Sarah
,@scgreco413
2
Friends
Hello- I posted a few pics of my German shepherd, Butch last week because he had some sort of injury to his eye. It got much smaller, and we thought it was gone, but it appears to have tripled in size since Thursday. Yes… 2 days. He always rubs his face on the sofa and on Thursday it wasn’t nearly this big, but I thought yesterday when I got home from work that he just irritated it by rubbing on the sofa. Now I’m kicking myself for not just bringing him to the vet in the first place. I’ll call Monday for an appointment hopefully Tuesday. I know JVC has walk in hours on Sunday, but I always feel like those are for emergencies and I don’t want to take up someone else’s’s emergency spot. Here it is today. Any thoughts on whether or not it warrants an “emergency” visit. It has a scab on it now, because I’ve been diligent about not letting him rub along the sofa a rip it off. It feels like a nodual or some sort of hard cyst, and is a little larger than my pinky nail at this time.
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My German shepherd, Butch, developed a bump on his eye this morning, literally in the span of about an hour. We had our regular morning routine, which consists of a walk and lots of cuddles for the dogs. I know he did not have anything on his eye then. We brought my oldest down to the bus at 6:50, and he did not have anything on his eye then either. When we brought my two younger kids down to the bus, I noticed he had a sort of angry, red pimple above his eye. I cleaned it off with warm water as soon as we got back up from the bus stop and it sort of “popped” a bit as soon as I put the warm compress on it. It was a bit of clear fluid/blood, but not that much. A little bit on the paper towel, that’s it. It has not gotten any bigger at all today, has not drained at all and does not seem to be bothering him. Any thoughts as to what it could be? I’m thinking if it is still there in the morning that I’ll be bringing him into the vet to make sure it isn’t anything serious. I’ve uploaded a few photos, but they aren’t very clear. It really looks more like a pimple than the photo shows.
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Dawn Ferara, DVM As fast as it appeared my guesses are insect bite or injury. Although it is impossible to diagnose any skin lesion without examining it. I would recommend watching it for changes and if it is not looking better by Friday have your vet look at it.
Good Luck -
Sarah Post author Thank you. It is almost gone this morning, so I guess it was just a bite or scratch of some sort. I’m still watching it and will bring him in if it changes again.
We have a WONDERFUL cat, who is destroying our furniture more, and more. Would someone please share some possible solutions to curb her scratching the furniture before we have no furniture left?
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Kelly Furgason Hi Sarah,
There are lots of things you can do to help your cat. First, here is a great link about it :http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/health_information/brochure_destructive.cfm
Make sure to provide lots of other options for her, scratching posts are great, or the rigid cardboard scratcher boxes–you sprinkle some cat nip on them to lure them and encourage her to scratch.
Clip her nails as short as possible. If you are not comfortable doing this, take her to a groomer or your vet. It’s important to do this every 4 weeks so they don’t get too long. This will help a great deal.
Make sure she has a lot of things to keep her busy,,cat tree, interactive toys, etc..that should help too.
Finally, if you catch her in the act. You can try sound as a deterrent. Take a metal can–like a soup or coffee can, fill it with a few pennies and seal it. When you see her start to try to scratch, loudly shake the can and say NO in a firm voice. After a few times of doing this , you may see her not trying to go near the furniture.
Good Luck! Make sure to check out the link I put in at the top of this, lots of good advice there.
~kelly
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Sarah Post author Hi Kelly- we have scratch posts on each floor of our house and scratch pads as well. This is the first time that I have had a destructive cat. It is EXTREMELY difficult to cut her nails. I’ve gotten one or two here and there over the years, but have the scars to prove it. She loves to be cuddled, but not held. Everything is on her terms, which is fine. That is part of what makes her so awesome! I will definitely check out the link you not. Thanks!
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Cathy Woodward Someone I know trained his cat to not scratch furniture by putting double sided tape on it
My dog seems to droolong more than usual from the left side of his mouth. He seems ok otherwise, but he is definitely leaving a trail of drool wherever he goes.
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Anonymous i’d guess this is a dental issue. can you check his mouth to see if he’s broken a tooth or maybe has something stuck?
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Jana Drooling can occur for a number of reasons. Yes, dental issue is certainly one of them along with a foreign body in the mouth, licking something disagreeable or upset stomach. Either way, something is amiss. Unless you can safely check for something lodged on that side of the mouth, or don’t find anything, and it doesn’t go away by tonight, do have it checked.
http://dawgbusiness.blogspot.ca/2012/04/symptoms-to-watch-for-in-your-dog.html
Our german shepherd, Butch, has always been a bit itchy at certain times of the year- more in the spring than others. This summer though, he has really started digging at his underside and now licking constantly at his hind leg (where a human knee would sort of be.) Someone suggested it might be a hotspot. What is the treatment for that, or should I just bite the bullet and bring him into the office? I feel so silly doing that as he was just there not too long ago.
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Christina Chambreau A hot spot is not a particular skin ailment, but rather an area that has been licked/chewed to the point where it develops a bacterial infection that causes the “spot” to be oozing a honey colored, gooey discharge, often with an odor.
I am a holistic veterinarian, so I can offer a number of possible solutions for you and also some coaching for general itching problems.
first, since he is worse this summer, I wonder if you have recently had your old
“analog” electric meter (it has 4 little discs that spin and a man stops
monthly to read it) changed for a “smart meter” or “digital meter” – looks like a
computer. These can cause severe health problems or worsen current ones. Opt
out of getting one. http://www.stopsmartmeters.org If you already have one, pay the money to replace it, and the monthly fee we are charged for protecting our children, animals and ourselves from the high EMFs. http://marylandsmartmeterawareness.org/ has info to educate you and help you.Also, this summer has been much wetter, and some animals are more susceptible to that. Also, when were vaccines last given? they can cause skin problems.
Finally, has he been showing any lameness, even mild? Sometimes they will chew on a part of the body that is in pain.
the conventional treatment for itching is anti-itch medication, topically or orally and maybe an antibiotic.
Holistically there are some treatments for this episode, then work to maximize health by
following the keys on my website, http://www.MyHealthyAnimals.com, especially the 7 keys to health. Healthy dogs just do not
get hot spots.Now, clip the hair around the spot if it is discharging, then use brown lye old fashioned soap followed by the black or green tea bags. Once it is dry, use aloe from your own plant or a drinkable organic aloe vera from the store, or plantain from your yard (if no chemicals there) made into a slurry or calendula to heal. If it is very itchy, SSStingSSSTop ( from the health store) may help.
Merely improving the diet (raw meaty bones and pureed vegetables) may help end the itchiness, or you may need to seek professional care (Bel Air, Hereford, White Marsh are probably the closest holistic veterinarians to you – http://www.ahvma.org for details, or the links page on my site). Mitomax is
a super probiotic that
can improve nutrient absorption, so helps with all problems. I have had many
animals’ itchiness clear up while using this, though sometimes they need to
stay on it. Unlike other probiotics, it is very stable and is ok at the low
stomach pH.Rescue Remedy is an easily available (at any health food store and many regular stores) combination flower essence to “rescue” when needed. 10 drops in a cup of water and sponge on the itchy knee, or add to any other topical treatments you choose. Put one
drop in a separate water bowl for him (and any of the others) to drink – change daily. If the RR seems to help, you can give some orally (few drops from the bowl) as frequently as any of the family thinks of it.Even if the licking is because of a knee issue, the Rescue Remedy may help, as will the self healing methods listed below. Of course, if symptoms worsen – time to visit a veterinarian, preferably an integrative one if you are interested in that approach.
For the future, learn Reiki (www.AnimalReikiAlliance.com is a local Baltimore source of classes, and any holistic store or practice nearer to you as Reiki is the same for human and animals), acupressure, TTouch, healing Touch for Animals (HTA),
massage, acupressure (several good books) and take one of my homeopathy classes – August is a 6 days class.There is a great store that will be a healing resource for all your animals – Baron’s country Store (N of Bel Air, so should be close enough for you). It is near Dave’s natural market, another great resource.
Ask more questions here if I was not clear.
Our german shepherd is very achy-especially early in the day and on damp days-which leads us to think it is arthritis (he’s 7). Anything we can do to make him feel better?
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AnneMarie Battis Hi Sarah!
I agree with Krista! Diagnosis from your vet first. If you should find that it is arthritis/joint-related….If you are open to a natural way to help your furbaby, I
have extensive experience in helping my 16 year old Golden Retriever (and many other pups) with arthritis pain and inflammation. (I am
not a vet). This is not meant to sound self-serving because I now sell through my blog – because I am in love with the products – but I only use doTERRA essential
oils to help him because they are certified pure therapeutic grade and they work!Wild
but in my opinion, Frankincense is the most effective. You can use 1-3 drops of oil along their spine
between the base of the ears and the base of the tail (this will help in
reducing pain communication to the brain). Make sure you get it on their skin, not on top of the fur. Then apply the oil to the affected hips/joints/area of pain. Do this 2 or 3 times as day, as needed. (Can be applied more often, if necessary, to
deal with severe pain. Less product but
used more often if needed is best so their body can use every last drop).Also found to be effective, especially on
those really bad weather days, etc. I
diffuse Frankincense and Serenity blend oils (you can use lavender too). This helps with all kinds of things for them
(loss of interest or activity, stress, etc.)
If you do not have a diffuser, you can put 1 or 2 drops on the dog’s chest
every 3 hours or so as needed. I supplement
his food (for reduction of inflammation/pain and help with body repair of
tissue: 5-8 drops (depending on dog
size) of IQ Omega AND DDR Prime – 2x/day mixed into wet food.If you are not familiar with doTERRA, here is
my website to peruse and if you choose, to order. Please feel free to contact me directly at
any time. As I said, I am not a vet but
I am very experienced using the essential oils on my furbaby, family and in the
home and I teach free local classes. http://www.mydoterra.com/WellnessFromKippersKitchen
(ask me about wholesale pricing) I also post all day on dogs every Wednesday – it’s “Woof Wednesday” 😉 so take a peek!Peace & Paws!AnneMarie
Good monring Pawbly friends! Quick question… my german Shepherd, Butch, just came in from a nice romp around outside. He was fine for our walk earlier this morning, but when the dogs came in this time and we were wiping their feet, Butch wouldn’t let me do his right front paw. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it looks like he broke his dew-claw (I think that is the name of it- the little claw up his leg a bit) somehow outside. It isn’t broken off, but I can see that it is bent and cracked. Is this something that will most likely take care of itself? Obviously we would keep and eye on it in case it seems to get worse…
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Krista Magnifico Hello Sarah,
I see many dogs with broken toenails. These are painful because the sharp edges hurt the sensitive tissue under the nail. In all honesty when they present at my clinic I put a muzzle on and cut the nail so that it doesn’t bend and move back and forth. Sometimes the nail will bleed for a moment after, so we use Quik-stop to help this. And I always trim the other nails also.
This happens most commonly on dewclaws because they get sharp and pointy if not kept trimmed, therefore making them more likely to catch and snag and break
Check all of your other nails, keep them trimmed and get that painful nail off of your dog. He will feel better after.
Hope this helps
Sincerely
Krista
Hi Dr. Mags!!! Thank you for "The Scoot Story". This looks EXACTLY like what happened to Dierks today. I am so grateful that I came to check my e-mail again and saw that you had posted something. I will be calling the office tomorrow to bring him in. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Sarah Greco
My lab/shep mix seemed to have a small swelling around his rear, a bit below and to the left of his anus that we noticed on Saturday. I thought to keep an eye on it because he seemed content, was pooping and didn’t appear to be in any pain. Today it was more swollen, but as it is Sunday, I was planning on calling the vet tomorrow. He pooped a while ago, when we were outside playing in the snow and then when we came inside. When he came in, he licked himself and then the swollen area sort of popped, like a big pimple, and has been draining puss/blood at first but now it has stopped and only seems to be draining blood when he licks himself. I still plan on calling the vet tomorrow, but should I be more concerned and take him to the emergency vet, even in this bad weather?
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Eleanor Wood Hi,
It sounds very much like one of his anal (scent) glands became infected and formed an abscess, which has now burst. It is not an emergency unless he is bleeding profusely, but he will definitely need veterinary attention tomorrow.
If he will tolerate you doing it, I would gently bathe the area so there is no gunge stuck in his fur, and try to stop him licking at it too much.
Also, if you are unsure, you can usually call your emergency vet and ask for advice over the phone without charge.Eleanor Wood
UK vet
Hello,
I dont think it is an emergency. I also think that the rubbing is probably due to an itch and is likely the cause of the significant swelling and size increase. Based on breed and location I would suspect an allergy or infection. Please see your vet and ask about a topical ophthalmic and an ecollar. Also ask about using diphenhydramine if it recurs. It might save you a vet visit the next time.
Good luck,
Let me know what the vet says,
I don’t know how to enlarge the pictures to take a closer look. Can anyone help me with this? I tap on the picture which brings up the original post in a separate window but I can’t access the pictures to make them bigger.