.
There's all kinds of things that start to happen this
time of year, as soon as the tree pollens and
the grass pollens start to come out, which I mean,
I love spring. It's my favorite season of the year.
I know a lot of people I call brings my
favorite season, and I love to see this time of
year roll around. But it does bring with it some challenges. So, yes,
allergies do start to flare up, and there are lots

(05:34):
of things that we can do for your pets. We've
always had, well for since the nineteen sixties, it's pretty
much always for most of us have had things like
steroids prednizone to treat those with. But if that creates
side effects that you're concerned about, that. Then we have
other alternatives. We have pills that you can give called apriquail.
We have pills called atopica. We have injections called side

(05:54):
of point. There's a pill called zenrelia. So we have
lots of things besides just shampooing your pet or putting
eye drops in. There's lots and lots of things that
we can do. So I think you again need to
meet your veterinarian and have an opportunity to understand what
your treatment options are. Discuss all of them, everything from
the most expensive to the least expensive, everything for the
most of the least side effects, and then you can

(06:16):
make a well informed decision on how your pet treatment
should go. Because we can really make a difference if
they're chewing at their feet to the and they come
in like they all have rust colored toes, if they're
a light colored dog, because the saliva turns the skin
and the hair a rust color, and people come in
and think that maybe blood or they're not quite sure
what's going on. If they think it's just a habit, well,

(06:36):
if you yell at your dog for chewing on their feet,
all they're going to do is leave the room and
chew in the other room for it, for it, because
you're not going to make their feet less itchy by
yelling at them. You're just going to teach them to
be closet cheers instead of out in the open. So
be sure that you're allowing your veterinarian to get you
the chance to talk about what all your treatment options are,
because we can offer you a number of them, and
depending if it's an eye problem, then we treat the

(06:59):
eyes and times of the ears, so we'll treat the ears.
So it depends on the pet, and it depends on
your resources. So I want people to know that they
have a lot of choices, but their pets should be
more comfortable in the long run. If you decide that
you want to go and see a dermatologists and have
skin testing done. Blood and slide the tests aren't generally
very useful, but the skin test can be done and
then you can do hyposensitization on the pet. They come

(07:22):
as drops, they come as injections. There's so many options
that you have now that you didn't have before, and
insurance has made a lot of them really cost effective.
So think about whether you want to get insurance on
your pet, because anything pre existing, of course, isn't going
to be covered. So think about what's going to be
best for your pet and best for you.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
Talk this morning with doctor Marty Greer of Checkout Veterinary.
The website checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com.
If you've got a question for the doctor, phone minds,
they are always open to you. Six eight three two
one thirteen ten. That's six oh eight three two one
thirteen ten. Gets you right on the air with doctor
Marty Greer of Checkout Veterinary. Talked about the website checkout
vet dot com. I hope we've had a chance to

(08:01):
stop on buy to learn more about Checkout Veterinary. If
you haven't, head on over to the website. It is
a great one. Checkout vet dot com. Tel for number
six soh eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. That's
six oh eight three one eight sixty seven hundred. Doctor.
I hear this term hotspot often mentioned, and I feel like,
just by your reaction there, I'm probably lucky that I'm

(08:22):
not familiar with that term, because it sounds like it
sounds like can be be a bit of a problem.
What is a quote unquote hot spot for a for
a pet or a dog, for example.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
A hotspot is a special kind of allergy. It's a
special kind of nasty reaction. It's technically called an acute
to professional bacterial pioderma. Probably like that. Now you know what,
Now you know why we call it a lot of spots,
because acute to deficial bacterial pioderma is a little bit
of a mouthful to say. So. Basically, a hotspot starts
as any kind of break in the skin. It can
be allergies, it can be your pet scratched or hurt themselves.

(08:56):
It can be that they ran into a fence or
a bush or whatever. They broke the skin. It can
be an insect bite, and then it gets a little
bit itchy, and then the pet starts to scratch and
look at it, and then it gets wet, and then
it gets really gooey, and it spreads like wildfire. You
can go from a little tiny spot when you go
to bed one night to this giant area on your
pet skin overnight. And the worst ones are the ones

(09:16):
below the ear. The ones on the rest of the
trunk of the body are a little bit more manageable,
but the ones below the ear take at least three
weeks to clear up. It requires shaving. It may require
laser therapy to help reduce the inflammation and the bacteria.
It requires antibiotics. It may require a steroid or another
kind of an allergy like atopica or is then really
one of those meds to get it under control. Because

(09:38):
it's really really itchy, really uncomfortable, and if it's really bad,
you may have to put your pet in one of
those Elizabethan collars or a surgical suit or something to
keep them away from it. They sell surgical suits on
Amazon now for dogs and cats. They're amazing. So whether
you're having surgery or some other kind of a reason
that you need to keep your pet away from a
certain area of their body to keep them from licking, biting, chewing, scratching,
pulling out the sutures of the staples or whatever, the

(10:00):
bodysuits are amazing. You can buy them on Amazon. They
come so just type in surgical suit for dog or
surgical suitor cat, and it pulls up all kinds of
different choices on each individual page, and I'll tell you
what size the pet is, so, how long their back
is from their neck to their tail, and how much
they weigh, so you can get the right size, and
then you can get a really cute one of the
little flowers on it if it's a girl dog or
a little sail bunce that fits a boy dog. You know,

(10:22):
whatever you want, you can you can get. And so
that's why I usually don't order them for my clients
because I may pick the wrong pattern if you love
lady bugs, and you may want more of the vidigugs
on it. So there's there's some really great options out
there for you. So it's probably a good idea to
have one just hanging around the house anyway, because at
some point your pet's going to have something that happens.
But for sure, if they're having surgery, get that ordered

(10:44):
in advance. Get them used to wearing it so that
the first time that they have it on is not
as they're waking up from surgery and run wondering why
you've put them in this ridiculous outfit. But they do
a great job of keeping pets away from the things
that we don't want them to scratch, bites you or
lick at. So it's really a great tool that people
can use instead of the Elizabeth and collar because those
are miserable for pets. They run into doorways in your legs,

(11:07):
and you know the coffee tables there, they're just they
can't eat or drinking them. They're just kind of miserable.
So I try to avoid those when possible.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
I hadn't thought about using Amazon or that's well, that's good,
good advice and guides. As always from doctor Greer's we
talk with doctor Marty Greer. Of course, Doctor gear comes
to us from Checkout Veterinary online. Checkout vet dot com.
That's check out vet dot com. Don't forget that first
visit that exam. It is free. You can learn more online.
Checkout vet dot com. Telfhll number to make an appointment

(11:36):
six to oh eight three one eight sixty seven hundred.
That's six 'h eight three one eight sixty seven hundred.
We're going to continue our conversation with doctor Greer of
Checkout Veterinary. We will do that next as Ask the
Experts continues right here on thirteen ten w I B
I eight fifty two thirteen ten WI B A and
Ask the Experts. Hanging out with doctor Marty Greer. Of course,
doctor Greer comes just from Checkout Veterinary. The website, checkout

(11:59):
vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Great website
to learn more about Checkout Veterinary. The website was redesigned
a couple of months ago, and it does a really
really nice job of illustrating what makes Checkout Veterinary so
unique and so special with those drive in bays and
that drive through service that really keeps everybody happy and
safe convenience. It's a really really nice design. Again, check

(12:21):
out the website. Checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet
dot com. You can make an appointment today. Just pick
a phone, gamme a call six SOH eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. That's six SOH eight three one
eight sixty seven hundred. Before we get back to talking allergies, doctor,
I did want to ask you, I know something I learned.
I've learned every week. I learned a bunch of really
really new things from you. One of the things that

(12:43):
that I learned that that is I think a very
very interesting thing is I didn't realize that that vets
were were in short supply and they can be hard
to find. And I know you've been working very very
hard at adding vets to checkout Veterinary. You've got amazing
hours and one of the things you're looking to do
is have Checkout Veterinary open seven days a week. What's

(13:07):
the timeline on next? I know you found some really
really good fits for Checkout Veterinary. What's the timeline on
getting back to getting to the seven days week at
Checkout Veterinary.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
We should be up and running by the time we
do our meet to vet on May fourth, so we
should be good. Yeah. So I have two doctors that
just work one week and a month, Doctor Gomez, who
is from Mexico, so he does have Spanish as a
language action for us, so that's good for people that
may have language barriers for that language. We have one

(13:39):
doctor who works a week in a month, one week
and a month because he's an IT guy. He does
a lot of work with nationwide Pet Insurance, so he
wants to continue to be active in veterinary medicine, so
he works one weekend a month. We have a couple
of other doctors that are absolutely amazing. Doctor Engelbert has
just come back to us. She used to work for
us for a couple of years and moved away and
to be with her mother and now she's back. That's

(14:00):
been great, So she's love surgery does a lot of
surgical procedures that we haven't been able to offer before.
I have doctor Dave who has been in practice for
forty years, thirty five years, forty years and has a
lot of wisdom, a lot of great communication skills. Clients
are loving him. So we've got just a really great

(14:20):
array of doctors. Two young, young female doctors. So depending
on what your pet prefers, what you prefer, what communication
style you have, what your needs are for hours, we
can pretty much accommodate everything that requires minor care. Once
you get into something more extensive, something that requires a
CT scan or an MRI or a board certified surgeon,
then of course we're going to send you to see

(14:41):
somebody at that level of that caliber. But between check
in and check out, we can provide the basic surgical services,
which are going to be space neuters, lumpermovals, dental cleanings,
those kinds of procedures that are considered to be pretty
routine lacerations. So if your dog hits a barberare or
fence or bush or whatever, you know, those kinds of
things are all things that we can handle. In. I'd

(15:02):
say probably ninety nine percent of the stuff we get
phone calls about we can manage, and the other one
percent we help you find the right referral. And again,
not every veterinarian is suited for every client, and not
every client is suited for every veterinarian. So, for instance,
yesterday I had somebody in that said I wasn't really
crazy about the specialists that I saw. I'm like, well,
we'll find you another one because we have other options.

(15:24):
It's not that they were bad, it's just they didn't
like their communication and what they were offering them. So
we can help you find somebody that really meets your
needs based on what your needs are cost wise, time wise,
travel wise. You know, we have access to veterinarians in
the Madison area, in the Milwaukee and Waukeshire area, in
the Chicago area, so we have lots of choices. And

(15:45):
if you're of the opinion that your pet needs something
that's only offered at one place in the country, we're
going to figure out a way to get there. There's
a place in North Carolina that's doing them phoma treatment
that nobody else is doing, and we know those things,
so we can get you in with the person that's
the best suited for you. So just let us know
what you need and what your expectations are, and we're

(16:07):
going to work really hard to make that happen for you.
The university is doing some really cool studies on certain
kinds of cancer and other diseases, so if your pet
has one of those, some of those are funded so
that you don't have to pay the entire bill. Having
pet insurance is a great way to handle it. So
we have lots of options for how we can get
the care that your pet needs without you feeling like
you can't give them the very best. We can help

(16:29):
you figure out what that looks like for you and
your pet.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
We talk about it always being a great day to
start that relationship, and as we talk with doctor Greer
and talk about the other doctors at Checkout Veterinary, and
of course the convenience the availability of course Checkout Veterinary
between Checkout Vet and check in Vet the sister clinic
right in Sun Prairie. They are open seven days a week.
Of course check Out Vet Monday through Wednesday and then

(16:52):
Friday through Sunday. Yes weekends nine to five Monday through
Friday as well at check in Vet and of course
the clinic in Marshall also the Myra clinic as well,
And of course you can learn all about that online
checkout vet dot com. That's checkout vet dot com. Speaking
of opportunity to start the relationship, don't forget about the
big event Sunday, May fourth, Meet the Vet from three
until five at the checkout Vet clinic in Sun Prairie.

(17:16):
Doctor one thing two about allergies is pets experience allergies
and people sometimes experience allergies from their pet. Are there
things that people can do to you know, let's say
you have a new kiddo in the house and all
of a sudden you discover, oh, they've got a bit
of a pet allergy. Are there things that I remember
there used to be like wipes they would sell for

(17:36):
like cats that kind of keep the dander down. Do
they still make stuff like that? Have they gotten better?
Are there things to kind of help people manage that stuff?

Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah? They do. So a lot of people will pick
a pet that suits there needs, like a dog that's
list likely to shed a lot for doodle. Oftentimes those
are less setting. But yes, you can have your wipes,
you can do your pet grooming, So having somebody else
do the grooming to get the loose hair in the
dam and all those things off on a four to
six week basis can really be helpful. But they make
a cat food now that makes the cats less allergic

(18:07):
to the people. I have no idea how it works,
Like I haven't sat down and really read the literature
on it, but it's on the commercials and I'm like,
oh my gosh, Like how cool is that? Because cats,
the things that most people allergic to with cats are
their dander and then the saliva that they groom themselves,
So having that kind of food would be a good
option for people. The other thing is some people are

(18:28):
allergic to cat litter and not the cat itself. I
used to work for a veterinarian who thought for years
he was allergic to the cats, and it turned out
it was a cat litter. So take a look at
everything in the environment and make sure that you're blaming
the right the right source, because it's these exchange litter
and it's hard to get rid of the cat. So
you know, take a look at what your what your
options are. You're not going to have the rest of
the family real happy if you're like, I'm not going

(18:49):
to have this pet in my house anymore. Some people
get more accustomed to them as they've been in the
house for a longer period of time. They kind of
hypo sensitize themselves to them. But having a groomer bathe
them and crimp clean them up regularly can be really helpful.
There are some garage or gas stations that have a
garage bay in between them that have a pet wash
station in them, but that still puts you if you're

(19:11):
the person allergic in that exposure situation. So if it's
you have somebody else in the family do the grooming
if you're not going to take them to a professional groomer.
Those are a nice way to you put your quarters in.
It gives you the soap, it gives you the rint,
it gives you the blow dryer, and so you can
get all that stuff done at some of those gas
stations that have the garage and the pet grooming station
at them as well. Some of the pet stores have

(19:32):
those too, so take a look at what your options
are instead of just paying a groomer. Grimmers are fabulous people,
and I think they do a tremendous job. And I
don't know how they trim the nails and get some
of these dogs to cooperate with them that won't cooperate
with us, But they're magical people. So please don't say
that I don't want to use a groomer, but if
you need to be bathing once a week, then a
groomer might not be a financial option.

Speaker 1 (19:51):
Great, great guidance and great stuff. As always, doctor Greer,
You enjoy this great day. You have a happy Easter,
and we'll talk real soon. Thank you, And of course
you can learn more online the website check out vet
dot com. That's check out vet dot com. Vicky McKenna
has your chance to win one thousand dollars next right here,
I'm thirteen ten wib A