44 secrets your veterinarian won’t tell you

Pet tips and cautionary tales. We reveal advise and opinions from animal experts, ie vets, that may just save time, trouble and trauma for the whole family.

“People always ask, ‘How do you handle pit bulls and rottweilers and big German shepherds?’ The truth is, the dogs that scare me most are the little Chihuahuas. They’re much more likely to bite.” — Mark Howes, veterinarian, owner and medical director of an animal hospital.

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“Most hospitals keep comprehensive records of behaviour – of both your pet and you! If you are aggressive to the staff, you will be treated differently.” — Oscar Chavez, veterinarian and program director for the vet tech program at California Polytechnic State University

“Last year, one pet owner gave us a cheque for $100, saying we could use it at our discretion for an animal in need. That was a wonderful gift.” — Patty Khuly, a veterinarian

“I would never say that to someone in an exam room, but the fact of the matter is, if you have an owner who overeats and is inactive, they are very likely to have an obese pet.” —Oscar Chavez, veterinarian.

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“People will get upset because their dog got a sheet instead of two fluffy blankets or because their dog didn’t get hand-fed. We’re just trying to get your dog better so he can come home and you can spoil him.” — Jessica Stout-Harris, a veterinary tech

“If your dog has a two-kilogram tumour hanging from his skin, please don’t tell me it wasn’t there yesterday.” — Phil Zeltzman, veterinarian.

“Here’s a pet peeve: Owners who don’t want to pay for diagnostic tests but then cop an attitude because you don’t know what’s wrong with the animal. Since you wouldn’t let me do the blood work or X-rays, how the heck do you expect me to know?” — veterinarian.

“If you’re visiting your pet in the hospital, and we say something along the lines of ‘OK, it’s time to let Fluffy sleep now,’ often what we really mean is that you’re in our way, and we’re trying to treat other patients.” — Jessica Stout-Harris

“I understand the value of dog parks, but I personally wouldn’t take my dog there. We see a lot of dogs who were injured at dog parks.” — Rachel Simpson, a veterinary technician

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