US Dogs Training: sick dog questions

Showing posts with label sick dog questions. Show all posts

Saturday, December 8, 2012

What is a reasonable fee to have to put down a very sick dog?

Q. We have a very sick dog with a heart worm problem that was diagnosed a little too late.

A. I guess you cared more about cost even to the end, since a heartworm pill given monthly would have prevented that and if not then swift medical attention at the first signs of illness since yes heartworms ARE actually treatable. by medical attention, I don't mean asking on yahoo answers what to do about your sick dogs, since your question history is full of them.

Original Question

What is with the questions in the dog section?

Q. I am just taking a break from the "politics" section. Things over there get a little crazy. But, the things that I am reading here are just sad.

Back yard breeders, people wanting to shoot their dogs, people not taking an obviously sick dog to the vet, etc etc etc.

Dang, if I wanted to read about animal cruelty I would have gone to the PETA website.

What is wrong with people?

A. Stuff I deal with on a daily basis working at an animal shelter.

"But his fur doesn't match my couch"

"No he's never been to a vet, he's healthy as a horse" (three year old dog)

"If you don't take him I'm going to shoot him"

"We got bored with him, so we got a new puppy"

People suck A LOT. I'd like to think many of the yahoo posts are kids trolling, but sadly I'm sure most of them aren't. It makes me sick how many horrible people live on this earth. It's a good thing that there are enough good people to keep it balanced.

Original Question

Should new pet owners be required to get an IQ test before being allowed to get a dog?

Q. OMG...After reading most of the questions here on Yahoo Answers Dog section, I just cringe, and feel so bad for so many dogs out there. HOW OLD are the people here? Questions about dogs that have been sick for days....Instead of posting your question on an online group, GET YOUR DOGS TO THE VET.

90% of the questions here can be answered with the following answers:

Get your dog to the vet. Only your Vet can tell you how to treat your sick dog/tell you if your dog is at a healthy weight.

Get your dog spayed/neutered. NO, you don't need to breed your dog. There are too many unwanted dogs already.

Get your dog into pet training. Obedience and behavior training will HELP with the chewing/digging/jumping up/bad behaviors.

So...I'm starting to think there should be an age limit on pet ownership...and probably an IQ test. Far too many common sense questions being posted on here....too many dogs endangered by foolish owners.

Are there any other ADULTS in here?

A. I'm a grandmother but it's questionable as to whether I'm an adult or not at times.LOL
But I agree that a I.Q. test may be helpful.Then I truly think every county should require so many hours of "people training"before a person is allowed to own any animal.
People don't seem to know how to treat their own children so how can we expect them to deal with a dog?

Original Question

Is anyone in here as scared as I am about some of the dangerous answers posted to questions?

Q. I come in here and answer questions on breeding, fleas and ticks, and other various dog and house and garden questions. However, when I do, I see so many dangerous answers and I get scared! There was a question the other day about a dog that ate a bottle of Terro ant killer. The asker said that the vet told her Borax is harmless to pets! Ummm, it is a poison. I looked at the MSDS (material safety data sheet) and it wasn't at all "harmless". I have read answers that said to use sevan dust on dogs and puppies. (Only if you want dead or sick dogs and puppies.) One person wants you to burn a tick off a dog. (Have you ever tried to light a match or lighter near a wiggling dog?) How about the old "rub the dog's nose in his business" or "hit him with a newspaper" comments.

Is there anything dangerous that I have missed? Does this worry anyone else?

A. Kats what I have seen some people say here would make most other people's hair turn white. I do recall all the questions you have mentioned and also one about what you should do if your dog is chocking. One response was to massage your dogs throat. I flipped out. I only hope the questioner didn't do that because it was on a Doxi. The poor dog would have died.
The only thing I try to do is I will e-mail some else who does know the proper response to the question if I don't know. Then I can only hope that the other person will be available to quickly answer it.
Common sense is in short supply but I could not justify any answer given by me that would do harm to anyone's animal.
I'm with you, It does concern me greatly.
Ignorance, old wives tales, no common sence seem to be abundance here some times.
NOTE: I remember this one too. Used motor oil on a dog to get rid of mange. ?????

Original Question

Thursday, December 6, 2012

How can I convince my mom not to get a dog?

Q. I know that this is a very uncommon question, but for once the kid doesn't want a dog. Nothing I try is working, and she's experienced with ownership so throwing costs and such at her is ineffective.
The dog in question is a Shih-Tzu cross whose name is Pearl. She's our foster dog at the moment, and we're unfortunately close to adopting her. She's not bad for a dog - she's quite small, relatively quiet, and has decent behavior. Everyone else in the family loves her, particularly my mom and younger sister, but I really can't stand her.
She yips and yaps in an incredibly irritating way when I get home, and she has issues with her digestive system (or something like that) so she regularly urinates and/or defecates in the house. She knows that she isn't allowed on furniture or in my room - she gets off the couch or my bed whenever a human comes near, but she persistently breaks these rules. She's supposedly obedient, but she hardly ever listens to real commands, all she can do are tricks like rolling over. She gets underfoot a LOT, and she begs at the table, and she's really annoying in general, to me at least. It's approaching winter, so I feel that there will be a lot of reluctance around walks, and my sister is already forgetting to feed her as the excitement wears down.
I don't understand why mom likes her, and she feels the same way about my dislike. We argue a lot, and we're both really stubborn, but this is one of the few things I feel strongly about. I really don't know what I can do, and I don't want my last four or five years here to be marred by this dog. Please help.
EDIT: My mom is a vet, so she knows about costs and things, she has owned dogs so she really does have experience with these things - she knows how expensive it can be.

A. You're right, this is an uncommon question, lol.

Unfortunately, not much you can do about it. Your mom knows how you feel...do you think you can get her to agree that you don't have to do ANY chores for the dog (walks, feeding, brushing etc.)? Of course, if your mom is sick or something, it would be *nice* of you to offer to do those chores. But bottom line, your mom is the one who makes the rules, so as long as you live under her roof, try to make the best of things.

As for your bedroom, keep the door closed. Everyone should respect your privacy. In return, you respect your family's right to have a dog even if you don't like it.

Arguing with your mom won't do any good. All you can do is hope that she gets fed up cleaning up the messes and having the dog be disobedient. And as you said, your sister, being a typical kid, is already realizing dogs are work and just wants to do the fun things.

Though if it were me in your shoes, I'd train the dog myself, and take her to obedience classes to get her to mind better. I'd "practice" her down-stay in the hallway during meals. If anyone piped up that the dog was missing out on treats, I'd just turn it around and rave proudly about how well the dog's training was coming along for her to remain there during meals....

And who knows, you might find that you actually like the dog if she's trained. So keep an open mind.

Original Question

Why is it when people have a sick dog, calling a vet is not their first choice?

Q. Why is that your first thought is to ask a question YA? Don't you think that your question would be better answered by a vet? And for those of you that say I can't afford a vet, well a phone call is free and it will yield better answers.
I would really like to hear the reasons from people who ask questions rather than calling a vet.
You know I do not have a problem when people ask about simple things but when it is serious that is a different story and most people can tell the difference between minor and serious.
Here is an example and this was a real question asked here, I have a 4 week old puppy that can't stand, can't walk, won't eat and is crying in pain and this person was asking what could be wrong. This is a question the average owner can not answer. This is a question that should have been addressed by a vet and that puppy had to be euthanized because it had a broken neck but the asker waited 3 days before taking the pup to the vet and just kept asking questions for all three days.
Had she of called a vet maybe she would have heeded his advice rather than to wait.

A. What???!!! When your dog is sick you are supposed to call the vet?? I had NO idea! I thought that the best thing to do was ask people on yahoo answers. Many of them are vets and/or vet techs, so they MUST know what's going on. And the home remedies are AMAZING. I mean, I cured parvo using gatorade, a UTI using yogurt, an infection was cleaned out using alcohol. This place is GREAT for medical advice. Pretty soon I too will have my vet's degree all thanks to YA.

Original Question

Just a bored question about dog breeding?

Q. they are considering making it illegal to have an unfixed dog unless you are a registered breeder, i think its a pretty good idea. it helps prevent all those sick dogs that are selling for thousands. whats your take? i might be missing some info that makes it a bad idea so tell me why u think its a good or bad idea!

A. I don't like it. Its just another way for the government to control the lives of citizens. Becoming a registered breeder is another way to collect more taxes and the people who enforce it will be another layer of government bureaucracy. It will drive more breeders, both good and bad, underground and be difficult to enforce just as breed specific laws have done in many places. It also would discourage people from getting proper vet care for their animals out of fear of being reported and could result in more do it yourself euthanasia. What we need is less government intrusion, not more.

Original Question

How do I cook chicken for my sick(diarrea) dog?

Q. My dog has diarrea and I took my dog to the vet, she told me to give him a diet of rice and cooked chicken. How do I cook the chicken, can anyone give me a step by step(just imagine that I've never cooked in my life), I dont have a thermometer so I dont know when the chicken is 170 degrees. I dont want to make my dog sicker by not cooking the chicken how I am supposed to. Any ideas please.

A. I feel you. I was in this boat about 3 weeks ago. I'd NEVER boiled chicken a day in my life!!!

It's best to use boneless, skinless chicken breast or the chicken breast tenders (chicken strips). In a medium to large frying pan, place the chicken and cover it with water. Let boil for a good 10-15 minutes, then remove. It's fairly simple. :)

Feel free to IM or email me if you have any further questions.

Original Question

Monday, December 3, 2012

What is a reasonable fee to have to put down a very sick dog?

Q. We have a very sick dog with a heart worm problem that was diagnosed a little too late.

Original Question

What is with the questions in the dog section?

Original Question

Would one of the trainers explain disposition versus temperament?

Q. Tony used those words in an answer to a question the other day. Would one of you explain them?

Code enforcement brings in dogs to be destroyed at the vet clinic. At times, we pick some out to try to find homes for with the clients or workers. We want some direction on temperament and disposition. We usually let any sick dogs go unless one of the workers wants to take on the medical care.

Judging temperament is more difficult. All large aggressive breeds are immediately destroyed by policy.

Sometimes you get others--fearful dogs or cute dogs with an attitude. We have begun to let those go too just because we worry about temperament. The confident, friendly ones are kept if possible to be given away to homes or fostered out. I think everyone in the clinic has about 8+ dogs now because we try to save nice ones. Our vets have lots of dogs too.

How do you decide who has an acceptable temperament? Fearfulness or Aggression is bad. What else? Please give examples.
Thanks all. Drive is a word I understand. Recently one city near the vet clinic added a code that limits per household. So that means that more will be coming in on top of the "found" dogs and injured dogs or dogs removed for breed code or aggression. We may only find homes for 5-10 a year because we aren't a shelter. But that is 5 or ten that aren't killed without a reason. And most should be euthanized, but sometimes you find a cute little dog that seems nice and would do well in a home.
Sometimes Good Samaritans bring in injured strays which raises financial issues too.
You just never know for sure which dogs are safe and which aren't or which you should really try to make call after call to save.

A. Actually they are both the same, you are using a synonym to describe the same thing!! Temperament is genetic, the dog was born with it. We have talked about this before. For your purposes in rescuing and placing dogs I can see how an aggressive or fearful dog may not be the best candidate for placement. The dogs that I would eliminate from the start are the fearful, sharp/shy ones that because of genetic issues will always be like this, regardless of what anyone says. Please let me know if you need me to be more specific about anything I have said here and I will be glad to do it.

Original Question

Should new pet owners be required to get an IQ test before being allowed to get a dog?

Original Question