How many people who answer pet questions are in the Vet. Field?

Question

I have nothing against vets in general but I'm just wondering how many people here are in the vet. field or working to be a vet. Because every answer I see to ANY problem seems to be take her to the VET... just in case. Just wondering.

Answer 1

you know i was wondering the same thing asked a simple question and its take it the vet now blah blah i thought maybe they are all millionaires where they can can take they re cat or pet to the vet for any little thing or have very good pet insurance I think very few are vets because they should know that simple things could pass in a couple days

Answer 2

Most of the good answers come from people who have experience as vet techs (which I've had) or good breeders or experienced pet owners. Vets have neither the time nor the inclination to come on a site like this and give away free advice that they've worked so hard and paid so much to learn. And many things are impossible to diagnose without seeing the animal - it would be against their legal and moral ethics to say just give it some pepto bismol. Then the animal dies of a serious condition and the owner wants to sue! There are many people asking questions where it seems so obvious that the animal needs emergency vet care, that the knee jerk response is always "take it to the VET!" Like, "My dog/cat has been vomiting up blood for a week - what could be causing it?"

Answer 3

I work at a vet right now, but I am not a vet myself, I hope to be in a few years. The reason so many answers are "take them to the vet" is that you can't exactly diagnose something over the computer, nor can you give IV's, prescriptions, or do blood tests over the computer. That is why we have actual people vets instead of people who surf the net all day answering other peoples questions.

Answer 4

I'm a CVT with many, many, years of experience, including emergency & critical care practice. Whenever I tell people to go to the vet it's because it sounds like the pet really needs to be seen. If I'm not sure, I'll tell people to get off the computer, call their vet, and descibe exactly what is going on so the decision can be made if the pet needs to be seen or not.

PS: For legal reasons professionals need to recommend seeing a vet. It's illegal to treat, diagnose, dispense medications, etc. without seeing the patient first.

Answer 5

i'm a bit distrusting about vets myself. they get commission on certain things they sell, like Science Diet over any other food, Frontline over Advantage, etc.

The bottom line is, though, vets often know best. They can test for diseases and things. Also, because we've been feeding our animals crappy food for the past few generations, dogs now get leukemia, cancer, and other serious diseases that scientists are quickly discovering are mostly based on what we ingest.

When a dog has cancer, he can be weak or lethargic. You couldn't properly solve the problem just by eye-balling the dog, and going 'he needs more energy, i'll give him a high energy food...'

We're now in the techological age. When a vet recommends something, like a change in the dog's food, or one shampoo / flea medication over the other, get on your computer and do some research yourself. Just speaking of food alone, there are MUCH better and healthier things to feed your dog than Science diet.

Answer 6

Im not a vet or a vet tech, but, I have been a cat owner for over 20 years, I am even currently taking care of a feral colony in my back yard! There is nothing I dont know about cats!

The thing is, this is a life we are talking about, so, when in doubt, if somethings wrong, they need professional care. I have 4 indoor cats, and I would never play with their lives, if something was wrong with them.

Answer 7

I am a vet assistant and cannot give out medical advice. Most vets are not going to be answering questions on yahoo, I can almost guarantee and if they are they are not going to give out medical advice for free. Taking your animal to the vet is just logical when they are sick so why wouldn't they be told "to take the animal to the vet" when they ask questions on here regarding sick animals??????A physical exam, bloodwork, medications cannot be given over the computer anyway This is not a place to get expert advice, this is just Yahoo for crying out loud

Answer 8

Most people on this site LOVE animals. We say "take it to the vet" because that is what we do when something is wrong with one of our pets.
Pets cant tell you what hurts. So much of the diagnosis is from looking at the animal. Its eyes, condition of the fur, color of the gums, things that you cant tell by just talking. (And, I really am not in to taking my pets temp.) Cats are really good at hiding illness. I am definately not a vet and dont always agree with them. Especially about crates (dont believe in them at all) and food ( dont like commercial dog and cat food). But I always take my cats or dog to the vet if I think anything is bothering them. ASAP.
I dont know about your vet, but mine ususally doesnt charge me if nothing is wrong. They just appreciate me being careful. Hopefully most vets are the same.

Answer 9

Its basicaly lazy people who don't know the answer and just want the two points ony about five vet assistnts are on this section.I dont think they mean the vet as in, steve th guy who answered my question but the real vet.

Answer 10

The problem is, it's very difficult (not to mention legally questionable) to diagnose an animal over the internet. If an animal is sick, the best bet is to take it to a professional who can see the animal, get its vitals, and look at it hands-on, instead of trying to diagnose it via four sentences that may or may not even address the relevant symptoms.