Hmm, opinions on what this vet said?? - Page 1

Hi all, 
 So I was talking to a family member about their dog today, they were wanting some training tips(they don't listen anyways, so why do I even help! haha). We got on the subject of potty training(again, I don't think they're listening to my advice on that at all.) but they're puppy is almost fully potty trained now, she does a few things in the house(they let her run loose and don't watch her..) and has something in the pen some mornings. Well we're talking about this, and she tells me that her vet said "Oh that's because female dogs are harder to house train than male dogs" this is the same vet that told them they'd have to do a big surgery because she had a big chest. I've never heard of that?? Personally, all my families females were much easier to house train. They seemed cleaner than the males. My experience with house training is limited though, the dogs were a bit older, and most of the girls never made a mistake. Except one, and I think she would always mess in the house just because she was mad about being inside. It was on purpose, that dog knew what she was doing, lol. So guys, is that true? Or is their vet just telling them all kinds of crazy stuff? Thanks!

No offense, but I'm not so sure those family members are accurately recalling what their vet says to them...

I can't imagine a vet saying the females were harder to housebreak than males, but then again, I have my doubts as to what that same vet is alleged to have said to them about their pup's deep chest; I suspect in the latter, he was telling them that tacking the stomach at the same time she was spayed would be worth considering, especially with her being rather deep-chested, and they got it twisted.   

If their pup seems to be urinating in the house more than they'd expect, it would be worth having them take a urine sample in to be checked, as females puppies can be more prone to urinary tract infections and inflammations as a result of the hormonal changes that are taking place as the pup matures and her repro tract is readying itself for her first heat cycle.

There are all kinds of myths circulating about one gender over the other. Did you know that female cats are lazy, and rarely play or do anything other than sleep?  Someone forgot to tell that to mine!

I do not trust vets anyway. This one sounds pretty odd - I'd find a different one. Unless they are, as Hexe said, stretching the truth about what was actually said.

Dawulf, just to be clear, I don't think that Prissyzilla's family members are 'stretching the truth'...rather, I have a hunch that what the vet says to them is vastly different than what they think they hear him saying.  That's one of the reasons the clinic I worked at started giving the clients a written synopsis of what was discussed during the visit, so there would be no confusion or misinterpretation or misunderstandings.  As time went on, we created a number of standardized handouts for the routine stuff that came up on the regular--housebreaking being one of them--that the clients would receive at check-out. In instances where the visit involved discussions of less routine issues, they got a written summary of the visit and points covered instead of the pre-printed handouts.

Prissyzilla, your family members might want to ask the vet to write this stuff down for them, so you can get an idea of what's really going on. There obviously are going to be vets that aren't very good at what they do, or at least not good at communicating in a manner the client can readily understand and remember, so it's certainly possible this vet falls into one of those two categories, but in my experience it's more like a case of the old game  'telephone' where the message changes between the time it enters the ears of the first person in the line and when it exits the mouth of the last person.

One thing I've learned is as soon as a pet owner says "My vet said" I'm going to hear something no vet would ever say!

Margaret N-J

That all makes a LOT of sense, I'll tell them to get a written synopsis :) They may be misunderstanding or its changing from the time they hear it to when they tell it to me. They just got her spayed, I'm assuming they waited for her first heat, but am not positive, haven't told me anything about the deep chest thing, so i'm assuming that they didn't have the vet tack her stomach. 

@Dawulf- Haha! I just got a female cat, she is the most hyper playful cat i've had yet! Saying females are lazy is just crazy to me lol :)

Thank you all! :)

Hexe, my apologies, I meant misunderstanding, as you said, rather than stretching the truth. I wrote that right before bed last night, and was super tired. My bad! :)

Prissy, my cat is 9 years old now, and she is still insane, LOL. I couldn't believe that when I heard it, and when I denied it they told me I was wrong. LOL

I don't ask vets about nutrition or training. Vet, please check blood and fecal samples, x-ray and suture. Most vets do not have a lot of training in nutrition (they always promote science diet). Human doctors don't receive much training in nutrition either. I hope they are misquoting their vet.

Kyle