Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Hello Dr. Krista, my 3,5 year old shiz-poo, male got paralyzed on March 29, just playing at home with another dog. Next day we went to EI and we were told that his injury is (slipped disc) at T13-L3, based on xray. Surgery would have been 10.000 $, with 50/50 chance of recovery according to doctor, no chance with steroids. We couldn’t afford the surgery. Our home doctor gave us little hope and Shadow has been on steroids since March 31. After 7 days there was no improvement,doctor recommended euthanasia but with minimum chance we asked for 7 more days of meds. He has very weak deep pain sensation. His back legs are paralyzed, he poops and pees without control, has good appetite and when let out of cage he wants to run on his front legs dragging the back. I just ran across your videos on youtube, not to give up on those dogs, but i am not sure if a miracle can really happen. Is it really possible that he would walk again? I dont want him to suffer but not sure what to do. Could you please let me know your opinion about it, thank you so much! We are desperate…Anita
Hi, my pregnant dog is on day 65 and 28 hours ago her temperature dropped to 97.8. For the first 13 hours she showed little discomfort. Following this she began to pant and had loss of appetite, and also began to dig in her nesting area. In addition there were several breaks in which she would sleep. These are all stage one symtoms. However according to many articles, she should have gone into labour already. Should I be worried?
It’s not quite our first breeding however it is the first with this dog and everything seems to be a little different. She’s just sleeping normally now again as if she’s not actually in labour. I will try and call an emergency vet however it is 1am where we are right now and our vet system in Malta isn’t so great….
Hello,
I always worry when hing’s don’t seem as they should. Please see a vet. Ideally every new breeder should have a local breeder to mentor through the questions and rough patches. Is there anyone locally who can intervene tonight? If not please seek vet help.
I am needing help with finding a good traveling dog trainer that’s able and willing to travel to Kodiak Alaska and help me get a dog trained to be able to get trained as my multipurpose service dog because I have multiple disabilities and I am unable to travel to the dog trainer for two years thanks for helping me out with my goals and dreams from Cherelle Barber
Hello,
I don’t think we have anyone in here in your neck of the northern woods. Have you asked your vet for a recommendation? Also any of the local rescues or shelters are also very good sources. You could also reach out to the vet schools for a list of associates they might know. Best of luck.
HI Everyone. My 12 year old female japanese spitz has pyometra. It breaks our hearts as we had her since I was just in gradeschool. We were advised that she needs to undergo surgery but we are kinda hesitant because we do not know if she can still survive the surgery with her age. My mom does not want to let her undergo the surgery but me and my dad wants to take the risk of giving her the treatment. Please I am begging you to please give me an advice so that I can fully decide. I love my dog so much and I don’t know what to do. Thank you all.
Whatever you do, PLEASE act quickly. Pyo just killed a young Doberman bitch from my breeder – she was at a show, came down with a fever, and she was gone within a day.
I agree with Jana. I always tell my clients that I would rather know that fate dealt a hard hand with me trying everything I could to give my pets the happiest and healthiest quality of life possible. Then to not try at all.
Thank you so much for the response. We are just concerned because she is already 12 years old. But I would really like to give her the proper treatment that she needs.
I would do the surgery – yes thwere is a risk and it may be higher due to her age, but at least she has a chance. If she is otherwise fine, I think she has good chances to survive thew surgery. To determine that I would do blood work and a check up before the surgery.
If she doesn’t survive – you at least know that you did everything you could to help her. Pyometra is not nice – I only knew it from cats and rats and both suffered without surgery.
She’ll feel SO MUCH BETTER once she recovers!
Thank you! She’ll be under observation by the vet within 24 hours. The vet says that there might be a complication like liver failure but we are all hoping that it won’t happen. My dog is a strong fighter and I am praying and hoping that she’ll survive this and she can go home healthy and back to our arms again.
I wish only the best for you and your dog! You did the right thing!
Elaine, so sorry about your baby. I believe that she is more likely to survive the surgery than the pyometra. Do a pre-op blood work and wellness exam to catch any specific issues that might need to be accommodated for with the anesthesia protocol or issues that would prevent the surgery. Anesthesia protocols can be adjusted and are quite safe these days. I do believe her chances are better with than without the surgery.
you did the right thing
UPDATE! Hello Everyone! Thank you all for all your amazing responses. We just had her undergo the surgery earlier and she is still recovering as of the moment. 2kg of angry uterus filled with puss was removed from her. Thank you all so much!
That sounds very good! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks a lot for letting us know how it went :).
Yes thank you! We are not aware of this kind of sickness in dogs though. We do not have the intention of breeding her and she was also our first dog. I immediately told this to my friends who owns a dog because it is very life risking for our loving pets.
Well…let’s just say you got VERY lucky. VERY.
Hi all, I just think you also need to know about this. My dog just got discharged from the veterinary clinic after being confined for 2 days. She is now doing pretty good and is now starting to eat again. She could now also stand and walk slowly but we still make sure to be there to support her while she tries to walk. She is taking a lot of medicines right now including antibiotics and vitamins. I am really proud of her as she was so strong. When I went to the vet and she sees me, she immediately stood up and tried to walk near me and I literally cried out of joy. I brought her there with an almost hopeless case and she came back to me like this. I am really overwhelmed and thankful. Thank you all so much!
Thanks for the update, Elaine! For the future, if you have a bitch in your home and keep her intact for proper growth and maturity, try to spay earlier than 12. 😉 For larger breed dogs, 4 seems to be a good age…assuming there’s no cancer in the lines.
Hi so I have a puppy staffy, But not to sure if he is a cross? Can someone help please!! If he is what is he crossed with?
If you got him from a rescue, I’d guarantee he’s a mutt of some kind. I know in the US we have DNA tests which can be somewhat accurate (but aren’t always). I’d see if your local pet shops carry something like this.
Hi my baby bearded dragon is 3to4 weeks old she loves her crickets but yesterday and today she stop eating her crickets how can I get her to eat again
She may simply not be hungry today or yesterday. If she goes more than a week, I’d call the nearest exotics vet. Do make sure she has a proper thermometer, lighting, and heat…this will aid in digestion, which will help increase appetite.
Ok thank you
My cat alice is a year old i think shes pregnant…. shes been more lovey dovey recently and has been kneading me at night her belly is gettin alot bigger than usual and her nipples are showing better. Today when she stood up from laying on mu bed it was a little damp… idk what is going on with her
Shes been vaccinated im iffy on spaying her my 3 year old brother plays with her and wont understand that shes in pain. I will see how long my waiting list is that the vet
You control the interactions between her and your brother, NOT the baby. Keep them separated until she’s fully healed. Spay her NOW – the world has entirely too many unwanted kittens in it already. Tell the vet it’s an emergency. And please, keep her inside.
Hello,
Please see your get for helping to get your cat diagnosed and prepared for whateveright be at hand. It is also imperative hat she be vaccinated and spayed ASAP. .
She just sat on my arm and it got wet…. she then started cleaning herself down there…. what is going on?!
My brother controls homself. He doesnt listen. Im not going to keep her locked up and left out because of it. Not to mention i dont let her outside she sneaks out. Hasnt gotten the chance since. If she is pregnant
I plan on keepin all the baby’s
Get her spayed as soon as possible. Better to keep her locked up for 14 days than to risk her life every time she gets in heat!
She depends on you to care for this and ti is your responsibility to superviye your brother when he plays with her.
We have a cat at the shelter that gave borth to 4 kittens – it was a planned pregnancy. Shew was extremly protecting of her babies and attacked ther previous owners daughter. The owner herself said that she didn’t supervise everything the daughter did – so it is possible that one of the babies meeowed and the mother cat worried and attacked.
By the way – she is the sweetest cat ever now that she’s in our shelter with her kittens – and the previous owner also said that she’s extremly sweet expect this one time. And they risked all this just because they didn’t spay her.
So if she starts to get babies – never let you brother alone near her! You will have to control their interactions for even longer now, as if you just got her spayed.
After spaying you have to control them for 7-14 days, if she has babies you have to control that for at least 3 month, depeneding on her behaviour even longer.
So please get her spayed. We have so, so many kittens every year in our shelter, we don’t need any more!
And what happens when all the babies start having babies? In one year you will have 6 cats. In two years you could have 20. From here it could be close to a hundred a year. The average cost for a cats care in the first year is about $300 to $500. It is time to start thinking about your pets andyour responsibilities as a pet parent. And ask your parents for help in getting her spayed and vaccinated immediately.
To answer your question: we don’t know what’s going on. You need to take your cat to the vet and get her spayed ASAP. They will tell you what’s going on.
Are bully sticks OK for dogs to chew on?
I have to say I am not a big fan. I think they promote a chewing habit that can become problematic. I think they can also damage the teeth. I like lots of exercise and a great diet instead.
8 year old Shih-tzu Maltese diagnosed with a bulging disc 🙁
Hi, thank you for making all of the videos on youtube. I have found them very helpful with my little guy Benson…it’s nice to see a vet that goes the extra mile for their patients. Our vet clinic is also caring and affordable as well, which is hard to find these days.
Benson is a miracle dog. He has already survived a grade 2 mast cell inguinal tumor so Cornell and our local vet love him and call him their miracle dog (this was 2.5 years ago)
Now for his most recent issue which is why I’m writing; For a week, he was dragging his front left paw. We took him to our vet (on Monday, March 19th) and she diagnosed him with arthritis….things got worse throughout the week to the point where he would knuckle his front left paw. Our vet had only told us to limit his activity and no jumping so we didn’t restrict him to a crate. By Sunday morning (March 25th) (and he was on 5mg of prednisone since Monday) his back left paw was now knuckling and he was getting worse to the point where he could barely stand up.
We took him back to the vet and they did x-rays and found a bulging disc right around his shoulder blades. He has been on 10mg of prednisone, Methocarbamol, gabapentin and in a crate 24/7 ever since Sunday the 25th. Luckily, he is really only affected on his left side of his body.
We are seeing a little bit of improvement at times and at other times, he is still just as bad as he was on Sunday.
He has never lost the ability to pee or defecate (thankfully) annnnd Benny loves to eat (or drink) so that will never be an issue haha…
However what worries me is the fact that he is ALWAYS as stiff as a board in the morning when we get up or when he gets stressed/excited. It’s as if he re-injures himself because he can’t walk and can barely stand. It takes him at least an hour to recover, stop panting and then relax again until it seems like he is not in pain anymore….
Is there anything we can do to prevent the “morning/excited episodes” or is it all just part of the process? I thought the muscle relaxer would help but it isn’t. I have even gone so far as to put signs on our front door asking visitors to not knock or ring the doorbell.
Last question-do you have an opinion about a dog chiropractor?
Any advice you could give, we would appreciate! We love our little guy-he has such a personality and adds so much fun to our lives.
Thanks so much,
Megan and Missy
Hello,
Thanks for being such a kind parent and for all of the nice things you commented on. I think that some of the morning stuff is normal and that the pain has been unmedicated overnight sonit often takes a little while after the morning meds to see them relax and feel better. I think asking about acupuncture is a better place to start than chiropractic help. By massage is also beneficial. Also aquatherapy when she feels stronger might also help her recovery. You can also ask about laser therapy. I hope this helps. Very best of luck.
How worried do we need to be about roundworm eggs
Hello,
I’m sorry but there isn’t enough information here to answer. Please ask your vet if your pet has these. They can help.
do what you can to help your pup and i hope you the best
if you believe that your pup will be able to live through the pain then he will so never give up
hope the best
Hello,
I would never tell anyone that miracles can’t happen. They do. Although they are far and few between. Is it possible to care for him as a parapalegic? Can you manage him as he is? Can you keep him clean and dry and manage the bathroom difficulties? If so why not continue to do so?