My Dog Health Article Rejected--Can Anyone Help Me Understand Why?

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   Timothy Andersonposted 6 years ago

   Almost all of my Hub articles are in niche sites.  I submitted the following article to PetHelpful, but it wasn't accepted and there were no clear reasons why.  I think it will help a lot of dog lovers.  Can any of you figure out why this particular article wasn't acceptable?
   
   A MILLION thanks!
   
   https://hubpages.com/animals/The-1-Dog- … ved-Me-600

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   theraggededgeposted 6 years ago

   Looks fine to me. Maybe remove the Amazon link because it isn't really relevant to the topic. You might replace it with a castor oil product instead?

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   psycheskinnerposted 6 years ago

   The editor may be concerned about liability--e.g. if someone takes your advice and their case turns out to be something more aggressive.  I would suggest adding clear directions to work with a veterinarian and follow their advice. Also everything that has effects has side effect.  You should warn people not to apply to broken skin, and probably not to a pregnant animal (?)

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   AliciaCposted 6 years ago

   I agree that a link to a castor oil product on Amazon would be a better fit for the article. As a dog owner, I’m a little uneasy about a couple of things in the article, though.
   
   I'm very glad that the oil worked for your dog and appreciate that the cost of the surgery was out of your range. However, I’m concerned that some people who can afford the surgery will delay the operation unnecessarily and try a castor oil treatment that doesn't work based on your article. Perhaps the addition of some type of disclaimer to the article would be a good idea.
   
   In addition, since you say that antioxidants reduce the risk of disease in dogs, you should probably include an authoritative reference supporting that idea. A reference supporting the benefit of castor oil for papillomas and the fact that boosting immunity reduces their formation might also be a good idea.

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   DrMark1961posted 6 years ago

   It is possible that the editors rejected your article because of the photos. Are you aware that you should be using creative commons (or your own) photos and including where you obtained them? If you do not, the photos do not belong to you. (I looked at a few of your articles on other niche sites. None of the photos there have a listed source. I think they should.)
   It is also possible that the editor rejected the article because of the title. No, it is not helpful. If I were looking for a papilloma miracle cure, I would not be searching for "a one dollar cure so that I do not have to spend 600 dollars". What about "A Cheap and Novel Cure for Papilloma in Dogs and How I Saved $600", or something like that.
   Your bio gives no reason for anyone to trust your article. You do know that you can write many different bios? How about "The author has been a dog owner for many years and is interested in finding the best home cures for his Chihuahua"?
   Are there any reputable sources for this cure or is it just something a person made up? You are giving medical advice, so it would help if your article had a section listing the web sites that have cures for papillomas, with the appropriate links. (A link to wikipedia or a site like Buzzfeed is not what I am talking about.)
   Some work to do if you want it to pass, but you have spent time on it already so you should probably spend some more.

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   Timothy Andersonposted 6 years ago

   Thank you AliciaC for your comments.  I appreciate your time and sharing your thoughts.  I have removed the Amazon link and this type of pet health article really isn't my creative forte, so I think I'll avoid this subject in the future -- it sounds a bit complicated legally.  Thank you again!

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   Timothy Andersonposted 6 years ago

   Thank you psycheskinner and the raggededge for taking the time to post your advice and thoughts.  I decided to remove the Amazon link and otherwise leave it as-is.  I don't generally write about pet health, but thought this was a good story to share.  Since the HubPage notification was vague and not specific about why it was rejected, I could spend several days reworking this, and still not have it accepted into a niche site.  So I think I'll leave it as it is and move on to my next writing project.  Thank you again SO much for your time!

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      Sherry Hewinsposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I  had the same feeling that HP might be concerned about liability issues if someone's dog dies after following your advice. It seems like most sites are even more conservative about pet health advice than they are about advice for people. Most site major pet sites that you see just say "see your veterinarian" about any question without offering any advice. You should at least add a disclaimer saying that you are not a vet, and your advice is not a replacement for vet care.

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   Timothy Andersonposted 6 years ago

   Thank you Sherry!  I will add the disclaimer and urge readers to do their own research and a suggestion to contact their vet before trying this. I don't intend to reapply for the PetHelpful niche site since the rejection email was so vague and didn't pinpoint what I needed to fix. I did find many, many posts over the internet where dog owners said either banana peels, apple cider vinegar, or castor oil made the wart go away.  However, these are all anecdotal.  I decided to try the castor oil and it worked great on Boo.  Again, I don't think I'll write any more articles about pet health as it sounds somewhat complicated.  Thank you so much!

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   Timothy Andersonposted 6 years ago

   Thanks DrMark1961.  I appreciate your input.  All photos in all my HP articles are either in public domain, personally taken, from Wiki-MEDIA, Pixabay, or some other public domain source, or screen caps from YouTube with which HP has an agreement.  Again, pet health is not my area of expertise, and I simply wanted to share a personal experience that saved me a lot a money.  I don't plan on writing any more articles about pets.  Without a clear explanation from HP as to the reason for the rejection, I could waste a lot of time.  I think I'll move on to some other topics I'm more familiar with. Thanks again!

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    psycheskinnerposted 6 years ago

    I am a bit confused about the idea og HP having an agreement with youtube, youtube videos are copyrighted to whomever makes them, the CC on them varies.

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