How many pet owners actually learn how to take proper care of their pet before getting one?

Buddha13: How many pet owners actually learn how to take proper care of their pet before getting one?
So many questions in “Pets” are very basic pet care questions. For instance, the time to ask about your dog having puppies is not when she is delivering them – maybe you should have learned what to do months ago when you realised she was pregnant.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Mr. Sox P
Yes, I was quite ignorant before also.

I used to feed my dogs Beneful, one of the worst foods, and would just load them up with treats. Since then, I now feed them Evo, a top quality dog food, and walk them everyday.

Answer by JOYCE M
ABOUT 25% OF THEM

Answer by st.lady37 (GitEm)
Judging by some of the questions on here……..maybe 1% if that.

Answer by Sweety_8513(Brooke H)
I did not know anything about dogs before I got Meika, she kinda stumbled upon me, but since getting her I have done tons of research on dogs and now feel very educated.

At least some of them are trying to do right

Answer by .
Had dogs in my family for many years learnt off my parents and I don’t ask for help here.

Answer by Chihuahua Babe
I NEVER ASK QUESTIONS ON CARING FOR ANIMALS! i ask opinions and what should i do with the car ride home. some people just like to have opinions on what other people think. no need to judge that they cant take proper care of their pets

Answer by crazy_cat_lady
lol, I love seeing those questions. I am thinking about getting another pup but I am looking into before I make the commitment. Also why do people get pets knowing they can’t afford the vet bills?

Answer by Esther
I wouldn’t know. I do know that the Dog category of Y!A wouldn’t be very active without those who ask these basic pet-care questions, though.

In my case, I did a decent amount of research on dogs before bringing our Corgi puppy home (although now that I think about it, the research was pretty basic and limited to things like housetraining, spaying, training, etc). But now I realize that no amount of research will give you everything you need- a lot of it is based on experience. I was feeding my dog Science Diet for a month before I learned more about proper dog nutrition and switched her to raw. I used Frontline and Advantage on her before I learned that topicals are basically poison and switched over to using diatomaceous earth and natural repellants for fleas (same situation for vaccines). I continue to learn more about dogs everyday, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning.

Granted, there are obviously a ton of people who don’t do basic research on proper dog care and who don’t seem to know the back of their dog from the front or what to do when their dog is on the verge of death.

Answer by Stark
I agree with you. My parents wouldn’t allow me to get a dog. So during the time I was living at home sulking without my own dog, I used that time to volunteer at an animal shelter, where I gained experience working with dogs, and I also read a LOT of books about dog care, dog breeds, and just dogs in general. So I was very well prepared for dog ownership before I adopted my first dog. But I know so many people who get a puppy on a whim, or see a puppy on TV, and without any research or thought, they decide that an Akita is the right dog for them…or whatever. It is sad because for a Lot of these dogs the owner didn’t know what to expect, so the dog ends up at the pound.

Answer by tom l
Ah come on, that’s way to logical. Nobody is gonna do that.

Answer by Karen W
I’d estimate half.
On the other hand, I have been a pet owner for most of my 55 years and I am still learning (a lot from the people on here) so it is an ongoing process.
Ignorance (and I mean this in the kindest way) could explain why so many animals end up discarded in shelters or turned over to rescues as well, people buy on impulse w/o doing their research first.

Answer by savahna5
Been around dogs my entire life and I haven’t killed one yet. I plan to always have one or more. I did not go to dog school or read a book or any other thing before owning a dog. If I have a question about a dog, I ask my vet or my friend who raises them.

You don’t have to be extremely educated to own a pet I know alot of people who don’t know much and their dogs are loved and fine. As long as you take care of them and don’t ignore things I think its fine. Just like people having babies. We don’t take classes or go to school. Its kind of common sense what to do or if we need outside assistance. I didn’t run off and educate myself on having babies either. Just the nutrician when pregnant or what came up. I had all four without any pain meds what so ever. My kids are great, and so are all my dogs and cats. In fact I had a dog with cancer. The vet asked how did we know so fast something was wrong as it had just reached a point it would casue symtoms or pain. Well we know our pet and we knew he didnt act right that day and on into the next so we took him in. We had no clue what was wrong, just that something was. Thats what vets are for!!!

Answer by sofie
less then 25 % pet owner actually learn how to take care of there pet before buying them……

Answer by Marna O
apparently not many…..