Ask a Vet, Get an Answer
You cannot compare the expertise of a doctor to the expertise of a veterinarian because doctors only need to learn to diagnose and treat one species. Vets, on the other hand, have to learn to recognize and cure diseases for many different species without being able to talk to them in plain English.
Your dog is not going to sit down with the vet and tell him where it hurts or how long he has felt ill. We as pet owners have to take extra precaution in choosing a veterinarian to treat our furry loved ones. Be sure to ask your vet about his or her ability to perform surgery or treat serious diseases like cancer. Most veterinarians are unable to treat these kinds of illnesses, so if you find one who claims to be able to, you have either found a liar or a genius.
Find out which it is, because the specialized training to perform surgery and such is a rare commodity but may be what your pet will need in the future. If your vet is capable of such advanced procedures, you have yourself a winner. Another point of interest that you should ask your veterinarian about is pet dental care. Pet dentists are not exactly common as far as I know, since most people would turn to a vet for this type of thing. If your vet knows anything at all about pet dentistry, count yourself lucky. Ask your vet how to treat your pet's teeth properly, what kind of toothbrush and paste to use, how to remove trapped food, and what kind of food is lightest on teeth. This is not for the pet's vanity but for your pet's genuine well-being, since all pets need to be able to eat appropriately.
When you ask about what food to give to your pet, beware the sales pitch. If the vet only recommends the food in stock in the shop, you may need to ask another vet. It is ideal to find a vet who specializes in animal care only and not in the sale of products. One tip is to avoid any heavily processed foods because just as they are bad for humans, they will not be any better for pets. Avoid major bills by asking your vet to educate you in accident prevention and how to detect early signs of illness.
Many pet owners wait too long to take their animal to a veterinarian because of the big bills they expect to pay, however, prevention is the least expensive option if your vet is really your friend and educates you about how to protect your pets. Many vaccines are unnecessary, so do some research and make sure your vet does not pressure you to over vaccinate.
Any time a medicine is prescribed for your pet, ask about side effects because some treatments offer effects that are worse than the disease. You are your pet's insurance company, so be as tough on your pet's medical treatment as your insurance company is on yours.
Terry Fitzroy is a professional writer specializing in cat questions and dog questions To learn more about Vet Questions visit DrLarryPetVet.com
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Dog loosing hair what can it be?
my dog is 6 months old lately his been scratching and bitting the tip of his tail and and hind legs. On the back of his legs you can see hes loosing hair and has one bald spot on his back right ankle. He also get what looks like dandruff from his waist down. Ive asked the vet over the phone they said try benadryl and fish oil for flakes. I know i should take him to the doctor but money is tight. so does anyone else know what this might be. he doesnt have hot spots there are no scabs or red patches. I dont know what else!!!! any ideas?
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Need some advice for a neutered male ferret.?
So I had my four month old ferret neutered and the vet said the wound stays open and that they don't give animals that small stitches that it will heal on it's own and the blood coming from it is natural. She says to just let him rest and give him plenty of water and only half of his food (I was recommended to feed him once a day, but I'm beginning to think I should be feeding him more.)
Anyway, is the vet right. Naturally of course they usually are but an open wound is a worry for me especially with a baby ferret. I know to keep his cage extremely clean which I do, I clean out his cage two-three times a week and bleach it once a weak while he's playing making sure it's dry before fixing it back up for him.
Yet I'm worried about the straw and saw dust I have in his cage, will that not infect his wound.
What about cleaning the wound?
What is the average recovery time?
Should I cover up the wound to try and prevent infection....?
All these questions I asked the vet and they just said any problems just give us a ring. Wasn't much help at all. I've been in contact with other ferret owners, like ferret care etc and still waiting on a reply.
Do any of you have any advice, Charles is my pride and joy and I would hate for anything to happen to him. I'm thinking of changing his cage to just old blankets, or is sawdust and hay a better choice.
Any help would be amazing :)
Thanks in advance.
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I'm pregnant and own a budgie. Any risks?
I'm about 6 weeks pregnant. I have not seen a doctor yet but I have an appointment for my 8th week.
We own a single male budgie that we love very much. He never go outside or is in contact with other birds. He was recently seen by an avian vet for a general exam and she said he was healthy. That was before I got pregnant so I didn't ask the vet about anything specific.
I know cats can give you toxoplasmosis but what about birds? Is there any risk linked to birds during pregnancy? I'm going to ask my doctor when I see her but until then is there any precautions I should take?
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our cat dislikes our other cat after he came home from the vet?
we took our cat spook to the vet the other day because we noticed he didn't look very good and was going to the toilet a lot. turned out he had gastro. he had a fever so when he was at the vet the vet gave him an injection to help it. anyway, when we brought spook home it all seemed fine but our other cat tug soon started acting differently. he doesn't seem to like spook very much anymore (they're brothers by the way, both of them are around six years old and we've had them since they were born).
what i'm most concerned/curious about is that tug bit spook on the back of the neck quite hard and scratched him too. it was all red and had lots of fur missing where tug bit him. the place where tug bit spook was where the vet had done the injection. is this just a coincidence or what?
they've never really had a problem with each other before (they fight and stuff but it's almost always just playing) and they usually cuddle up together in their bed at night, now one of them sleeps on the scratching post while the other takes the bed. and at the moment tug is sleeping on top of my bed where spook always used to sleep, usually tug hates the top of my bed.
we're taking our dog to the vet next week so i'm thinking of asking the vet about our cats behaviour but i wanted to know if anyone here had any ideas as to why they're acting this way?
by the way they're both neutered.
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Dog- discharge from nose?
When we first got my foster about a week ago, I noticed right away that he was a little weezy and sneezed a lot. When I brought him in to be neutered, I asked the vet if she could take a look at that, and she said that he seemed to be breathing normally.
His sneezing has been getting worse, and today I noticed that he had quite a bit of discharge coming from his nose.
I have already called the vet, made an appointment for Monday. However, should I be worried about letting him near my dogs?
Should I be worried about keeping my foster away from my own personal dogs, is what I was asking. I certainly trust my vet :)
I know that he was vaccinated for bordatella about a month and a half ago, got his parvo vaccine the same time (which doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have it, obviously). It also doesn't seem to be effecting his livelihood at all, he's very active and playful.
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