Don't Believe Everything You Read!

Have I gone mad? I am a blogger and I want you to read my blog! Here I share what I've learned about dog health issues, and what I believe are the best treatment options. I even have a vet to go over the medical information to make sure it is correct!

So what am I talking about?

One of the most important things I've learned through Jasmine's ordeals is to question everything! Today, there are as many different expert opinions as there are experts. This is true for dog training, dog nutrition, and often even for medical treatments. Unless I can find at least three independent sources that agree on any one fact, that fact is no good to me!

I want to help you to get an understanding of health issues your dog might be going through. However, the main purpose of my blog is to help you to educate yourself! Only when you understand the condition and the available treatments you can make good decisions for your dog.

While most of the veterinary science are hard facts, a lot of it is open to opinion and interpretation.

And even hard facts, as hard as they may be, change over time. Not that long ago people believed that the Earth was flat! Drugs were approved as safe just to be pulled off the market later. Treatments that were looked down upon are now becoming popular. Nothing is really written in stone.

How do you find a vet you know you can trust? How do you pick the treatment that is best for your dog if you don't understand your options and cannot discuss them with your vet? Knowledge is the key.

Is this little pill really going to make your dog all better or are the side effects worse than the condition you're treating? Always ask questions!

Here are some good resources of core veterinary information. Read, compare, discuss, form an opinion – in that order.

1. VeterinaryPartner.com
   This is a great website I refer to often. Doesn't have all information you might be looking for, but probably 98% of it. Some articles are easier to understand than others, but it is a good website to compare notes on.
   
   
2. Vetinfo.com
   Another great website loaded with veterinary information. The layout is a bit hard to navigate, but the information is good.
   
   
3. Wikipedia.org
   This is usually the first place I look when I'm trying to learn about anything. It does have a lot of veterinary and general medical information. It is not an easy read, but wikipedia tries very hard to provide the latest, most accurate and most objective information.

I'll add other links as I think of them.

Jana