Veterinarians of Reddit Answer, "What Common Mistakes Are We Making With Our Pets?"

Author image for taloringer
taloringer
Jul 31, 2018 2:00 PM EDT

We love our pets and only want the best for them. But the thing is, we don't know what that is exactly. We can read and be told but the best thing is to ask for professional help to answer all our questions when it comes to our best friends! That's why Askreddit user @ovalseven asked the question we all want answers to! Veterinarians of Reddit, what common mistakes are we making with our pets?

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  • 01
    Text - whereistherumgone 590 points 4 months ago Im in the middle of training right now, but one thing I see absolutely everywhere that kills me inside is fish being kept in small tanks or bowls. The idea that fish can be kept in bowls comes from the fact that people in east-asian countries like Japan would temporarily put their fish on display in bowls to show off to guests, and housed them in large ponds most of the time. Westerners assumed such small containers were suitable to house fish in
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  • 02
    Text - SeminoleDVM 2004 points 4 months ago 1) Letting them get fat 2) Not taking care of their teeth Obesity and dental disease are far and away the most common problems I see.
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  • 03
    Text - Doc_Stockand Barrel 14.8k points . 4 months ago Veterinarian here. Not going to sift through all these comments so apologies if I'm echoing others. Getting and relying on medical advice from breeders and groomers (with no medical background). lonce saw a rat terrier with a fractured humerus, which typically requires surgical correction. As I stepped out of the room to check availability with a surgeon, the client called the dog's breeder who said not to follow my advice and to "just put t
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  • 04
    Text - amoyensis13 13.4k points -4 months ago Trim your pets' nails. I can't tell you how many times l've had to wrestle an ingrown nail out get in there deep. And most of the time, the animal of an animals flesh. And that stuff can doesn't give you any signs that it's in pain and the owners don't even notice it's happening Edit: As many have pointed out, there may be some instances of NOT needed to cut your or walking pets nails. Your pet may grind them down themselves from scratching posts on
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  • 05
    Text - Bastet_0 3993 points . 4 months ago Hello! Veterinary Nurse here! Kind of surprised I haven't seen this posted yet (might of missed it) however... Please, if your pet got into your weed or the cops on you. We just want to treat your pet correctly & not waste our time!! We really don't care that you smoke! edibles, just tell us! No we are not going to call Also, please put your weed up where your pets can't reach! If dogs will eat literal crap then yes they certainly will eat your pot & de
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  • 06
    Text - cloud_watcher 19.0k points 4 months ago I'm a vet Not letting your dogs around other dogs until they have all their vaccines. Their socialization window closes about 14 weeks, meaning it is pretty much closed if you wait until 16 weeks. This causes a lot of dogs to go nuts and freak out whenever they see something they didn't see during that period. Notice, I did NOT say to take them to the dog park! They need to be around other dogs (and other people) in controlled situations: puppy soci
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  • 07
    Text - lupine_and_laurel 17.0k points . 4 months ago Not socializing/training puppies. Socialization (not just to other dogs! To people! Cats! Men in hats! Vet care! Foot touching, handling, bathing! Car rides! Etc etc etc), basic dog behavior and development knowledge, and positive reinforcement training with just a few basic commands can be the difference between a well adjusted dog in a loving home and a dog with persistent behavior issues being surrendered to a shelter. Edited to say: I ment
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  • 08
    Text - explodingcranium2442 1363 points . 4 months ago Former vet tech here. Few things. 1. Spay/neuter your pets. No, Fifi does not need to have a litter, and it might actually endanger her health to do so (look up pyometra). There are too many unwanted dogs/cats in the world. Please don't add to the burden 2. Microchip your pet, and keep the information updated! It is usually the key to help your pet find their way back home! 3. Play with your kittens feet. Seriously. Start as early as possibl
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  • 09
    Text - SeriesOfAdjectives 3247 points . 4 months ago I'm graduating as a veterinarian in a few months. One of the most common things we see, and a very serious issue at that, is dental disease in pets, and often the owner has no idea that their animal's teeth are bad at all. Dental disease affects all body systems (bacteria and dental disease go hand in hand, and those bacteria end up all throughout the body, affecting organs such as the kidneys and the heart), not to mention it flipping hurts!!
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  • 10
    Text - mollyd0g 1893 points 4 months ago 1 year away from being a full blown vet, worked as a technician for 4 years before vet school Please don't ignore cats screaming or "looking constipated," they urinary blockage and they can die. Please bring them to a vet likely suffering are C It's not as much the food as the kcals - read the bag. There are plenty of calculators online that will give you an idea of how much your pet should be eating. THEN compare that to the food you have (and measure ou
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  • 11
    Text - kahell 4241 points 4 months ago I'm a vet. I can list a million things I wish owners would understand about their pet's health, but equally important is understanding that if you cannot afford basic veterinary care then you cannot afford a pet. Period. This is an industry with serious mental health concerns. We are routinely presented with cases that could have been avoidable if you'd practiced the suggested preventative care, or brought your pet in for evaluation once the symptoms starte
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  • 12
    Text - bdwgs1 6299 points . 4 months ago Vet here. Didn't read every entry, so some may be repeated, apologies. Could go on all day but here are a few. Grain free is 100% marketing. You're paying extra for absolutely no benefit. While we are on the subject, by products should not specifically be avoided. Pets need nutrients, not ingredients Spay and neuter. Why owners elect not to do this astounds me, considering the number of conditions that can be prevented by this simple procedure. If you can
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  • 13
    Text - TheFeralBookworm 192 points . 4 months ago Emergency/critical care vet nurse here, with a history of GP work also. One of the major, common problems I see is pets without a budget to fall back on. Pets have bodies that fail in similar ways as people's do their teeth rot, their bones can break, they can get cancer. They get injured unexpectedly, just like we can. Fixing these llnesses and injuries is often possible, but it costs money. A lot of it, in fact. Bills at my clinic are routinely
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