"When to ask a vet" thread

[doggiedad]

you should ask your Vet and the forum anything you want.
i find it amzing that people ask "what should i do" or they
explain a condition that a Vet should see. i always
say go the Vet then post here.

Originally Posted by GSD Fan

I notice sometimes threads are created with questions that one should ask their vet. I was just wondering, would it be a good or bad idea for a thread to be posted and for that thread to explain when a vet should be asked about an issue? The thread would have the line between what's okay to ask a forum and what one needs to ask a vet?

[GSD Fan]

Originally Posted by BowWowMeow

I think having a sticky that has common gsd health problems with symptoms and noting which need immediate care and which can wait is an excellent idea to have as a reference but I don't think it's going to solve the problem of people coming onto the forum and asking for help in an emergency situation.

A lot of people come on here for the first time with a serious health problem and often never return. In an emergency situation I highly doubt anyone is going to be searching for threads that tell them when to go to the vet and when to ask a question on the forum. I think it's great when people come on here and everyone says "Go to the vet" because then they almost always go!

Furthermore, while I don't think this forum is a substitute for a vet in an emergency but people in other countries often don't have access to 24 hour vet care or sometimes even decent vet care so sometimes we can still help them, even in an emergency. And there are some very experienced members here who can help with triage care until the person can get to a vet.

ETA: I just saw the post that you created and it's confusing. I thought your issue was with people who come onto the forum in a life-threatening emergency and ask for help instead of going to the vet. The examples you've listed are things that people could get help for on the forum.

True. I posted that stuff as a starting point as what's normal and what's not normal. It's probably very confusing. I was really unsure how to go about it.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Keep in mind that not everyone CAN go to a vet right away.

It could be that the closest vet is hours away, that they haven't any transportation, that they can't afford the emergency vet costs (sorry but that IS a big consideration in todays economy) - etc.

Here's a perfect example. Saturday night I was doing tick checks on everyone (the ticks by us are outrageous right now). While I was going over my Corgi mix, Winnie, I found an abcess on her tail. I had felt it a few weeks ago but thought it was just another 'old age' lump - like the one on her back (which my vet HAS seen and said it's a fatty lump).

I just happened to squeeze the lump on her tail a little and a pus-like discharge started to come out.

I am not financially able to do emergency vet visits right now nor did I see it as something that NEEDED an E-vet visit. She was not running a fever, was eating and acting like her normal self.

So, I had DH hold her while I used one of his razor blades to slice open the lump so I could drain it. I sterilized everything first and then cleaned out the wound and covered it with a drawing salve before wrapping it to keep it safe.

I refuse to put her on antibiotics as she shows NO signs of having an infection so I see no need to go to the regular vet this week. IF she starts showing signs of a problem then she WILL go to the vet.

I am a very experienced dog owner and I feel there are many things I can handle without my vets help.

[LisaT]

Originally Posted by BowWowMeow

ETA: I just saw the post that you created and it's confusing. I thought your issue was with people who come onto the forum in a life-threatening emergency and ask for help instead of going to the vet. The examples you've listed are things that people could get help for on the forum.

I agree. The list of things there were some basic care stuff, not things you really need to see yoru vet first about.