Pet owners believe different things about their cat health care and dog health care practices, but not all of them are true, so it is worth evaluating what is right and what isn’t before its too late. Don’t let misconceptions about pet health ruin the way you care for your pet – get the facts straight now.

Misconception 1: Is neutering dogs and cats bad?

People actually get very confused about neutering and spaying and some believe it has pet health implications. 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. As you would a child, show the dog what it has done wrong so it learns. If you don’t do this, how can it ever learn? Try and shift your voice to sound angry rather than getting high-pitched as this relates too closely to happy sounds. One thing that should most definitely be stopped is hitting dogs. Hitting should never form any part of dog health care. Mistreating cats is also not advised – no cat health care practice should involve this.

There are multiple misconceptions about dogs and cats, and that’s why you should never trust what you have been told without researching it first and checking with a vet. As an expert in the field, a vet will be able to advise you about what is right and wrong with dog or cat health care.