Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
extremely matted long haired cat … what clippers do you recommend to remove matted fur? (saw youtube video to remove matted fur) … Thank You.
My 6 year old Bijon Shih Tzu is a very active dog and has been running, jumping, and using her long legs her whole life. Just a couple of days ago she was about to push off her hind legs to run up the stairs as she has done thousands of times before and immediately screeched and ran off limping and then ultimately losing control of her hind legs. After a few minutes of resting she was hobbling along but was able to stand on all four. However the morning after she could not stand any longer on all four and los control of her hind legs. The Vet says she has IVDD and gave us options of surgery, treatments or putting her down. I couldn’t fathom that idea since she isn’t in pain, still wags her tail, still drinks, eats, and goes to the bathroom. I’m in desperate need of some support and help. She is a trooper and I know this cannot be the end. She is currently on meds from the vet and going in today for acupuncture treatment. She is left in her cage and we try to keep her resting as much as we can. I have watched Krista Magnifico’a videos on this subject and hoping my dog can recover as the beagle she cared for did.
Hello.
I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I have a lot of information on my YouTube channel and blog.
Please go there, read everything,and explain to your vet how you feel and if they aren’t supportive find one who is. These cases take a lot of time and TLC but many can recover if given the chance.
Heres the link to my blog; go to it and search “IVDD” https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/
and use YouTube too,,, my channel has lots on Hank,
Very best of luck!
Krista
Can you help me with my case please
I have a 5 year old male Maltese and all he does is bark we have tried everything I have done training with him I have tried anxiety meds for dogs I have tried bark collars thunder vest and even leaving a tv on with dog music a blanket with my scent toys bones and nothing at all works and my neighbors get really upset and complain about his barking and have even threatened to call animal control but I don’t know what to do any more please help
Hello,
I firmly believe that every dog barks for a very good reason. The challenge is spending enough time and effort to figure out what they are trying to tell you.
Start at the vets office with an examination and diagnostics. Look for any signs of pain, infection, allergy, inflammation, discomfort, etc. I always (ALWAYS!) also do a rectal exam to check anal sacs. Then we talk about the home life environment. How much exercise and attention is your dog getting? Has anything changed in the household? A recent arrival or departure? Anything?
If the barking is becoming obsessive and troublesome talk about seeing a behaviorist and starting anxiety medication. Medication should only be used after everything else is ruled out and a behavior modification plan is underway.
please keep us posted on your progress.. good luck! I hope that everything works out ok
I work at an outdoor kennel. We use the big 5 gallon buckets for water. We give the dogs fresh water daily but my coworker “Emily” believes that because she wipes the inside of bucket with her hand as she’s rinsing it out, it’s clean. I tried to explain if she ran a scrub brush around inside and outside of it than I wouldn’t have to disinfect them as much. Can u tell me where I can learn online about risks of not thoroughly cleaning ?
hello Holly!
I own a kennel/boarding facility and if she were my employee she would be instructed to dump the excess water and get a new clean bucket daily. We change out food and water dishes for everyone every day, and anytime it is dirty. This includes cleaning, scrubbing, disinfecting and drying. Every pet every day.
There is a lot of information on this on multiple sites;
heres a good overview to use as a basic guideline. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/breeders/dogs/9-Housing-Part-2-3-2016-SpeakerNotes.pdf
please remember that these are minimum acceptable standards.. they aren’t even close to adequate for my kennel.
If you own a pet facility your primary obligation is to provide a safe, disease free place for peoples family members. I don’t know where you are but yours sounds like it needs some oversight, supervision, and better leadership to establish safer working protocols for the health of everyone.. you and your pets included.
Your local health department, animal control, State veterinarian can all provide assistance. I recommend having your boss seek their input ASAP, before a contagious disease shuts them down, ot sickens your dogs.
Hello Kurtiss!
Thank you for sharing your cats story. Please let us know how things go. Did your vet talk about the possibility of recurrence? Did they put him on a different or special diet?
Thanks again!
krista
My 14 year old cat is having trouble breathing. After seeing her vet, we suspect she has a polyp. The examination was brief and the vet suggested X-rays or better yet, an MRI ($2,000).
I am a teacher and am on a very tight budget. What I would like to know is what kind of tests/examination should be required for the vet to complete the diagnosis? It seems from your youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCRwkQXd3Qs), that the vet could have found this by examining the inside of the cat’s mouth.
I’m trying to keep my costs down. How do I approach my vet regarding this matter?
Thanks
Al
Hello,
I start all of the exams that I do with a long discussion about the patient. History and environment as well as parent observations all help. After that discussion and the exam I give a list of possible causes. Essentially the list of what the possible diagnosis might be. From this i discuss the diagnostics needed to confirm. This includes their cost. I also discuss what the results will help us to do. How it will help your pet and how it will affect your options moving forward.
For these cases I alway offer a sedated exam to look. BUT I want to be able to do something from that exam so I intubate and prepare to remove the poly if I find one. That allows me to hopefully cure the cat at a reasonable price. (About $200). It’s not a perfect plan and there are reasons others want $2000, but in every case I have helped a cat with a polyp from suffocating. I have had two regrow. Both were removed again and have never come back.
I think what this question comes down to is finding a vet you trust to help your kitty and help you make this affordable. Please let us know what happens. I want to hear about how this goes please.
Krista
My almost 6 month old puppy is having diarrhea. We changed his food about 2 weeks from Purina pro plan puppy to the purina pro plan large breed food. He is a lab/mastiff mix. Do you think it’s the food causing the diarrhea? Should I switched him back to the old stuff? Or give him more time? He is acting fine other then the diarrhea. Thanks!
Hello,
At that age I would be most worried about intestinal parasites. Has your vet done a fecal exam for parasites? This is done by sending a fresh fecal sample to lab to be examined under the microscope for parasites eggs. Please ask your vet.
Dr.Magnifco he sees Dr.Graf. I will call and see what I need to do.
My 3 year old cat has a red bump on his arm, any ideas? He is acting normal, eating normally and doesn’t mind when I touch it. Thanks!
Hello,
In general bumps and lumps are pretty close to impossible to diagnose with a photo. In many cases an aspirate or biopsy is needed to definitely diagnose it. My best advice is always to see your vet and inquire about removing it before it becomes a problem. Let us know what happens.
2 months old male kitten with first vaccination only, one scaly patch near take.
Hello,
Can you elaborate more on this and formulate it into a question please ?
My dog is constantly humping stuffed animals and another male dog. What do I do?
Humping is behavioral. Corrections are key, here. How old is he? What happens if you firmly tell him to stop?
Hello,
I think that small, quiet pet focused clippers are best. You want to make sure they are easy to use, plug in, and able to keep cool of it is a severely matted cat. My best advise is to seek a professional for help. They can give you lots of safe and easy tips to help.
Manufacturer, brand, clipper size? I have Wahl clippers, however do not work on very fine, long hair. Thank you for your response.