FindFido Archived CyberVet Questions

The CyberVet Archives

	Hi .. We have a 2.5 yo, 175lb male GS who has had elbow dysplasia practically from birth (on account of growing too fast we think). He's been on Cosequin and Metacam and manages to run about quite happily - he's quite an active dog, but we try and curtail him from too many chases with other dogs as our vet has warned us that his elbow will give way at some point. The vet has recommended that when this happens, we should have his elbow bones fused. Would you recommend this option? I guess the alternative is removing the leg completely, which seems quite severe in a dog of his size. Or do you think there's a possibility that the muscles surrounding the joint will have developed to the extent that they can support his leg? I appreciate your advice.

	I have a 2-year, 4-months old Golden Retriever. About 3 months ago he came into the office seemingly in great pain - he could not move too well and had his legs curled up and it seemed he was struggling to breath. After a while he got up and ran to the car and was a bit wobbly. On reaching the vet he seemed a bit better but had tenderness on his back - he spasmed when you touched him there. We thought he may have been kicked by a horse. I was worried as he had had his 5 in 1 and rabies the previous day so thought it may be a reaction to that. The vet also thought it may be epilepsy. Just yesterday - so 3 months later - he had a similar thing with inability to walk well - seemingly in pain either with a sore leg or back and then about 20 mins later feeling quite fine. Does this all indicate epilepsy and if so what can I do? What can I do to help him during an attack? Could it have been bought on by the incorrect doses of 5 in 1 or rabies vaccination? How could it have come on? Will he grow out of it? If not epilepsy what else could it be? What does his future hold?

	The other day when I got home from work, my doberman did not greet me as usual. I found her in one of her customary 'cool' spots, but there was something dreadfully wrong. She could not move and her breathing was labored, as well as some swelling on one side... we had to carry her into the house. No open wounds or bite marks that we could find. A vet tech friend advised to give her 40 mils of Predisone, which I did, and it made her breathe easier. Her temp was normal, 101.6. I spent the night on the floor with her, since she did not want me to leave her side. The next day she finally drank some water and tho' I had to go to work, my daughter stayed by her side for the day. She also has a healthy appetite and is drinking water pretty regularly. She has urinated, and now am giving her 20 mils Prednisone in AM and PM. She has managed now after 3 days to get on all four feet for short periods of time, and can drag herself around with her front legs, tho' her back legs are still very unsteady and weak and she cannot support herself; I have to support and walk her outside and in. It seems the Prednisone (which I had for my RA) is helping, but how long am I supposed to keep this up and what could have possibly been a cause? I am employed at our local Humane Society, and make just little more than min hourly wage, but our local vet has told me that I can make payments for treatment if need be. What should I look for that would prompt the vet's treatment immediately, or should I go ahead and take her in anyway, even tho' the meds seem to be working to help her? Thanks.

	My dog eats poop and has been starting to throw up poop. She is lethergic very pale and has some anal bleeding. Can you please help me? She's an Aussie spayed and on valium to keep her calm. (Editor's note: the attached answer applies also to a similar question submitted by a member: "I feed my dog a commercial food. He's been eating his feces for a week now. What can I do for him?")

	Our dogs are working in the fields. Their weight is abuot 25 to 30KG. How many grams of food we have to give them?

	How I can determine the age of the dog without any laboratory test?

	My dog has arthritis and she hurts after she runs around lots. She needs a hip replacement but is to old to get one what do I do?

	What do I have to expect after my dog gets spayed? What is the recovery time like? Can she go to the park and play with other dogs? Is spaying completely necessary in the City? Is there any other way?

	I have a 7 months old Boxer. He is suffering from a severe skin allergy. He gets various eruptions of small spots on his back and upper legs. Earlier they came once in a while but now they just seem to be there throughout the day. There is no itching or redness on his skin and no other symptoms are noticed. Earlier the doctors told me that he is prone to Rickets so I was giving him a heavy dose of calcium. Now his rickets have really improved and the difference can be seen in his legs. Can his skin allergy and rickets be related? Or is it that he has some other deficiency like Iron or Vitamin? The doctors have prescribed anti-allergy medicines for him but they don¡¯t seem to work. Please Help!

	This is really more of a behavioural curiosity rather than a medical problem. My dog does an odd thing after eating his dinner. He finds one of his numerous stuffed toys, carries it off to a corner of the house that no one else is in and whines/yowls with the toy at his feet. Every once in a while, he will regurgitate the food and put the toy animal on top of it. When I find this and leave to get cleaning rags to clean the mess up, by the time I return, he has re-eaten it. When we give him treats, like pupperoni, he will take it and hide it under one of his stuffed animals or in the cussions of the sofa. My pet has done this for about 2 years. He is 2 1/2 years old now. My vet doesn't think that there is a medical problem involved. Is this just a "doggy" thing? Just curious. Thanks, Addie

	I am fostering a dog that has been in a kennel for 2 years because she nipped at people. She bonded immediately with me and behaved for 2 weeks -- until tonight. She has bit me twice (and behaved lovingly in the meantime). ??? Any advice?

	Hello; I hope you don't mind that I am writing to you. I just don't know who else to ask. Our vet is a little hard to get information from and I feel uncomfortable pressing him. I trust his judgement, but he is not forthcoming with information and I spend a lot of time worrying about the health of my pet because I just don't understand what is happening to him. This is our situation: I have a 1-1/2 year old Westie that had surgery 2 weeks ago to remove a pencil-eraser-sized pink mole from his back. At the time of the surgery, my veterinarian did a blood test and recommended an IV be administered because he said that my dog's blood was "too thick" and he was concerned that there would be stress on pup's heart during anesthesia. When the mole was removed, the vet's assessment of the tissue was that it was a benign fatty tumor. But at my vet's suggestion, I requested that a sample be sent to a lab for confirmation that it was not cancer. (No answer back yet from the lab.) I returned to the vet's office today to have the stitches removed from the surgery but my vet also wanted another blood sample to check on the thickness of blood. Again it is "too thick". We have another visit to the vet scheduled for two weeks from now for another blood test. Can you tell me what my vet could be looking for? He does not answer my questions very well other than to say that my dog has too many red blood cells. I am very worried and not getting an answer. I have been searching the web for info regarding "thick blood in dogs" and nothing is turning up. Can you help me? Is this a serious disorder? My dog seems playful and happy when he is awake. He does sleep a lot, but isn't that normal? Also, a few days after the surgery, another small mole exactly like the one that was removed has started to grow only 5 inches from the original mole location. My vet said he is not concerned about this new growth. The moles seem to grow fairly quickly, though. I groom my dog often and notice any bumps or lumps almost as soon as they appear. My dog is up-to-date on all inoculations including lime disease and does take a pill for heart worm and fleas. I realize that you cannot give a diagnosis without an examination, but any information or idea of why thick blood is a problem or what could cause this could be would be extremely helpful. And what do you make of the pink moles? Thank you so very much for your time, Addie Au

	My dog recently got stung by a bee or some other insect in her lower eyelid. Well at least I think that's what's going on. Her eyelid is puffy and her eye is red. Is there anything I can do for her to ease her discomfort?

	My daughter's Dalmatian is suffering with jaundice and liver problems. The vet isn't sure but has treated her for two weeks for hepatitis. Sparky is still somewhat yellow and has very little appetite. Blood work indicates no sign of leptospirosis, which was also suspected. Her bilirubin levels are slowly getting better, but she's just not herself. Any ideas?

	I'm interested in adopting a 2yr old Boxer. He's very sweet, but has an extremely prognathic jaw. Should I be concerned?

	Could I please have some information regarding anal gland problems? Is it more common in little dogs? Is there something I can do to prevent her from having this problem re-occur? Thank You

	I have a 9 year old German shepherd. She used to live inside before the baby was born but due to her shedding we had to put her outside. She has a dog house but wont use it. She sleeps on the porch. Since being outside she has developed an odor. There has been no change in her dog food and no skin problem that can be seen. I have used antibacterial deoderant dog shampoos on her. I have also used a skunk odor remover just in case she was sprayed. I give her a bath more often and still she smells. Sometimes she smells moldy and other times the smell is hard to describe. Can you let me know what's wrong and how to take the smell away ??? Thank you from "cant take the stink"...

	My American Bulldog has a big scab on the top of his head and he keeps scratching it and opening it before it has a chance to heal. How to I treat this to make sure it heals as quickly as possible and doesn't get infected?

	I recently "adopted" an abandoned puppy. She was only about 4-5 weeks old. We are trying to get an idea of what breed mix she might be. She has black white and tan coloring and very blue eyes. Our vet thinks that she will be about 20 lbs when grown ( she weighs 9 lbs now and is approx 12 weeks old. The blue eyes are really blue and show no signs of changing. Any ideas?

	My dog was violently shaking his head for about a half hour this morning? I checked his ears, and they seem fine. He eventually stopped shaking his head constantly, but he was still doing it periodically as we went for a walk? Any idea of the cause?

	Our dog often licks her vaginal area and bites the bony part of her thigh. The vet is inclined to think that her anals are the problem as they fill up often with very thick stuff. Expressing the anals improves the behavior but does not eliminate it. What else could be her problem? Maybe something with the vagina or urinary tract?

	How do you tell whether an adult dog has distemper or kennel cough? What are the symptoms of both problems, for example, temperature, nasal discharge, etc? How long should a dog be treated for kennel cough before the veterinarian checks for distemper? Thanks, DONNA

	My question relates to my dog Marcel who is a male, 2.5-yr-old Cocker Spaniel. Last week I felt that his paws, nose, tongue were colder than they were used to be. Two days ago this week he seemed to have problems with his throat - he swallows very often but does not have any loss of appetite and eats his food with no problem. He seems to have something in his throat. I took him today to his Vet who said that probably he has a cold and a sore throat. His first treatment seemed to help and the x-ray he took does not show any tumors or something else. However I am still concerned whether there could be a disguised tumor in his throat or another serious problem. What else do we need to check to be sure? (ie. would a blood test help, or some other x-ray maybe?) Many thanks and Best Regards, Ebru

	My boxer has skin allergy and the vet advised said to give him two Benadryl tablets, once in the morning and again at night. They don't seem to be working anymore, after more than two years. Any advice?

	How can we keep our pets out of the trash? People tell us to use cayenne pepper and sprinkle on there, but will that hurt the dogs? Do you have any info if that will hurt them?

	I have a Cairn Terrier and he turned 10 on March 25th. My dog weighs 23 pounds. The vet tested him in October and determined that he had an under active thyroid and needed to be put on medication. He has been on the medicine since then and I took him back to check his thyroid level and now it is high. She wants me to continue the medicine for a month and bring him back for another test to determine if the dosage should be changed. My concern is that he sometimes will act nervous, shakes, and gets hot as long as he is in the house but once he is out he tends to calm down. I am concerned about his reaction at times and the side effects of the medicine. The medication is levothroxin. Please provide me with as much information as possible. Thank you for your assistance.

	My four-year-old boxer has a "tag" or growth on his upper right leg near the elbow. I know boxers are prone to tumors, but the vet didn't seem inclined to take it off when I pointed it out to him. Should I be worried, or should I look for a new vet?