Starting Point
The dog and cat health information website is under construction. It probably
will be for some time. We'll be looking at subjects that are of interest
in pet advocacy, guardianship and understanding.. I hope you will come along. There is a lot to
learn and things are evolving in pet care and veterinary fields of study.
There will be links that are easy to follow and they will always lead back to
the main pages so that you can never get lost.
I prefer redundancy to confusion.
We are going to try to do what I have learned to do . Research
and look at the science and try really hard to be objective. How to think
about and evaluate
information. Not just believe what anyone tells you because its what you want
to hear.
I try hard to do that. I think we all have knee jerk reactions sometime but at
least try to think about thinking and where you hear things. Your vet usually is
a far better source of information about your pet then your family, your groomer
and your breeder. Veterinarians do have the medical degree and got it because
they care about animals, not because the field pays anywhere close to the
same degree in human medicine, it doesn't. Although reputable breeders can be really good at spotting
trends in health problems relating to breeds, as well as what inherited tests
are being done and need to be for your selected breed. What they are not are nutritionists
or experts at what to feed your dog and may be feeding the most popular trend in
diets..not necessarily the best advice for you to take.
The truth sometimes isn't what you expect but it also can be better.
I'm going to be doing something a bit different for me here. I will not be editing a website. I will be writing one. We will be generally concentrating on some things that you really need to think about when considering a pure breed dog or cat and we will also consider shelter, rescue and second hand pets. Why you should or should not get a dog or cat and what makes each do special.
I have a serious interested in the inherited diseases and disorders of dogs and cats and think they are very important in both considering a potential pet, in understanding your pet and in establishing differentials for diagnosis if your pet is ill, and very much before you ever breed a dog or cat. I think its unlikely that most veterinarians are going to be able to keep current on each breeds potential medical issues so an owner really should. Veterinary medicine is at its best, teamwork. Understanding your dog or cat makes you a better advocate for your pet and helps your Vet be better able to understand its special needs. There are vets that specialize in certain breeds and I will try to find and note their websites. I am open to readers input and appreciate breeders sharing breed problems and knowledge. That always makes me better. Knowledge is shared information - correct information - research it and back it up with science not rumor. Evidence based medicine. Or ask me..I'll be glad to check it.
Thanks to the work of dedicated people studying breed traits and what cats, dogs and other animals pass on, be it good or bad - the dog genome project, dedicated breeders and the huge advances in microbiology and DNA testing - we now have a much better understanding of dogs and cats, can trace bloodlines and understand patterns of inherited traits and tendencies and known problems. We can even isolate some genes and are working on more. We have the ability to test for some inherited diseases and more are in the works. This is a incredibly exciting time in medical science. Its also a fast moving one and can be a very confusing.
About the tests for for inherited disease. They are not yet available for all the possible inherited diseases and disorders but there are some of them and testing for those is encouraged if known in a breed. Reputable breeders test their breeding stock for those disorders and mention them to buyers. Some breeders however do not and and its good to know what disorders are testable in your breed of choice. It helps separate Breeders who care for the breed and breeders who care for their pockets. If you are foolish enough to purchase a purebred puppy from a pet store you will be at a great disadvantage. You will not see the parents , and they will not have been tested for inheritable disorders because they may have come from puppy mills or at best back yard breeders. You will also pay a premium price for a pet quality or less puppy. Buy from a breeder and close down Puppy Mills.
If you have fallen in love with a breed and want a puppy. ..please start doing some research. Find out what the puppy was bred for originally. That matters a lot. The puppy is going to be a dog and you want both of you to be happy and stay together.
Find out how much exercise it needs , if it likes children if you need it to..the way it looks is not nearly as important as the way it is and that usually is not why people get puppies. People buy dogs because of the way they look or one of thier friend has a great adult that is well trained. They don't come trained and can't do it themselves so puppies often end up in the shelter..so just stop and plan. Please. Know all those stages that puppy is going to go through and what you need to do to make it a well behaved dog and companion.
If you just want any kind of dog or cat or an adult of a specific breed be it cat or dog of a breed, please consider rescue associations and your local Shelters. This Country destroys Millions of cats and dogs yearly because we are a disposable society and pets end up in shelters and rescue for any number of reasons. Purebred rescues abound but Puppies are rare..young dogs and cats are not. Your local Shelter will have plenty of fine dogs and cats and tons of kittens and puppies. You can help lower that statistics and adopt. You can also spay and neuter and lower them more.
As time goes on I will be adding sections that pertain to the above.
This page was last edited 06/13/08
