What is your opinion on Vets giving advice on Training/Breeding?

[adojrts]

What is your opinion? Considering that most vets don't Breed, don't Train and don't compete with dogs??
Why is it, that so many Vets don't refer people who are considering breeding their pet to a knowledgable breeder, or just plainly discourage them?
Or encourage them to do the proper testing?
So many don't in my experiences, what are your experiences in regards to this?
Oh and the training advice can be down right scray sometimes.......again they are vets not trainers and not breeders.
And because it comes from THE VET it must be correct info and not to be questioned.

Lynn

 

[Cheetah]

I listen to vets on medical advice, but they're not certified trainers, champion breeders, or even dedicated nutritionists (I know some CAN be these things, but most aren't), so I take anything involving those sbjects with a grain of salt.

 

[ACooper]

My opinion:

I think it would have to depend on the vet, and from what experience/knowledge they are speaking from. Just being a medical doctor for your dogs doesn't qualify them in all areas of dogs.

I don't ask my family doctor what to feed my kids, and I didn't ask my family doctor about pregnancy issues either. I turned to an OBGYN.

I can't tell you how shocked I was when MY OWN vet asked me several times "are you sure you want to neuter Orson?" almost like I was being talked OUT of it
And no, Orson is still not neutered, but it has nothing to do with the Vet or wanting to breed

 

[adojrts]

Agreed!!!!!!! on all counts so far.
Gezzz anytime I have wanted to spay/neuter, I get the same response.
Get this, the local Vets (huge practice) recommend that people DON'T attend puppy classes...........its too stressful and pups shouldn't/couldn't learn until at least 8 months of age
This same Vet also breed her unregistered, unproven and untested bitch, THEN when the bitch weaned the pups early at 4 1/2 wks, she placed all the pups by 5 1/2 wks!!!!!!!!! BTW, those were shorty Jrts, out a rather nasty little dog, guess what?? pups were terrible.....unsocialized to dogs/people and had no skills....(she also wasn't too careful as to who she sold too etc)
But so many people, wont question her advice.............good grief.

Lynn

 

[Maxy24]

I was going to make a thread just like this after reading a different post lol. But I think vets are for medical advice, that's what they went to school for. They are not who you should rely on for breeding information, nutrition information or training information. The main thing you here when you ask people who feed Science Diet is "My vet said it's the best food you can feed", And most poor breeder say "my vet said my dog was healthy enough to bred and now was a good time to do it". This is one of the reasons I can't wait to be a vet, my patients will listen to me and I will be giving them GOOD information. It's a shame these people trust their vets and they are getting horrible information.

 

[noludoru]

It just depends upon the vet. Basically what everyone else said.

I wouldn't trust any of our vets advice on any of the above, though.

 

[PWCorgi]

I don't trust vets with training/breeding/and in most cases nutrition any more than I would allow my trainer to perform surgery on my dog.

Thankfully my vet refers all behavioral issues to a certified behaviorist. Good Vet! *click* *treat*

 

[ihartgonzo]

Honestly, I feel like MOST Vets just try to avoid stepping on toes and, in most cases, will encourage or discourage whatever will make them more money. A pregnant dog & her puppies equals a LOT of money for the Vet!

That's not to say that all Vets are immoral and greedy, not at all. But, I've also experienced a Vet discouraging me from neutering, which in turn lead to me switching Vets!

As far as dog sports... Gonzo strained a muscle in his leg once, not a big deal, but I took him to our (former) Vet anyway. He said all Gonzo needed was rest from strenuous exercise. When I mentioned I would take a break from Flyball, the Vet basically told me that Flyball was bad for him, and I should quit completely, without giving me any real advice. That annoyed me more than anything. I'm sorry that I actually want to DO something with my dog, yes it could result in minor injuries, but it makes him happy!

 

[2BlackDogs]

One of the vet techs at my vet is very knowledgable when it comes to dog behaivor and training. She was telling me about everyday things to work on like touching the dog all over and teaching her small things like to sit. i asked her about puppy training in the area and there was another lady that worked there part time who has a non profit dog training program. The vet tech went there and she recommended it to me. It was a very nice place.

So to a point and depending on who I talk to there, i take the advice. The vets themselves, don't know all that much about training. But the vet techs do.

 

[MelissaCato]

I think alot of yall are underestimating vet school. Especially Higher Education State Universities who have programs extended past a four year commitment. That would be me because I want to be Commissioned by the State. I'll graduate March 2008 after 7 years.
Most require Humanities/Social and Animal Behavior Science Degrees ... at least mine did for admissions to the "500" courses IE: Molecular/Micro/Bio Genetics .
I would have to agree on the "anything" for moneys though, it is truely the root of all evil, and as I see it in the Pharmaceutical Medical field.. it's killing and maiming slowly more than anything. But that's just my opinion. To include humans.
As far as training, well that depends on the individual and the extra courses he or she takes while enrolled. Either way live animals are studied and handled.

 

[adojrts]

You are going to be a Vet???? Holy Cr*p, now isn't that scary, although common sense tells me that isn't true.

I think alot of yall are underestimating vet school. Especially Higher Education State Universities who have programs extended past a four year commitment. That would be me because I want to be Commissioned by the State. I'll graduate March 2008 after 7 years.
Most require Humanities/Social and Animal Behavior Science Degrees ... at least mine did for admissions to the "500" courses IE: Molecular/Micro/Bio Genetics .
I would have to agree on the "anything" for moneys though, it is truely the root of all evil, and as I see it in the Pharmaceutical Medical field.. it's killing and maiming slowly more than anything. But that's just my opinion. To include humans.
As far as training, well that depends on the individual and the extra courses he or she takes while enrolled. Either way live animals are studied and handled.

 

[MelissaCato]

... 'of course it's not true', I like to waste my time and you know best anyhow about what real vets know and don't know as stated in your first post.

 

[HoundedByHounds]

All I know? is it is darned near IMPOSSIBLE to find a decent breeder FRIENDLY vet that's under 50/60y/o these days!

Let alone one's competent enough to do c sections and not kill half the pups or work hard enough on them to save them...*grrr*

MANY vets esp young ones...have never even whelped a litter on their own...it's scary to know more than the vet about breeding...but most breeders with more than 5-10 years in...do.
Exclusive of repro vets of course!

My current breeder-vet is so old now...I know he's going to retire soon and that will be a black black day...I do have another place picked out but it's so far away and not nearly as reasonable as they have all the new fangled fancy machinery lol.

 

[IliamnasQuest]

In this area most of the vets are quick to recommend people call the local training clubs and/or call for individual instruction. I've had a lot of people call me because the vet recommended me for behavior problems. I find that the vets are actually glad to have someone they can send their clients too, because they prefer to have dogs that are easy to handle.

On the breeding .. I haven't gotten much encouragement one way or the other. They pretty much go along with whatever I say .. *L* .. I was surprised when I took Tazer in for puppy vaccs, though, and the vet said "You probably aren't going to want to spay her, right?". She seemed a bit surprised when I told her I WAS going to spay her and had no interest in breeding her. I also said I was going to wait until she was full-grown, which the vet agreed with.

Of course, I have kind of a different relationship with my vets than a lot of people. They know me as a trainer, they know I was a vet tech for years, they know that they can handle my dogs however they need to be handled and the dogs will accept it because they're socialized and trained, and they know that I study up on the things that I think are important for my dogs (like nutrition). And on the other hand, I realize that most vets are like family doctors and they receive generalized schooling on many subjects. If I want more indepth advice, I would go to a specialist just like I would for myself. I think sometimes vets get a little pushy with things because they're so used to having to explain EVERYTHING to people, and when they get people who can think for themselves (or who have a background in animals) then they don't realize how they come across. I find that being friendly and yet firm about my beliefs (based on my knowledge and experience) seems to work well with the vets. Either that or they just put up with me .. *L*

My vets don't agree with me feeding raw, but they can't argue with the results. My dogs look gorgeous, are healthy and active, and are living long (Trick is 11, Dora is 10, Kylee is 16, and then the two youngsters).

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

 

[Bahamutt99]

I don't want my vet to give me advice on training, breeding, diet, or even breed identification. It is true that a vet a long time ago guided us off Ol' Roy and onto Iams, which made a big difference. But that's not exactly exclusive information. I want my vet to simply be the best at what a vet does: diagnose and treat health problems. I would rather work with 100 specialists who are at the top of their field, than one jack-of-all-trades who really is just blowing smoke.

 

[corgipower]

from most vets, i wouldn't take any advice given in areas of breeding, training, nutrition and even some medicine:yikes:

i have however had vets available that do train and compete dogs in sport, and are able to offer advice in training, but i still would prefer a trainer for dog training issues. what i like those vets for is because they have more understanding about sport dogs and related injuries. a strained muscle on a pet is just a matter of him being sore and resting for a few days. a strained muscle on a sport dog is much more serious and requires a strict plan for recovery.

i have had vets who are breeders and who have been utilized for veterinary services by a lot of breeders in the area. they are the ones i would go to for breeding issues.

there are veterinary nutritionalists as well.

it's a matter of finding what you need, when you need it.

as for the rest of the vets who just give out standard advice like, "spay your dog" with no consideration as to the risks/benefits, i believe they have bought into the AR garbage.

as for vets who tell you "feed SD," i have been told by vets and vet students that that is what they are taught in school and it's because SD funds the schools.

i think most of the vets that are giving out training advice don't have knowlege of trainers that they can refer people to. the others probably believe that they know enough about raising and training that they can give out advice in that area. i have no doubt the vets see a lot of untrained, poorly socialized dogs. i'm sure it gets frustrating for them and rather than refer to an outside source that you probably won't go to, they give out what little bit of advice they have to offer.

 

[elegy]

i think vets should be able to give dog owners basic information on training- they should know the ins and outs of housebreaking, crate training, basic leadership (nilif). but problem behaviors? the owner should be pointed toward an appropriate trainer/behaviorist. the problem is, a lot of people don't want to pay for it, and a lot of the problems are only brought up because they have to be there anyway for shots.

i used to work for a vet who had us trying to sell a gentle leader headcollar to every single person who walked through the door with a puppy. how is that for misguided?!

 

[Melissa_W]

I think most vets don't know squat about training, breeding or nutrition.

Of course, there are exceptions. I definitely listen to the advice my vet gives me regarding raw diets.

If the vet was also a breeder, I would definitely take their advice.

The same goes if they spend a lot of time training/competing with their dogs on the side.

I guess what it boils down to is I don't take their advice seriously unless they have something else going on on the side. I don't value their advice on those topics just because they are a vet.

 

[doberkim]

On the other hand, I know many people that are offended if I talk to them about breeding and mention health tests - when I start to talk about OFA, thyroid, and CERF their eyes glaze over.

I have clients who don't believe their dogs NEED training because their dog 20 years ago did just fine.

I have clients who refuse to change their dog off Beneful because the dog likes it and "it's all the same stuff in different bags".

It comes down to being damned if you do, damned if you don't. I am a vet that feeds raw, trains my dog, and has dealt extensively with aggressive animals, and has a wide variety of training experiences both in competition and in behavioral aspects. No, I have no whelped litters (but have a tech in my clinic who has whelped NUMEROUS ones to help with that), but I am heavily involved in rescue and quick to point people in the direction of responsible breeders, good trainers, proper diets, etc.

And most of the time, my advice is still ignored. Like I said, I am damned if I do, damned if I don't. Had a problem client come in today with a dog with an eye issue. Dog's sight is at risk - owner declines going to see a specialist. I did my best, but the dog WILL lose his vision as a natural progression of the disease. I bet somewhere, this client is going to be bitching about me online somewhere, when she declined seeing an ophthalmologist today. Doesn't matter what's right, only what people read.

 

[mrose_s]

I listen to their medical advice, I watch vets on training advice because some of them will say "give them these drugs" which I don't want to do.
I like our vets, one of them tells my mum everytime we go in there to consider desexing Sophie before she gets pyro and has to have an emergency spay that she might die from. The other which is persoclaly my favourite vet used to compete in agility with her kelpieX that she rescued when it was dumped. We went in to fix up macs facinations before flyball training and got into a convo about it.