Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Difference Between "Normal" and "Common"

I seem to run into this a lot...People with a dog that has a medical condition.  The people then tell me that this condition is "normal" for their breed of dog.  I always tell them that use because something occurs commonly, that does not make it normal.

Take, for example, today.  I'm examining a Chihuahua.  I noticed two things immediately.  First, the dog is not trying to bite me.  (While this is normal for dogs, it's not common for Chihuahuas.)  Secondly, the dog has an open fontanelle that I can stick my thumb in.  I mentioned this to the owner, and she said "Oh, I know.  All of my Chihuahuas have had that.  It's normal for them."  No, it's not.  It's NOT normal.  In fact, I will list it in the record under "Abnormal Findings".  I will grant you that it's common.


7 comments:

  1. I love to read this blog! I am a little worried, though. You post so many wonderful items that I'm afraid that you'll be burned out on this in a year.

    Try only posting one item a day. Spread it out for us. That way we can enjoy your blog for a longer time. :)

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  2. Hey Margaret! Thanks for your concern. Perhaps you are not aware that this is a collective. See http://vetsbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/2012/01/who-are-vbb.html for more information. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. The best thing about crazy stories???? It happens everyday.

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  4. We are a collective... We are borg. Resistance is futile.

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  5. We are one. But we are many. We are a dichotomy. Or are we bipolar?

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  6. Yeah, oddly when I pop out of Google Reader there are no authors listed under your posts so one would not know it was a colony without being in the GR.

    Also... love this post. I have difficulty getting people to understand that what is common does not mean it's normal. What? Your lab has a torn CCL? Oh... that's normal.

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  7. Duh on me! Thanks for setting me straight. :)

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