Why are none of the questions regarding pets answered by vets?

Question

Why is it everytime someone posts a question regarding a problem with their pet everyone answers by suggestion you take the animal to the vet? Obviously if that were an option the question would not be posted!! Why don't any vets answer questions so that the questioner isn't left with "going to the vet" their only option? Many times a vet will tell you stuff you already know and I don't believe I have to pay somewhere around $100 to hear it! Its like going to the doctor for a common cold. All they tell you is what you already know, suggest you purchase medication that only supresses the symptoms and say there isn't anything else they can do!! We need more professionals responding to these questions instead of the average layman who simply states, "go to the vet" and has nothing more to offer in terms of good, descent suggestions!

Everytime I've called a vet for free advise all they tell me is "we can't give you any suggestions until you bring the animal in to be looked at" and when I tell them I don't have the means to pay for that they simply state, "well keep an eye on the animal for any unusual activity or behavior." Of course that is why I called them in the first place!! It seems that if I can't afford to pay them, then they can't afford to help my pet regardless of the level of severity! And if they are too busy to answer questions here, what the heck do you guys do that permits you the time to answer qustions and not a vet?

Well, if someone asked about what to do if a new piercing was infected, I'd suggest they soak it in sea salt and warm water, clean it out with antibacterial or antimicrobial soap and if it doesn't get better in the next 24/48 hrs then go see a doctor. I don't think anyone on here posting questions is necessarily looking for the full professional answer, but many people have similar experiences and can share those with others. Also, many people are unble to afford vets and doctors and have home remedies they use that work in certain situations... I think that if it were a life or death situation that was significantly pertinent, don't you think that person would be doing something more than posting a question to you all? To me thats common sense....

Ok so you guys, except the student training to be a vet and the second to the last response, don't seem to get it. I'm not suggesting that vets quit their business and come here and give away free advise. Nor am I suggesting someone watch their pet slowly die. I am merely suggesting that someone who has the knowlege about something should share it. Any person with any kind of gift should not just keep that gift locked away only to be used for financial matters or for "special" groups and circumstances. The common sense I spoke of before obviously is not possessed by many of the respondants. Does a chef not cook good meals for his friends and family? Does he not suggest ways in which to make a meal better within a conversation he or she may have with an inquirer? Really people....I find the basis of your responses to be extreamly unsettling.

Your assumptions that people such as myself neglect and abuse our animals flabergasts me. I do have pets, and yes I do take them to the vet, and yes I do pay the outrageous fees. However, due to particular circumstances, such as my cat having kittens and there being complications involved does not make me an unresponsible and unprepared pet owner. There are always worst case senarios of course, but you've all seemed to illustrate a point that people really do not understand each other, nor make any real attempt to communicate and share knowledge with each other in order to better ourselves and others for the sake of doing something good, right and decent. So what that is their job. My mother is a teacher and believe me, the career does not end when school lets out. She is passionate about her work and continues to teach others outside of school property. What do u think vets do in their spare time? Go to work and then dissapear from humanity? Come on give me a break!

Answer 1

There are a few vets who answer questions on here, and a few more like myself who are veterinary nurses or studying at vet school (I am both a vet nurse and a vet student).

The problem with the internet is that we can't see the animal the person is asking about, we don't get any history beyond "Help....my dog is sick!!!", and we have no abilty to get a full history, conduct a clinical examination or do a basic workup on an animal that we can't see, that belongs to a person we've never spoken to.

I try to give useful answers on here- I can give suggestions about what may be going on, and I can give an idea of what needs to be done for the animal, but ultimately a sick or injured animal needs to be seen directly by a vet. I would bet that none of us here would be willing to stand 100% by a diagnosis made on nothing more than a few lines of writing on a computer screen...
Regardless of any suggestions we can give, "going to the vet" really is their only viable option. Even if it's the middle of the night and they don't want/can't pay for an emergency consult, they're still going to be far better off ringing an emergency clinic and speaking to a vet than leaving questions on the net in the hope that someone can give them some helpful information.

Just on your mention of layman replies- some of the lay replies on here really do concern me...the odd few are helpful, but most range from ignorant to downright dangerous.

Just my two cents...

Answer 2

A veteranarian would be wasting his or her time answering animal medical questions on a public forum. Trying to give a proper diagnosis to general quesions is just one step past impossible, let alone recommending the proper treatment. Tests need run. Inspections of the animal in question need made. Hence all the "laymen" who recommend an animal be taken to a vet, where all such tests can be done. The best a hobbyist can do in giving their own advice is to tell the asker what, in the hobbyists' opinion, the ailment sounds like, and what to do to try and fix it. Most responsible advice givers will quickly follow up their own advice with, "If it doesn't work within XXX amount of time, take the animal to the vet." Look at it this way: Vets spend a good chunk of their lives learning about the very animal a poster might be having trouble with. Does it really pay for someone who's only kept the animal for three weeks to take a stab at playing doctor? Of course not.

As far as a person seeing a physician for a cold... you do realize, I hope, that many cancers have symptoms that mirror cold or flu symptoms, right? Doctors spend years upon years FORGETTING more about disease and treatments than you and I will ever know. That's why we need them. Why claim to have more knowledge than a medical professional?

Answer 3

It is because vets are not wasting their time on the computer they are out there helping animals and doing something helpful for animals with their time. They love what they do and they do NOT do it for the money they do it for the pets health and well being. They don't have time to wast away on the computer. I have always thought that if you are going to have a pet that comes with a cost if they get sick i don't care if it is just a little cold you take it to the vet if you do not have the money to take them to the vet why did you get them in the first place you do not get a pet and let them go on with out the proper care they need yes they are cute but they grow up and they do get sick and they cost money think people before you get a pet yes your heart is in the right spot to want to help a animal but people if you cant afford the pet then don't get it or if you cant afford taking care of it do the right thing and give it to some one who can

Answer 4

I don't know if it applies as much to vets as it does to doctors, and again the uk is behind the usa (but catching up) but one reason might be fear of litigation. There is possibly a fear that if the advice given turns out to be wrong or if the animal takes a turn for the worse, the professional is at risk of getting sued and the accusation would be that they didn't put themselves in a position to make an accurate assessment in the first place - so they end up being cautious with advice on the phone and have to cover themselves by underscoring what they say with advice to bring the animal to be seen. I guess that doesn't apply as much to this forum as ID are hidden but would apply more to ringing your own vet. I suspect most professionals don't put time aside during the day for 'yahoo answers time'.

Answer 5

First off, I agree, most vets probably have more important things to do than to play "free clinic" on the computer. Secondly, vets run a business after all. Lots of them provide a certain amount of discounted or free services for shelters and rescues but still have to make a living, pay their employees, pay for their facilities and keep up their education. So why would they give advice on here that would keep people from seeing a vet. That would be a bit counterproductive, don't you think?
I understand that a persons circumstances in life change on occasion and that goes especially for the money situation.
That's why I don't want to come across like I'm generalizing, but I have been around pets and their owners for a long time due to what I do and I'm always surprised how many people are out there getting pets and more pets and more and more exotic pets knowing darn good and well that they won't be able to afford vet care when it's needed. To a lot of people, pets have become disposable, especially your "pocket pet" varieties. Pet keeping takes planning and one should count the financial aspects of pet ownership into the equation. I advise ferret owners, just for example, to start a vet fund when they first aquire their pet to be prepared for things to come or to at least have a credit card in waiting that is not used for anything but a vet emergency.
I'm sure I'm going to make a bunch of people mad when I say what I tell a lot of them: "If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet!"
Like I said, circumstances change and sometimes people find themselves in a bind financially. Go talk to your vet, they understand, they're people too. Most of them will let you make payments. Or you could go to your local Humane Society. A lot of times they can help you out if things are tough and you need care for your animal. But please, don't just sit there and ask a bunch of people you don't know on a web site. Half the time you either get wrong info or only half of it. That's not necessarily done out of meaness, but there are very few professional animal care specialists on here.
A lot of the medical questions regarding pets on here are not just your run of the mill flu, cold and aches and pain questions.
There are people here with bleeding animals after an accident, pet owners who watch their pets vomit and have diarrhea for a week while the pet gets increasingly disoriented and weak, people that let their pet lay in a cage and not eat for days at a time, hoping it might get better on it's own. It's enough to make you want to cry. People with such a horrendous lack of common sense are better off going to a vet or the Humane Society, just to do the pet a favor.
All this said, keep in mind, this is just my humble opinion, nothing more and surely not worth getting upset over.

PS: Quit your whining! I get it, you want a freebie, well, welcome to the world. It ain't happening.
And for my answers, at least the ones concerning pets are most certainly not HALF-@ssed. I do what I can, but noone can make me. BTW, I'm not a vet.

Answer 6

here's the problem on both ends.

1. sometimes there are simple fixes. Like how to trim nails, how to know if your dog is pregnant, how to know the sex of certian animals, advice on raising reptiles and so on...

but there are fixes that really- the best advice would be to see a vet. I mean- I have a question myself... and I would rather here, you should see a vet, than hearing- "Well it could be a serious problem, here's what you should try" and my pet dies within 24 hours.

2. Each case is individual. Each dog does not get the same respitory infection- thus does not necessarily get the same medication- and each dog does not weigh the same- thus does not get the same dosages of medications

certian things really should be answered by a vet for the safety of your pet.

Wrong advice can = death or serious harm... even for something that seems so simple.

so that is why you get a lot of "see your vet" advice from the general public.

3. as for Vets... a lot of vets will not give out advice for many of the same reasons. They do not know your pet, they do not know its history, they have not been able to examine it, weigh it, get a good idea of general health

even for something you may think is very simple... like when we get the "common cold"... they could give you advice on what to do and that "common cold" could turn out to be pneumonia or worse. There are many viruses that start off feeling like a cold or flu that end up being extremely worse. if your doctor doesn't see you and gives you medication- it can have a bad reaction to what you really have and cause you to get worse.

Many vets have experienced this, so while they do give out occasional free advice on some things.... there are some instances where they RIGHTFULLY will refuse to give free advice without seeing your pet.

It is your responsibility as a pet owner if you are worried about your pet, to find a more affordable clinic if you are concerned about cost of seeing a vet for advice. There are plenty of vets just like human clinics, that are cheaper than others.

4. Vets work long hours, have research to do after work for cases that may be tougher, and have families of their own. not to mention a lot of clinics and vets who specialize in a specific animal, run their own websites. not many of the Vets I've worked for have time to visit every website about every animal to answer every question. Especially when the majority of them are "WHO HERE LOVES ANIMALS!?" Uhhh this is a group for pets... I'd have to say... all of us??? you needed to ask.... really.

not to mention, Yahoo is not the only group like this, and some also have a high number of participants. How do you expect them to choose this group over that group and so on. So you can't expect them to take that kind of time to weed through all of the "I love horses" and "who here loves animals... I do" posts, when they have their own sites, their own work, their own families, not to mention they'd be bombarded by people demanding free advice.

Answer 7

Yes, I agree. If the only answer someone has is take them to a vet or go buy flea killer and ex......... ex....
Yah common sense is gonna tell ya you could go to vet..or go buy flea killer, however, someone may not have the money to do those things. I myself like home remedies. Using things you have around the house comes in handy and affordable.
If I get short answers like that I give them thumbs down. Just how I feel.
Thanks for bring this up. I think you made a good point and should receive 10 points for it.

Answer 8

Yes, pet insurance is available in the USA. Many of us prefer to set money aside in a savings account instead of paying the premiums though. Those that do not have the discipline to do that should get the insurance instead.

Answer 9

first off, im sure vets have more things to do than worry around answering questions for yahoo

now i know for certain if you call a vets office they will offer you free advice on how to handle a situation yourself..

Answer 10

Well, I agree that "go to the vet" answers aren't that helpful. I guess vets can't really answer that much questions... because they're busy with their work?