Specialisation at uni?

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:26:17 GMT

[quote user="Clair Firth"]but human excrement now that is truely disgusting[/quote]

Yes, and this is right at the top of my personal list of ways I am hoping NOT to depart this mortal coil:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268549/Patricia-Barden-Grandmother-77-trapped-14ft-garden-cesspit-threw-shoes-desperate-bid-raise-alarm-drowned.html

Poor, poor woman.

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:36:52 GMT

www.youtube.com/watch

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:18:57 GMT

[quote user="mariette asselbergs"]Ah, but there are evil cats, not frightened at all....![/quote]

Absolutely. I was clipping a cats claws a while ago, 3 feet completed, cat behaving then on the last foot suddenly dug claws in on remaining foot and bit me. I hadn't cut the quick, it just got pissed off. They are so well armed.

Re: Specialisation at uni?

mariette asselbergs — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 03:47:39 GMT

Ah, but there are evil cats, not frightened at all....! (Just back from a sheep caesar, still wide awake, me that is).

I have a cat which deliberately waits until our English Bull terrier, Rosie, has gone out through the cat/dog flap, then she positions herself on the inside next to the flap and as soon as poor Rosie pokes her nose through the flap to come back in, she is viciously bashed over the nose so she doesn't dare to come in. Especially when it is pouring rain outside.

This is not out of playfulness. Its because she doesn't like the young dog (she loves the 13 year old one). It is pure terrorism.But oh well, she is otherwise a lovely cat, for us.

Mariette

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Dagmar Steele — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:59:40 GMT

Kate, I second every word you wrote!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Kate Richardson — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:09:13 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]Yup, dog shit is one of the only things I really really really can't abide. The other thing I hate is high pitched barking that goes on and on and on and on.........that's one of the reasons I prefer cats- [/quote]

I agree - but what about the evil cat that craps and pees in its box on the journey in and then rolls about in it. When you extract the reluctant brute it deliberately and maliciously spreads the malodorous effluent all over both you and your table. The owner invariably smirks and says 'Oh, what a naughty boy - he always does that'.

[/quote]

Ah but I don't believe there are 'evil' cats, just 'misunderstood' cats. Yes some can be truly vicious but it is because they are frightened. Everything is danger to a cat until proven otherwise, with a huge variety in how they assess and respond to perceived danger. Cats also don't like being dirty, so there's no way they deliberately roll in their own excrement just so as to coat you in it. I feel truly sorry for these cats especially with owners who smirk and treat it as a joke and it just shows how little understanding they (and some vets) have of cat behaviour. Very few cats (none that I know of) are trained to toilet on command. They get scooped up, pushed and pulled into a cat basket with no absorbent material in, get bumped around in the car with strange smells and noises, then sit in a waiting room with noisy dogs before being hauled out of the cat box and poked and prodded by a stranger. No wonder they sh1t themselves. It's not pleasant for anyone, but especially not for the cat. I get annoyed with the owner in these situations, but not the cat.

Re: Specialisation at uni?

MeeraM — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 12:34:13 GMT

[quote user="bob lehner"]

[/quote]

Ah yes. The last time I saw a urine-soaked cat for a vaccination, whose owners had transported him there without any paper/towels/blankets in his box and he was surprisingly reluctant to leave his swamp ("Oops, he's wee-d on the way here, he ALWAYS does that" quipped owner number one)......I tipped the box and contents out onto the consult table, taking care to liberally shower the owners, then instructed them to clutch the cat to themselves so that I could examine him. Bet they provide him with something absorbent for his next vet trip .....

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Clair Firth — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:58:59 GMT

I have to say that I have been covered in cow shit a number of times from head to toe (well maybe not quite head, shoulders shall we say!!) and it didn't bother me in the slightest.....but human excrement now that is truely disgusting (and I don't mean babies nappies - I have 2 kids myself and that's no problem). My dog has now decided to eat, or even worse carry around in her mouth human waste that she finds in the fields by our house (I can only assume it's the farm workers out all day in the fields when harvesting strawberries or whatever)....the smell of it really turns my stomach

Yet another reason why I'd rather be a vet than a doctor

Re: Specialisation at uni?

bob lehner — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 09:21:53 GMT

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Liz w — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 07:01:45 GMT

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]

Yup, dog shit is one of the only things I really really really can't abide. .

[/quote] I can handle dog shit, but woe betide I get dog drool on me. ( gag)

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Clair Firth — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:24:48 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

Of my original class of 48, 26 survived to graduation. Money was no object, trust me!

[/quote]

Hi Mark - we lose at least 50% as well. It's probably more to be honest as we are always switching semesters and years with our exam system delaying everything

Chris: I think 10% is pretty horrific considering what UK students have to go through to get a place! And yes....some of the Austrian students decide they would prefer an easy life and switch to biology - they get paid more as teachers as well of course! (but that's a whole other subject)

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Chris Geddes — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:00:35 GMT

[quote user="Clair Firth"]

I suppose the main difference between (continental) European and UK vet schools is that in the UK the obstacles and hoop jumping are mainly there before you get a place and in most European countries it's "relatively" easy to get a place and then the vet school spends most years trying to get rid of you!!!

[/quote]

Um, plenty of hoops to be jumped through once you get in too. We lost 10%. Perhaps being hard to get in means people likely to be able to carry on till the end?

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Carolyn Danbury — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:04:14 GMT

I have worked somewhere that did actually have a 'nail clip (difficult dog)' fee. Perfectly justified I'd say!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Kate Richardson — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:35:31 GMT

Glad it's not just me then Dagmar!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Dagmar Steele — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:58:55 GMT

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]

I also get annoyed by poorly behaved dogs, there should be no reason why a perfectly healthy dog with no history of veterinary trauma (ie the vet hasn't pee'd it off previously by doing nasty stuff to it) can't sit or stand still to allow you to examine it other than they haven't been brung up proper.

[/quote]

I get increasingly intolerant when it comes to bad behaved dogs! They drive me nuts in the meantime and I am seriously considering a bad-behaved-dog fee. Like trimming nails of one of these little crocodiles - make it two times as expensive as in a well-behaved dog

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Kate Richardson — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:25:02 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="Rajat"]Totally agree - man oh man the smell of a retained placenta in a cow- nothing has made me retch like that before or since.[/quote]

I love it. I'd rather that than dogshit, any day.

Cows are nice.

[/quote]

Yup, dog shit is one of the only things I really really really can't abide. The other thing I hate is high pitched barking that goes on and on and on and on.........that's one of the reasons I prefer cats- noisy ones really aren't that offensive (in my opinion only obviously). I also get annoyed by poorly behaved dogs, there should be no reason why a perfectly healthy dog with no history of veterinary trauma (ie the vet hasn't pee'd it off previously by doing nasty stuff to it) can't sit or stand still to allow you to examine it other than they haven't been brung up proper.

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:09:36 GMT

[quote user="Rajat"]Totally agree - man oh man the smell of a retained placenta in a cow- nothing has made me retch like that before or since.[/quote]

I love it. I'd rather that than dogshit, any day.

Cows are nice.

Re: Specialisation at uni?

James Laidlaw — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:48:32 GMT

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

Of my original class of 48, 26 survived to graduation. Money was no object, trust me!

[/quote] 22 died?!?! Tough school!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Mark Hedberg — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:35:45 GMT

Of my original class of 48, 26 survived to graduation. Money was no object, trust me!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Clair Firth — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:18:37 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

Cow's are brilliant.

Dogs bite and have anal glands.

Cats all teeth and claws.

Horses are owned by 'horsey' people and also bite and kick.

Bunnies want to die

With public health everything is already dead, so not for me (although it is fascinating).

Repro would be my 2nd choice.

Cow's remain brilliant.

[/quote]

This is a great post I agree with every line! Well, I like cats as well as cows but otherwise I agree! Ruminant module is and always was my first choice (my first degree was Animal Science, with a dissertation on dairy cow nutrition!), repro a close second (I have done 2 spring/summers' worth of night shift rotations at our gyne dept)

The uni is trying to get as many students as possible to take Public Health as that's where the jobs are (meat inspectors!). They actively discourage us from taking small animal med or equine as there are hardly any jobs in these areas anymore. Lab animals is a new module - trying to get students into pharmaceutical jobs I assume.

And re. the European unis and the hoop jumping! I have been to uni in the UK (Notts) and it was a dream compared to Austria and Germany (been to both). Exams here are 99% oral - if the prof doesn't like the look of you or you are from the wrong country - you fail....no comeback, your word against theirs.....you could fight it but why bother when the same prof will be back next time for your re-take. Obviously I am not referring to all profs but some of them are really out on a power trip and fail as many students as possible - because they can.

My comment about the hoop jumping was tongue in cheek - I knew Mark would understand it as Budapest is similar to Vienna in its knock-out exams and putting lots of obstacles in the way of the students - probably not as much as Vienna though as the international students at Buda are paying € 10 000 a year (I think). Of course I don't think vet school in the UK is easy but I just wanted to explain the continental system

Thank you all for your replies

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Rajat — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:12:58 GMT

[quote user="James Laidlaw"]I've been kicked my fair share of times by cows and a colleague fractured the distal bone in her thumb in 3 places being bitten by a cow - large animals aren't all sweetness and light! You are conveniently ignoring the endless streams of cow manure and RFM's - no anal gland can ever match some of the farm smells I endured in my early years![/quote]

Totally agree - man oh man the smell of a retained placenta in a cow- nothing has made me retch like that before or since. I'll take small animals any day thank you very much!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Mark Hedberg — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:25:56 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

Cow's are brilliant.

Dogs bite and have anal glands.

Cats all teeth and claws.

Horses are owned by 'horsey' people and also bite and kick.

Bunnies want to die

With public health everything is already dead, so not for me (although it is fascinating).

Repro would be my 2nd choice.

Cow's remain brilliant.

[/quote]

I knew that would get you out of the woodwork

Re: Specialisation at uni?

James Laidlaw — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:49:27 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

Cow's are brilliant.

Dogs bite and have anal glands.

Cats all teeth and claws.

Horses are owned by 'horsey' people and also bite and kick.

Bunnies want to die

With public health everything is already dead, so not for me (although it is fascinating).

Repro would be my 2nd choice.

Cow's remain brilliant.

[/quote]

I've been kicked my fair share of times by cows and a colleague fractured the distal bone in her thumb in 3 places being bitten by a cow - large animals aren't all sweetness and light! You are conveniently ignoring the endless streams of cow manure and RFM's - no anal gland can ever match some of the farm smells I endured in my early years!

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Mark Hedberg — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:36:04 GMT

[quote user="Clair Firth"]

[quote user="Mark Hedberg"]

Hehe...if a module bores you to death then it doesn't matter how 'useful' it is, does it? Because you'd rather die than work there, why waste your time? Go out there and make your career what you will; don't let anyone, and I mean anyone, push you around. :)

[/quote]

Hey Mark, I thought you went to a European uni? You should know they like to make students jump through hoops

In this case, we don't necessarily have a choice where we end up - we have to tell the uni our preferences but whether you get your 1st, 2nd or 3rd choice depends on a combination of factors including your grades in 2 of our hardest exams!

So basically, I am trying to find something positive about all of them

[/quote]

I did indeed. Final exams by oral examination, state exams with a committee of stern faced professors. :) The hoops were flaming and occasionally mined.

Re: Specialisation at uni?

Michael Woodhouse — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:03:02 GMT

Cow's are brilliant.

Dogs bite and have anal glands.

Cats all teeth and claws.

Horses are owned by 'horsey' people and also bite and kick.

Bunnies want to die

With public health everything is already dead, so not for me (although it is fascinating).

Repro would be my 2nd choice.

Cow's remain brilliant.