We are all guilty of sometimes overreacting when it comes to our pets, but there are some things that are complete misconceptions and it’s about time we got these out into the open to highlight some of the things people make mistakes with when it comes to dog health care and cat health care. Don’t let misconceptions about pet health ruin the way you care for your pet – get the facts straight now.

Misconception 1: If I have my dog or cat neutered or spayed, this will make it lazy

Neutering your cat or dog does not necessarily impact on its health, but many fear that it does. People worry that it will make the dog fat and de-motivated. Neutering can cut down on the risk of wandering outside and never returning, and in essence it makes dogs and cats a little more ‘homesick’, which can be quite comforting to see. There is some research being conducted to determine if neutering can shorten an animal’s lifespan, but there is no sufficient evidence at present to suggest this is correct.

Misconception 2: Hitting a dog makes it behave properly

Trust us that this isn’t true. Some dogs do not know when they have been badly behaved and they will continue to misbehave if they don’t get appropriately informed that what they have done is wrong. Teach them that something is wrong by pointing to the offending area and showing them that it is bad. Pro-active training like this is good. Sometimes, shouting and shrieking to a dog can seem like praise, so you have to change your voice pitch to let them know what is right and wrong. Don’t hit your dog though, as this is very bad pet ownership. In fact, no dog health care routine should involve hitting the pet. Mistreating cats is also not advised – no cat health care practice should involve this.

Check with a vet if you are concerned about something not being accurate with your dog health care and cat health care practices. Trust in your vet to steer you in the right direction so you don’t end up believing any more misconceptions.