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Simple Truths and Rules of Thumb for Pet Owners Every profession has simple secrets that somehow never get widely distributed. To let you in on the secrets, here are a few "truisms" and "rules of thumb", for veterinary medicine. Of course, like many truths, they often work because they aren't the easiest thing to do.
"Spot" really will breed his sister (substitute mother, daughter, etc.). Dogs, cat and horses don't think of these relationships the way you do.
There should be one more litter pan than the number of cats in your household. Sharing litter pans is probably the leading cause of house soiling problems in cats. If you only have one cat, and it isn't reliably using the litterpan, give it two litter pans and clean them frequently.
Pets are like vacations - they cost at least twice as much as you think they will.
Declawed cats can be let outside. They just shouldn't be forced to fend for themselves out there. We used to think that declawing cats increased the incidence of biting, but new studies seem to disprove that notion.
Dogs don't really need to run free. They are social animals and want to be with their "pack". If you make room in your life for them, they don't need to seek another family -- two or four footed!
Spayed or neutered dogs still hunt. Sometimes better - they have less distractions in their life.
I have never seen a neutered male dog turn into a wimpy sop. Their bark doesn't become three octaves higher, either.
Children only rarely take care of pets responsibly. Don't expect this. It irritates the child and is bad for the pet.
All dogs bite. Some just take more provocation than others. Be careful.
The neighbors probably didn't poison your dog. Take it to your vet and find out what is really going on.
Dogs that are hit by cars don't learn from the experience in most instances. Cats sometimes do.
The best way to stop your dog from chasing cars is to build a fence and keep him or her in it.
If you don't follow the directions, the medication probably won't work. If you know you won't follow the directions in advance, tell your vet. It saves you both a lot of frustration - and may save you money.
If you bring left over medications from home, your vet will know you aren't following the directions since you were probably supposed to use them until gone.
Taking the time and spending the money to treat fleas properly will save you many times over in the long run, especially if your dog or cat has skin disease.
These are just "rules of thumb" and veterinary truisms. Like all advice of this nature they won't be true for all situations all the time. Most of the time they're true, though!
One last rule- if your house pet has fleas then your house has fleas. Even if you don't see them. If you don't treat your house, or use Topspot (Rx), Frontline (Rx), Advantage (Rx) or Program (Rx), you can't get rid of the fleas....... really.
Because once in a while we do see animals other than dogs and cats in our practice . . .
When considering adding a horse in the back yard, remember; barbed wire fencing will cost you more in the long run than buying decent fencing costs in the first place. In fact, if you can't afford safe fences, you can't afford to own a horse.
Ferrets and young babies don't mix. If you have both, never ever leave them alone together.
Ball pythons purchased from pet stores don't eat about half the time. Even if the pet store personnel tell you "it's eating fine here".
Parakeets don't have to drink water. They are very well adapted to arid conditions and preserve body water so well that they can go days without drinking. So the medications you are buying to put in the water probably won't work. If your budgie doesn't like the taste it has the option of not drinking. Please take your budgie to your vet!
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Last edited 12/31/07
