Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Toby is a 3.5 month old tabby.
It’s not too bright in my apartment.
He’s eating well, pooping well, chasing around after things — seems to be in very good energy.
Anyone out there have experience with puppy strangles. Our purebred Doberman pup has developed it at 5mos. How long does it take on prednisone and antibiotics to see a marked improvement in the lymph glands in his neck. They are huge!
I read your blog on Beau. It’s just a frustrating illness, because results take awhile. Ozzie is only our Veterinarians 2nd case of puppy strangles in her 30+Yr career. Her first case was just 6 mos. ago on an imported pup. Last night marked 1 wk. on prednisone & antibiotics, we 2 or those days being the double dose increase. Marked improvement over night last night! So thankful. His chops and eye area, have gone way down. And the fever has finally broke! I am thankful for your site Krista.
How would kidney disease lead to peeing accidents and leakage?
Why does my dog eat his (or other dogs) poop? I have a fairly large yard, so I don’t know whose he’s eating..could be his, our other dog or a neighbor. He then comes inside and vomits (the smell is the giveaway as to what he ate)
Would you recommend using a shock collar as a training aid?
What happens when a dog manages to lick an area with “run off” of K9 Advantix?
How do you train a mill breed dog with a leash?
What can I do for an 8 month old puppy with terrible, smelly gas?
Could you tell me what you are feeding, what supplements you give and how long the gas has been going on? How are his/her stools – firm, soft? When does the gas occur – anytime, or only after meals? If the stools are soft it would be good to have the stool checked for parasites by your local veterinarian.
The quick and easy answer is to begin using probiotics. My favorite is Mitomax, a super probiotic. I have had many animals’ smelly gas 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.There is an icon on my home page for it (www.MyHealthyAnimals.com). You could also get other pet probiotics if near a pet health store. (by the way, if you put in your city, we can be more specific in our answers)
The longer answer is to generally improve health. There are 7 keys that can help you do this, with a link on my home page.
Please let me know a little more and if you have questions about the holistic approach (7 keys to health).
Thank you both for your answers. Answering your questions – we have two Bernese Mountain Dog puppies (8 months) and they have had recurrent stomach problems. After treating for parasites and changing foodwhen they were younger, they seemed to have settled down. They are eating Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Chicken and Sweet Potato. Once they switched to that, the diarrhea and soft stools stopped, however, the gas continued but sporadically. I was also giving them VetriScience Probiotic chews, but stopped that when we were trying to figure out what was causing the stomach issues. They ate nothing but dog food. As I stated earlier, when they switched to the Natural Balance, that helped quite a bit, but the gas continued. In the last week, the gas got really bad and was occurring throughout the day. I started them back on the probiotics with no change. Last night, after they ate, one had soft stool and the other had diarrhea. I took samples in to JVC because there were what appeared to be little worms in the soft stool.
Any suggestions/recommendations for food would be great. Things we have tried – Purina Puppy (what the breeder fed them), Iams Premium Protection Puppy (seemed to be ok, but I couldn’t find it in anything but a 12 lb. bag and with two large puppies it was not practical), Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Lamb and Rice (gave them diarrhea, thought it might be the lamb), Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Chicken and Sweet Potato (best so far, but still gassy).
Thanks for all your advice – I appreciate it.
the small worms you saw were probably tapeworms, whose eggs may not show up on a fecal, so be sure the vet staff saw the worms that you saw. they could also just be fly larvae and not from inside the dogs.
Tthere are a number of holistic approaches that could stop the gas and even firm up the stools (raw meat diet, other diets, marshmallow root, aloe vera, charcoal, slippery elm, Reiki, flower essences to name a few) and conventional drugs.
Since this has been a chronic issue, the very best approach will be to address the underlying energetic imbalance (Qi/Vital Force/Pranna) causing them to have a sensitive digestive tract. This is best done by an integrative veterinarian (links at my site – http://www.MyHealthyAnimals.com) who has many options to cure the underlying issues so you will not be dealing with digestive issues for life.
Health is a journey, and there is not one right approach, so you may need to try different modalities or different practitioners on the path to deep healing.
In terms of food, I would seriously explore feeding a fresh meat diet. What
are the best diets for people or animals — the most processed or the freshest,
most organic? The best ingredients should be the most
consciously raised – local, organic vegetables, free ranging protein sources.
Dogs and cats have ripping and tearing teeth, bone crunching teeth, no
digestive juices in the mouth, jaws that do not chew, a stomach full of acid
where the food sits for 4-12 hours and a very short transit time in the
intestines. Dogs and cats do not pull out a knife to de-bone their prey and do
not pull out matches to light a fire to cook their meat and vegetables.
Therefore the best diet for dogs and cats is raw meat including raw bones,
pureed raw and cooked vegetables and a few supplements (Calcium if no bones are
eaten is critical). There are many good books to guide you along with integrative veterinarians. Some TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) practitioners will suggest cooking meats or using specific foods as part of their food therapy.
For processed foods, the Whole Dog Journal publishes a yearly review of the different brands. You want ones using organic sources, even to the point of organic grains being fed to the chicken and the beef not being finished with grains. The GMO and concomitant pesticides/fertilizers are causing a lot of intestinal distress in sensitive dogs.
Thanks, Krista. They tested positive for giardia. How long do you recommend between the three fecals? I’ll be bringing the first sample in for re-testing in about 2 weeks. Three tests every 2 weeks or longer in between? They are feeling and smelling better 🙂
Elizabeth
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.
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.
I was wondering what veterinary clinics most herp owners living in or around Harford County would recommend? Also, have any of you found any decent websites that provide good information on the care of many of the most commonly owned herps?
Hi Zach,
For reptile owners living in or around Harford County, I’d reccomend Dr. Keith Gold at http://www.chadwellanimalhospital.com/ … He’s very experienced with a wide range of exotics.
Adam
So what are some opinions about whether or not clinics are over vaccinating?
That, I imagine, depends on the clinic. At the very least, they should all follow the AAHA guidelines. Current canine guidelines recommend that adult dogs be vaccinated against distemper, parvovirus and adenovirus no more than once every three years.
Some argue that immunity lasts much longer than that. A good option is running titers after the three years to assess immunity status.
As for rabies, that depends on local legislation; there are one-year and three-year vaccines out there. It seems that some clinic call for two-year re-vaccination – there is no such thing as a two-year rabies vaccine.
As for other vaccines, such as leptospirosis, where warranted, these don’t last over one year and need to be repeated annually. These are bacterial infections and the immunity from vaccination doesn’t last any longer than that. These are a judgement call depending on lifestyle and location.
Brittany, I wonder if you are a Maryland tech. I teach the integrative medicine class at the Maryland vet tech program. I applaud you for asking for different opinions about vaccines. i encourage everyone to ask lots of questions – about everything. Diet, heartworm prevention, flea and tick chemicals, need for tests, need for drugs…collect the information, then make your own health care decisions.
As a holistic veterinarian since 1983 (after working in clinics since I was 11 and graduating from vet school at 30), I assert that vaccines have caused more harm to animals than anything else we
have done. Vaccinated animals often develop many chronic conditions including diabetes, cushings disease,
Researchers in conventional veterinary medicine agree that we vaccinate too
often, in too many combinations, and that this level of vaccination, while
preventing epidemics, is harmful to the health of susceptible animals.
On-going studies show that antibodies are high 10 and 16 years later for
dog and cat distemper and dog Parvo so I recommend just a few baby shots and NO
more. While Rabies is also a viral disease, you must follow the law and
vaccinate every 3 years or more if needed by your county or township. You can help fund research to allow the vaccine to be
given less frequently, which will help dogs and cats become healthier. Go to:
THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND http://www.RabiesChallengeFund.org.
There are ways to help prevent damage from the Rabies vaccine, or any others that are
accidentally given. Ask again if you are interested in those. A wonderful list serve on vaccines, their harm and
alternatives is at yahoo groups. To register, go to novaxk9s-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. A great web site is http://vaccines.dogsadversereactions.com/
The AVMA, veterinary colleges, AAHA, FPA and other leaders say 3 years is the
best for the core viral vaccines just as Jana said, so certainly do not do yearly for anything. I poll the veterinary technician students each year and now only about 50% of the veterinarians they work for are still doing annual vaccines. I recently attended a talk sponsored by a vaccine company (Meriel) and Dr. Alice Wolf totally agreed, even saying not to vaccinate any animals after 7 years of age.
I really have no idea and should probably educate myself more on it, we just take our dogs in when we get the notice postcards our vet sends out. One thing I do know is that it’s expensive!! Individually it doesn’t seem like it but when they’re all added up it gets expensive!
I currently have a 6 yr. old golden retriever who’s epilepsy has gotten worse. At last visit I had titers run for parvo and distemper, and he is good without vaccinating. The rabies is another story, he is due rabies, but with his seizures I do not want to vaccinate him. I live in Maryland, is there any sort of waver that can be gotten for him?
I should have said I have not titred the rabies, (very expensive) but would if I could get a waiver for him.
I’m sorry to hear about your dog. I would look into what your county requires in order to get a waiver. I would talk with your vet about the dogs health and what your vet thinks about the rabies vaccine in this particular case. Vaccinations and pet health issues in general are decided based on the case at hand. Also talk with your vet on what medications would be best for your dog if the seizures are worsening.
Toby is a 3.5 month old tabby. It’s not too bright in my apartment. He’s eating well, pooping well, chasing around after things — seems to be in very good energy.
Hi Zack,
In my experience having rescued many kittens around Toby’s age and younger I’d guess that it’s an eye infection. It’s pretty common in kittens that age (especially if Toby is a rescue) and may actually be a symptom of something else such as a respiratory infection.
Young kittens with immune systems that are still developing are more susceptible to infections than older/adult cats.
The great news is that if it is an eye infection, a trip to the vet for an exam and antibiotics will clear it up in no time. If it’s something other than an eye infection your vet will be able to diagnose and treat that as well. Kittens are incredibly resilient!
Sounds like you’ve caught it early and will have Toby squint free before you know it!
Adam
As Adam said, it could be an infection, or there could be an injury to the eye. Eye problems can worsen very quickly, and taking Toby to a vet will keep things from snowballing!
Squinting indicates pain or discomfort…