Why are Dogs Neglected by Their Owners?

Recently I was awarded best answer for the question “Why do People Own Dogs but they Don't Take Care of Them?”. This not an easy question to answer because there are so many reasons why dogs are neglected, and some people do not even realize that they are not taking proper care of their pet.

Many people get dogs without realizing how much work they really are. They see a cute pup, and think it would be rather fun to have a dog, but before too long that pup is huge, and tearing their house apart, and is tossed out to live in the backyard where it digs and barks.

A lot of neglected dog problems start when a parent has given in to their child's begging for a dog.  When the child becomes tired of the dog, or out grow the novelty of owning a dog, the parents may not be willing to pick up the slack. This is something that always troubles me since the adults should have been aware that this does happen and should not have taken on getting a pet they were not willing to help care for. It's pretty much common knowledge that kids really cannot make lifetime commitments to pets.

Eager prospective dog owners often do not do proper breed research when they get a dog, they fail to recognize that different dogs have different lifestyle needs; while one breed of dog is fine at home on the sofa, others need a ton of exercise or mental stimulation to keep them satisfied (and behaved). Some breeds of dog require daily hair brushing or their fur tangles and forms painful mats.

Some people overlook the costs and expenses of dog care. They cut corners. They fail to vaccinate their dog, don't spay or neuter it, do not take it to obedience lessons, and neglect worming and flea control. The dog ends up riddled with parasites, becomes unruly, or starts urinating in the house so the people kick it outside. Again this is failure to plan for the pet.

Overall I do not think that anyone gets a dog with the intent of neglecting it. They simply were over eager and failed to do their homework before getting the dog.

 

If you are thinking of getting a dog or puppy, you need to:

• Do Breed Research
• Calculate the Yearly Cost of a Dog
• Decide if you have Enough Time for a Dog

If you took on the responsibility of dog ownership you are responsible for training the dog, feeding the dog, making sure the dog is well groomed, and overseeing the mental happiness of the dog. You are responsible for the veterinary needs of the dog for its entire lifetime, so, well... deal with it.

Your Dog Needs a Veterinarian, Deal with it

Have you spent anytime on Internet pet forums, Yahoo!Answers, or WebAnswers? If so, you know how common it is for a dog owner to post a serious question about their pets health.

My dog is bleeding what should I do? My dog has not eaten in a week, what should I do? My dog has lost weight and cannot stand up, I am so worried about my beloved pet, what should I do? For crying out loud people, you should get your dog, your beloved pet, to a veterinarian for proper care and attention that's what you should do. Quit wasting time on the Internet asking strangers who many not have a clue about dog health what to do with your suffering dog.

Really, is this such a hard message to get? Why do people spend ages on-line looking for free help from people they do not even know when a real veterinarian is only a phone call away?

I don't care if its midnight, Christmas day, or the fourth of July, if your pet is deathly ill, suffering, or in pain, it needs veterinarian attention, and your vet is the best one to turn to. Veterinarians may not be in the office all the time, but are on-call and will provide service when needed, it's one of the things that suck most about the job I am sure... but they will do it.

Sometimes people like to throw it out that they cannot take their beloved dog to the vet because they have no money. Hmm, they can spend $3.00 a day on coffee from Starbucks but cannot manage to save money for emergency vet care? If you're that broke, why did you even get a dog? The worst is when a person gets a new pup, the pup has black smelly diarrhea, and they say they cannot afford a vet, I just want to yell at them if they just got a pup, and are already too broke to save its life, what where they thinking getting a puppy?

I wrote an article some time ago about certain common pet health problems, I warned people that in most cases their pet needs to see a real veterinarian, I even added the statement at the bottom that I am not a veterinarian and that you should not trust strangers on the Internet to give pet advice, yet this article gets bombarded with people asking for free online advice for their pet with a real medical concern.

Please, if your dog is sick, in pain, has lost weight, is falling over, has not eaten, or is just not acting like it normally does, you need to see a veterinarian. And yes, veterinarians do cost money, deal with it.