The five minute expert

spottydog

Don't you just love 'em? Those people who have never had a pet before, have seen something on TV, had a conversation in a pub and within days of buying a puppy/kitten/rabbit off you, they know it all. What is worse, they start telling you, as an experienced animal person, where you are going wrong. Rolling Eyes

Then the problems start. They will ask ANYONE in the world, apart from their breeder, how to deal with it.... preferably a YTS youngster on their first week at the vets! Shocked

It's amazing how they seem to gravitate towards the most inappropriate people for help! Shocked

Why can't people acknowledge that it takes a LONG TIME to have a good knowledge base, plus some people have a better natural ability than others regardless of schooling or background, plus there is always something new to learn! Truly experienced pet owners and breeders are always happy to help and give sound advice.
People who are "experts" after a few months leave me speechless!
What do the rest of you think?
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Pretty Polly Pavey of Polidot - 06/08/1996 - 13/07/2006 - Dalspa Liquid Gold for Polidot 20/10/1999 - 08/05/2007 - Polly and Polo together again

sambo

I agree completely Gill all my friends who do own pets always ask me for advice as i have always owned animals and obviously being on petchat and all the other forums i pick up tips on the way but i am no way an expert and can honestly say i always listen carefully to others giving advice as even me as a dog owner for years and a cat owner for years can get things wrong.

I also know some stupid people such as a girl who has recently opened a pet shop and thinks hamsters can live over the age of 5 years i have owned plenty of hamsters and have always believed that a 3 year life span for a hamster is a very good one if anybody knows of any hamsters that can live longer than this then please correct me Wink

I think owning a pet is along the same lines as having a child neither come with a manual so you should be grateful of any advice and never think you know everything when you simply don't.

It really annoys me when people think they are know it alls Evil or Very Mad

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spottydog

I always remember the definition of an expert.......

an "ex" is a has-been

and a "spurt" is a drip under pressure!

Laughing

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Pretty Polly Pavey of Polidot - 06/08/1996 - 13/07/2006 - Dalspa Liquid Gold for Polidot 20/10/1999 - 08/05/2007 - Polly and Polo together again

petchatadmin

lol i like that definition Gill PMSL
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pollaton

i completely agree Gill. i worked in a petstore for 3 years and learnt loads from other animal owners, but i certainly wouldn't ever give advice on things that i had no knowledge of. we quite often had people bringing their sick animals to the shop to see if we could diagnose their ailments. and sometimes if you didn't know the answer people would get annoyed with you and say that you shouldn't be working there if you didn't know things. i also used to get annoyed with members of staff that gave out advice when they quite obviously had no clue what they were talking about. i think most people appreciate being honest and tell them you don't have the information they need. too many petstores and vets employ young people who think they have the answers to everything.
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Nosey

Loved your definition Gill. I've been around animals all my life and i'm still learning .