Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
My 9 year old pit bull has an ear hematoma. Do they normally just get drained or would she need surgery? Lastly, what would happen if nothing was done?
Thank you,
Desiree
Do FEMALE cats need bladder flush? FEMALE cat only pees a tiny bit. Keeps running to litter box. Trying to use it elsewhere. Doesn’t want to drink anymore. Antibiotics don’t help
This sounds like a possibly serious medical issue. I think you should speak to your vet ASAP and explain that current treatment (antibiotics that you mentioned) is not helping. I would also think they would do a complete check up and bloodwork. Hope things work out ok.
I have a 1 year old American pit bull, very loving. She’s so miserably infested with fleas and nothing seems to be working. I’ve tried flea collars, flea shampoos, flea pills, flea spray and even coconut oil. And no luck whatsoever, they just seem to be getting worse. Please, any home remedies that will work almost instantly or even just work at all?
Are you treating the environment as well as the dog? If she’s in your home, your home is also infested with fleas and needs to be treated.
Hi there- so sorry you are having this problem. Agree with Laura… you need to vacuum everyday, and clean blankets, dog bedding, etc throughly. I would revisit a flea bath and I would speak to the vet about preventatives and advice on treatment. Best of luck!!!
Over-the-counter flea treatments can be dangerous and home remedies seldom work, in my experience. Talk to your vet to get something that will take care of the problem. We use Revolution on our cats for fleas and it works great. I think they make one for dogs as well.
I have a question about our 13 yo dog who likely has a bulging disc. He is a mutt (probably part Border Collie, part Shepherd). Soon after a small slip on our stairs, he had lameness in his one back leg; this went away after one day, he limped for a few days after, and he quickly recovered from those things. Though he was walking fine fairly quickly, he showed stiffness, showed hesitation going up stairs unless we gave him a treat (we have only stairs to the outside), and his tail was down and only wagged from the tip of it. We had him quickly on an anti-inflammatory (Novox) and a pain med (started on Gabapentin but had to discontinue). He was fine on a walk; we went on short walks and he always craved for much more than we allowed. We prevented jumping, aerobic exercise, stopped him from using stairs by having a ramp to the outside, etc. We continued the Novox. His symptoms continued, then got better, and then seemed to regress when he started showing signs of pain (panting even when lying down and even when it was cool outside and some anxiety); the pain thing was probably because of taking him off Gabapentin. We took him to the Neurology Dept at a local, large vet hospital and a physical exam indicated that he “likely” has a bulging disc. When they inspected his back, he showed signs of pain and anxiety and his back legs bent and his rear went down. We don’t think we want to do surgery due to his age. He has not had an MRI as the regular vet and my husband and I thought that the treatment would be the same if we did not do surgery — treatment being restricting movement, continuing anti-inflammatory and pain meds, and looking into possible physical rehab. A switch to the pain med Amantidine helps a lot and the panting and anxiety are gone. He now continues to crave longer walks and, at the rare times we forget to block off the couch, he will try to jump up on it. We have been continuing to restricting movement but we just don’t know what to do about activity restrictions and have not had a lot of advice from neurology. He has always craved movement and exercise and when we take him around the block his stiffness seems to go away a bit and he seems energized and maybe even more comfortable. He has always craved a lot of exercise and movement. His spirits are lowered a lot if we keep in him in a small space — it almost seems like he wants to move around. He is eating and drinking, can do #2 (though he struggles some if doing it a long time). If allowed to do some movement, he is mostly happy and getting around with walking. Questions are: Should we restrict his movement altogether despite all this? Should he we do no walks at all? Is it bad if he is free to walk around the first floor or should he stay only in a very small area? I feel we are so confused as to what to do and how to know how to prevent regression. We’d love the input of any veterinarians or other owners with the same experience!
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I think that I have to defer these questions to your vet. My inkling is to say strict cage rest except for short walks outside on flat grassy ground. My concern is that he will keep exacerbating the injury if you don’t. I have lots of information on my blog and YouTube channel under IVDD please go there for advice and case based examples. Best of luck
Thank you so much for your reply! Do some dogs who have been restricted with movement get to the point that they “recover” or is this always a progressive situation? We don’t know if, after the 4 weeks of restricting him, if he will can to return to walks or anything if he is showing that he improved enough. Do you have thoughts on this? Also, is there anything we can do for him at home (like light massage or heat on the back)? Thank you so very much! You are so very helpful! 🙂 -Catherine
My dog has what seems to be a deep cut on paw pad about an inch long. It’s not bleeding but does cause him to limp. I’ve cleaned it and put ointment with gauze pad and wrapped. Should I continue to do this and see if it’s heals on it’s own or take him to vet to see if it needs stitches?
Please go to the vet and inquire about whether antibiotics are needed. I would start there. I always assume these wounds are infected. Instead of waiting for it to happen.
My 3 year old toy poodle, bailey, is currently having behaviour issues. He is well trained and we have even had a trainer not too long ago but despite all of this he is continuously going through phases a misbehaving/reactivity. These phases started to occurred since he was about 1. During a phase he typically gets very possessive aggressive, temperamental, reactive and starts to ignore all of his commands! Does anyone have any tips to help or stop these phases all together?
Good morning. One of our shepherds used to get this way from time to time. It turns out that even though we are consistent, with him we had to be extremely diligent and consistent. Any change in routine would set him a little off. So for us it was a long road of patience and repetition. And walks. A LOT of walks. Going for a leashes walk where you are in charge is like a reset button in my humble opinion. It reminds them that you are higher in the pack order. The key is to catch the unwanted behavior right as or right before it starts-easier said than done. This helps you figure out the trigger and then in turn you can start to desensitize them to it. It is definitely a process of rewarding wanted behaviors and ignoring and redirecting where bad behaviors are concerned. Definitely a full time job, but it can be done. You may want to look into a certified dog behaviorist rather than a trainer. They can help you get started and would really be worth the money. Very best of luck.
Hiya, thanks for getting back to me! I have started to get a really good routine since I got back to work. He has also started to only be allowed on the lead as I’m starting to see a more reactive/aggressive side to him and he is usually at heel to walk until I let him sniff about. I have been referred to behaviourist from the vets but I have to wait til I get my own house due to my living situation the now, unfortunately.
In the short term, look into Nothing In Life is Free (NILF). I agree with Sarah, there’s likely something setting this off. Try to keep logs of what happens to cause these relapses, so you can figure out how to avoid them in the future.
I’d also love to know more:
-Do you have any other animals in the house? How about children?
-Is he intact?
-What sort of training do you do on a regular basis, beyond basic commands?
-What sort of grooming routine do you have with him?
-When was his last bloodwork done, and when you had it done, was a thyroid panel part of it? Have you ever brought this up with the vet? Have you ever checked him over to see if anything hurts? Bad behavior can also come from physical discomfort, eye issues, coat issues, teeth issues, osteo issues from long nails, ear infections, etc. Is this the same dog with chronic pancreatitis? I’d bet that’s playing into it, too – sick dogs don’t always behave well.
-Did you get him from a breeder or a rescue? If the former, have you talked to the breeder about this? They might have insight for you.
Hiya, thanks for getting back to me! I’m going to get that sorted tonight as I’ve just had a look into it and it seems to be really good. I have to keep a log of his food he eats, how much and if he’s had a good or bad day with his pancreatitis, I have noticed with that log that he acts out when he’s having good periods with his pancreatitis. I have a guinea pig but he seems to have a very good bond with him, he also has daily contact with dogs as family members own dogs and I work in a groomers(he comes to work with me). I currently live with my parents and their children have no respect for him, so I can’t do any crate training or that. I constantly having to tell the kids off but because my parents don’t it makes no difference, I am hopefully moving out in the next month at the latest! With his training we do tricks, obedience, some agility, off lead training( he is not getting to that the now due to his relative/aggressive tendancies currently) and grooming training. I am currently doing retraining by basically go over every command he knows for at least 2 days each but building it up for him. He had blood work at the end of last year but I have found that he behaves badly when he’s feeling better. I did speak to the breeder but she didn’t really have anything to help my out and I know a good few dogs she has bred from the same mum and dad just different litters and they are all fine.
What’s your normal training routine? And you’ve gotta advocate for your dog – he’s very small, children are usually larger than toy poodles and often don’t respect their space. Eventually chances are he’ll bite one of the kids if they aren’t respecting his space.
This might mean separating him from the kids. It might mean crating when you can’t be there to supervise 100% of the time.
Well he’s never in the house now when I’m not there and if he can’t come with me I get other family to watch him. We usually do 2 sessions morning and night, for about 10mins. He unfortunately had a seizure today when we were out so I think his behaviours more than just acting up. He will have a vets emergency appointment tomorrow morning so I will hopefully know more then.
Oof, yeah. That may explain quite a bit. Is this is first ever seizure? I hope you get some answers.
Yes, me too but I’ll let you know what they say tomorrow!
Definitely let us know. I’ll keep you guys in my thoughts.
At the vets today they took blood but all his vitals were fine and the only thing wrong with him physically was he was a bit sore on his spine, which we believe that’s due to hurting himself during the seizure. If the blood tests don’t come back with anything he will go and get a head scan.
Did they do a full thyroid panel?
Hiya, his blood results came back clean but I’m going to need to look into something else to do more tests as since he had the seizure his behaviour has became more aggressive rather that reactive.
Hello,
We are a group of individuals that help the street dogs in Turkey. We have a recent case of a baby girl that is below the age of 2 and has heartworm disease. She and a bunch of others were locked up into an abandoned shelter with no food and no clean water (there was water with only blood hence, bacteria and the disease). The medication advised to us by the vet (immiticide) does not exist in Turkey therefore, the baby girl cannot get the treatment. Is there a way you could help us out with this issue we are having?
We would be truly grateful.
The vet is ready to show videos, send necessary documentation and prescription etc.
Thank you in advance.
Hello,
Thank you for all you do. The American Heartworm Association has lots of information available on their site. Please go there. Also look into Advantage multi and doxycycline. They have some promise in treating if you don’t have access to duroban. Good luck!
Thank you so much for your quick and genuine response. We will definitely look into everything you mentioned!
We wish you a great day!
My dog was recently given the prognosis of intervertebral disc disease or herniated disc. His hind legs currently are not working and are possibly paralyzed but he still has feeling in them. The surgery for him to get better is something that we can not afford and our not sure what to do. Is there any way for him to walk again without the surgery? Is there any other treatments we can try?
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your pup. Some dogs can recover from this even if they don’t have the decompression surgery. It takes time, a lot of intensive at home care and assistance and patience. I have a lot of information on conservative management on my blog and YouTube channel. Please search my name and IVDD on both sites and you can see a patient named Hank who recovered without surgery. It took him almost three weeks to be able to walk again. It is absolutely imperative to have access to pain medications, and the time to invest in their care. It is also very important to have a vet who will help you. Good luck.
Hello,
I watched your videos and they were very helpful! I just have a couple more questions though. What type of therapy/rehab did u start hank with? Will starting therapy too early hurt the process? Do you think acupuncture is a good idea?
My 11 year old cat has a lump on her hind leg which I believe was caused by a knock to the area after being chased by a neighbours dog that entered my garden, causing my cat to run under the house, I heard the scuffle & not long after she developed this lump, which my vet diagnosed as a seroma, they took a biopsy which was inconclusive. The assesment states Distal left hindlimb mass 1.5 cm tumour (bening or neoplastic) with enlargement due to seroma. She shows no signs of pain in area only when touched, walks fine and is acting perfectly normal. Vet recommended surgical removal costing $1800 .Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I include an image of actual lump
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your cat. I’m not sure what your question is but if it’s not bothering your cat why don’t you just give it some time to see if it resolves on its own?
Good morning- many seromas are absorbed back into the body over time. So long as your cat is not in pain, and your vet doesn’t feel as if it is something more than a seroma, I would see if it fixes itself.
My boy cat became unwell and didn’t eat or drink. His ears are always an issue so wondered if it was this, we also noticed he was guarding his back legs and was hesitant to sit just before all this. They did bloods and checked his ears, the diagnosis was firstly they noticed his teeth were bad and his ears were not great so we were scheduled in for dental work three days later he got steadily worse and I was petrified he was going to die, so I took him in on the Thursday ( day before surgery was to happen) and I said I thought he was dehydrated. So they checked him over ( were not allowed in due to coronavirus so I’ve not seen anything they’ve done) they initially they said he could come home and they’d see him for dental work day after, next call was he needs to stay to be on fluids overnight. That they would do the surgery the next day and call after to let me know how he went on. I insisted they call me to let me know how he was before he went under. He was “ fine and coming to the cage front for head rubs” they did the dental surgery at 4pm ish and called to say come get him. He was very groggy and wobbly on his legs, we put this down to the drugs. He gradually got les mobile on his hind legs and is now totally paralysed and drags his legs along ( he still moves at speed though.) we took him back and a different vet said “ you just have to make your home safe for him this is how he is now, it’s that or put him down” no explanation why he’s suddenly like this, no care or give a damn!!
So he’s now not pooping and is just peeing constantly. I took him today for his post op follow up dental check And said I thought his bladder was full and he wasn’t pooping he said they took a pee sample and gave me laxatives ( lactulose) £30 and told me to watch YouTube to learn how to express his bladder!! I’m in bits and I’m so scared I am going to lose him. He’s my baby and he’s such a sweet boy I want to do what’s best for him. Please help I am just in a daze and feel so let down!
Hello,
Is there a veterinary college near you? If possible can you go there? Or a feline specialist. I think you need to find someone reputable and credible to help understand what is going on? I’m so sorry to hear about your kitty.
I’m not sure there is. ????????
That is terrible- I am so sorry. I think I would find another vet immediately. Explain everything that has happened.
Hello,
The treatment method depends on veterinarian preferences, size of the hematoma, placement of the hematoma and owner preference for options provided. I typically place a drain (teat canula) but I know lots of vets who drain and use steroids. If you do not treat it rhe eat pinna (flap) often becomes wrinkles and disfigured and may predispose the pet to more frequentl ear infections.