Kids generally don’t bring their family pet to the animal hospital, but I wish they did. Children are less likely to question the advice I give them. I think they’re so used to taking orders from parents, teachers and other authoritative figures that it just comes naturally to do whatever the doctor tells them to do. Obviously, there’s only so much I can explain to a 10 year old about how we plan on managing their dog’s chronic kidney disease, but I can usually appreciate the attentiveness and compliance of high school students on up. These teens may not listen to their parents anymore, but they’ll do everything a veterinarian tells them, especially since it involves keeping their furry best friend happy and healthy.
At what age do they learn to question every piece of advice I have to offer? When do adults begin to challenge conventional medical wisdom? How old do you need to be to start thinking that you’ve learned more about veterinary medicine than those who actually attended (and graduated from) veterinary school? Everyone seems to be different, so I don’t think there’s a universal standard here. Fortunately, most of my clients do go along with what I say in the exam room, and they even comply with my medical advice.
However, the one thing that appears to bring the kid out in a good majority of my clients is the discussion of spaying or neutering their dog or cat. And I’m not talking about the joyful happy kid that comes out. This is the bratty illogical kid who really wants that piece of candy (or in this case, for their dog to have puppies). I’ve heard all the excuses and arguments not to spay/neuter, so here are my responses to the most amusing and clever ones:
- I’m not recommending that you get neutered -just your dog. Trust me, your dog won’t feel like any less of a man because he was never a man to begin with. He’s a dog.
- No, I don’t care that I can [in theory] make more money if you breed more kittens for me to have as patients.
- Yes, you can keep your dog away from other dogs, and I guarantee that locking her in the house is a foolproof method of birth control …but there are other reasons for getting her spayed, including preventing certain types of cancer.
- No, it’s not “natural” for us to perform any surgery on any living creature to prevent it from reproducing. Guess what else isn’t really natural? The vaccinations I just gave, the antibiotics we used to clear up your kennel cough …oh, and your Puggle.
- You promised your kids they could have puppies? You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep -they’ll have to get used to broken promises at some point .
I’m not sure why every adult isn’t able to grasp a concept that I preach all the time: It’s far better to put your pet through a discounted elective procedure now than to require an expensive emergency surgery later.
