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Amybody using nerve growth factor (NGF) inhibitor injections for dogs?
Hi, my cat has been sneezing and had a runny nose frequently recently. Her ears and gum also look pale. She’s underweight since before I pick him up from the street. May I know, what is going on with her? I am afraid to go to the vet because Im afraid I can’t pay the bill.
Unfortunately, diagnoses for things like this *cannot* be made over the internet. She needs to see a vet…especially if she’s been consistently underweight. She’ll need a full exam, with bloodwork and possibly a urinalysis.
I’m sorry. But if you refuse the vet, you’re furthering her illness. Please find a way to pay for it.
I have a German Shepherd who suffers from allergies and is on apoquel again… but I continue to read that they are notoriously allergic to chicken. Wondering what is the best food for dogs with allergies?? Other than the pro plan Salmon and the Lamb, we tried both and both of my dogs hated it.
I have a Siberian Husky who has suffered from ear infections forever and now I can’t help but wonder if the food is the culprit. He has been to the vet more times than I can count for it and his peeling nose!
A friend’s chicken allergic Greyhound did well on Natural Balance turkey limited ingredient diet. Another friend feeds her Dobes Annamaet Aqualuk and Manitok with significant success – the dogs love it and look great on it.
Pro plan had a fairly recent recipe change of the sensitive salmon (as in last year), and a lot of dogs seemed to go off it. I’m told it may have improved since then.
Hello,
There is a possibility that a food allergen can be the culprit. I was told by a dermatologist that it is about 8-12% of the dogs with allergies. The problem is that there are no commercially available over the counter foods that are truly hypoallergenic. You have to get a prescription diet which is either a novel protein (like kangaroo or venison) or a hydrolyzed diet where the proteins are broken down to be so small the body cannot recognize them. These are expensive and the pet cannot have anything else out in their mouths while on these foods. We feed for at least a month and then we challenge with the old food to see if the itching returns. It is difficult to do and expensive. In my opinion it is imperative to be on a good flea and tick prevention and on it year around. Then use apoquel and shampoos to help. If this works it is the best affordable option most of my patients are on. Occasionally I have to add a steroid for a small period of time or cytopoint. But most are managed well.
Find a vet who has an interest in dermatology or ask for a referral.
Thank you for your replies! The apoquel definitely makes a difference. I think it works better on him than the Cytopoint shot did, but I’ve heard that the Apoquel has a lot of side effects. I have not noticed any issues. They are both on Frontline all year since we back to woods and like to spend time at the creek.
I was going to try Victor Ocean Fish? Doesn’t do anything for their breath though. I need to mix dasaquin in one meal a day and like to use wet food which makes for more searching of good quality food.
I will continue the Apoquel for now though.
Hi, my one year old springer has had the runs for 2 days but is in excellent form. Should I take her to the vet? Also what is best to give her to eat please.
Thank you
What have you done to help alleviate this in the interim?
I don’t immediately run to the vet UNLESS this is a very young puppy or a very small dog. Instead, I switch over from dog food to unseasoned cooked ground meat and cooked rice, with a higher rice to meat content. I stick to ground turkey breast, low fat ground beef, and ground chicken if I can find it. USUALLY diarrhea will resolve quickly with this change…once it does, I slowly add kibble back in.
After 2 days on this, if the dog’s loose stool is not resolving, I call the vet.
Hi Laura thank you for your comments. I have been giving her boiled rice, scrambled and boiled chicken. However as there is a little mucus in the poo today the vet wants to see her.
Makes me wonder if she’s got something like giardia. Let us know what they say?
My cat was constipated this morning (he has other issues, but this was the key problem this morning). The vet said I could give him Miralax, which I did. I knew it was kicking in because my cat started yowling a bit, most likely because he was feeling cramps. It’s a struggle because I don’t want him to feel bad but I know this is part of the problem with giving a laxative. Does anyone have a suggestion about what I can do “in the mean time” to make him feel better while we wait for him to defecate? Heating pad? Warm rice pad? Cold pad? Just rubbing his belly softly? Thanks!
For cats with constipation issues I recommend a high quality canned food only diet and lots of exercise. If you are worried about pain please talk to your vet about safe options for cats. There are not a lot of them.
Thank you. Since we’re dealing with several other health issues my cat has been less mobile, which I know was part of the problem.
My cat recent started taking a pill. The first couple days mixing in food worked but now she takes a few licks and is done with it. There must be a taste because she is not having it. How else can I give it to her? We have tried wet cat food, tuna, like a purée kitten treat. She won’t touch it. Am I able to just kinda shove it down her throat? Would icing in a small bit of water and putting in a syringe work?
Hello,
If your cat is going to be on this long term then I recommend you ask your vet to give you tips and a demonstration on how to pull your cat like the pros do.
Otherwise you can try to crush and syringe it, but it still tastes bad and they are still going to hate it. I also fear that mixing it in food or food and syringing makes them adrift or adverse to their food which can make a sick cat even sicker.
There is just no getting around learning how to pull your cat. There is a learning curve but eventually they figure out that it isn’t so bad and allow it without prejudice.
This is for Mia, you are the vet actually. Any tips and tricks? I don’t want to traumatize her and make it worse but she needs to take it
was wondering if I could ask a question.
About my Shih tzu MeiLing:
MeiLing is not having symptoms. My question is related to lab values. She is 14 years old and just acts tired at times.
1. The paperwork shows that she is positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Her vet did not offer any treatment advise on this or even mention this to me during the visit. I happened to find it later when reviewing her lab work. I have never found a tick on her since I rescued her 9 years ago.
2. Other lab work:
BUN 41, had been 33 year prior, one month after that was 29;
ALT 227 was 134 year prior, one month later 117;
ALP 673 was 668 one year prior and 1040 one month after that;
MCV 59.3 was 61.1 year prior and one month after that was 59.8;
Platelets 504 was 542 year prior and 561 one month afterwards;
Plateletcrit 0.62 was 0.66 and 0.68 one month later.
Based on some of the labs in point 2 the vet started MeiLing on Hepato Tru Benefits which supports healthy liver function and is telling me that we should do an MRI.
I love my dog and would like very much to do whatever is necessary for her health. However, I am retired, living on social security and am not able to afford a monthly payment for health insurance for her much less $1000 or more for an MRI. So my question is, with these labs, considering she is having no symptoms, granted she is not as lively as she once was but she is 14 years old, in your opinion how necessary is it that she have an MRI? Also why would he have not even mentioned the Anaplasma phagocytophilum? Should I seek another opinion?
I don’t expect that I will be able to afford other treatments revealed by an MRI.
I know I am asking a lot here but if you could just help me with a little guidance I would deeply appreciate it.
Thanks for any info you can give me.
Hello,
I think that I would ask for a second opinion from a different vet at another practice. I say this because I cannot interpret lab values without an examination. These go hand in hand to make an accurate assessment of a patient. Ask your friends and family who they use and trust and go there.
I also think you should bring all of the things that you mention above to your old vet.
Also I think it is important to talk to your vet about your financial abilities and ask for diagnostics you can afford. This is your right and the vet’s responsibility in my opinion. If they cannot help you find answers that are meaningful to your pet and their care go elsewhere.
Lastly I have been a vet for almost 20 years. I have not had many patients able to do an mri. And although I may offer we always (always!!!) tell about more affordable and readily accessible diagnostics like an ultrasound. I also ALWAYS talk about why I am asking questions them to do this. I fear very few vets do this. There is almost no point in asking you to do (and pay for) a diagnostic if we cannot do anything about the disease or problem from there. So what is an mri going to get you that is treatable? And Would you be able to afford that? If the answer is no why are we worried about the mri?
Rottweiler, female, 11 years old.
Vertically split nail; under vet care but I think we need to get more decisive.
The vet trimmed the nail half way with local (dog has bad reaction to sedation protocol, narcotics, etc). Still hurt and vet said it would cause undue pain. However, the nail continues on splitting.
How common of a procedure is cutting the nail off all the way to nail bed? How does that improve outcome? How much faster is the recovery?
By what percentage is anesthesia risk lower with such a short procedure? (Has to be anesthesia as explained above). Last time, after anesthetic procedure, she had heart rhythm problems and other problems; became critical and almost died. But was also full of drugs and had pancreatitis as complication of splenectomy. I’d assume the shorter the time under, the lower risk of complications?
I’m concerned about putting her under but I’m also concerned about dragging this out for weeks, taking valuable time from her, and having to do it that way anyway eventually.
I really don’t know what is the best thing to do for her. Hubby leaning toward waiting if it heals but I’m not seeing it healing any time soon if at all. (Photo of the present state of the nail attached.
I’m sad, depressed, concerned, and don’t know what I should decide for her.
Hello,
First I will admit that I have had cases like this and they are frustrating. So I remind my clients this.
Next we take it in small steps. I do start with trimming the nail as much as able and start toe/foot soaks to keep the area clean and place an ecollar to stop the patient from licking and further traumatizing the nail and seeding infection from the mouth . I ask them to give it a week or two to heal.
If it doesn’t or other nails start cracking we talk about oncodystrophy. And start talking about what to do if that is the case. The treatment options are not great so the decision to treat needs to be made with a great deal of thought or referral to dermatologist is recommended.
In one case I had a dog who was placed under general anesthesia and the nail was ground to the base to allow a new nail to grow back.
Risk of anesthesia is something discussed on a case by case basis and usually has little definitive concrete information to allow predictive measures or reasoning. That would be a conversation for an anesthesiologist.
Also I have had some cases with underlying nail bed infections so antibiotic’s, foot wrap and medication or culture and sensitivity testing might be helpful.
It’s already been three weeks now. It appears the nail was vertically cracked from the beginning with the first part in the middle (which is now the end)
How well did the grinding to the nail bed work and what was the recovery?
The other nails appear to be fine.
Grinding the nail was a last resort for a difficult chronic case. It worked but it was a last resort treatment.
Actually, it looked quite bad and hurt every time she brushed it on something. We had the nail entirely removed last Friday. Anesthesia was a risk, but I didn’t want her to spend whatever time she has left trying to get that damn nail healed–she already lost months with the first one.
The upside–48 hours of bandage, some pain meds, and all done. It looks good now and doesn’t bother her at all. She can now get on with her life and have fun.
I hated taking the risk but I”m glad I did.
My daughter’s 13 yr old male cat started urinating all over the house, occasionally crying out. Is this a UTI? I read something about crystals??
Hello,
It could be a uti, cystitis or your cat being blocked (ie urinary bladder blockage), which is a medical emergency. Please go to the vet immediately.
Best of luck. Please keep us posted.
I am trying to reach out to Dr. Magnifico. I have a 10 Month old cat that started to puke and it was unusual for him so I paid closer attention and realized he was going to the litter ofter and straining at first I thought maybe he had a blockage with the puking then after taking him to the vet on 3/31 and after x-rays they determined that he was constipated but at that time didi not have mega colon they had me try Laxatone and probiotics he was still having bowel movements daily so I was was still concerned as he was in the litter often straining though and Then on 4/3 I took him to a different animal hospital because they were walk in and i could be there before i could get ahold of his original vet and I Didn’t think I could afford an ER visit but that appointment cost me over $800 for blood work and X-rays and they gave him Anastasia and manually cleaned him out. at that point I was calling his original vet he he regularly see and originally saw for this problem because the vet that did the procedure just gave me prescription dry food and sent me on my way so I wanted to make sure it was the right action plan to get him back to normal. My original vet never called me back until I called to ask for his records thats when they decided to get him back in. So on 4/8 He started vomiting again and his original vet saw him and said he needed fluids but his stool seemed soft and like it should pass. they gave me pain meds for him fpr 3 days and metocopramide for 4 days. along with a different prescription wet food and Hydracare. Then I noticed on mu bill i was charges for Lactulose which they didn’t tell me wasn’t in stock and i would have to wait to get but it was weekend and they closed so per a megacolon group i am in i gave him 1/8tsp of mirilax a day he still has had at least 1 goof bowel movement a day but the problem I am having is that he is in the litter box straining constantly to the point of falling over and his back side is so swollen and raw! I called the vet numerous times to just ask for guidance and am not getting anywhere I have spent over $1600 which I definitely do not have and I would think by now I would have some answers. All I want is for him to not be in pain. I don’t know if there is anything I can do for his swollen raw bottom. It feels like its never going to end there is constantly poop on his bottom on-top of it I am trying to keep it clean for him but It is so painful for him for me to clean. I guess I just want to know if this will stop or will he be constantly trying to stain and go? They said that his colon can go back down in size since it just happened and he is so you but I just feel so defeated right now!
Here are some photos and comparative x rays of how quick it got to Megacolon
Hello,
I’m sorry that you are having such a terrible time trying to find help.
I think that most cats with constipation have it as a result or something else going on. So I am worried that a 10 month old cat would have such an issue. It’s really important to find a vet that you trust. Go on social media and ask everyone you know if they can recommend someone to help.
Without knowing your cat it is impossible for me to guess about what’s going on. But I am worried that a few things might be contributing to his problems.
One is he eating a good high quality wet food. I really prefer canned to dry with cats and colon issues. Next is getting enough exercise. The colon is a muscle and under muscled animals have problems. For constipation I do recommend miralax or lactulose. I also like learning how to give sq fluids at home. You also need to learn how to palpate his colon to know when it is getting distended.
For other things that might be causing the problem look at old pelvic issues. I’ve only seen young cats get this because they had previous pelvic trauma. Also FeLV or fiv positive?
His rectal area is raw bc of the colon issue. So that has to be fixed to get his butt to heal.
Good luck. I hope this helps.
Thank you so much for responding! He defiantly needs more exercise I was giving him Iams dry food as he really doesn’t like wet food and I have a 14 year old cat that has never had an issue. But I have been trying to get him to eat wet food. where I adopted him from tested him for FeLV and Fiv and he was negative and I just got it ran again 2 weeks ago and he was still negative. I am so overwhelmed because the vet I am using comes so highly recommended on all of the social media groups around here. I defiantly want to look into fluids for home I called his vet again today asking if i could bring him in just for fluids and they wanted me to do a whole appointment again and i honestly can not afford much more.
Hello.
I haven’t. Nor do I have any patients at the clinic with the other doctors who do.
What are you considering it for?
Cookie’s vet is recommending it for arthritis. I’m sure she’s got some, she’s 11 years and one-month-old Rottweiler now, but I don’t know how bad she has it–I don’t feel very bad. I think it’s quite interesting, but my question is whether it might inhibit something that shouldn’t be inhibited and so on. Very new around here, a little longer in use in Europe …
While I think it’s an interesting idea, I’m on the fence. I’m much more partial to things that are more natural such as PRP or stem cells, but nobody does that up here.
So it’s one of the things that sounds great on the paper, but is it really? Jasmine’s vet down South uses it on cats, but mostly because there are much fewer treatment options for cats, so more worth the risk.
Cookie’s PT has a couple of patients who get it and apparently, it helps them markedly. But will it eventually crop up some unwanted effects? So that’s the question.