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When is it ok to stop prednisone abruptly after the dog has received 5 days of twice per day Med? An ER doctor who gave us the med had warned us against stopping it abruptly because it could cause complications. Approximately 5-6 days later the dog had emergency neck surgery at the same facility where the ER vet worked. After only one day of rest post op, they said the dog could go home early! When I asked about the prednisone and tapering it, they said, just stop. The discharge doctor said the surgeon didn’t want him on it. I was very confused at this instruction. Does anyone understand why we were told to just stop his prednisone?
I have a 9 week old German Shephard puppy that is itching and scratching. Apparently all if them from the litter are. Ive washed him in oatmeal bath for puppies and someone suggested they were allergic to the food (blue buffalo puppy, chicken formula). Ive started to change his food, but I dont know what it could be!??
I have 2 other dogs and they don’t do this.
I would get to the vet right away, for many reasons? First and foremost, to have the puppy thoroughly checked over… this could be parasites, which are possibly contagious to your other dogs. It could also be a reaction which also needs to be treated. 9 weeks is young to be away from mom, in my opinion. Please bring your puppy to the vet right away for a thorough exam and puppy visit.
They were at the vet at 8 weeks, for their shots. They didn’t have any concerns for them being away from the Mom. She stopped nursing, seemed early to me…. where would they have gotten a parasite? The mother father are fine.
You just brought puppy home? You need to get him to YOUR vet for a wellness visit, within the first week of bringing puppy home. 8 weeks is the legal minimum for puppies to leave littermates in Maryland. If this is the beginning of mange, demodex is on every dog – it will cause rashes and skin irritations in dogs with suppressed immune systems. Seriously, get your puppy to your vet and bring this up with them. 🙂
As for the food, I would throw out Blue Buffalo entirely. There have been issues recently with lead poisoning, and in the past with melamine. I would also ask the vet about food options.
I am not a fan of blue buffalo either. I would be worried about fleas, scabies and infection. Allergies are unlikely at this age. See your vet.
My little dog had a biopsy 10 days ago on her eyelid. The result is that it is Necratic. I know this means dead tissue. May this be because she suffered from immune system illness and had to be transfused. Is it likely she may have cancer as my vet did hint at this. He has told me to keep a very close eye on her and not hesitate to call if she shows any signs of being unwell. Quite concerning.
Hello,
I’m not sure what your question is? I think it sounds like you need more clarification from your vet on exactly what they found and what the long term fear might be. In general I have found most eyelid masses are benign. You can always ask for a referral to an ophthalmologist for further clarification and help. Best of luck. Let us know what happens.
There isn’t one size fits all. It is based on many factors including age, lifestyle and availability. Please talk to your vet about options.
my little dog had a problem with her eye lid in November and now my vet wants to do a biopsy tomorrow. Am i right to be very concerned
Good morning. Sorry your pup is having an issue. I understand your worry and concern, but I’m going to pass on a few words of wisdom…until you know the results of a biopsy, you can’t make a plan for whatever lies ahead and your worry will be wasted energy. Easier said than done, I know. But our pets feed off of our energy and emotions. I remind myself of that when I start to fret about my pets, and it helps me to keep thing in perspective. I hope your dog is alright?
Any advice for traveling in a car with cats. We have 2 cats and they are about 9 months old. we enjoying camping. They will go into the crate on their own and we buckle them in. They have their own blanket and toy. Our vet is about an hour drive normally they meow for a bit then quickly calm down. For this first time camping trip the 2.5 hour drive going up they were ok after meowing a bit. Arrived safely..new place so it took them a bit to get used to it. I went outside for a few minutes after an hour of being there, my husband was inside with them and both cried at the door till I came back. That night (several hours after we arrived) one of them was panting. I assume due to anxiety but that shortly passed. I took them in another room and stayed with them. The next day both of us went outside for short periods of time and they were completely fine and they were fine the day after. At home they are independent except at night they will sleep with me. The trip home both meowed but one continued for a full 2 hours. Do you think a larger crate for travel? Put both of them in 1 crate together? I am going to try and do short trips around the block and reward with treats when we get back. I prefer to have them with us when camping versus getting a sitter. These are short trips mostly 2-3 days in total with a 2.5 hour drive each way. Any other suggestions?
If they’re a close, bonded pair, traveling together in a larger carrier may help.
My advice is to use a large carrier full of shredded newspaper. Avoid feeding a meal about 3 hours before leaving. Place towels over and around the carrier to block out noise and light. If the vomit or defwcate pull over. Close all the doors and roll up the newspaper to throw away. Then add more shredded paper. Never leave a door or window open with the cage open so no one can escape.
Thank you both. Thankfully no motion sickness or accidents. We did stop feeding about 4 hours prior. Whew!! Will look to try all suggestions…1 large crate…shredded newspaper and definitely cover. I think it is the road noise that annoys him.
16 week Golden Retriever puppy can go all night in her kennel and it is dry but during the day she pees every time I go out. I had a towel in there and I thought maybe she did it because the towel absorbed the dampness. Today I left her for 3 hours with no towel and she wet the kennel. She is still in a small kennel.Any ideas?
I agree with Dr. M – she needs to be TIRED when she goes in. Also make sure she’s empty before you put her in…and maybe get her checked for a UTI. My bitch puppy peed in the crate only once, and it was due to a UTI.
Hello,
I often wonder if these guys get bored and subsequently over excited and therefore pee in her crate. Is she going to her crate in the morning after a LOT of exercise and play and therefore tired? Have you hought about leaving a way to record what she does after you leave? Maybe that will provide the clues you need?
Does Reflux in premature kittens exist?
I’m asking because we got 4 tiny premature kittens yesterday with their mother. She didn’t have milk when the were born, so the little ones were bottle fed/syringe fed the 2 days before they came to us.. However since she still showed interets in her babys they stayed with her. They had around 70gram according to their owner. When they arrived, they were cold and crying. One died a few minutes after they arrived, despite slowly warming up. It had tiny bits of milk in its nose.
(they were fed ca. 60 minutes earlier)
When they were finally warmed up two were drinking, one was fed with a syringe. All were urinating normally, one had a bit of bowel movements (yellow and soft). I placed them to their mother who was very worried about her babies and cuddled around them immediatly. She had a heat pad below her box to help keeping the temperature. She was extremly nervous, so I left her alone for the time being.
When I looked after them for the next feeding, the second one was dead. Milk around nose and mouth. I checked for cleft palate, but there was none visible.
The other two also showed no signs of a cleft palate. However, they felt cold again despite lying on their mothers belly.
I warmed them up again and this time I didn’t put them back – as it seemed that the despite mother and heat pad below they could’t keep their temperature. So they stayed in the box we use for raising kittens.
One was drinking, one was not. The none drinking was tube fed. When I looked after them a ca. 15 minutes later the non drinking one hat milk running out of its nose and mouth. I cleaned it immediatly and it started breathing again – but I guess it still got something in its lungs, as it died a few minutes later.
The remaining one was now warm, still urinating normally and drinking. But it couldn’t settle down. It was always crying and seemed restless. The next two feedings went normally – as dfar as that is possible with such a tiny one. When I wanted to feed it in the late evening I found it dead – a bit of milk running out of nose and mouth. It was the smalles one of them with only 67 gram.
I’m very worried that I did something wrong… They were not the first babys I bottle fed (or syring fed/tube fed). But it’s not like I’m very experienced… Usually the ones I get are at least full term… I only had one premature Baby before, that also died after 2 days. It had only 53 gram when being born – but it was with me since birth.
None of the babyies I cared lost as much milk through their nose – and especially not their mouth. The only ones that did this, had a cleft palate. The healthy babys may choke at some milk at the beginnig when they try to figure out the bottle – and may show a bit milk at their nose when doing so – but they never showed those problems. They were fine later,
These ones died more or less immediatly after I took them in – and that’s why I’m asking myself, if I did something wrong – or if I should do something different next time – as all of them showed milk at nose and mouth. The third one looked like it had spit our everything it drank earlier and the last one also had more than just a drop outside of nose and mouth. I only fed tiny amounts – ca. 1ml each feeding, to get them started, was that still too much? The previous owner said nothing about problems with feeding – and I used the same milk as them.
It seemed all aspirated milk because it came back out of their stomach (reflux).
I know reflux is not unusual in human preemies – but what’s with cats and is their a way to avoid that? (If that’s the reason for their problems at all). But if not why came the milk back up?
Good morning. I’m so sorry that you had this experience. While I cannot truly answer your question about reflux, I just wanted to say that the fact that you cared so much and tried so hard does not go unnoticed. Thank you so much for trying?
My dog had surgery 3 weeks ago to be spayed I’ve just noticed a lump under her scar but she’s fine in herself?
Hello,
Please call your surgeon and ask them to inspect the incision. It’s always better to be safer than sorry. Hopefully it’s just some post op swelling. But the only way to be sure is to have your vet check it.
My dog ate 6 brownies left on the kitchen counter. She is a medium sized Lab mix. Will she be okay after eating chocolate?
Hello,
The safest thing to do is call one of the pet poison helplines. They can calculate the toxic dose based on a few questions they will ask you. Or you can call your vet for advice. There are a few “choc tox” calculators available online. But they are guesstimates at best. Better to go to the Er, call your vet or call the pet poison helpline immediately.
Good morning? When you were given the new instructions, did you let them know that previously you were told not to do that? It is a steroid, so there could be side effects if you stop giving it suddenly, until the body can “catch up” on production. Perhaps a phone call to your regular vet might be worth it… besides, you’ll probably need a follow up exam after the trip to the emergency ER which you can schedule when you call. Good luck?
I agree with Sarah. You are owed, deserve and paid for an answer that makes sense and is for the benefit of your pet.
Thank you both so much for your response. I think this was not the first sign we had that our experience there was not going to be a good one. Since our dog’s dc from that surgery center, we have consulted another physician to reevaluate and help recovery efforts with better medicine selection and pain control.
It is just hard for me to believe that a surgeon would not expect that stopping prednisone mid treatment would be imprudent. Further, if my dog were to have a crisis, it would be in their financial gain when I brought him back for stabilization. As I wrote earlier, this was one among other issues that came up with our dog’s post -op care. Now, I wouldn’t willingly take any of my animals there again.