So, you think your pets injured / sick?

[arcticwolf]

I asked for tips to keep my dog comfortable until he could get to the vet opening time the next morning, which I believe is acceptable. But I would never ever ask for medical advice. Yesterday we found out Jimmy had hurt his leg, we called the vet and unless it was a life-or-death situation we couldn't get in until this morning when we went in as soon as it opened.

I agree whole-heartily, aeoui.

[bearcups]

The whole "how do I make him comfortable" thing on your topic was acceptable. There are a lot of people on here who have had pets with breaks, so asking people with experience of keeping their pets comfortable is generally a good idea. Plus you stated that you had an appointment at the vet, which I am, honestly, proud of you for making.

Still, CS isn't the best place. There's always dog forums, though apparently there aren't any legit ones out there.

[MaineiacJay]

THANK YOU!

ADD: i agree with aeiou about the "Comfortable" aspect of asking for help.

Of all the people you see here on CS, there might be one or two vet students. Still, they arent fully trained vets. If you really cared about your animals, you wouldn't have even logged on here. You'd do what I, and many others, would do and that is to put the animal in the car and drive to the vets. CS should be the last thing on your minds.

even a vet would/should be reluctant to give out medical advice over the internet. in some cases, its not simply black and white, there are many diagnosis that look similar but can be very much different. there are some symptoms of Bloat that would seem little or like something else entirely, but its a serious condition that needs to be treated immediately by a vet. dont come here asking advice, because someone may give you poor advice that could cost you the life of your pet. people interpret things differently. subtle symptoms can be missed, other symptoms may be described poorly or the person on the other end may read it wrong or give you a false diagnosis. so please, just play it safe, take the pet to a vet.

also, the excuse of a vet not being open when your dog is seriously sick or injured is pretty lame IMHO, sorry. i know exactly where the closest 24-hour emergency vet is to me, why cant someone else? why shouldnt they know? if your parents refuse to take a sick or injured pet to the vet, then they shouldnt have gotten the animal. responsible pet ownership means providing for the animals needs, health is a kinda an important category in that. if an animal is in pain, it needs to be treated in person by a professional veterinarian, not possibly wrongly diagnosed on a family site forum where people may try and feel smart and give advice, right or not.

one thing you learn in the medical profession is to stay within your scope of practice. as a nurse, i cant diagnose someone of an illness or injury, a doctor must be called in because it would be outside my scope of practice. if i were to give false information and something happened, that would be entirely on me. i would be at fault. so stay within YOUR scope of practice. if you are not a veterinarian, dont try and diagnose an animal on an internet forum, suggest they take the animal to the vet.