Quote:
Originally Posted by BonBon  This is what I've been wanting to say for ages. 
It's wonderful when someone wants to offer information and suggestions to help others. But it is wrong to presume that you know more than a vet about a pup's condition. All we know here on YT is what we're told in an online forum - we never see these dogs, never know their full history or even know if what the op's say is accurate. To tell a member that her vet is wrong, that you know more because of what you've read on other forums or from one of the many specialists you call is insulting and rude.
Members should offer advice, be supportive and leave it at that. They shouldn't beat members over the head with repeated posts trying to force opinions on them. Doing so is a cry for attention and a need for praise - not a true, compassionate desire to help.
Most of the members who post in the S&I forum truly love their pets and want the very best for them, yet they're made to feel incompetent, less than intelligent or incapable of taking care of their own animals if they don't follow a particular member's instructions to a tee and ignore the contradictory advice others try to offer. They're criticized for trusting their chosen medical professional and led to distrust anything their vets tell them.
This is dangerous behavior and I truly fear it will cause serious harm to someone's pup one day. The internet is not the place for the diagnosing and vet second-guessing that goes on here regularly. Someone is going to listen to a member who knows nothing about their pet over listening to their own vet and it will be a catastraphe.
In a perfect world members would simply and kindly offer concise, relevant, pertinent information. They would not insult others members vets or needlessly instill fear as I often see done here. Nor would they tell members seeking help "if you don't listen to me, whatever happens to your pup will be on your head." That is cruel and harrassing behavior that is way out of line, yet it gets said here.
Again, thanks for letting me share my opinion. |
I understand what you're saying, and agree with most of it.
My problem is:
What do you do when you know something more needs to be done, but it's like the OP doesn't even hear you, and you know the dog is in danger of dying? Do you just post what you know nicely and walk away, even when you see your advice has had no effect?
Some people need a wake-up call... the goal is that everybody wants to see these dogs survive and thrive. Do you let it drop because the owner may just not 'get it', knowing their dog has been handed a death sentence? Saying I told them but they didn't listen doesn't feel good at all, neither does losing your dog and then learning something could have been done to save them, after the fact.
Or do you push and push and push until they can understand and make the choices that will save their dog's life?