The bad advice on the pet forum?

Question

"give tylenol to your cat"

"put neosporin on the kitten's leg cut to the bone"

"give your vomiting and bloody diarrhea dog some beano"

"spray your 5 week old puppy with pesticide to get rid of the fleas. And worms."

seriously, people these pets need a VET! i don't care IF their questions say "i'd rather not spend money on a vet"...it's illegal to not get sick pets vet care!

what's the worst advice you ever heard on the pet forum?

Answer 1

Have heard all of those above and even worse ones.  We have to remember that these forums are open to the illiterate non-animal aware whom have never even visited a shelter much less worked in one and most responses I have seen advise call a vet and let the reader know they are sharing experiences not medical advice.  Part of being a pet pard includes the ability to read what's in the can, the bag and on the mind of YA contributors.

Answer 2

Some of the worst advice I've seen involves whelping and dogs in labor.

There have been many time when I've had to push away from the computer.  The worst was when every one told this person to leave the dam alone while she was whelping that she would know what to do.  

I told her different.  She chose to listen to others.

She watch her dog give birth to 4 pups and waited for her dog to open the sac's and clean the pups off.  The dog never did it.  So the pups drown in their own sac's while she watched.  They all died!  She e-mailed me later saying she should have listened to me.  Too late the pups were all dead!  

ADD:  Dr.Seuss your always welcome here!

Answer 3

I think what you listed was the worst i have seen. I agree with it.

People just don't know its illegal to diagnosis and tell them how to fix it without being a vet in a clinic.

I see too many people saying..."my dog had that, you dog has mites, or a cyst or etc"

Only a vet can be the one who diagnosis what is going on and they are the only ones who can give you the right medical advice and medication needed.  

Answer 4

All of the above.

Also,yes,it's fine to breed your 6 month old "teacup" Chi or to let your 10-year-old dog have pups.

Not treating broken bones

Keeping animals outside with no shelter is just fine

It's OK to let a 6 week old kitten outside by itself

Dogs and cats need to have a litter before they are spayed....

I could go on forever,there are so many ignorant people!!!

Answer 5

"i dont have the money to spay my dog"

Answer: spay her yourself. all you do is cut her open and take out the two circles inside her then sew her back up or use duct tape.

Answer 6

the worst ive heard is just dont take care of it just leave it the pet will heal its self i wass soo mad i went off on them. but you can give your do benadril if hes itching or inflamed but they should still c a vet and if you cant afford medical treatmet for your pet then dont have one at all period

Answer 7

""It's OK to feed your dog chocolate, just not bakers.

I feed just a little bit everyday! My dog loves it and she's fine.""

I see that SO often, and it makes my heart sink, as I lost a precious little pug from a few M&Ms.

The other one.."Pour on Used motor oil to get rid of mange"

(motor oil will cause major liver damage, if it doesn't immediately cause death)

Answer 8

My dog has a sore leg so I was looking up what it could be.

I came across some pretty scary stuff. People suggesting to give human pain relief to animals before even consulting a vet. Wouldn't you think if your dog is in pain then it needs a vet, not needs the symptoms masked by pain relief.

I'm unsure of human pain relief for dogs....but in my eyes it is unsafe to suggest to "every day people" (Like me) to prescribe it yourself to your own dog. How on earth would I know how much to give etc.

The only way i can see it being safe is if a trained vet actually sees your dog and can "prescribe" it based on weight. Even then do vets suggest human pain relief for dogs??

You can definitely tell the educated animal people on here though. When you have a problem they never suggest you fix it yourself unless it is very minor. They give detailed informative info on what COULD be wrong...but never suggest fixing it yourself.  People who try to fix it themselves give bad advice to others, who then use that bad advice and pass it on themselves.

It's like a circle of bad advice.

I've heard someone ask how they can fix a dogs broken leg themself.

Answer 9

Not to get a dog treated for heartworm since it wasn't showing any symptoms.

Answer 10

Well I've seen dozens of answers on here swearing that Purina, Pedigree, Beneful, etc. are "Great foods!" and "My dog has been perfectly healthy for years eating [crappy brand]" food!  Yeah, that's what my boyfriend used to claim about his overweight, allergy ridden dog with awful skin, chronic indigestion, and gas that could clear a city block (from eating Purina).  I talked him into switching to Wellness- 100% better and not a problem since.  I think people who endorse bad foods a) have no idea what dogs need food-wise, b) have never READ the ingredients list on their dog food bag, and c) don't actually know what a healthy dog looks like.

I also hate any advice on walking/training that involves headcollars or harnesses, since both are totally useless training tools.

99% of the responses for injury, illness, or breeding are total BS.

It's annoying, but there's just not much you can do about it.

Answer 11

What you've quoted people saying probably is the worst I have seen.

For the person saying it is illegal to give advice. People have a responsibility to research the answers given to them and yahoo has stated for legal reasons, it can not "guarantee the accuracy of any yahoo! answers content."

A vet giving advice on here would not be considered a respectable vet in my opinion. Vets that I know require seeing the animal in person before any diagnosis is given.

Answer 12

I'm with Golden on the leaving the dam alone during whelping

Lets see the guy who awhile back wanted to know if he should lock his two bulldogs alone in a room to keep the female from getting away from the male.

People actually told this guy to go ahead and do it and that they would be fine!

People who give actual websites to teacup answers

anyone who suggest going to find a puppy on kijiji, nextday pets etc

- clean your room do your homework etc answers to how to get a pet when the parents have already said no.

The people who don't know anything about raw diets or more than what they have ever heard in the news about food borne illnesses

"if she's in heat she's old enough to breed"

Sure its ok to to breed a a teacup and yes they do exist etc etc etc - from another question

Answer 13

Hah! The pesticide is probably more expensive than the Frontline!

Those are some bad ones--the worst are when someone asks how to "bread" and gets detailed responses, or asks for a "teacup" and once again with the responses. C'mon, people, be educated! Don't just follow the 'trend', do what's *right*! Really gets me.

As a side note, I was at the vet, and a woman was buying her Lab some Science Diet, apparently she did it every week. $60 for a 30 lb bag! You can get *much* better quality, and for *cheaper*!

Answer 14

several of them have made me angry and or sick. one was just a few days ago. a person had a cat giving birth and the kit had been stuck halfway for hours. someone told the person to just let the cat relax or put her in a room by herself (best answer) when I told them the kit was stuck and a trip to the vet was needed. no telling how long the poor cat labored on but apparently it did finally give birth. the first kit was dead of course.

then there are those that pander to irresponsible owners and coo at them and validate their rants about NOT having their pet spayed or neutered. I hope none of those animals die from a pyometra, it is ghastly and I am positive that the pet would have rather been spayed than to die a horrible death..anyways... there are hundreds but I can't name them all *LOL* this already sounds like the beginning of a rant

Answer 15

"well, if you dont like it, get rid of him..hes just a puppy and wont learn"

Answer 16

I've seen WAY too many harmfull & even DEADLY advice given about guinea pigs. Advice that was actually even taken into condsideration and action.

It's actually sickening and frightening.

The only place to go to is the vet, or people who have much experience with these animals and have the FACTS down. You do not have any way to asure people on yahoo answers actually give the correct (as in safe and proper) answer. The pets section needs be taken down.

People's ignorance risks the lives of animals. It needs to stop. Having the pet section allows this to happen, since the people have the right to answer what they want, and people have the right to choose what they want to do. So, the best and right thing to do is to just take down the pet section all together. Like I said, by having the pet section, it allows people to replace vet advice, with harmfull/deadly advice from people who are just plain ignorant.

Pets are animals with LIVES, they are not objects.

Here are just a few about guinea pigs:

"Bath your guinea pig to get rid of mites"

"Use baby wipes, or baby shampoo when you bathe your guinea pig"

"Bathe your gunea pig once a week" (or month, or several months I've seen as well)

"Slam the floor to get them to stop doing being naughty to train them"

"Pull the hair behind their ears, when they squeal loudly it does not mean they are in pain, to train them"

"A guinea pigs broken leg will heal on it's own. Guinea pigs are excellent when it comes to healing themselves"

^^^

By far one of the most ignorant i've seen. A guinea pig is opposite of just that.

"It's okay to let a guinea pig swim in a swimming pool with chlorine."

And so many more. Too many more.

Answer 17

As someone stated earlier its the Breeding questions that kill me the most. Where they cant even spell it let alone do it. Mostly the heat questions and what should I do. I dont expect everyone to spay and neuter but if they are not going to be 100% responsible at keeping an intact animal the best thing for them is to spay and neuter it. The amount of "accidental" pregnancies on here are outrageous. Then the asker begs you not to yell at them cause it wasnt there fault. Thats bushwa. Its always the owners fault.

OMG THIS is what I am totally talking about... UGGGGHHH

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 18

It's hard to remember them all, there are so many unfortunately.

The advice to give Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and other medications on your own.

Bath a dog in motor oil to get ride of mange.

Bite your dog back when he bites you.

Smack your puppy if he misbehaves.

Pin your dog on the ground and sit on him to show him who's boss.

If your puppy is vomiting blood and has bloody diarrhea, give him some grass to eat to settle his stomach.

There are lots more, but I think I try to block them out of my mind, some are so bad.

Answer 19

The worst advice must have been some I gave,although I have no idea what it was. Someone told me that and said I don't belong here.

Answer 20

put oil on a horses wound...i know they did that in the old days but nowadays it can seriously injure a horse!