Why do people ask pet medical advice on here, especially when they see their pet is in distress?

It just blows my mind that people would even think twice about taking their animals to a vet when they are displaying obvious signs they are sick. If the person was sick, they'd get themselves to a doctor or the ER ASAFP.Why do people ask pet medical advice on here, especially when they see their pet is in distress?
(sigh) Probably for several reasons (a) they can't afford a vet. (b) They don't believe an animal deserves conscientious care (c)They're just plain lazy and/or cheap (d) They're ignorant(remember - there's a lot of that going around)


Personally, I believe a person should not have a pet unless they're able to properly care for it. We don't have a lot of money (I'm on disability) but we manage. Thankfully, our vet isn't trying to bleed his owners dry, so his fees are very very modest. He also lets us make payments (I'm doing that now on a cat that recently had pneumonia)


Yeah, humanity can be (expletive deleted)frustrating and pet owners are just a part of it.Why do people ask pet medical advice on here, especially when they see their pet is in distress?
I agree.


People really shouldn't ask over the Internet because I am sure the majority of people who answer do not have a clue and just answer anything to get their points up.


Please just find a good vet and stick with the people who know about illnesses!!! We do not!





But I do think it is ok when they ring the vet and arrange an appointment and just ask on here in the mean time for advice. They they should definately not ask here first before contacting a vet or use this website as an alternative to a vet.
Hi yes I whole heartedly agree but some people like to cut corners %26amp; do things on the cheap...but all medical needs should be met with a knowledge of a vet...all that the likes of you %26amp; I can do is try to get them to take the animals in question to a vet %26amp; seek the profession help that they really need...some I guess just need to know if they are right to take it or if it is something that will pass...





There is a lot of ignorance when it comes to pet owning so I guess we just have to try to make things a little better for animalss in all the ways that we can even if this means answering question of which we know the animal needs a vet...





I dunno about you but I never sugar coat pills %26amp; I may not be liked too much for it but sometime you have to be a little blunt...if they don't like what they read then I guess we didn't tell them what they wanted to hear...However the question was answered correctly...





I had just such yesterday that someone didn't like the answer that I gave about breeding their female pooch that was already 9 years old(63) in our terms...I said it was very unethical to do so %26amp; if never been bred before totally irresponsable...thats why the KC here won't register pups born to a female over the age of 7 as she should not be having them at that age...oh well guess they will have to get over it already huh...lol...Regards Jake
A lot of people are hoping for an easy answer. (or a cheap one)


A person can go to the ER with no money and get seen, but a dog can't.
i no
I can see your point, I am a pet owner and no substitute can be made for a Vet. I think online has a place for care as things can be minor. Obedience questions are good to have at a click, also at times a you can take your pet to the vet for the same thing and it does not seem to get better鈥erhaps talk to other pet owners about how they fixed an issue. Internet should not be 911, but is a sound 411 and community committed to better quality of lives for pets.
I think there's several reasons:





I think some are generally confused if they're freaking out over what might not be as severe as they think.





Some may also need the extra push by others to reiterate the obvious to them. Some need, ';YOU NEED TO TAKE YOUR ANIMAL TO THE VET, NOW!!!';, to be literally spelled out. As such. Lol.





They aren't able to get their pet to a facility. Perhaps they are in an area where an emergency clinic is unavailable.





Then there are those I feel are trying to contain the problem themselves. Some do it because they can't afford an emergent visit, some do it to play vet.








Whatever the reason may be, better they ask then not. At least they can get info from many people who love animals, have a general knowledge and on occasion get actual professional help; but really we can at least help push them in the right direction; like going to the vet.
a lot of the askers are teens, who have no control over their parent's decision to not have the pet treated.. In this case, they need backup for their pleading ( Mom! 15 people said Fido HAS to see the vet!)





Many of the nightime askers are from countries where their are no vets, or the vets are incompetent..





In Alaska, vets can be 800 miles apart..So should Alaskans not have pets? (or even children?)





This forum helps to get advice on what is serious and what can be treated at home.





My advice saved a life of a dog that had just come back from the ER, and couldn't be seen, as the owner only had $300 and the ER wanted $500..cash..


Like one of the users above said..It is better that they ask..at least they are not ignoring the problem.


If your child has diarrhea, you call mom, and ask what to do..and if it isn't better soon, you take the child to the Doc..But people don't have the education to know just how serious diarrhea is to a puppy..


there is a predominant old wives's tale, that animals look after themselves...many here even give that advice..





Most questions do get helpful answers, and I really do think this forum helps..Even if the best answer is..TAKE IT TO THE VET
I have been wondering this myself. Hello it's called the emergency vet; I'll bet they know better than a bunch of us on Yahoo.
It doesn't mean they don't go to the vet. I have asked some questions here, although I am the vet's best client. But Y!answers has 2 main advantages: 1. you can find cases from all over the world, and you hope someone will have faced the same as you and will know about it, especially when it is the middle of the night and can't reach the vet you trust. 2. it is a person's natural reaction before going to the doctor to try to learn sth. about a disease. When you are sick, you don't go to the hospital directly: you call your mum, a friend who has had the same thing, a friend who studies medicine, you look on the internet, like a research. even after I go to the doctor, I still do research about what I've got, as a 2nd opinion.





About emergency vets: I would never go: I went once and they made my pet die. And I recently answered a question about a disease of a cat I know only too well, because we've been through a lot, and if I had known a year ago - at the beginning of my cat's disease - what I told the person who has now the same problem, my cat would have been saved without suffering for 6 months. It was a quite simple thing at first, but the cat was not responding to the vet's treatment. The cat of the person whose question I answered was the same. So I knew what should be done, because I had learned later from a more expert vet.
for the same reason they don't call their own doctor and rely on answers from complete strangers or web md. lol. they are idiots.
You will notice that most of the answers end with, go and see your vet.