@dyachei - Why did you close my thread?

[No Imagination]

Did you even read the damn thread?!?

I did NOT ask any medical advise, and none was given.

If you are going to Mod and close threads, perhaps read them first. If you think someone offered medical advice, then point it out and do something about it. But I did not solicit it, and I don't see any response that could be considered "medical advice".

And if you think asking for a "good book" or training scheme constitutes medical advice so I and others can better educate ourselves - then SDN is no longer the place for me

In response to http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=721700

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[No Imagination]

Yes I read your sticky. You honestly expect students who want to learn more about training and are asking about good books and trainers to consult a behaviorist.

Hey, there is a thread in the pre-vet forum asking about good Physiology books and Anatomy books.

Why not lock it at tell them to consult an internist and anatomy professor.

Get off your high horse.

There are hundreds of threads asking about books and references - but no sticky needed.

I DID NOT ask how to prevent my dog for biting, or pissing all over the furniture. I DID NOT ask for medical advice to fix a problem, instead I asked for legitimate training schemes and books. No different then 20 other threads about physiology, toxicology, research, anatomy...

 

[No Imagination]

Found some more threads where people asked and awnsered medical advice. Why don't you get right on it and lock those up.

Doesn't acepromazine also cause paradoxical aggression in some dogs?

I know we don't use it here in Boxers simply because even if it is anecdotal, they'd rather not take the chance it was based on something.

I don’t know the answer to that… I will consult a vet (or google it for you and get back to you)

My husband was against getting cats since he is allergic. We have 2 now. We went and visited a shelter and he takes generic Claritin daily. He has almost no symptoms - the ones he has are related to the fact that he likes to play with the cats and he sometimes gets scratched (no matter how many times I talk to him about it, he keeps doing it). The scratches don't heal as fast as other cuts. We talked about what we would do if he couldn't handle the cats before we got them.

You should ask him if he would be willing to try fostering a cat with a trial run of Zyrtec or Claritin. Just keep in mind allergies can ramp up. My husband's father had a cat that they had to give away because of allergies when he couldn't walk up and down stairs without having to rest.

You really shouldn’t offer medical advice, perhaps speak to an MD. Also, you are going to be a DVM, not an MD, perhaps you shouldn’t offer medical advice

Not sure if you know what giardia is since they are protozoans and aren't visible to the naked eye. It sounds more like your kitten had roundworms (not at all unusual in young animals).

I know the name of a parasitologist you can ask…

someone asked why we don't use ace/morphine as much. I'm pretty sure its because Ace can make some animals aggressive and is highly hypotensive (causes low blood pressure). Also, morphine can be excitatory in cats and causes vomiting (not necessarily the best thing if you are sedated).

Cool – Good to know!

You don't have to use it all the time and its not at all like putting your cat on prozac. First off, it either plugs into the wall or sprayed on areas where the cats tend to have disagreements. It is based off the pheromone that cats use to bunt with - the one that they use when they rub their cheeks on something. It signifies complacency to cats that inhale that pheromone. You could probably look it up on their website fairly easily by googling it.

Wow, a behavior question – Asked and Answered… Perhaps we can lock this thread to have them consult a Veterinary behaviorist

You could also try to infiltrate areas they both inhabit with feliway - its an anxiety-reducing mist or diffuser and can be found in pet stores (like petsmart). It shouldn't be used without doing the other things people on here are mentioning, but it can come in handy. But, it's not cheap

So many question on SDN about introducing cats… perhaps AVMA should start a specialist group to deal with these issues

Personally, raw diets make me nervous. Too much risk of salmonella - not for the dog, but for family members as the dog sheds it. Especially in a home with children. Just a personal opinion based on my nutrition courses.

Thanks, I was going to consult with a veterinary nutritionalist… I know your not a vet or a nutritionalist, thanks for the advice.


I will finish going through your threads so you can find more of your own stuff to lock.

You welcome, just trying to help out the community.

 

[Nexx]

Not that I want to step into the sticky issue..

But other than Pathbrd and other moderators I don't seem to see any clause in the TOS preventing giving out medical advice anyhow. (HON declaration clause would seem to indicate that it is permissible but what do I know )

I could be missing it and I certainly understand the point (to an extent) as this is mainly for questions about the university and profession in general and having the general public pop in for advice is a nuisance, but sometimes things do go a bit too far here, I've said it before (although I'm not making direct commentary now - it's finals time and I can't join in long debates )

 

[Crazy Hippos]

Agreed. I had a thread asking for help about my aggressive dog. Although I do not agree that behavioral advice is medical advice, I can somewhat see why my thread was closed.

No Imagination was just looking for a good book. People will always chime in with their personal tactics for such issues, but that is of no fault of No Imagination.

 

[DrMom]

Not that I want to step into the sticky issue..

But other than Pathbrd and other moderators I don't seem to see any clause in the TOS preventing giving out medical advice anyhow. (HON declaration clause would seem to indicate that it is permissible but what do I know )

Just to clarify this point: at the bottom of every page of the forums it states "not for medical advice."



SDN does not want the forums to be inundated with people registering to ask medical, dental, psych, optometry, or veterinary questions. The gray area is when regular users ask questions like that. Some forums get a large number of advice threads (like Dermatology) and are more closely controlled for medical advice, others are a little looser. In the past the vet forums have had some issues with people popping in to ask vet care questions and I have seen many complaints from the vet forum users in the past about people posting for pet/vet advice.

As to this specific thread/forum issue, it is being reviewed and discussed.

 

[Nexx]

Sorry DrMom, but then you guys actually aren't playing by your own rules.

http://www.studentdoctor.net/sdn-forums-terms-of-service/
http://www.studentdoctor.net/online-service-agreement/

The first link explicitly states:

All users and members are, by default, considered as non-medical professionals. Because of this, we recommend against sharing medical information on the site. However, if such information is shared, when not personal experience, the member should include links or other reference documenting the medical information. Lastly, all member have the ethical, moral and legal responsibility to post truthful information.

So giving advice is technically allowed, with referencing and caveats.

While the tiny, inconspicuous writing at the bottom of the forum (that I've never actually scrolled down to until today) may say "not for medical advice" it doesn't expressly say that giving it is prohibited. Instead it is more of a user warning for people LOOKING for advice. Furthermore again nowhere in the terms of service (the 'legal documents' of SDN) is giving advice expressly prohibited apparently. It has simply been a forum culture thing, so basically what has been happing is that you have been receiving complaints about some posts but not others that may be borderline medical advice and then things like this happen. Frankly it tends to happen with behaviour issues, perhaps nutrition occasional as well -- but other things like discussing stomach pexy's, when to neuter, etc are all fine and dandy.

Just a suggestion (and not a criticism because I've been in this position for several different organisations before) but you may want to get everyone on the same page across SDN (maybe.. I realize the different forums have different flavours as it were) or perhaps alter the terms of service. I realize that the TOS can't be exhaustive but for such a hot-button issue you think it might be mentioned a bit higher if it were truly meant to be moderated as much as it is, you know outside of a sticky post by pathbrd and that tiny grey text down below.

Off to bed I go

 

[PrimalMU]

I've asked dyachei the same questions, and not surprisingly, got a response that didn't answer my question.

SDN's forums are for discussion of training, not medical/veterinary advice and that the classification of what qualifies as medical advice thread is made on a case by case basis by reviewing the original post. If there is a post that focuses on a specific animal, it tends to be asking for medical/veterinary advice.

Okay, I'm sure I'll annoy you with this question, but I was really dumbfounded by this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=729698

I get and agree with with the issue of medical advice, but now fellow vet students cannot even discuss various training techniques as colleagues? Sure, consulting with a veterinary behaviorist would be the best option, but what about those of us who live in states completely bereft of any veterinary specialists (i.e. WV), much less a behaviorist? Those of us in such a situation would be forced to consult a non-DVM, which means the issue could no longer be considered medical in nature.

I would just really like to hear what the impetus was for this seemingly asinine rule.

Like No Imagination, if such draconian control over something like discussing training advice among peers is going to be the norm for SDN, then this forum has lost the respect I have for it (especially considering dyachei's outright hypocrisy as demonstrated by No Imagination).

 

[GoSpursGo]

I would just like to echo DrMom's sentiment: we are aware of this forum issue and are actively discussing it. We appreciate your continued patience as we try and figure out an appropriate policy moving forward.

Furthermore, I would like to stress that no action reflects any one moderator's opinion. On virtually every issue that comes up, a group of moderators will discuss and come to a consensus before someone moves forward with whatever action has been decided; so whenever you see a moderator act, please understand it was not a hasty move made by one person, but rather a decision made after careful consideration from several staff members.

This does not mean we do not occasionally make mistakes, and we welcome comments or questions regarding actions taken or general forum policies; it does, however, take some time to review. So again, I ask that you please be patient with us

 

[Electrophile]

If anyone wants training/behavior advice, I've done dog behavior consulting for about 5 years and I've trained in Schutzhund, Protection Sport Association (PSA), therapy, agility, rally, carting, sledding, tracking, dock diving, and herding and put a minimum of a CGC on all the dogs I've ever owned (6, if I recall correctly). I teach our vet school's therapy dog club classes and I have held plenty of mock CGCs (I really need to get certified as an AKC evaluator, I'm just lazy). I've fostered dozens of often hard to deal with foster dogs and two of my three working dogs (who train in PSA, herding, and therapy work) were adult rescues. I have a masters degree in biology with a component of that being animal behavior.

So if anyone has a question on how to potty train their damn dog or about dog sports in general, just PM me. If it gets me kicked off SDN, oh well, more time for me to spend on the Working Dog Forum or go figure, training my own dogs. No wonder people would rather go to some hokey pet dog forum instead.

 

[Willowhand]

I agree with what people are saying.

I think it makes total sense to disallow people from coming on here and asking behavioral questions that should be directed at a professional (such as how to deal with aggression) but really, what is wrong with asking for book recommendations? Calling suggestions for reference material "medical advice" seems a little extreme. If we follow things in that direction, I feel like pretty soon we'll be banned from giving the advice to "go ask your vet".

I will also point out that there are training books out there written by veterinary behaviorists...

Anyway, that is just my opinion on the matter and there may be reasons for the thread lock that I haven't thought of. Either way, I see no reason to jump on dyachei for closing the thread -- he/she was just trying to do their moderationizing duty, I am sure he/she did what they thought was best. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding of the content.

 

[NStarz]

For me, the issue lies a little deeper. I personally think asking questions about basic obedience, socialization, etc, are okay. Aggression is an issue that can become dangerous if not managed correctly, and that is where I started to feel a little uncomfortable. How to deal with leash-training, counter-surfing, potty training and other such issues are dealt with all of the time by me as an adoption counselor in a shelter.

Aggression (dog-dog, dog-cat, or dog-people), submissive urination, and food guarding are issues I do not see fit to discuss on a public forum as these carry responsibility and liability considerations associated with them. In that case, I would suggest speaking to a professional. Not necessarily a veterinary behaviorist, but a person who is trained to deal with these issues (ie, a certified dog trainer). These concerns are very difficult to deal with without knowing the specific animal and making blanket statements can do more harm than help.

Also, as we all know, there are many, many, many veterinarians that have NO IDEA about animal behavior, advocating for outdated and inhumane training techniques. If fully-trained veterinarians do not have this knowledge, it is almost irresponsible to ask someone who is a to-be veterinarian. Sorry if that offends, and I know that many people have such experience, but many do not.

Just my 2c

 

[Electrophile]

For me, the issue lies a little deeper. I personally think asking questions about basic obedience, socialization, etc, are okay. Aggression is an issue that can become dangerous if not managed correctly, and that is where I started to feel a little uncomfortable. How to deal with leash-training, counter-surfing, potty training and other such issues are dealt with all of the time by me as an adoption counselor in a shelter.

Aggression (dog-dog, dog-cat, or dog-people), submissive urination, and food guarding are issues I do not see fit to discuss on a public forum as these carry responsibility and liability considerations associated with them. In that case, I would suggest speaking to a professional. Not necessarily a veterinary behaviorist, but a person who is trained to deal with these issues (ie, a certified dog trainer). These concerns are very difficult to deal with without knowing the specific animal and making blanket statements can do more harm than help.

Also, as we all know, there are many, many, many veterinarians that have NO IDEA about animal behavior, advocating for outdated and inhumane training techniques. If fully-trained veterinarians do not have this knowledge, it is almost irresponsible to ask someone who is a to-be veterinarian. Sorry if that offends, and I know that many people have such experience, but many do not.

Just my 2c

So what if we DO have a lot of experience in animal behavior and training, even more so than many vets? Plus, why not ask on here? Otherwise they'll just look it elsewhere up on Google. There are literally dozens of other pet dog training forums where people from newbies to seasoned trainers freely discuss inappropriate elimination, fear aggression, and so on that you judge to be "inappropriate." There's likewise tons of trainers/behaviorists from Suzanne Clothier and Patricia McConnell to Ed Frawley and Cesar Millan that put out articles on the internet. In theory, someone could misinterpret anything they say on the subject. But that's the internet. Just gotta take the good with the bad and use some common sense and discernment.

 

[NStarz]

So what if we DO have a lot of experience in animal behavior and training, even more so than many vets? Plus, why not ask on here? Otherwise they'll just look it elsewhere up on Google. There are literally dozens of other pet dog training forums where people from newbies to seasoned trainers freely discuss inappropriate elimination, fear aggression, and so on that you judge to be "inappropriate." There's likewise tons of trainers/behaviorists from Suzanne Clothier and Patricia McConnell to Ed Frawley and Cesar Millan that put out articles on the internet. In theory, someone could misinterpret anything they say on the subject. But that's the internet. Just gotta take the good with the bad and use some common sense and discernment.

I agree. But just because it happens doesn't mean it's right. I spoke about issues I personally feel I would not be comfortable in discussing, as a person who is somewhat knowledgeable about animal behavior and would not think of asking about any such issue (the ones you listed above) concerning my pets on a public forum. Maybe I'm in a different realm or of a different opinion than others, but I'd like to think that people deserve more credit.

I've heard

1-"There are veterinary behaviorists?"
2-"My vet doesn't know everything about animal behavior?"
3-"Why can't Joe Schmo who placed an ad in the paper with no credentials train my dog using choke/shock/startle/force?"

People don't know there is an authority out there, so they will ask anyone who is willing to give advice, even if it is wrong, uneducated, or somewhat correct (but not fully). Myself included. I am fallable and I don't know everything there is to know. I agree that people should be taking advice with a grain of salt, but if that is the ONLY advice they are getting, that worries me.

 

[Electrophile]

I don't know, you came across very strongly as if YOU wanted to dictate what everyone else on the forum gets to give advice on. Just because you don't feel comfortable talking about it, doesn't mean I do or someone else does. I try to be a realist. If someone's got a question, they're going to find answers somewhere. Might as well be on a somewhat refereed forum rather than someone's webpage where they can say whatever they wish with impunity. Besides, the only thing two dog trainers can agree on are what a third trainer is doing wrong. There will just about always be varying opinions in behavior and training and that's actually fine because what works with one dog will not always work with another.

 

[NStarz]

I don't know, you came across very strongly as if YOU wanted to dictate what everyone else on the forum gets to give advice on. Just because you don't feel comfortable talking about it, doesn't mean I do or someone else does. I try to be a realist. If someone's got a question, they're going to find answers somewhere. Might as well be on a somewhat refereed forum rather than someone's webpage where they can say whatever they wish with impunity. Besides, the only thing two dog trainers can agree on are what a third trainer is doing wrong. There will just about always be varying opinions in behavior and training and that's actually fine because what works with one dog will not always work with another.

I think we're arguing about semantics, here. If you look at my 'original' post, you will see littered throughout it "my opinion," "what I think," etc. That's all I post, an opinion.

I definitely agree with this: (There will just about always be varying opinions in behavior and training and that's actually fine because what works with one dog will not always work with another). True true true. And that's kind of my point, that such issues cannot be addressed on an anonymous public forum without knowing the actual animal involved. Blanket statements won't help anyone.

That's the problem with animal training. Joe Schmo next door can call himself a dog trainer and take clients. There are certification organizations out there, but they are few and far between. The profession is moving in that direction, and I am thankful for it. But, again, most people don't know that such organizations/certifications exist or which ones carry any merit.

I was merely trying to express why *I* don't feel comfortable addressing such issues. I backed up my opinion with reason and personal experiences. Can someone else have another, differing opinion? Of course, but that doesn't mean I will condone something I think is incorrect. I will listen and hear another person out, but I will not conform my personal values and beliefs to another's if I see flaws in their opinion (not to say that mine is perfect, mind you).

There are some people out there, though, that do not know that there is professional help available, so they resort to posting on public forums where any random person can respond and offer advice. That's fine, but they need to know other options and to be reminded that some issues (IMO) are not appropriate for discussion on a public forum.

 

[sumstorm]

let's make it simple. if you are a professional dog trainer, then include your name, your address, and your current liability for giving advice. so if the advice results in injury, it is easy to register a complaint about the trainer, and to pursue liability issues. most professional dog training forums are closed; you have to be vouched in or you pay a fee. there have been lawsuits against trainers concerning incidents that resulted from poor compliance or misuse of techniques. I wouldnt have closed that thread, but there are plenty of others I would have. Anyone who declares the risks are fine can take responsibility financially. simple

 

[chris03333]

let's make it simple. if you are a professional dog trainer, then include your name, your address, and your current liability for giving advice. so if the advice results in injury, it is easy to register a complaint about the trainer, and to pursue liability issues. most professional dog training forums are closed; you have to be vouched in or you pay a fee. there have been lawsuits against trainers concerning incidents that resulted from poor compliance or misuse of techniques. I wouldnt have closed that thread, but there are plenty of others I would have. Anyone who declares the risks are fine can take responsibility financially. simple

 

[sunshinevet]

So what if we DO have a lot of experience in animal behavior and training, even more so than many vets? Plus, why not ask on here? Otherwise they'll just look it elsewhere up on Google. There are literally dozens of other pet dog training forums where people from newbies to seasoned trainers freely discuss inappropriate elimination, fear aggression, and so on that you judge to be "inappropriate." There's likewise tons of trainers/behaviorists from Suzanne Clothier and Patricia McConnell to Ed Frawley and Cesar Millan that put out articles on the internet. In theory, someone could misinterpret anything they say on the subject. But that's the internet. Just gotta take the good with the bad and use some common sense and discernment.

No matter how much dog training/behaviour experience you have, its quite irresponsible to give training/behaviour advice over the internet, without ever seeing the animal. Its so easy for someone to misinterpret what their animal is doing, and therefore give you an incorrect idea of what is happening, that advice on training should really be left to face-to-face, for someone who has seen the animal. - Just MHO.

 

[PrimalMU]

No matter how much dog training/behaviour experience you have, its quite irresponsible to give training/behaviour advice over the internet, without ever seeing the animal. Its so easy for someone to misinterpret what their animal is doing, and therefore give you an incorrect idea of what is happening, that advice on training should really be left to face-to-face, for someone who has seen the animal. - Just MHO.

Except not everyone is willing or can afford private consultations with a good trainer, much less a veterinary behaviorist. I know I can't.

 

[No Imagination]

No matter how much dog training/behaviour experience you have, its quite irresponsible to give training/behaviour advice over the internet, without ever seeing the animal. Its so easy for someone to misinterpret what their animal is doing, and therefore give you an incorrect idea of what is happening, that advice on training should really be left to face-to-face, for someone who has seen the animal. - Just MHO.

Again, I was not looking for specific advice to fix a problem. I don't even have a dog. If you read the first post that started this, I clearly state I am going to get a dog in the near future and wanted to prepare myself. Clearly an Apples and Oranges kinda thing.

 

[WhippetsRule]

As an attorney, it would seem to me that one way to address this issue is to ensure that as part of the registration process, a disclaimer that all registrants agree that all posts, information, recommendations, and suggestions on this site are matters of opinion and in no way substitute for competent professional advice. Any reliance on the opinions of other members/posters is undertaken at one's own risk and the member/posters shall have no liability for any such reliance.

A conspicuous posting of the disclaimer would probably be a good idea, too, so that viewers who have not registered are also informed.

Just my 2c. Please note above disclaimer.

 

[No Imagination]

As an attorney, it would seem to me that one way to address this issue is to ensure that as part of the registration process, a disclaimer that all registrants agree that all posts, information, recommendations, and suggestions on this site are matters of opinion and in no way substitute for competent professional advice. Any reliance on the opinions of other members/posters is undertaken at one's own risk and the member/posters shall have no liability for any such reliance.

A conspicuous posting of the disclaimer would probably be a good idea, too, so that viewers who have not registered are also informed.

Just my 2c. Please note above disclaimer.

So as an attorney, is that you legal and professional advice?



(that is a joke)

 

[WhippetsRule]

That's why I wrote "please note above disclaimer"

 

[sunshinevet]

Again, I was not looking for specific advice to fix a problem. I don't even have a dog. If you read the first post that started this, I clearly state I am going to get a dog in the near future and wanted to prepare myself. Clearly an Apples and Oranges kinda thing.

I was talking more generally about training and behaviour advice, not about the specific thread that started this. More specifically in response to electrophiles comments.

 

[DrMom]

As an attorney, it would seem to me that one way to address this issue is to ensure that as part of the registration process, a disclaimer that all registrants agree that all posts, information, recommendations, and suggestions on this site are matters of opinion and in no way substitute for competent professional advice. Any reliance on the opinions of other members/posters is undertaken at one's own risk and the member/posters shall have no liability for any such reliance.

A conspicuous posting of the disclaimer would probably be a good idea, too, so that viewers who have not registered are also informed.

Just my 2c. Please note above disclaimer.

The issue really isn't legal liability. The problem is that the forums are intended for our members to discuss issues related to their training, whether that be getting into veterinary school or being a veterinary student, resident, or practicing veterinarian. When there are a bunch of veterinary/behavioral advice threads cluttering the forums, it distracts from the intended purpose of these forums and discourages people from posting in and reading them.

There have been many complaints in the past from vet forum members about the forums having too many advice threads, so this isn't a new problem. Unfortunately, we haven't had active vet moderators for a while, so it was difficult for the rest of the forum volunteers to monitor these forums. Now we have active moderators and they are trying to keep on top of things and take care of issues in these forums. Since advice threads have let to many complaints in the past and they do not fit with the intent of these forums, they have decided to clarify the policy in the sticky.

 

[AbbyNormal]

I hear what you are saying, DrMom, but it seems a shame that we cannot discuss perspectives on issues without it being deemed advice seeking.

I recently had an indoor cat that kept puking undigested food but I was hesitant to post here because of the advice thing. I posted on two other communities including one where a vet friend posts. I don't like to ask my vet friend her opinion because 1.she cannot diagnose via internet and 2.her downtime is hers and she does not like to feel pressured which I respect. We put our collective heads together and decided the cat was likely upset and competing for food because the problem started when one of my barn cats had kittens in the house. So I started feeding them separately and the problem was solved. It's kind of a shame I couldn't talk about it here; I wasn't looking for professional advice just wondering what other pet owners with similar experiences did.

On another forum, I'm thinking it was anesthesia the docs were discussing a particular treatment and a new poster identified himself as a layperson who had had that treatment and he started telling the docs what was appropriate based on his limited experience. The docs handled it really well and thanked him for his anecdotal comment and got back to the discussion and things flowed right along. I was hesitant when I saw the guy post but the docs were respectful.

 

[DrMom]

Some forums do not have significant problems with multiple advice threads so the moderators in there simply handle them on a case-by-case basis and do not necessarily close or delete all threads. In general, advice threads posted by people who just registered on SDN are all deleted or closed. We do have multiple forums that have a delete all advice threads policy because they get so many of them, like the veterinary forums do.

Everyone is welcome to discuss general animal health, behavior, or care issues and how to solve problems faced by pet owners. That is different from asking for advice on how to care for your pet.

 

[AbbyNormal]

So would it have been appropriate for me to post about cat puke on all students forum? I wasn't looking for professional advice just wondering what the average cat owner would do.

I'm a n00b so please bear with me as I learn the ropes here.

 

[PrimalMU]

I think I would be far more comfortable with a policy stating that any advice threads not related to getting into vet school and/or dealing with issues in vet school being prohibited. That to me seems much more fair than specifying training advice (and medical advice, of course). Simply making a statement such as, "These forums are intended to allow pre-veterinary and veterinary students to discuss aspects of the application process and vet school itself. Any other advice, such as medical or training advice, is beyond the scope and intent of the forums."

If you want advice from pet owners, there are many forums out there for that purpose. Insisting on asking here would seem to imply that you'd be wanting more than just anecdotal advice.

 

[twelvetigers]

I think I would be far more comfortable with a policy stating that any advice threads not related to getting into vet school and/or dealing with issues in vet school being prohibited.

There are a LOT of threads that surface on here that don't fall under that umbrella. You won't catch me asking what to do about a cat peeing in the house any more than you'd find me asking how to treat a disease, but there are plenty of topics unrelated to vet school admissions or issues that I would hate to see disappear.

The behavior/training thing really is the big difference here - it's not something that will ever come up in the other sections of SDN. Once the moderators decide if it is/isn't veterinary advice, they can then act uniformly against posts of that nature (with either warnings or thread closings, as necessary, and one would assume that long-term members simply toeing the line would be given the former) and the warning or notification regarding medical advice can be made more specific about what is included.

In other words, don't nut out about it - I'm sure it's under control, and whatever decision is made won't be a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. We all just need to be on the same page first.