Seijun Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 What sort of training do you have on identifying common dog breeds? Vets seem to be the new "experts" when it comes to identifying dogs so I was just wondering what training they have to allow them that privilege. I've always had the impression that they were only taught medical info. ~Seij Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 My vets just put down on the file exactly what you tell them the dog is :D They don't get really much extra training on identifying breeds. I think they do need to know the specific diseases breeds are more apt to get like HD and other breed specific disorders. [quote]when it comes to identifying dogs so I was just wondering what training they have to allow them that privilege[/quote] They just go by what people tell them or they make educated guesses just like every one else. If your smart and can remember what a dog breed looks like and the standards and stuff then it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure it out :wink: [quote]I've always had the impression that they were only taught medical info. [/quote] They are. If they want to learn more they can take extra courses. But, I do know that they do learn about genetics and differnt genetic diseases which are breed specific. They also would have to know about how much med's to give to each breed and what breeds can't have what. That they would learn from the companies that actually sell the products. (like intervecter & herding dogs). Just like nutrition they arent taught a whole lot about nutrition in school except what the major vet dog food manufactors sent them (like hills) Vets do learn about differnt breeds for different things like some time ago a friend of mine got a Great Pyrnees (sp?) and she had to inform her vet not to give it too much antisitia for the spay cuz they cannot tolerate it even though they are a big dog. They learn from people buying purebreds and the breeder giving them a list of instuctions to give to the vet and so on. :wink: So for as far as I know there are no specific courses a vet takes on identifing breeds. But, its common sense and working wiht many differnt dogs and breeders. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mutts4Me Posted January 18, 2005 Share Posted January 18, 2005 [quote name='Matty']If your smart and can remember what a dog breed looks like and the standards and stuff then it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure it out :wink: [/quote] [quote]So for as far as I know there are no specific courses a vet takes on identifing breeds. But, its common sense and working wiht many differnt dogs and breeders. ;) [/quote] I think Seij's concerns revolve around the treatment of vets as "experts" when a dog's breed is called into question on legal issues. Like the recent case where two (possible) purebred Malamutes were deemed wolf hybrids by the local government. There are a lot of cases where vets are used as experts; not only possible wolf hybrids, but also other "dangerous" breeds. The general public can't pick an APBT out of a line up, and there are many dogs that get mistaken for pits on a regular basis. So does a vet who's used as an expert witness on (any) dog's breed really know what they're talking about, or are they just using their best guess? So if you're not actually trained to identify dog breeds, you just work around them a lot and just [i]general[/i] idea what they look like, you really shouldn't be put on the stand to declare [i]as an expert[/i] what breed a dog is, especially when said dog's life could be on the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Matty Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 [quote]I think Seij's concerns revolve around the treatment of vets as "experts" when a dog's breed is called into question on legal issues.[/quote] Mutt4me I Didnt know about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mutts4Me Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Oh, I know. And I could even be wrong, I just assumed that's what the issue revolved around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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