I have a Westie, Rocky, who is over 15 years old.
4 years ago he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and prescribed medication which he stiil takes.
Amongst other ailments he has arthritis and the vet we saw today prescribed Meloxidyl.

I checked this reliable site http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/ceva...gs/-43470.html
and noted:
"Do not use in animals suffering from gastrointestinal disorders such as irritation and haemorrhage, impaired hepatic, cardiac or renal function and haemorrhagic disorders"

And yet he prescribes it.
I've gone to the same practice for almost 20 years but have no faith in the vet we saw today.
Needless to say I didn't give Rocky the medication and shall be phoning the vets when they're next open

Those warnings are often over-cautious. For example throat sweets with 1g of sugar advising diabetics not to take them - 1g would have a negligible effect. I think you're right to question the vet but if they assure you it will be okay I would be happy with that.

There's nothing wrong to double check. Better safe than sorry.

What made me question his judgement was the fact that I had to point out that he was prescribed medication for his heart condition yet he still asked me if he was still taking it - it's on a repeat prescription!!

That, surely, is on the records if he'd bothered to read them.
Likewise with his arthritis which is also on record and he was prescribed during one period a course of PLT.
PLT http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Comp...asp?search=plt

He started out by saying that he was going to prescribe a course of 'tablets' without saying what they were. It was only after pushing for an answer then pointing out that they were PLT which had not been effective in the past that he changed his mind and mentioned 'a liquid' medication - again without saying what it was or what it did

A most unsatisfactory consultation and it looks like the vet did not check the medical history which, after all, is on the screen in front of him

That does sound a bit worrying, mac. Is there another vet at the practice that seems more on the ball and also knows your dog's history?

Some vets don't like to be questioned by people who have a bit of knowledge themselves. My uncle's vet got very cross with me when I asked some pertinent questions and dared to challenge him on a point and put forward my own opinion. He said because he was the vet only his opinion mattered! I was with my uncle's cat at the time but, if it had been my own cat I would have withdrawn my custom - I am still angry several years later with his poor customer approach. Luckily, my own vets are fine, lovely in fact, and don't mind explaining and accounting for what they are prescribing and are happy to answer my questions. Some of us won't be fobbed off with generalisations, we need detailed rational explanations.

You are right to challenge this - better safe than sorry.

I've found (with my elderly dog) that it is best to stick to one vet at the practise we use. Her regular vet is excellent and knows her history as well as I do. We had to visit out of hours recently and saw a young vet who was pretty awful - similar story: didn't read the notes & made some wild guesses regarding treatment which I then had to check out and adjust accordingly.

When you have an older dog you often become more knowledgeable in their particular problems than vets expect. This does need negotiating with unfamiliar vets, in my experience, and particularly younger vets whose only 'plan' is to throw every medication/procedure into the mix without using common sense and judgement regarding what the dog can handle.

You are your dog's best advocate at this stage.

You are right to ask for an explanation as itll put your mind at rest, Id certainly ask too. However, Ive just been prescribed something for a problem I have and it clearly states that it shouldnt be taken if you have asthma. I have asthma and the doc said that as long as its administered under his supervision its fine. Maybe this is the case with the vet and your pet.

Possibly but even so the possible risks should have been explained to me.
However, the overall uncaring attitude of the vet (whom I hadn't seen before) left me feeling most unhappy.
He could also do with somepeople training especially when he said (completely out of the blue) that maybe 'we should look at this as the beginning of the end'
So, in other words, even if he has heart failure the medication can't do any more harm - except hasten his demise

Quite often when prescribing medications it is an assessment of risk versus benefit. The vet may think that the benefits of the meds outweigh the risks from the interaction.

Yes but tell me first